Deborah Riley-Magnus recently signed with agent Robert Brown of Wylie-Merrick Literary Agency. Thank you Deborah for agreeing to this interview, and good luck with your book.

QueryTracker: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you’ve found representation? What inspired you to write it?

Deborah Riley-Magnus (rileymagnus): The title of the book is Cold in California, and it's a playful paranormal romance about a twice-dead vampire discovering that he has one last chance to earn heaven or hell. He and a mess of other dead supernaturals live in a West Hollywood warehouse where they keep their secrets and try to behave themselves. The inspiration was odd, since I don't actually like vampires, but I was intrigued by the culture shock one would face under such a strange situation.

QT: How long have you been writing?

DRM: I've been writing probably all my life. For twenty-odd years I was in advertising, marketing and public relations, writing for print, radio and television, but even as a kid, I remember writing original episodes for my favorite television shows. (I won't age myself by listing the shows, lol.) At thirteen, I wrote a sequel to my favorite novel ... longhand ... in five lined notebooks. I still have them.

QT: How long have you been working on this book?

DRM: This particular book didn't take long at all to write, but the editing, deconstruction and rewriting, well those tasks took three quarters of the thirteen months from concept to final 80,000 word manuscript.

QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?

DRM: Of course I felt like giving up. In fact, I actually hit bottom just two days before the agent requested a full manuscript, thinking that I'd been so close to the book, so twisted into the story and so deeply imbedded into the characters that I no longer knew if it was even any good anymore! Thankfully, my friends and beta readers slapped me back into line.

QT: What about previous book?

DRM: I had written two novels before I got up the nerve to vaguely believe I was good enough to approach an agent. After that I wrote and queried a very literary novel entitled Blind in the Light. When agents who had asked for partial or full manuscripts told me they seldom take on something so literary from a first time author, I started to rethink the market and what was seriously selling. Those included romance, paranormal, mainstream women's literature and memoirs. I figured I should try one of those genres.

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

DRM: The only extremely valuable training I have originated from writing 60 second commercials and 250 word press releases. It taught me a powerful economy of words and the importance of clearly getting the message across. Other than that? No formal training.

QT: Do you follow a writing "routine" or schedule?

DRM: Yes I do. One routine I am adamant about has to do with simply writing and writing often. I write everyday, sometimes for business (I am a publicist focusing on authors), sometimes its for fun (I have a writing website http://whispersofthemuse.org which features literary, fanfiction and flashfiction works from many authors), twice a week I write a blog entry http://rileymagnus.wordpress.com (which offers tips to help authors of all genres and using all publications venues to be successful). Every other week I add some update to the Cold in California site page http://deborahriley-magnus.com/CIC/ColdinCAMain.html, and every single day I write on a novel or other book project. I'm currently writing the sequel to Cold in California, a women's literary piece entitled 36 Full Moons, and a proposal for a series of nonfiction books on publicity for authors.

QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?

DRM: Is it fair to say a gazillion times? I began querying it last year and received so much response, I thought wow, this is it! But those responses turned into rejections and the rewrites began. I have to honestly say though that the real breakthrough came when I threw up my hands last November and cried out on twitter for a mentor. I offered to trade publicity services for a good eye and great advice and nothing ever worked out better. I learned more from that author then I imagined I didn't know! The novel was replotted, deconstructed and rebuilt then polished to a perfect shine before I began the query process again. In three months Cold in California went from being a really cool concept to a really good book. The hardest work I ever did.

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

DRM: I had several readers and beta readers, all of them on top of the project from the beginning. They caught everything from misused words to that nasty, sneaky head hopping, to plot incongruities to simple typos. They are the heroes here.

QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?

DRM: I always outline and tightly plot my literary works, but the original plot for this book was not outlined, or at least it was outlined loosely inside my head. The goal was to have fun with it, but later under my mentor's guidance, I learned the different basic plot outlines for various genres from romance to paranormal urban fantasy and adventure. I decided to bite the bullet and put the story into the correct number of acts with clearly outlined climaxes and resolutions. At first I was afraid it would seem too stayed for what I wanted to be a tongue-in-cheek concept, but I learned quickly that the bones are very important.

QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?

DRM: Cold in California has gone through two stages of querying. The first (and yes, I did the ultimate no-no) I began to query just to see if there would be interest in this weird concept about dead vampires. Imagine my surprise when suddenly four agents wanted to see a manuscript that wasn't exactly finished! I burned rubber working on it and honestly think that had I not been so curious about interest level, I might have done much better. The second round of querying just began on February 1st of this year. Before that I queried Blind in the Light for a few months.

QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?

DRM: According to my notes and QueryTracker, around fifty for Cold in California alone.

QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?

DRM: That's a good question because in truth, when I began the process for this book, I wasn't actually sure what genre category it fit into.Originally it was an urban fantasy so I shot for agents who rep fantasy. This time around, I called it a paranormal romance, although even my new agent isn't sure, explaining that it may simply fall under a category of "mainstream/paranormal/adventure" (?!?lol). After the rewrite, I selected agents who rep romance but also had fantasy under their listing. I also read their websites VERY carefully and discovered that a few agents or agencies I thought might be perfect actually despise vampire stories but love paranormal or supernatural romance. I was very careful.

QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?

DRM: Yes, I did. As I mentioned, I read everything I could find on the agency websites and agents I wanted to query. I followed blog links and went as far as following them on twitter to get a glimpse of how they think. After all that, it was easy to personalize the opening paragraph of my query letter. The process took a lot longer, but I dedicated Monday's to doing this so it went well.

QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?

DRM: Respect their business but respect your own work too. Personalize the opening in your query letter, after all, these are people just like us. Put your personality into your query letters and make sure you show your passion for the book, just don't go overboard. It is a business communication and should be professional. Have fun with the process, do all your homework and query with confidence. I think it might be like when you answer the phone with a smile? It somehow shows in your voice. Make sure your "voice" is in your letter. Never give up. Never stop trying to improve your work, and use QueryTraker!!!!!

QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?

DRM: Of course.

Dear Mr. Robert Brown,

I’d like to thank you for taking a moment to consider representing my 80,000 word paranormal romance, Cold in California. I'm approaching you with Cold in California because I believe the story offers a unique approach to paranormal romance with a hero and heroine facing slightly different and at times, entertaining challenges. I also wanted to extend my thanks for your helpful guidance in the February 11, 2010 "Opening to Romance" entry at the Wylie-Merrick Literary Agency blog.

What happens to a vampire after he dies? Cold in California playfully proposes that even the worst of the supernatural world gets one more chance to earn heaven. Vampire, Gabriel Strickland, rudely discovers this fact when he’s whisked from the incident that caused his final demise, and into a West Hollywood holding tank of sorts. He’s double-dead, but that doesn’t change what Gabriel wants. For nearly a century he’d been a loner, living apart from love and normalcy by necessity. As a twice-baked vampire, he’s determined to find happiness and earn heaven, but every challenge is a crisis of conscience and he must be careful – not an easy prospect while living with sixty other dead vampires, pixies, a legendary Navaho stick man and bothersome leprechauns, all struggling together to earn Brownie points against their natures.

It seems lovely Dori Gallagher can make everyone else’s dreams come true but never her own. She's nearly given up on finding her own joy until the day Gabriel walks into her office seeking employment. On the heels of jittering attraction, another handsome man, Nathan Cook, makes an offer she almost can’t refuse. Both men have secrets she never suspects. She chooses the rugged Gabriel and heated romance blossoms but in the midst of her happiness, Nathan Cook makes his move. Cook uses his skills as warlock to get what he wants – whether Dori is willing or not.

Rescuing her is tricky and keeping his secret is vital. Gabriel prevails but menacing forces continue to gather against him and all he’s come to respect. In the end it’s a fiery clash of supernatural verses supernatural in one valiant effort to save his new reality. The battle is won but not without heartbreak. Dori dies … only to surprise them all and return, for unknown to anyone, she too is supernatural. Dori is a muse.

Cold in California is the first of a tongue-in-cheek paranormal romance series. Future novels in this playful series include Monkey Jump, where Gabriel and Dori are manipulated by a Soul Eater out to sidetrack their good intentions; Amsterdam Damned, in which they discover the strangeness of a much older and far more dangerous European holding tank; and Homeward Bound and Gagged, where Gabriel takes a leave of absence from his duties to locate and rescue his mysteriously missing love, Dori.

I have a twenty-seven year professional background in marketing, advertising and public relations as a writer for print, television and radio. I’m currently a publicist representing authors facing the shifting publishing and marketing dynamic. I write novels of various genres from women’s literature to paranormal romance and am currently working on a series of non-fiction books to assist authors with their promotional efforts. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I live, work and write in Los Angeles, California.

Following is the first ten pages of the Cold in California manuscript as requested.

Thank you again for considering my query.

Sincerely,

Deborah Riley-Magnus