Will my post-apocalyptic erotica novella find a home?
So……
………I have decided that I am going to query Ellora’s Cave books about my post-apocalyptic novella about Ana, the Amazon-like warrioress, her remote jungle home and the enigmatic fertility researcher who happens upon her exsquisite nude form as she is taking an afternoon swim after a long – and successful – hunt.
Wow. That was a mouthful. Try saying that really fast – you are guaranteed to run out of breath. My fabulous high school English teacher Mr. Ortwein once informed me in as gentle a manner possible that I am at times guilty of run-away (or run-on?) sentences like the one above. He did this in the cutest way: he drew a little run-away train going off the tracks saying “choo-choo” to give emphasis to his point.
Suffice to say, I remember this lesson well and as a result am now apologizing for the run-away train sentence you read, as well as any you may read in the future on this blog – or in my novels.
Back to the whole point of THIS post.
I am going to query Ellora’s Cave Books about Ana’s story (the title of which I soon have to decide on). It is an interracial/multi-racial sexy romp that I hope they will find delightfully intriguing. It is my hope that Ellora’s will pick up this title so that I can build a relationship and reputation with them for future work.
I am doing this not because I am entirely or largely dissatisfied with my other two publishers, Extasy Books and New Concepts Publishing, but because Ellora’s Cave seems to have a fabulous reputation, a large following/readership and will potentially offer greater exposure for moi, the amateur authoress Amanda M. Holt (or my chosen pen name).
Now, I pose this question to any who might listen and offer an opinion: should I query Ellora’s Cave with the suggestion that I publish Ana’s story under my own name – Amanda M. Holt – or publish Ana’s story under a pen name (such as Alexandra Gayle, the nom de plume that I am just ITCHING to use, as it is a combination of the names of both of my Godparents).
What to do, what to do?
Please advise.
Sincere regards,
Amanda M. Holt
p.s. – for those of you who don’t know what a query letter is, it can be best described as A) A query letter is a formal letter sent to magazine editors, literary agents and sometimes publishing houses or companies (Wikipedia definition) and B) A brief written presentation to an agent or editor designed to pitch both the writer and the book idea (definition from brochure-design.com )…C) a query letter basically asks if a publishing house would be interested in seeing your work (or a sample of your work — my simplest definition)…Now here I go, aiming to find time in my Nursing Student schedule to pen an attention-grabbing query letter!
The Novels of Amanda M. Holt 