Maybe you can help me with my memoir-Perfect Peter (And why I hated him)
Dear Friend,
On August 18, 2020, I pressed “publish” on my blog and felt more fear than hope. Why? For the first time I revealed the self doubt that I’ve hidden throughout my life, then exactly where it came from. I felt vulnerable, and weak. Thankfully, the responses I received have encouraged me to share more, because, friends, family, clients, patients, and strangers reached out with support, and often, their own stories of struggle. (Read their stories here) The responses are one of the reasons I was compelled to finish my memoir. I want you to know, now, at the end of my writing, I understand what happened and have forgiven. I’m back to living my life, enjoying my three children and the other people in my life that I love.
This is where the favor comes in. Maybe you can help me in my search finding the right literary agent or publisher who understands the hole some of us feel, and the frustration of trying to fill it. Perhaps they’d like to offer a story of hope that goes deeper than the self help I’ve read.
Below is a query letter. If you know of a literary agent or publisher that may be interested in a story of family dysfunction, the resultant fear, anger, hate, anxiety, and hopelessness, then how to forgive and live in the present, please pass this letter along.
If you’d like to read the prologue of Perfect Peter (And why I hated him, click here.
If you want to share your journey, confidentially, I’ll listen- email
Yours in Gratitude,
Peter
Query Letter
Perfect Peter (And why I hated him)
Author- Peter Kofitsas
Word Count- 83,771
When I post excerpts of this writing on social media, friends and strangers message me, “Oh my God! I thought I was alone. Can we talk?” “Of course,” I say, because my purpose is to let the world know, if you feel a hole, you’re not alone. This book digs deeper than some self help, going straight to the holes bottom, then filling it from the inside out. That’s one reason I’m seeking representation for my 83,771 word, Greek tragedy memoir, Perfect Peter, (And why I hated him).
Another reason is Bella’s reaction; “Dad, I know about the fire. Why don’t you just tell me what happened?” When I finally do, against her mother’s wishes, she shakes her head, “Your childhood wasn’t normal. It sounds like a movie, or like when someone’s describing surviving the holocaust.”
I see now, it resembled more a Greek tragedy than a holocaust. There was death by burning, but it was voluntary, and not in an oven. The fear, violence, suicide, reflection, forgiveness, and love, revolved around a tragic figure, whom my therapist said, “Had to die so that you all could live.” When he reminds me, “This is your story, not your father’s,” I write about quitting my football scholarship, gross anatomy lab, TV appearances, my perfect family, losing it all, then getting something better back.
My ex-wife encouraged me to read J.D Vance’s, Hillbilly Elegy, connecting me instantly to, “We are constantly ready to fight or flee, because there is a constant exposure to the bear, whether that bear is an alcoholic dad or an unhinged mom.” The difference between our writing is, Vance focused on a region’s woes, while I kept the focus on myself, letting the reader come to their own conclusions, and healing. When I read Mary Karr’s, The Liars Club, tho our prose is different, I related to the terror she felt as her mother burned her clothes and toys. The scene helped me realize how my father’s fire still burns within me. Reading anything by Erik Larson, author of The Devil In The White City, inspires my writing, the way he ends chapters with foreboding, making me want to read more. I humbly observe, my writing contains elements of his style- nonfiction that reads like fiction.
I am the author of three health books, have degrees in nutrition and physical therapy, am an international health coach, professional speaker, and have appeared on ABC, FOX, TLC, QVC and in Fitness Magazine. I have an established audience, blog, and social media presence. My goal is to publish and speak to audiences around the world, especially adolescents, with the hope, if they are suffering, there is hope.
Thank you very much for your consideration. If you think this story can help others, I’d like to work with you.
Yours in health,
Peter Kofitsas
PS- please leave a comment below, send me an email, or connect with me on social media.