Brenda Hill

Author & Editor

Query Blues

Do you suffer from the dreaded Query Blues? Instead of generating excitement, does your query letter put an editor to sleep?

 If so, author Victoria Howard can help.

One of her talents is transforming a dull query into an exciting read. If your query commits any of the three major sins: boring, boring, or boring, she can help. A boring query can stop us from succeeding because, if it's dull, no one will ask to read our beautifully-written novel.

For $25, she'll revise your query and take it from boring to exciting. A good query will get an agent and/or an acquiring editor's attention. And that's priceless.
 

Mystery,  intrigue, environmental disaster and love await Skye as she settles  in the secluded cabin in the San Juan Islands.  Meanwhile,  marine biologist Jedediah Walker has problems of his own. Victoria  Howard brings her characters and their emotional baggage to life in  Three Weeks Last Spring. Her vivid descriptions of the landscape enable readers to experience the beauty of the northwest United  States. Readers are drawn to Skye and Walker as their relationship goes from bad to good and back again. Is it true love or simply  sexual attraction?

An  excellent read for a quiet afternoon. Just enough suspense to keep  readers interested, as well as a tantalizing romance. Recommended by  Reviewer.
        
To visit her website, click book cover or here

As an example of her query magic, here’s the first draft for her current book, House on the Shore, the second draft, and the final query which has generated excitement from the agents she queried:

1St Example for her latest work, House on the Shore:

Mystery and mayhem lie in wait for Anna MacDonald when she moves into her late grandmother's remote Highland croft.
 
That's the premise for my recently completed novel, HOUSE ON THE SHORE, a 70,000 word romantic suspense that takes the reader on a journey from the remote shores of Loch Hourn to Cape Cod.

University Lecturer, Anna MacDonald suddenly finds herself without a job and  unable to afford the rent on her fashionable Edinburgh apartment, retreats to the only place she has ever felt happy – her grandmother's croft on the shore of Loch Hourn. With no phone or neighbours, and only two border collies for company, Anna sets out to prove she can make it as a writer.
 
A spare of the moment decision has Luke Tallantyre, a renowned Cap Cod artist, sailing across the Atlantic in search of a new perspective for his paintings.  When his yacht develops a problem he drops anchor in Loch Hourn.  He rows ashore, and knocking on the door of the croft, asks to use the telephone, but the reception he receives is less than welcoming – in fact it's downright frosty.
 
Unable to comprehend why an attractive young woman would choose to shut herself off from civilisation, Luke takes it upon himself to warn Anna of the dangers of living in such an isolated place.  Anna is smitten at the outset, but resents his American ways and resolves to ignore him.  But fate has other things in mind.
 
When Anna's best friend is injured in an accident while driving her Land Rover, Anna finds herself fighting to save her home and her life, while protecting her heart from the enigmatic American artist who has sailed into her life.
 
 1st revision:
 
 Mystery and mayhem – and love – lie in wait for Anna MacDonald after she moves into her late grandmother's remote Highland croft.
 
That's the premise for my recently completed novel, HOUSE ON THE SHORE, a 73,000 word romantic suspense that takes the reader on a journey from the remote shores of a Scottish Loch to Cape Cod.  In addition to romance, it also involves a case of mistaken identity, abduction, and a treacherous mountain rescue.
 
The story begins when University Lecturer Anna MacDonald quits her job out of injured pride.  Her boyfriend (and boss) passes her over for a promotion in favour of his new fling.  Unable to afford the rent on her fashionable Edinburgh apartment, she retreats to the only place she has ever felt happy – the old croft at Loch Hourn. With no phone or neighbours, and only two border collies for company, Anna sets out to prove to herself she can make it as a novelist.
 
At the same time, a spur-of-the moment decision has Luke Tallantyre, a renowned Cap Cod artist, sailing across the Atlantic.  In addition to dealing with his own past, he’s in search of a new perspective for his paintings.  The yacht develops a problem, and he drops anchor in Loch Hourn.  He rows ashore and, knocking on the door of the first house he sees, asks its owner – Anna – if he can use her telephone. The reception he receives is less than welcoming – in fact, it's downright frosty.
 
Anna resents the cranky American’s intrusion.  Luke thinks she’s an ill-mannered hermit.  But fate has other things in mind, and draws the two together to struggle with the scars they bear from their pasts…and find new love.
 
But Anna is also being terrorised by a stranger.  Her Land Rover is vandalised.  Someone is prowling around the cottage at night.  Her best friend (and local psychic), Morag, has a solution:  let the big, strong American stay in the spare room to ward off intruders.  For a while, this works…until Anna’s tormentor finally reveals himself and his bloody intentions.
 
The final version, which has generated interest:
 
When Anna MacDonald leaves Edinburgh to find peace in the Scottish Highlands, she gets a twofold surprise:  a lost sailor teaches her to love again…while a mysterious stranger has plans to kill her.
 
That's the premise for my recently completed novel, The House on the Shore, a 92,000 word single title, contemporary romantic suspense.  This visually magical tale takes the reader on a journey from the remote shores of Loch Hourn in the Scottish Highlands to the singular beauty of Cape Cod.
 
Passed over for promotion by her boss—and boyfriend, Anna walks off the job in anger.  But being reactionary has its price.  Now she can no longer afford the rent on her Edinburgh apartment.  So she retreats to the only place she has ever felt happy – her grandmother's croft on the edge of a Highland loch.  With no phone or neighbours, and only two border collies for company, Anna sets out to finally achieve her lifelong dream; to write—and sell—the novel that has burned within her for years.
 
Luke Tallantyre, a renowned Cape Cod artist, has sailed across the Atlantic to escape an artistic dry spell—and come to terms with his dangerous past.  When his yacht develops a problem he drops anchor in Loch Hourn.  He rows ashore, and knocking on the door of the croft, asks to use the telephone, but the reception he receives is less than welcoming – in fact it's downright frosty.
 
Anna resents the cranky American’s intrusion to her seemingly idyllic life.  Luke thinks she’s an ill-mannered hermit.  But an unseen assassin is after one of them.  So they unwillingly join forces and embark on an adventure neither ever imagined…including a chance at true love.