Success Story Interview - TR Rowe

An Interview with TR Rowe (RoweWriter on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Dorian Maffei of Kimberley Cameron & Associates.

01/13/2025

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

TR Rowe:
Through the Trees is an adult horror-romance novel about two ex-best friends who are forced to reunite when one of them returns to their abandoned childhood church camp and digs up a time capsule containing a monster from their past. It deals with themes of religious trauma, self-acceptance, and finishing what you start. It also has a lot of Dungeons and Dragons references throughout because I'm a nerd and so are my characters! My own heavily religious upbringing and my day job in tabletop gaming inspired this novel.

QT: How long have you been writing?

TR Rowe:
I began seriously writing novels in 2017.

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

TR Rowe:
About two years now, on and off.

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

TR Rowe:
Yes, plenty of times! Allowing myself to walk away for a while whenever I needed to, and focus on something else, is what ensured I would always come back.

QT: Is this your first book?

TR Rowe:
No, this is my fourth book.

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

TR Rowe:
Nope. No formal training.

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

TR Rowe:
No. I've found putting that sort of expectation on myself isn't good for my mental health. I write when I feel like I'm in the correct mindset.

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

TR Rowe:
I'm very much an "edit as you go" writer, which means I take longer but I also end up with extremely clean first drafts. It's rare that I need to do an entire rewrite. Post some reader feedback, I probably did about two rounds of light revision on this manuscript.

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

TR Rowe:
I have a trusted group of critique partners and a wonderful writing mentor. I always have them read my work before I do anything with it.

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

TR Rowe:
I land somewhere in the middle between plotting and pantsing. I like to plot out all the major story beats, so I know where I'm going with my narratives, but how I get there very much comes to me while I write.

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

TR Rowe:
I began querying this book in September 2025 and received my offer of rep in Dec 2025.

Before that, I was actually agented with the first book I ever wrote/queried, back in 2018. But it was a fantasy novel, and I quickly lost the love for fantasy and parted ways with that agent. I tried again in 2022 to make fantasy work with my third novel, but almost right after I started querying I had the revelation that horror is my first love and what I should be writing, so I quickly pulled those few queries I had sent and started writing Through the Trees.

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

TR Rowe:
I sent 51 query letters.

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

TR Rowe:
Firstly, I made sure each agent I queried repped horror and that none of my novel's elements appeared on their list of anti-MSWL or triggers. Secondly, I looked for agents also seeking romantic plotlines and LGBTQ characters.

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

TR Rowe:
Yes. Nothing extensive, but I started each letter with my reason for querying this MS to that specific agent.

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

TR Rowe:
Protect your mental and physical health, first and foremost. There's nothing wrong with walking away when things aren't working or taking a break when you feel you need one. It's also great to have hobbies outside writing to distract you throughout the querying process!

Query Letter:

Dear [Agent],

[Personalization] I am excited to send you my dual-POV adult horror novel, THROUGH THE TREES, which recently won the 2024 Cheshire Novel Prize. Complete at 83,000 words, THROUGH THE TREES combines the atmosphere of Chuck Tingle’s Camp Damascus with the queer romance of Lee Mandelo’s Summer Sons.

As teenagers, Ben and Ike buried the shattered remains of their relationship in a time capsule at Camp Pentecost, along with a half-finished D&D campaign and a made-up monster. According to the church, it was all a sin. Better for both boys if they never spoke again.

Ben never intended to dig up the past, but seventeen years later, he finds himself cash-strapped and struggling. All he wants is to retrieve his family ring from the capsule so he can collect on his late father’s estate. He doesn’t count on something following him out of the abandoned camp, infecting his waking hours with impossible visions of Ike.

After a decade spent indulging his vices to smother religious trauma, Ike is one fistful of sleeping pills away from never waking up. When he gets a garbled phone call from Ben, begging for help, history comes crashing back—and when the two men reunite reality erodes. Wounds won’t heal, horrific creatures made of black string and burlap stalk the woods and church hallways, and a suspicious suicide paints a target on both men.

Torn between old grudges and an unresolved romance, the ex-friends must learn to work together, lest they lose their freedom and sanity all in one go. But the deeper they dig, the more they uncover links between the present and their last awful summer together. And the monster they thought they’d buried? It may not be so make-believe after all.