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Reply To: Example Cover Letter

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#1896
Alan Rain
Participant

Ah, the difference is the crash / crush. The story I read was def. the former and it was long before 2015, so certainly not yours.

My novel is about a manananggal possession.

This is my current cover letter:

Dear xxxxx xxxxxx,
I’m pleased to submit the opening 50 pages of my completed first novel, AnGal, a supernatural of 137,500 words, which I would describe as upmarket, borderline literary fiction. I’m writing to you specifically because of the close match between my novel and your preferences. I am choosing agents with care, and have only contacted two others.

The manananggal is a mythical, winged half-woman that feeds on its victim’s life force. Galina, a young Filipina possessed by a manananggal, flees her village for the squalid, neon-lit streets of Manila. There she meets James, an English aid worker, and Rozee, the girl he rescued from the aftermath of a typhoon years before. Both are inexorably drawn to Galina, but as attraction turns to obsession, all three find themselves in irreversible danger.

I started writing this novel when I was living in the Philippines. I had experiences there that aren’t easily explained. I also encountered the fears of the local people for this malign spirit. It became my goal to convey that mystery, together with an acute and appropriate sense of dread. It’s a novel that I believe would lie close to Susan Hill’s Dolly, where the supernatural is finely woven into the fabric of the story, and the result is both implacable and inescapable.

I’m happily retired, and have been able to devote time to fine-tuning this novel while planning the next. I also write poetry, formal and free format, and believe this helps me to refine my prose. I’m currently working through a proofreading course.

Thank you for your consideration. I hope you find the extract and synopsis stimulating, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours,
Alan Rain

Philippa, please let me know if you think it could be improved.

  • This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by Alan Rain.