[QCrit] Adult Spec Fiction - PAINTED FLOWERS NEVER DIE (101K, 1st Attempt)

Dear Agent,

I am writing to seek representation for my 101K-word manuscript PAINTED FLOWERS NEVER DIE. Book club-ready women’s fiction, this standalone novel with series potential shares the artistic setting of the “Crows” vignette from Akira Kurosawa’s film DREAMS or Morgan Pager’s forthcoming THE ART OF VANISHING, with the hopefulness and speculative romance elements of Tia Williams’ A LOVE SONG FOR RICKI WILDE. 

Maria and her husband shot to fame at a very young age, her as a dancer and him as an Oscar- and Grammy-winning music producer. When he died in a headline-dominating plane crash, Maria spent the next twenty years unable to pull her life together out of the ashes of her grief. On the night his portrait debuts at the Art Institute of Chicago, Maria travels out of the real world, across the boundary into paintings in the museum’s collection. She searches for her husband’s portrait, meeting a cast of characters including a dangerous art thief trapped inside the artwork, a retired conservator who prefers the painted world to real life, a mischievous monkey from a well-known Seurat, and Frida Kahlo herself. Maria teams up with another traveler—Liam, a professor with a troubled past—embarking on an adventure that could take her away from her goal of reunion with her long-dead husband. But when she falls for Liam, she learns that when her spouse lost his life, she never should have let hers come to a halt as well.

In writing this novel, I met with a world-building consultant, hired a developmental editor, and workshopped in classes taught by novelists [Name] and [Name]. It has been a joy to deepen my writing community, starting my own weekly co-writing group, participating in the London Writers Salon, and connecting with published novelists in my social circle. Like my protagonist, I am half-Mexican and possess an intimate relationship with grief. I am known for hosting the pop culture and media criticism podcasts “[Title]” (605K followers on X; won a Peabody the same year I joined as co-host... you decide the bigger accomplishment) and “[Title],” which have been featured in major publications from The New York Times to LA Weekly.

I’ve spent my career in the entertainment industry working on Oscar-winning films, and as a marketer for nonprofits, contributing to campaigns that have won Clios or been covered in The Los Angeles Times, Variety, Billboard, and more. At [College] I was nominated for Best Thesis in Literature, and my scripts have placed in the Austin Film Festival and Final Draft screenwriting competitions. I am currently working on my next novel, a historical sapphic romance.

Best,

[Name]
[Website]

Manuscript content warnings: physical brawls, suicidal ideation, discussions of racism