Query Letter

What happens when the souls of a world burn out, leaving only one to bear the weight of the darkness?

Sixteen-year-old Ruin Gadiel, son of an army general, never imagined that science would become his world’s forbidden fruit. Yet, on Eden, technology grants reincarnation—but at a terrible cost. When one dies, their soul passes into the waiting place. When they return, they awaken hollow, their soul left behind. For centuries, the people of Eden have repeated this cycle. Prophecy foretells that when the Well of Souls runs dry, the end of days will come—and now, Ruin possesses the last soul on Eden.

When angels and demons breach the veil, igniting a celestial war for the boy with the last soul, Ruin’s world shatters—a fallen angel slaughters his family, leaving him drowning in guilt and grief.

Desperate to stay alive, Ruin sets out to uncover the truth behind the soul inside him, the prophecy tied to it, and the role he is meant to play in Eden’s destiny.  In the chaos, he anchors himself to an unexpected family: a battle-hardened angel with unresolved sins, a healer once sworn to Hell, and Kedesh—a reckless girl who long ago abandoned hope. Lines blur between loyalty and longing as Ruin finds himself drawn to Kedesh. Though their kinds have been at war for generations, the spark between them refuses to burn out. He’s already watched one family die. He’ll learn the bitter cost of saving another—for love can be a temptress whispering honeyed poisons, persuading him to sacrifice everything, even existence itself.

As Eden crumbles and Heaven collides with Hell, whispers of an ancient prophecy claw their way from the void, foretelling the return of the Black Seraph—a being forged of human ambition, demonic fury, and angelic power, whose very existence signals Armageddon. Ruin discovers a brutal truth: he is destined to become this harbinger of destruction. Now, with Eden teetering on oblivion, Ruin alone will decide how a dying world draws its final breath—and what terrible price he’ll pay to protect the family he’s found.

Ruin and the Black Seraph is a 160,000-word epic fantasy with spiritual and apocalyptic overtones. Think This Present Darkness meets His Dark Materials at the survivalist pace of The Maze Runner. It is the first in a planned series. I currently have access to an audience of over 53,000—comprising more than 8,000 patients and 45,000 Instagram followers—which I intend to leverage for the launch of my debut novel.

As a family physician in Charleston, SC, I’ve spent twenty years on the front lines of human vulnerability, where grief, guilt, and resilience intersect. I’ve watched people climb their way out of despair and rebuild their lives from ashes, and those moments have bled into the heart of every character I write. This story, at its core, is about the slow, powerful redemption only forgiveness can offer.

Please check out the book trailer, and our thriving community at caissonhogue.com.

Thank you for your time and consideration,
Caisson Hogue, MD
843-991-6537
caissonhogue@yahoo.com

Caissonhogue.com

@RuinConceptArt