The Traitor's War - Query Letter

Fantasy

400

Any and all feedback welcome. Be mean. The full novel is complete at 120k barring a few more edits on some of the rougher chapters.

Dear [agent],

The country of Vyrig is falling apart. The nobles are power hungry, the peasants are starving, and the King of Thieves has risen from the dead in the lawless north. Everyone assumes the attacks on the king come from the King of Thieves, but not all is as it appears in Vyrig, and traitor’s walk in their midst. My YA fantasy novel, The Traitor’s War, follows the intertwined stories of Alexi, heir to the throne, Terra, a noblewoman in a toxic home, and Garren, a peasant native to a distant country.

Alexi has despised the world ever since the tragic deaths of his sister and father. He wants nothing to do with plots, nor death threats, and especially not royalty. As the unwilling heir apparent to the throne, these are inescapable. Although engaged to young Terra, he is unwittingly charmed by his servant, a commoner separated a world apart by a rigid social hierarchy. His disdain toward the peasant class gradually creates a rift between them and blinds him to his true feelings toward her.

Terra lives a life of luxury in the capital. Anything she desires can be hers with the snap of a finger and the fleeting steps of a horde of servants. All she has to do is be the perfect lady her mother expects her to be - the person she does not want to be. Her struggle to emerge from her mother’s shadow causes her inner voice and outer persona to visibly diverge until crashing tumultuously back together. When at last she finds her voice, her family is murdered and she loses herself in pursuit of revenge.

Garren cherishes one thing beyond all else: family. So when his sister falls ill at the king’s feast, his world shatters. Worse, he learns that she was poisoned. As a peasant, his options are limited; keep his mouth shut or risk his head. When his lifelong dream of joining the knights is fulfilled he abandons his sister in pursuit of that dream. He is haunted by leaving her, especially after discovering how dangerous their situation is.

The Traitor’s War chronicles part one of an intended trilogy and clocks in at roughly 120,000 words.

Thank you for your time and consideration. Included is the first [30 pages]. I look forward to hearing back from you.

Yours truly,