PEARL Query Letter

March 3, 2013

Instant Publishing Query Letter Contest

The year is 1923. The Santa Rita oil well has hit the pay and money is flowing! Thirteen women have come to work at Miss Pearl’s Parlor, a successful business specializing in entertaining men, in San Angelo, Texas. These are their stories.
Daughter of Irish immigrants, Victoria Pearl McDougal was born in Aurora, Illinois in 1878. After losing her parents and a love affair gone wrong, Victoria moves to Chicago and finds a job as a librarian. One autumn day, while sitting at Grant Park she is solicited by Minna and Ada Everleigh to work as a courtesan at the Everleigh Club, an elegant parlor that caters to an exclusive, wealthy clientele. On opening night, February 2, 1900, the exquisitely lovely Victoria Pearl meets a ruggedly handsome Texas rancher, Robert McKnight and falls in love. Throughout the next few years Robert visits Victoria on his business trips to Chicago and finally in 1904, brings her to Texas to live on his ranch. Within two years after their marriage, Victoria gives birth to twin boys and for 15 years Robert and Victoria share an amazing love story. Tragically, in 1919, Robert dies of the Spanish flu and Victoria Pearl goes into deep depression.

Enter Mozella, a black housekeeper from Victoria’s years at the Everleigh Club who becomes her saving grace. One day, while visiting San Angelo, Texas, the two women see a mansion for sale on the Concho River and decide to use the money and the knowledge obtained at the Everleigh Club to open a business Victoria names, “Miss Pearl’s Parlor.” A few months later Victoria’s courtesan friend, Madeline, contacts her from New York about a West Texas oil drilling project her sister and some associates are looking to invest in. Victoria goes to Fort Worth to investigate and after speaking to Frank Pickrell, she highly recommends the project. She and Mozella invest in the wildcat venture as well. After a year and a half of drilling, overcoming major challenges, tenacity and perseverance, on May 28, 1923 the Santa Rita No. 1 finally hits the pay in Big Lake, Texas, and San Angelo becomes an oil boom town. Money is flowing and business is good!

Thirteen women have come to work at Miss Pearl’s Parlor. Along with Victoria and Mozella their names are, Katie, Annabelle, Ginger, Betsy, Maggie, Lucy, Heather, Sarah, Redbird, Harmony and Emma Grace. The book tells each of their stories and describes the events in their lives that brought them together at a time when widows, orphans and single women with no family support had very little options to survive on their own. Victoria maintains the high standards of the Everleigh sisters, insisting her girls read every day and conduct themselves as refined, desirable, elegant ladies.

Pearl is a historical fiction for women of all ages and men who want to understand women better. The book is based on historical facts and the stories of the girls are true. I simply created characters to tell the stories including the one about Suzy Poon Tang! Pearl is humorous, enlightening and offers a different perspective to our natural human nature.

Pearl began as a theatrical musical and the more I researched the more it grew into an 114,000 word manuscript. I wrote the 1983 country song of the year, Jose Cuervo (you are a friend of mine). Jose Cuervo was the first song I ever wrote and Pearl is my first novel. The sequel is already started. I have written two nonfiction books, If This Was Heaven… and Butterfly Moments, I sell at speaking engagements. As a composer I have had over 4 million downloads, and my music can be heard on the cable radio show, Soundscapes. Because I have been an entertainer for thirty years, Pearl was written to entertain and comes with its own music soundtrack. It is currently being made into a theatrical musical.
I appreciate the time you took to read this query letter. If you see this project as interesting, I look forward to hearing from you soon. In the meantime you can visit www.theladypearls.com and sample the music.

With aprreciation and gratitude,
Cynthia Jordan