Success Story Interview - Morgan Forte

An Interview with Morgan Forte (OrcaOverlord on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Jonathan Rosen of The Seymour Agency.

05/11/2023

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

Morgan Forte:
My book, THE DEEDS THAT BIND US, tells the story of 16-year-old Amelia LeBlond, and how she faces her greatest fears: the skeletons of her family's closet, through the bond formed by happenstance with a lost and injured orca calf named Cheveyo.

I was inspired to write this by my late papa, who loved the ocean and orca whales. I have always been deeply interested (fine, obsessed) with orcas, and I wanted to create something for them that was meaningful, and that would inspire our youth to make up for everything humans have done to them.

QT: How long have you been writing?

Morgan Forte:
I have written ever since I knew how. I used to have a Winnie the Pooh notebook that I kept under my pillow, and I would write about my dreams (and my nightmares) and sometimes, I would turn them into stories. I started taking writing more seriously around age 11, when my teachers encouraged me to attend writers' conferences.

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

Morgan Forte:
I started this specific book around February of 2020, right before the pandemic. I wrote a majority of the first draft between July - August of 2022, and edited from August to October. I sent my first query on October 10, 2022.

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

Morgan Forte:
No, I never really felt like giving up. Sometimes, I thought about it, because querying is often demoralizing, but this was my dream since I was a kid, and I knew I couldn't give up, because I always felt like I was supposed to be an author.

QT: Is this your first book?

Morgan Forte:
This is the first full-length novel I've written and fully edited!

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

Morgan Forte:
Other than being in writers' clubs and attending conferences since I was younger, no!

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

Morgan Forte:
Not really. I write when I can. Usually, writing in public is best for me because I feel peer-pressured to get some actual work done instead of making moodboards.

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

Morgan Forte:
I queried THE DEEDS THAT BIND US on the fourth draft (probably a bit too early!)

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

Morgan Forte:
Yes, I did 4 rounds of beta reads for this book prior to signing with my agent, and 4 more after signing.

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

Morgan Forte:
I am a pantser by nature, but I usually create an outline at the 50% mark, once I have an idea of what the book actually is.

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

Morgan Forte:
I queried this book for 58 days before recieving my first offer of rep. This is the first book I've queried.

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

Morgan Forte:
124! (A LOT)

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

Morgan Forte:
I queried agents who repped YA contemporary, and I tried to query agents at agencies I knew about and that had good reputations.

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

Morgan Forte:
I did sometimes, if there was a super specific reason I queried them, or my MS was a close match to their MSWL, but usually I did not!

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

Morgan Forte:
Don't give up. Querying gets harder every year. This is an industry filled with rejection. Form your thick skin now, because it gets harder.

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

Morgan Forte:
Note: The title was changed from SONG OF CHEVEYO to THE DEEDS THAT BIND US on the advice of my team, for packaging reasons. :)

I have included my bio because it was something that agents often pointed out as a stand-out feature in personalized rejections, and I thought it might be helpful to show an effective way to write a bio section!

Query Letter:

Hi [AGENT]!

I am excited to present my young adult contemporary, SONG OF CHEVEYO, complete at 93,000 words. It combines a dark summer of uncovering family secrets akin to WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart, the atmosphere and style of Karen M. McManus, and the heists, juicy love triangles, and mild political drama of Netflix’s Outer Banks. [Personalization]


16-year-old Amelia LeBlond didn’t board her flight to Gran’s sleepy Canadian town, Tofino, with the intention of becoming a felon. On the contrary, this summer was supposed to be the most boring summer of her life, and she didn’t plan on making friends—especially not one with a tail.

When she’s invited to cliff-dive at Pacific Rim with the local teens, Amelia finds herself stranded and on the verge of drowning. She’s sure she’s imagining the young orca who saves her, but when the calf, Cheveyo, turns up at Gran’s cove lost and severely injured, she becomes determined to reunite him with his pod.

Amelia and her new friends record Cheveyo’s journey on social media, quickly amassing millions of followers. Their plan to release him comes to a halt when orcas start washing up dead all over the Salish Sea. Now they’ll do anything—lie, steal, and commit espionage—to protect Cheveyo’s family. Their investigation leads to a shady fishing charter and accidentally uncovers a long-kept government secret. When they expose the charter on national television, they find themselves playing a game that could cost them their lives.

Amelia must untangle a twisted web of lies and combat a group of dangerous criminals, all while navigating the pressures of instant fame and confronting a ghost from her past to save Cheveyo before it’s too late—for him and his pod.

SONG OF CHEVEYO is inspired by the true story of Luna, the lost orca adopted by the inhabitants of Nootka Sound. This book was written with the combined efforts of the Orca Behavior Institute, The Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and Administration, and Dr. Joe Gaydos at UC Davis, whom I consulted for accuracy. I minored in animal science at Clemson University, where I was the editor-in-chief of the AVS newspaper, AVS Corner, for two years. I spent time in South Africa working with tigers, and was lucky enough to visit the Southern Resident orcas in the San Juans this past September. I currently live in Tennessee and spend most of my free time catering to the every whim of my Doberman Pinscher, Maverick.

Thank you for your time and consideration!