[QCrit] ARTSY, Adult Upmarket Contemporary Fiction, 85k, First Attempt
Hi guys! I've been a lurker and am always really impressed by everyone's thoughtful comments, so would love any insights you have on my query letter.
Dear Agent,
I am seeking representation for ARTSY, an 85,000-word upmarket contemporary fiction novel that combines the artist protagonist navigating grief and love of Lily King's WRITERS & LOVERS with the dark humor and mental health complexity of Meg Mason's SORROW AND BLISS.
Twenty-eight-year-old MFA student Natalie Papier watched her father—a celebrated painter whose creative obsession made him both brilliant and unreliable—destroy their family. As an eldest daughter, she's determined to be an artist "the right way" with a degree, no debt, and a steady paycheck. But when her father dies in a car accident, Natalie flies back to rural Pennsylvania for the funeral and finds herself repeating all of his mistakes: dropping out of school, racking up tens of thousands of dollars in debt, and taking a temp job to make ends meet. Then she discovers her father's secret series of disturbing self-portraits documenting his untreated bipolar disorder and is forced into the role of unwilling curator for the very legacy she's spent her life trying to escape.
Enter Alan Spears, Natalie's nerdy high school friend turned confident Air Force pilot who offers to help renovate a gallery space during his four-week leave. As they work together, Natalie grapples with whether an exhibition honors her father's brilliance or whitewashes his reckless behavior, especially as she sees herself becoming more like her father every day. As her relationship with Alan deepens, it's as much panic-inducing as it is wonderful. Is this love, or is she using him as a temporary anchor in the midst of her grief? When Alan receives deployment orders the morning of the exhibition, Natalie takes it as a sign to let him go for his sake as well as hers; she'll never be the partner he deserves.
This story is informed by my experience growing up with a father who struggled with bipolar disorder and substance abuse. I founded XXX, a marketing agency serving Fortune 500 companies, and I have an MBA from the University of Chicago.
Thank you for you consideration.