Query Letter in Progress for my first novel... figured I would post this here.
Dear
_____,
I
am writing to seek representation for my first novel, RENTKIDS, a dystopian science
fiction novel for adults of approximately 98,000 words, with prominent post-colonial
and queer themes. Think of it as CITIZEN OF THE GALAXY… with sex. It’s social
science fiction, in line with such favorites in Octavia Butler’s PARABLE OF THE
SOWER, and the worldbuilding and characters also owe themselves to non-science
fiction works such as Scott Heim’s chilling MYSTERIOUS SKIN. In fact, I
originally conceived of the plot as being MYSTERIOUS SKIN meets CITIZEN OF THE
GALAXY.
RENTKIDS
is a novel of resilience and recovery from the trauma of abuse, set in a laissez-faire
dystopian, mafia-dominated world that is intended as different from the more traditional
totalitarian dystopia. The narrative alternatives perspectives between two
young protagonists, Devna and Alash, who reside close to the bottom of their
society’s hierarchy, just above the street urchins. Devna is a teenage sex
worker, in the employ of a manipulative and savvy pimp named Abn Mür, on the
planet Tantalus II. In an act of compassion, Devna rescues a wounded, amnesiac
boy off the streets, and names him Alash, for the kitten she could not have. He
has no memory of where he came from. They grow close as she teaches him to be a
“rentkid,” a child prostitute catering to the perverse tastes of their planet’s
mafioso upper class. Almost two years later, while entertaining at a party held
by one of the “Twelve Families” that rule their planet, a vicious mobster, Leon
Calvaratin, rapes Alash. Alash fights back, and is brutally beaten, but manages
to offend Leon’s feudal honor in the process. The mob demands that Abn restore
honor by giving them Alash as a sex slave as per their society’s traditions
regarding debts and patronage. Devna begins to question her loyalty to Abn when
he says he has no choice in the matter. She resolves to escape with Alash.
Their defiance sets off a chain of events that sees them flee their planet in
the company of nomadic revolutionary anarchists, the Starfarers. On the
Starfarers’ ship, Devna and Alash must confront the trauma inflicted on them
and salvage the strength to move forward with dignity. Unfortunately, Leon is
in pursuit, with a squadron of mafia-owned warships, and with their new allies,
they will have to confront him, too, in the cold and unforgiving depths of
space. And that is just the first part of the book.
Devna
and Alash are compelling characters that readers will identify with. They were
written to represent real kids who have survived abuse and have had to
militantly reassert their identities in a hostile world. Their insecurities and
struggles, and close, sibling-like relationship, will be familiar, especially
to LGBTQ readers and survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation who lack the
support of their biological families and have found other kinds of families for
themselves. Through their personal journeys and relational dynamic, the reader
is also drawn into a setting that challenges the traditional literary concept
of dystopia by locating that dystopia in the intersections of race, class and
sexuality, in the context of a society defined vaguely by certain ideals but
ultimately ruled by licentious criminals.
I
am a 35-year old queer activist and child welfare social worker. RENTKIDS is my
first novel, but there are many more stories to tell on the planet Tantalus II
and the broader universe in which it exists. I have enclosed the first (X #
of chapters and/or a synopsis). I hope to hear from you soon.
Raven Green
[ redacted ]
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