Success Story Interview - T.R. Moore

An Interview with T.R. Moore (trmoore_ on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Allegra Martschenko of Ladderbird Literary Agency.

04/09/2024

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?
T.R. Moore:
TKAG is a romantic eco-fantasy inspired by Princess Mononoke, in which an ex-soldier is deified to protect a beautiful forest god from an army that devastates the land. It features anti-colonialist themes, elements of shamanism, East Asian-inspired world building, and responsibly-written PTSD.

I was largely inspired to write this book after playing the video game Monster Hunter: World, in which your character explores a new land and works to colonize it through destroying the ecosystem to make it safer for humans. I had a point where I stopped and said, “We’re not the good guys in this story, no matter how bad we want to be.”
QT: How long have you been writing?
T.R. Moore:
Whew, a long time! I started writing (bad) poetry when I was nine years old and first introduced to Edgar Allan Poe. I wrote my first novel between 2017-2019, but I’m not sure you could call it a book!

All things considered, I guess that means I’ve been writing for almost 20 years! But I’ve only taken writing seriously for about 5 of them.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?
T.R. Moore:
The idea for this book took shape in 2022, but I started really drafting mid-2023. So about 8 months!
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?
T.R. Moore:
Absolutely. I wanted (and tried) to quit writing so many times. And every time, I’ve found myself asking: “What is life without passion?” Like, what was I going to do if I couldn’t write anymore? Nothing would have made me as happy, or have fulfilled me, as much as writing does.

So, I didn’t quit.
QT: Is this your first book?
T.R. Moore:
No! It’s my third!
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?
T.R. Moore:
I took an advanced writing workshop at university, where I was graded an A- simply for writing “too avant garde.”
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?
T.R. Moore:
I try to write every weekend and carve out time during weeknights to get as many words in as possible. It’s not much a schedule, but more like a commitment!
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?
T.R. Moore:
About 2.5 times. I did one major reworking of the plot before finishing the book in Sept 2023. Then, after a good round of alpha feedback, I did another revision. After betas, I did a quick edit and sent it off to the trenches!
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?
T.R. Moore:
Yes! I had 2 alpha readers and 2 beta readers.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?
T.R. Moore:
I always outline my books, otherwise I won't write! I'm a bit of a plantser, so in the middle of the two extremes where I *must* outline before I write, but I tend to go off outline while I'm drafting and have to finagle myself back into a structure along the way.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?
T.R. Moore:
I queried one book before this—a book that my current agent actually rejected after reading my partial. I queried that first book for about 3 months before calling it quits. Then, I queried my current book for a total of 8 weeks. At about 6 weeks, I had an offer.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?
T.R. Moore:
I sent 84 queries for TKAG, which is quite a lot. I ended up with 24 requests in total.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?
T.R. Moore:
First and foremost, if they represented and supported BIPOC and marginalized authors—something that's very important to me. Then, after general age and genre constraints, I picked agents who were looking for lush, non-western worldbuilding. I also looked for agents who wanted a strong voice, since my strongest suit as a writer is my prose. And that is exactly why my agent offered on my book!
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?
T.R. Moore:
Sometimes, but not every agent. I tailored my query depending on if the agent repped a novel or author that I really love, or if they were championing voices similar to mine. I also tried to personalize my query with elements that they listed on their MSWLs. I mentioned if they were looking for romantasy, or culturally-inspired worlds and stories, to open my query with.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?
T.R. Moore:
The best advice I can give is to write the next thing. My favorite quote in the world is "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take, even if there's only a 1-5% chance of scoring." -Wayne Gretzky. I've talked already in this interview about how I've wanted to quit writing before, and how I almost have. But if I had quit, if I had stopped with my first book, if I hadn't written the next thing, I wouldn't be here today. It's crazy to think about, to me, but every single time I kept moving forward, it was toward my dream. So, that's my advice. Keep moving forward.
QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?
T.R. Moore:
Always. If sharing my query letter could help someone with their own, then I want to be a part of that!

Query Letter:

Dear [Agent],

[Personalization]

Responsible for the death of his squadron, Basuin of Ankor doesn’t know what to believe in anymore. In a country where gods are outlawed, all he knows is life as an obedient soldier. So when his legion conquers a forested island, Basuin follows. But he can’t watch when his commander sacrifices a pack of wolf pups to challenge the gods—and dies trying to save them.

Impressed with his sacrifice, the Wolf God deifies Basuin for one simple task: protect the forest and its god from the legion’s deforestation. Burdened with the loss of his men, Basuin doesn’t want to protect anyone else. But when he meets the Forest God, a beautiful but sharp-tongued woman named Ren, he can’t ignore his duty. Ren’s dedication to peace challenges his instinct for war, and Basuin is enchanted by seeing the forest through her eyes.

As his feelings for Ren grow, so too does the threat of the army, as every branch the legion burns in the forest mottles Ren’s skin. After the legion razes Ren’s spirit village to the ground, Basuin knows they must stop his commander from destroying the forest—an act that will destroy Ren, too. But Ren doesn’t want any more bloodshed, and though Basuin will do anything to save her, starting a war is easier than forgiving himself for his failure to protect his men.

Teetering on a precipitous choice between war and peace, TO KILL A GOD is an adult fantasy romance at 96,000 words. It combines the dark and godly world of Hannah Kaner’s GODKILLER with the magical romance of Hannah Whitten’s FOR THE WOLF.

Like Basuin, I’m queer, Asian, and struggle with PTSD. When I’m not setting my air fryer on fire (which only happened twice) or arguing with the Duolingo owl about Korean, I’m making zillennial memes for a large corporation’s social media presence.

Thank you for your time and consideration,
T.R. Moore