Baiting the hook
Monday, May 21, 2007 A few folks have asked about my query letter for The Panama Hotel, so here 'tis. I sent it via snail mail with a partial included, and as a stand-alone email query. I can't emphasize enough the need to boil your story down to one simple sentence. I remember an exercise at Orson Scott Card's Literary Bootcamp where he made us write our entire story/plotline on a 3"x5" card. A great exercise that I still use today. Okay, back to the query...
Dear Ms. Nelson:
I must admit I hate Asian stereotypes. You know the ones. Good at math. Hardworking. We all look alike. Come to think of it, that last one might hold water. After all, my father once wore a button that read “I am Chinese,” while growing up in Seattle’s Chinatown during WWII. It was the only thing that separated him from the Japanese, at least in the eyes of his Caucasian neighbors.
Sad, but true. Which is probably why my novel has a little to do with that particular piece of history.
Anyway, the working title is The Panama Hotel, and when people ask me what the heck it’s all about I usually tell them this:
“It’s the story of the Japanese internment in Seattle, seen through the eyes of a 12-year-old Chinese boy, who is sent to an all-white private school, where he falls in love with a 12-year-old Japanese girl.”
But it’s more complicated than that. It’s a bittersweet tale about racism, commitment and enduring hope––a noble romantic journey set in 1942, and later in 1986 when the belongings of 37 Japanese families were discovered in the basement of a condemned hotel.
This historical fiction novel is based on my Glimmer Train story, I Am Chinese, which was a Top 25 Finalist in their Fall 2006 short-Story Competition For New Writers. An excerpt was also published in the Picolata Review.
Think Amy Tan, but with a sweeter aftertaste.
Thank you for your consideration and time,
Jamie Ford
1909 Mountain View Drive,
Great Falls, MT 59405
(406) 453-9229
jford@iwendt.com
www.jamieford.com
THE PANAMA HOTEL
Historical Fiction
89,000 words / 358 pages
About the author: James “Jamie” Ford grew up near Seattle’s Chinatown and is busy writing his next novel, Rabbit Years. In addition to his Glimmer Train accolades, he took 1st Place in the 2006 Clarity of Night Short Fiction Contest. Jamie is also an alumnus of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers.
He hangs out at www.jamieford.com and has been known to eat jellyfish, sea cucumber and chicken feet on occasion.
(With that in mind, can you boil your book or story down to one sentence? Screenwriters call it a logline. What's yours?)
Reader Comments (8)
But I can't believe you eat sea cucumber.
Here's my throughline for my current WIP:
FEAR OF THE KNOWN
"An unwilling hitman becomes part of a crime syndicate that reaches back to turn-of-the-century Sydney."
One thing, you might want to delete your address and phone number from the post.
Jamie, ignore the men in kevlar jumping out of the black helicopter on your front lawn. They usually stop shooting once they realize they went to a hoax address (again).