In late 2021, I wrote the first draft of my novel, THE RAINBOW KILLER, A MARY DUBOIS THRILLER. Little did I know that it would take me through to July 2023. The truth is, I didn’t know how long it would take me to write the novel or that I would even lose count of the number of drafts necessary to complete it. Here’s the thing, though; I got through the process.

Searching out which literary agents I should send query letters to was challenging. I needed to be sure that they were looking for thrillers and had to be LGBTQ+ friendly. I got picky, opting only for those agents searching for voices like mine. And to date, I sent off about a dozen queries. Not that I won’t send more, but I am being careful. I also sent the excellent people at Brainspired Publishing my manuscript for their perusal since they are the publishers of my memoir BREAKING FREE: 45 YEARS IN THE WRONG BODY and were so kind as to free me from their right of first refusal.

There is one query letter that I am hesitant to send off as it would be the follow-up to one sent to that agent six months ago. They (the agent) said they would be willing to review a significantly revised version, and I think I’ve much improved the story and every other aspect that goes into writing it. That one makes me nervous, but I will send it.

Joelle