Wednesday, May 20, 2015

The Writer's Voice Query +250 Words

QUERY

When Charlie’s brother, Ethan, commits suicide at the beginning of summer, her religious father condemns him to Hell for sinning, making Charlie question things about her own faith for the first time. With both of her parents shutting down on her, Charlie finds comfort in playing card games with her Grandpa Ned who comes to stay with them. Then a mysterious boy named Hayden shows up on the front porch with a letter from Ethan which reveals a secret: Ethan was gay. 

Adjusting to this news, Charlie begins to wonder--if her brother kept this from everyone, then what else was he hiding? She sets out to track down Hayden, hoping he’ll lead her to more clues that maybe, just maybe, will give her the real answer she needs. Why did he do it? In her search to find her brother, though, she doesn’t expect to find herself hanging out at a shady bar, dog-walking, painting an unfinished mural, and falling in love. While her family is falling apart, Charlie learns how to put herself back together.

Guide Us Home is a 77,000 word contemporary YA novel that will appeal to fans of Nina LaCour’s Hold Still, Jessi Kirby’s In Honor, and Jandy Nelson’s The Sky is Everywhere


I hold an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and am currently an editorial intern at Entangled Publishing. 

Thank you for your consideration.


GUIDE US HOME

I hated tuna casserole. Always had. I hated it at church potlucks when my parents forced me to have a bit of it just to be polite, and now as I stood peering into the fridge and all I could see to eat were seven of the damn things, I hated the dish even more. They’d accumulated over the last two weeks--well-intentioned neighbors and church members had been arriving at our door with their arms full pretty much every day. 
I understood they were only doing the polite thing, paying their condolences and trying to feed us because they were worried that we would be too grief stricken to feed ourselves. And by the lack of other food items in the fridge, they may have been right on that last point, but still I was starting to resent the parade of happy housewives and their plastic tupperware which we “didn’t even need to worry about returning.”
My brother was dead.
Ethan.
He was gone, and stuffing ourselves with disgusting food wasn’t going to bring him back. If it was, I’d gladly scarf down all seven of these monstrosities, believe me. But since it wasn’t, I’d probably have to venture out to the grocery store at some point, because of the three remaining Webbs, somehow I was maintaining the tightest grip on reality.

I was just contemplating texting Brooke for a ride, since I knew she’d be happy to feel like she was helping, when the doorbell rang. Great, another one.

26 comments:

  1. Good luck in the competition! (Are you on Twitter, btw?)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good luck to you too! And yes, I am!
      https://twitter.com/tammysubia

      Delete
  2. I'm teary just from the query letter. I LOVE THIS STORY just from that. I would love to read this one day. Good Luck!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This story sounds amazing! Best of luck to you!

    -Rachelle

    ReplyDelete
  5. *happy dances* I GET TO READ IT! Hahaha!!! But seriously. Stories that deal with faith and gender identity/sexuality hit home for me. Plus, from the casserole alone I can tell we're dealing with a small, most likely southern town. All yeses! Everyone knows us southerns grieve with casseroles, lol. Best of luck Tammy! #TeamBrauning 😃

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  6. This sounds absolutely wonderful. Great query and absolutely wonderful 250. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I adore stories dealing with religion like this. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  8. i loved the last line of your query and enjoyed your 250. good luck :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. A great entry with contemporary relevance and an awesome voice. Best of luck!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your 250 are fantastic. And the story really hits home. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wonderful query and first 250! Best of luck!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think this is really, really strong. It stands out from a lot of the contemporary queries I've read, and I adore Charlie's voice. Best of luck!

    ReplyDelete
  13. This sounds really wonderful - and I love the voice in the opening :) Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Nice, solid writing here, with a directness that's essential for a sensitive topic. I also think your cast of characters is selected with care, allowing for context and balance. Good luck!
    Connie

    ReplyDelete