Jennifer K. Morita combines her experience as a journalist, love of food, and knowledge of Hawaii in her upcoming mystery debut, The Ghost of Waikiki (set for release November 2024). The book follows unemployed journalist, Maya Wong, who reluctantly takes a job as a ghost writer for a rich developer in her native Hawaii. She ends up using her investigative chops to look into a mysterious killing, endangering her life, and bringing her into unexpected contact with a former love interest.
I’m really looking forward to this one – both for the intriguing premise and because editor Sara J. Henry has a taste for complex characters with a dark side.
Morita kindly shared the query letter that landed her an agent. I really like how she personalized the letter. Morita mentioned that her agent, Lori Galvin, used to be an editor for America’s Test Kitchen and edited several cookbooks. In her query, Morita puts their shared love of food front and center. The letter also makes it clear that she has the background to write this book: a connection to journalism and Hawaii. Finally, Morita succinctly and clearly summarizes her book, includes appropriate comparisons, shows that it’s an appropriate word length, and lets the reader know it can function either as a stand-alone or as the beginning of a series.
Dear Lori Galvin,
Thank you for your interest in the #HivePitch Tweet for my manuscript Ghost of Waikiki, a traditional adult mystery. I’m a big America’s Test Kitchen fan and like to weave cooking into my writing. Complete at 87,000 words, my book deals with themes of family, food and culture, and revolves around a down-on-her-luck storyteller trying to find her way home.
Rootless, out-of-work reporter Maya Wong knows a good story is like good mochi - a nice chew with a hint of sweetness - the kind of stories that matter.
Ever since the newspaper she worked for went belly up, she’s had to settle for freelance assignments like “How to Get Men to Swipe Right” to make ends meet. She reluctantly returns to her native Hawaii to be a ghostwriter for rich, influential developer Parker Hamilton.
But when an old man dies under suspicious circumstances, Maya discovers a connection between her new employer and a woman who disappeared twenty years ago.
A burglar hits home, and another body drops. But Maya can’t stop digging for clues, even if the grumpy detective in charge turns out to be her ex.
Convinced the answers lie in the past, she combs museum archives, trawls online databases and spies on her employers, risking her career and her life to stop a killer.
I am a former reporter for The Sacramento Bee, currently freelancing, and a fourth-generation Asian American who lived in Hawaii for several years as a child. I am a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.
This standalone book is the first in a proposed series. It is endorsed by mystery author Laura Jensen Walker. It would fit well on a shelf next to Naomi Hirahara’s Iced in Paradise and Jesse Q Sutanto’s Dial A for Aunties.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Jennifer K. Morita
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