GumboWriters: Sample Query Letter that Worked #27

Dear Heather, Mama told me not to tell stories, that they're just a bunch of lies. I don't agree. Life is the lie, and stories are all I have. I remember when CNN interviewed me; I couldn't believe I was sitting in that chair. I had come so far from being born to a schizophrenic birth mother where I witnessed at an early age drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness and abandonment; to being adopted by a domineering mother who was also a Pentecostal preacher and who finally died in my arms. I was on national TV promoting my first book and suddenly all that I had been through was worth it because I was finally put in a position where I could help so many people with my story.  Since appearing on CNN, I have sold over 7500 copies of my hardcover book called Who's the Mama: A Daughter's Memoir in just one year. It even shot to #1 on Amazon.com in the Alzheimer's and Aging Parents Categories. I became my publisher's #1 author and they anticipate the paperback to do quite well. I am now a full-time author and speaker. I speak to Alzheimer's organizations, churches, adoption and care giving groups around the country and several local and regional at-risk youth organizations.  I also travel nationwide doing sell-out shows promoting my first book and I've already generated more ideas about how I can promote the prequel as well. With passion, purpose and hard work Heather, I did it all on my own without a publicist. I'm hoping by working with the right agent, I will be able to connect with a larger publisher who will become an active partner publishing and co-promoting the prequel for this book. It is called WHAT DID I SAY Like Jeanette Walls' The Glass Castle or a non-fiction version of the Secret Life of Bees, WHAT DID I SAY, offers insights and explores adoption in ways that haven't been fully explored, and yet it's for all families—how we pull away from those we love, how we remember and how those memories change over time. It reveals just how complex the mother-daughter relationship is—and how fierce and tangled love is. Since those heartbreaking years as a child, I've been published in many magazines including Asian Lady's Journal, Classy Digest, Fishing Review, Southern Bell Magazine, and Chicken Soup for the Daughter's Soul. I'm a family adviser at Caretaker.com and have a syndicated blog at All I Can Give Foundation, both have thousands of subscribers. If you would like to take a look at my prequel, WHAT DID I SAY, please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, Eunice Apple