The Query Letter that got me 4 full manuscript requests!
Dear Agent,
I am seeking representation for A CURSE OF LOVE, a standalone romantasy complete at 110,000 words with series potential. It's a Beauty and the Beast retelling with a mythological twist and hunky gods, which will appeal to readers who enjoyed the lyrical prose and headstrong characters of When the Moon Hatched.
Shadow’s sister was taken by a demon and dragged across the universe. Now, Shadow only sees her sister when she’s astral projecting. All Shadow wants to do is find her, but first, she must survive in a city where magic is currency and it flows through everyone’s blood—except hers.
As if things can't get any worse, the Goddess of Love decrees that all mortals must wed by week's end, and Shadow's boyfriend abandons her for another woman. Heartbroken, she's swayed by a handsome stranger who whisks her away to the Castle of the Four Gods. There, she learns that Augustine is no ordinary suitor. He's the God of Dreams, who is destined for eternal damnation in purgatory unless he earns her love within a week.
Imprisoned by the God of Dreams and longing for her sister, Shadow finds a silver lining amidst the darkness: a statue. Legend has it, if Shadow reveals her most guarded secret to the statue, she will be granted one wish. A chance to finally reunite with her sister across the universe. Undeterred by the consequences of freeing a vengeful deity encapsulated in a stone statue, Shadow sets out to uncover her greatest secret of all—by confronting her past and unraveling a lifetime before, one where her heart already belonged to the very god she has vowed to scorn, and her sister never existed at all.
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Elizabeth Burke Author
Dark romance.
Cursed gods.
Blood magic.
Purgatory.
Upcoming ARC Release: A Curse of Love
​One curse.
Four mortal girls.
Seven days before the gods are damned to Purgatory forever.
Shadow’s whole life is flipped upside down after her boyfriend breaks up with her at a coffee shop. Now, she must survive in a world where bloodmagic is currency, and she has none. Enter Augustine. He's handsome, charming, and just cynical (and witty) enough to capture Shadow’s attention. At first glance, he seems like the perfect answer to her problems. That is, until she learns that he’s secretly the God of Dreams, and he lives in a castle with all of his deranged siblings.
After being imprisoned within the castle walls, Shadow quickly learns she isn’t alone. Three other women share the same fated rules: fall in love with your assigned deity by week's end, and your life will be spared. Fail? And you will be murdered. So naturally, the women come together to make a plan. Don't fall in love, and the curse will condemn all the gods to Purgatory. If someone fucks up? The others are dead.
But that’s the tricky thing about love, isn’t it? It never plays by the rules.
Girl Power
Sexy Gods
Enemies-to-Lovers
Curses and Magic
Found family
Evil Queen
Parrot Friend
Quirky Romantasy
Plants & Murder
Upcoming BETA Read: Love Notes From Purgatory
Armona Godsend was once a merciless, immortal, pretentious queen. The kind of villain only written about fairytales. But everything changes the day she's banished to Purgatory. And now her only way out is to grow a heart a new heart from scratch. So, she sets out to find heart seeds in a desolate wasteland.
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There’s only one issue. Armona is no longer herself. Ever since her arrival, she’s been stuck inside the body of a mortal named Zoe Lark, a weak, pathetic, fickle-hearted little thing with dysautonomia to boot. And it’s not like Purgatory is some peaceful waiting room. It's a bureaucratic nightmare divided into rainbow-coded prisms, run by pixies who bite, and demonic-looking creatures called the Forsworn Ones. There’s also the Golden Rules to worry about, like no murder, no stealing, no prism-crossing, and absolutely no falling in love.
Cue the infamous Crispen Blackstone. A dangerous, powerful, seductive CEO with deep pockets and an affinity for creating his own rules—like erasing souls for fun. When he demands that Armona work exclusively for him, she finds herself in a tizzy. She doesn’t have time to work for the Grim Reaper of Purgatory. She’s far too busy trying to grow a new heart in order to escape from this hellhole.
And he's the last one who can help her.
Grim Reaper Love Interest
Get to know the author...
Elizabeth is a dark romantasy author who specializes in writing books about cursed gods, forbidden love, the afterlife, and blood magic. She graduated from the University of North Dakota with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 2018. Since then, she has resided in the Midwest, sometimes in psych wards, and also in la-la land. She is the mom of four beautiful children who inspire her to follow her dreams, and the wife of a wonderful man who inspires those dreams. You can find her on socials @elizabethburkeauthor.
