My Successful Query Letter

This year I'm participating in Pitch Wars, an incredible mentoring program for aspiring authors—which you can learn more about here. I'm serving as a Pitch Wars 2018 mentor, and one of the things the team thought would be helpful was for us to share our successful query letters with you. Here's mine!

Dear [agent],

It was a pleasure meeting you at the [X Writers Conference]. We spoke after your mystery writing panel. My 85,000-word mystery novel ARTIFACT is currently a finalist in the St. Martin's/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery competition, and was awarded a Malice Domestic Grant. [X editor] from St. Martin's made me her "Editor's Choice" pick at the [X Conference], and is interested in reading ARTIFACT even if it is not selected as the winner of the St. Martin's competition. 

Jaya Jones was born in India to an Indian mother and American father. Now a historian in San Francisco, she receives a mysterious package containing a jewel-encrusted artifact, sent by her ex-lover the same day he died in a supposed accident. Jaya soon discovers that the secrets of a lost Indian treasure may be hidden in a Scottish legend from the days of the British Raj. And she's not the only one on the trail.Jaya's quest to catch a killer and find the treasure takes her from San Francisco to London to the Highlands of Scotland. Helping her decipher the few cryptic clues she possesses are a devastatingly handsome art historian with something to hide, and a charming archaeologist running for his life. Evading a shadowy stalker, Jaya follows hints from the hastily scrawled note of her dead lover to a remote archaeological dig along the windswept cliffs of Scotland. When a member of the crew is murdered, she must figure out which of the scholars vying for her affections might be the love of her life—and which one is a killer.

The first in a proposed series, ARTIFACT introduces a new headstrong heroine for fans of Elizabeth Peters' adventure stories, but with a modern twist. Jaya is an Indiana Jones for the 21st century.

A bit about me: I'm the child of two cultural anthropologists, one from the southern tip of India, the other from Albuquerque, New Mexico. I spent much of my childhood traveling, and I have lived in all the countries where ARTIFACT takes place. I'm on the board of Sisters in Crime's Northern California Chapter, and am a member of Mystery Writers of America and Romance Writers of America.

This is the letter that led to multiple agents being interested in the book, and that helped me sign with the amazing Jill Marsal of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, who I've been with ever since.If you're querying agents, good luck!

Japanese Gargoyles (Onigawara)

As part of my research for the fifth Jaya Jones novel, I visited Japan. I'll share much more about that experience when the book comes out next year, but in the meantime here are a few of my favorite photos from the trip, beginning with onigawara — Japanese gargoyles!

Oni means demon, and onigawara means demon tile. These carvings adorn Buddhist temples and other buildings, much like European gargoyles adorn both Christian churches and many other buildings. 

Sanjusangendo Temple, Kyoto

Kodai-ji Temple, Kyoto

Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto

Dragon head at Kodai-ji Temple, Kyoto

And these aren't onigawara, but this was my favorite temple I visited: Otagi Nenbutsu-ji on the outskirts of Kyoto, past the famous bamboo forest. More than a thousand statues were carved by hundreds of people, many of whom were amateurs, but the figures they created show such character and humanity.

For some reason this magical place is off the beaten path, so we had it all to ourselves for almost half an hour. If you find yourself in Kyoto, I recommend the extra effort to get here.

And I'll end with a couple more of my favorite photos of Kyoto. The Jaya Jones novel set in Japan, The Ninjas Illusion, comes out in the fall of 2017.

Dragons at Kiyomizu-dera Temple

Autumn in Kyoto

Research for Jaya Jones Book 4 in Bomarzo, Italy

I recently returned from Europe, where I made three detours to work on my next two novels.First, the Renaissance "Park of Monsters" in Bomarzo, Italy. I got plenty of history and inspiration wandering through the labyrinthine paths of the macabre garden. I'm still in the middle of my research, so I'll let the photos speak for themselves. Oh yes, Jaya is going to have a grand adventure here...

Ex-pat mystery novelist Linda Lappin generously invited me to tea at her home, near Bomarzo -- which happened to be inside the walls of a Medieval Tuscan village! Linda is the author of the novel Signatures in Stone, set at Bomarzo. That's how we happened to meet online. I found her book when I was reading up on Bomarzo, and I greatly enjoyed it so I posted my review on Goodreads. Linda noticed it, and when she learned I was working on my own novel set at Bomarzo, she sent me links to resources, and then invited me to her home on my trip Italy.

In addition to Linda’s marvelous hospitality, I love the fact that GPS couldn't give directions inside the old car-less walled city, so she had to write out detailed instructions so I could find the place.

The last detour was Paris. I wanted to fact check a few things for the third Accidental Alchemist novel I'm working on (yes, I know the Internet exists, but this was more fun). I wasn't seeking out Rue Nicholas Flamel for my research, but I stumbled upon it on my last day in Paris. Time to get back to work on these books now.