Successful Queries: Sheyla Knigge and “Soulgazer,” by Maggie Rapier

Welcome back to the Successful Queries series. In this installment, find a query letter to agent Sheyla Knigge for Maggie Rapier's debut novel, Soulgazer.

Born in the South with a healthy streak of wanderlust, Maggie Rapier is an incurable romantic who loves nothing more than wordplay and witchcraft—except, perhaps, her sourdough starter. When she’s not marketing French antiques or writing about moody girls and sexy pirates, you can find her wandering in the woods with a basket in hand.

Dear Sheyla,

Saoirse yearns to be powerless. Cursed from childhood to sense others’ emotions, glimpse their futures, and occasionally summon death, she manages to imprison the magic within herself, living under constant terror that one day, it will break free. 

And it does. Stealing her brother’s life. 

Horrified at her loss of control, Saoirse’s parents offer her to the Stone King, who agrees to have her so long as she bears his child and asks for nothing more. But Saoirse wants more. Trapped in a cruel marriage or by her own, catastrophic magic, there is only one clear path forward: Saoirse must break the curse. 

On the eve of her betrothal to the Stone King, Saoirse seeks out Faolan—a feral, silver-tongued pirate—who swears he can rid her of the deadly magic if she’ll use it to locate a mythical isle first. Crafted by the gods, it is the only land that could absorb her power, and make Faolan a legend in the process. But to protect herself from the wrath of her scorned betrothed, Saoirse adds one more condition. 

Faolan must agree to marry her first.

Using her volatile magic, Saoirse navigates underwater graveyards and attacks on the high seas—all while sharing a too-small cabin with the handsome pirate who now calls her his own. But with the Stone King advancing and secrets piling up around them, Saoirse uncovers a truth so devastating it destroys what fragile hope for freedom she had left. 

Saoirse is not the only one hiding a curse. And this one will change the fate of their world forever. 

SOULGAZER is a Celtic-inspired, Adult Romantasy complete at 90,000 words, with the aesthetic of Pirates of the Carribean, and the tone and crossover appeal found in Shelby Mahurin’s Serpent & Dove.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Maggie Rapier

Bookshop | Amazon

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I felt Maggie’s book before I read it. I had been following Maggie on social media after a dear friend of mine tagged her. She had no idea who I was, but still I followed; reading every poetically penned post until I saw one that snagged my heart—she was going to be querying soon.

I had been waiting patiently for an opportunity to read a book penned by someone who was obviously such a talented writer, but as a baby agent unopen to queries, I had to get her attention. Luckily for me the same friend who had tagged Maggie oh so many months ago sent along my information, and Maggie in turn, sent along her query and a playlist.

I was hooked from the offset of our main characters meeting. With music and words, Maggie swept me up into Saoirse’s story and I knew in those first two chapters that this was one I desperately needed in my life. From its Celtic inspiration to its silver-tongued pirate who had me swooning from the first time I saw his wolfish tail, I was completely swept away by the magical world Maggie crafted with her words.

My Adult Romantasy debut, Soulgazer, was once a YA Fantasy titled To the Waters and the Wild that was ultimately rejected over a hundred times. It was my second project I’d ever queried, and the loss was so raw I toyed with the idea of never trying to publish again. But given a few years and a half-dozen rewrites, I found the core of this story: Saoirse’s wild desperation to give up her power, and the roguish pirate who refuses to let it happen.

I’ve read so many Romantasies about tough girls leading rebellions, trained by broody heroes—and I love them. But this story is not that. Saoirse is a soft, sad girl and Faolan is ridiculous, quick-witted, and wild. So in writing this fresh version of my query, I knew I needed to lean in to that: to start with Saoirse’s deepest desire and most fervent fear, and hope the agent reading it understood exactly the tone I was striking before they ever touched the page.

Thankfully, Sheyla saw that! But our story isn’t quite traditional. I’d just sent out my first few queries of this adult version of the book, and posted a whole dedicated story, reel, and social media campaign to a final goodbye, and it just so happens Sheyla had already followed me through our mutual friend, and was promoted just before she saw.

I will forever be grateful for my friend’s DM, and the rapid-fire email-to-call exchange Sheyla and I went through. We had a blissful, 3-hour phone call with bathroom breaks and lots of squeals over the potential of what this story could become, and I knew even before we’d finished that she was the agent for me! My story with Sareer was much the same.

Fun fact to end on: The first line of this query is the first line of our jacket copy, which thrills me to no end!

*****

After several years spent sleuthing through the submissions in Victoria Marini's query inbox, Sheyla Knigge (SHAY-luh KUH-nig-gee) is now actively using the skills she sharpened in that capacity to build her own dynamic bookshelf filled with the talented authors she currently represents. Sheyla is an expert at discovering fresh voices and relentlessly advocating for the successful publication of the stories she loves. Her unwavering enthusiasm for her authors is contagious, and she possesses an unrivaled ability to match authors with ideal homes for their books.

Sheyla is an active member of the AALA and a mentee for the Literary Agents of Change 2024-2025 Cohort. She can be found at various writers conferences across the country from the Writers' League of Texas Conference in Austin to the Atlanta Writers Conference, fulfilling her love of getting to work with authors one-on-one. Sheyla is also known for spotting universal book concepts with robust foreign potential, with major titles earning out their advances from global sales even before their domestic debuts. 

When she’s not working, you can find Sheyla tucked away writing, getting more tattoos, or spending time with her family in the Appalachian Mountains.