Sam Taylor (YA Fantasy)
Author: Sam Taylor (@jsamtaylor)
Age Range: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Agent: Allison Hellegers, Stimola Literary Studio
The Query Letter:
Dear Allison Hellegers,
I'm a Swoon Reads author alongside Shani Petroff; she mentioned you will be joining the Stimola Literary Studio soon and are looking for authors to add to your list. My debut YA dark fantasy, FLINT FLARE FLAME, will be released with Swoon Reads in Winter 2021. In the meantime, I'm seeking representation for my YA historical fantasy, WICKED IS THE WITCH, complete at 78,000 words.
Seventeen-year-old Rakel is the most dangerous type of witch: she invades minds and steals secrets. It’s 1904, and Viking-age magic is still revered in this alternate Iceland … except for Rakel’s illegal powers of mind-manipulation. But Rakel is indentured to Einar, a magician pimp and ruthless blackmailer. She must use her magic to steal secrets for him, or Einar will turn in Rakel to the police.
Desperate to escape Einar's treachery—and the stigma of her magic—Rakel cuts a deal with the ambitious owner of a steam-powered company. In exchange for help fleeing the country, Rakel commits to one last mind-heist. She must rewrite the mind of the union leader determined to strangle Iceland’s growing steam industry.
This task is not a one-witch job; old Viking spells protect the union leader's mind. Rakel recruits Einar’s other indentured magicians along with dangerous allies—fellow witches with forbidden powers. Soon caught in the cogwork of crooked politics, a steam empire, and betrayals, Rakel’s magic fractures. The more she infiltrates others’ minds, the more she's swept up in hallucinations … until she’s no longer sure what's real.
With her mind weakening daily, Rakel must choose: abandon the heist and its promise of freedom to preserve her remaining sanity. Or complete the job, but risk losing her mind and landing her entire team in prison for the rest of their lives.
WICKED IS THE WITCH will appeal to fans of Holly Black’s CURSE WORKERS trilogy as well as Emmy Laybourne’s BERSERKER.
This story is a finalist for YARWA's 2019 Rosemary Awards. Last year I won first place in the Rosemary Awards for FLINT FLARE FLAME, and I've also received the New Voices in Children's Literature Tassy Walden Award. Below, I've included the first ten pages as a sample. Thank you for your time and consideration.
BONUS: Buy Sam Taylor’s debut novel!
WE ARE THE FIRE—mentioned in this query letter as FLINT FLARE FLAME!—is available for purchase here, or you can snag a signed copy here!