Holly Vance

3 July 2010

Ethan Ellenberg
Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency
548 Broadway, #5E
New York, NY, 10012

Dear Mr. Ellenberg:

The Artist, a 98,000-word suspense novel set in both Las Vegas, Nevada and Long Beach, California,
is the story of Corey Malone, a Las Vegas homicide investigator, who after six unsuccessful months of
trying to capture a serial killer, abandons the conventions of her profession and a life with the man she
loves in order to stop him. This killer, branded “The Artist” based on the graphic post-mortem displays
of his victims, preys on UNLV students who mirror Corey’s appearance and point to a dark secret from
her own college days. Thirteen years prior, Corey and her UNLV roommate taught The Artist a
“lesson” about dominance and control which triggers what appears to be a murder suicide that Corey
believes she narrowly escaped. Now, after years of hiding behind his falsified suicide and with the
help of a malicious accomplice who thwarts Corey’s efforts to protect innocent victims, The Artist has
resurfaced to punish her for her mistreatment of him and then to destroy the only two people she has
ever truly loved: her partner and lover, Damien Smith, and his teenage son. Her determination forces
her into a sexually and psychologically submissive relationship with this sadistic psychopath that
culminates into an explosive ending in which Corey hopes to kill a killer with impunity and avoid
facing her own dreadful demise.

In the same vein as other strong female protagonists like Clarice Starling from Thomas Harris’ novels
Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, and Lt. Eve Dallas from J.D. Robb’s in Death series, Corey
Malone’s story will continue after The Artist. As highlighted in your article “Artist or Entertainer,” I
feel that The Artist can begin a franchise, entertain a wide readership, and satisfy my internal artist. I
look forward to learning how to balance the integrity of artistic expression and meeting the demands of
a fan base.

As to my credits, my vampire short story, “Rosemary for Remembrance” received Honorable Mention
by the Ligonier Valley Writers and the West Overton Museums for the 2007 Vampire Writing Story
Contest and was also published in Dark Fire, issue 36, in October of 2008. The Artist is my third
completed novel. I will also have a non-fiction piece appearing in a commercial, bathroom-reader
collection, entitled This Book Is the Sh*t. I understand that multiple-genre writers are not what
publishers value, but I believe that having the skill to succeed in multiple genres reflects a writer who
has the potential to adjust to changes in the market.

Thank you for taking the time to read my query letter and consider me as a possible client.

Yours very truly,

Holly Vance