Success Story Interview - Brooke Shaden

An Interview with Brooke Shaden (brookeshaden on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Kristen Terrette of Martin Literary Management.

01/16/2024

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?

Brooke Shaden:
ROOTSIGHT is a YA fantasy novel about a world only kept alive by Asharell, their dying God Tree who needs a new soul to survive. Gaielle, isolated and outcast for keeping the dangerous roots growing under the flesh of her arms a secret, is thrust into the spotlight when a terrible accident pushes her to put the final, fatal crack in their God Tree. Gaielle must learn control to save everyone, or doom her people to a slow, painful death.

Throughout all of my work, I explore connection to the self and to nature, often through the lens of grief and mortality. By creating a book about a girl who fears connection, who is held back by her fear of losing control, I felt I could explore those ideas in more depth. I have often found myself struggling with the ideas, and what better way to continue that study than through my MC.

QT: How long have you been writing?

Brooke Shaden:
I became novel-curious ten years ago, but started writing in earnest in 2018.

QT: How long have you been working on this book?

Brooke Shaden:
Since 2014. I had the same idea again and again, until I finally realized I had started seeing the characters as friends, yet hadn't written a word about them!

QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?

Brooke Shaden:
The process of making art is like a birdcage, one that helps gather and contain everything you need to express, and one that opens only when you're ready to release it. It's the opening of that door that helps me look forward, envisioning the words that gave me life speaking to someone else one day.

QT: Is this your first book?

Brooke Shaden:
ROOTSIGHT is my first novel, but I have published photography books, both how-to and fine art, in my "other" professional life.

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

Brooke Shaden:
I hold a B.A. in English Literature.

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

Brooke Shaden:
I find it vital to understand what hours of the day you are most productive, and then utilize them. For me, it's 6am-noon, so I usually spend those hours in deep work.

QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?

Brooke Shaden:
Ten times. Instead of moving on to write other stories, I let this work be my 10,000 hours (though let's face it, it became far more than that).

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

Brooke Shaden:
Yes, I have a writers group that meets bi-monthly, and I hired an editor to go through developmental and line edits with.

QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?

Brooke Shaden:
Outline.

QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?

Brooke Shaden:
I began querying in January 2023 with a small batch, but decided to make some major adjustments and go through a line edit through the summer. I began querying again in September 2023.

QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?

Brooke Shaden:
I sent out about 30 query letters.

QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?

Brooke Shaden:
I create dark art, so it was important to me to find an agent who fundamentally felt that exploring beauty in darkness was worthwhile. My search narrowed to those agents who might see the light in a darker YA book.

QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?

Brooke Shaden:
Yes, I did research on each agent and was sure to mention why I felt their worldview might align with the themes in my book.

QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?

Brooke Shaden:
Get a writing group, get beta readers, hire an editor for both developmental and line edits, and above all: write in service to the impact your story could have on the world.

QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?

Brooke Shaden:
Happily!

Query Letter:

Dear Ms. Terrette,

When I read you enjoy unique friendships, challenging family relationships, and don’t need a totally happy ending, I was thrilled to send you my query. ROOTSIGHT is a 93,000-word YA fantasy novel focusing on second-world religious mythology as in THE WOLF AND THE WOODSMAN, and imminent environmental collapse like THE NATURE OF WITCHES. ROOTSIGHT is about a world only kept alive by a single dying God Tree that needs a new soul to survive.

Gaielle protected the secret of the roots coiled under her arms for 17 years, bringing her to the brink of self-destruction. As their God Tree, Asharell, dies, Gaielle can’t hide any longer. Forced to evacuate her home, she toils to learn control only after mortally wounding her mother and putting the final, fatal crack in Asharell. Gaielle becomes a fugitive with her new friend Aurin in search of her exiled twin, Graelore, and the two boys begin falling in love.

Gaielle must summon the worthiness and confidence to choose: sacrifice the many to guarantee safety to a few or risk complete destruction to save everyone, the price of which is her brother’s life. If she fails, toxic dust will accelerate its descent, sentencing her entire civilization to a painful death. If she succeeds, Gaielle will lose the only family she has left.

I have been an artist for 14 years, focused on our relationship between nature and grief, with an audience of over 1.2 million unique followers. My nonfiction book sold 10,000+ copies in 2012. I am sponsored by Sony and Microsoft and am on the speaker circuit giving 20+ lectures per year to groups of thousands.

Thank you for your consideration,
Brooke Shaden