“My greatest gift has always been the ability to tell a good story.”
I am Barrett Laurie, an aspiring author, YouTuber, and LGBTQI+ activist. I am currently in the process of drafting my latest story with the goal of returning to the query trenches in spring of 2022.
In 2021, I queried literary agents for the first time. The book is a standalone YA fantasy with series potential. It’s an accessible urban fantasy that should connect with fans of The Fascinators and Infinity Son.
Bryson Laske is fabulous, it’s his circumstance that’s tragic.
Just before his fifteenth birthday, Bryson wakes up from a recurring nightmare finally able to remember the gruesome details. Buried within that horrible dream is a trove of dark family secrets about magic he’ll inherit once he ascends, and the relatives that want to kill him for it.
One little glamour spell turns his world upside down when he accidentally exposes his covert coven to the dark practitioners that have been hunting him. Witch-hunters descend on the South city St. Louis neighborhood Bryson calls home, putting everyone he loves in danger.
To make matters worse, an innocent is abducted by the dark coven searching for him. Left with no choice, Bryson has to embrace his newfound power in a race against time to save her without revealing he’s the one they seek.
I’ve always written as a form of therapy, keeping journals throughout most of my life. Writing became a respite and a way to be creative when my work life felt anything but creative. The idea for the story that would become my first novel I would query came from a vivid dream I had in 2010. Having reread that passage countless times over the next nine years, one afternoon in September 2019 I sat down to draft the book I finally felt was “good enough” to query.
The words in the Preface closely mirror the words I wrote back in 2010 when I woke up from the most vivid dream I’ve ever had in my life. While journals helped shell out the story, I’ve always been an observer of people. I enjoy considering what backstory someone might have that motivates them to act one way, or another. I find getting to know people makes for great character inspiration and often unlocks someone I could never have imagined. By the time I had three or four chapters written, the story had consumed me and I wrote constantly until it was complete. I’m still amazed that 92,000 words flowed out of me in a matter of weeks.
While this won’t be the book that gets me a literary agent, or the first book I will sell, it is the book that gave me the confidence to try. I shared a series of videos to my YouTube channel documenting my experience in the query trenches from beginning to the revise and resubmit at the end. I purposefully shared the highs and lows of querying in an effort to help other authors going through the same process.
As any writer will tell you, your first draft isn’t your last, so then comes the beta reading, peer editing/critique partners, and many, many subsequent drafts.
I have always been a lover of books, specifically MG/YA contemporary and fantasy fiction. When not tackling a new hobby, I can be found sharing content to my AuthorTube channel. The content I produce on my AuthorTube channel is focused o traditional publishing. I share content on author branding, author platform growth, my querying process, a monthly critique group live, livestream interviews with published authors, and some content about my journey with chronic illness, specifically Crohn’s disease. The goal of my YouTube content is to grow my community of writers and be a positive force within the small, but growing, AuthorTube space.
My husband Rick and I call St. Louis, Missouri home. We love showing guests the many treasures our beloved city has to offer from adventurous culinary experiences, live theater or music, and events in the many parks.
