Query Letter for Literary Representation
Title: Reborn Youth
Genre: Science Fiction Romance / Time-Travel Literary Fiction / Contemporary Fantasy
Author: Chen Wen-Han (Pen Name: Chen Qing-Yang)
Dear Literary Agent,
I am seeking representation for my novel Reborn Youth, a science-fiction romance that explores love, regret, destiny, and the possibility of rewriting one’s life. Combining the emotional depth of a love story with the imaginative appeal of time travel, this novel asks a profound question:
If you were given a second chance to return to the past, would you choose to correct your mistakes—or would you discover that true happiness requires a completely different path?
The protagonist, Cai Shi-Nan, is a brilliant but isolated software engineer working in Taiwan’s Hsinchu Science Park. After sixteen years of sacrificing his youth for career success, he becomes a classic example of someone who possesses financial security but has lost the meaning of life. His relentless work finally leads to an acute stroke, forcing him to confront the emptiness of his existence.
At the moment when his life seems to be collapsing, fate gives him an impossible opportunity. After reconnecting with his first love, Lin Dai-Hua, who has returned from Silicon Valley, Shi-Nan accidentally travels through a mysterious space-time tunnel and returns to the day after Taiwan’s devastating earthquake of September 21, 1999.
Unaware that Dai-Hua has also crossed through time, Shi-Nan returns to his hometown of Little Liuqiu Island and begins rebuilding his life. There he encounters people and relationships that he once overlooked, including Zhang Ya-Hui, an elementary school art teacher who had once been his arranged blind date, and Shi Mei-Lin, a talented fashion designer whose appearance gradually changes the direction of his destiny.
As Shi-Nan attempts to prevent the tragedies he remembers from the future, he discovers that changing the past is far more complicated than expected. Every decision creates new possibilities and unexpected consequences. A mysterious email sent from his future self, containing a photograph of Mei-Lin and their future children, reveals that the future itself may be disappearing.
Caught between his unfinished love with Dai-Hua and his growing bond with Mei-Lin, Shi-Nan must finally decide what kind of life he truly wants. The journey becomes not only a battle against time but also a search for emotional redemption, forgiveness, and the courage to choose happiness.
Key Selling Points
- A unique combination of time travel and romantic drama
Unlike traditional science-fiction stories focused on technology or paradoxes, Reborn Youth uses time travel as a metaphor for human regret and emotional transformation. The central conflict is not merely changing history, but discovering whether people can change themselves.
- A universal theme with international appeal
The desire to regain lost youth and repair past mistakes is universal. Readers across cultures can identify with the protagonist’s question: “If I could begin again, what would I do differently?”
- A deeply emotional love triangle
The relationships among Cai Shi-Nan, Lin Dai-Hua, Zhang Ya-Hui, and Shi Mei-Lin create a complex emotional structure involving first love, missed opportunities, sacrifice, and mature love.
- A strong cinematic concept
The novel contains significant potential for film or television adaptation. Its structure naturally supports visual storytelling:
- A successful but lonely engineer collapsing from overwork.
- A mysterious time-space tunnel changing destiny.
- The contrast between modern Silicon Valley ambition and Taiwan’s island life.
- A romantic conflict across different timelines.
- A future family photograph that becomes a mystery connecting past and future.
The story combines the emotional appeal of romantic dramas with the imaginative elements of science-fiction films, making it suitable for international audiences and screen adaptation.
About the Author
Chen Wen-Han (pen name Chen Qing-Yang) is a Taiwanese writer, poet, literary critic, rhetoric scholar, and screenwriter. He has devoted many years to creative writing and literary research, specializing in modern poetry, narrative structure, rhetoric aesthetics, and cross-media storytelling.
His works include novels, fantasy romances, literary fiction, screenplays, and studies of Chinese-language poetry aesthetics. His academic publications include:
Eastern Poetics (1): The Aesthetics of Form Design in Chinese Modern Poetry
Eastern Poetics (2): The Aesthetics of Expression Techniques in Chinese Modern Poetry
As a creator working across literature, criticism, and visual storytelling, Chen Wen-Han combines Eastern literary traditions with contemporary narrative forms, seeking to create works that connect cultural heritage with global readers.
I believe Reborn Youth has strong potential to reach readers who enjoy emotionally driven speculative fiction, romantic dramas, and stories about second chances. I would be honored to discuss representation opportunities and provide the complete manuscript upon request.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Chen Wen-Han
(Pen Name: Chen Qing-Yang)
Taiwan
文學代理商投稿自薦函（中文版）
書名：《再版的青春》
類型：科幻愛情小說／時空穿越小說／當代奇幻文學
尊敬的文學代理商：
您好！
我希望尋求貴公司的代理，推薦我的長篇小說《再版的青春》。這是一部結合科幻時空元素與深刻情感描寫的愛情小說，探討愛情、遺憾、命運，以及人生是否能夠重新選擇。
小說核心提出一個人類共同的生命命題：
如果人生可以重新來過一次，你會選擇修正過去的錯誤，還是重新尋找真正屬於自己的幸福？
主人翁蔡世男，是新竹科學園區經緯科技公司的程式設計主管。他才華卓越，卻長年將青春奉獻給工作。十六年的職場歲月，讓他累積財富，卻也失去了青春、愛情與生活熱情。
長期過勞使他罹患急性腦中風，在生死邊緣被救回。此時，初戀情人林黛華從美國矽谷返台探親，兩人重新相遇，決定給彼此一次重新開始的機會。
然而命運卻開了一個不可思議的玩笑。
蔡世男意外穿越神秘時空蟲洞，回到1999年九二一大地震後的隔天。他不知道林黛華也同樣穿越時空，回到了過去。
回到青春年代的蔡世男，在小琉球重新面對人生。他遇見曾經錯過的張雅惠，也遇見改變他命運方向的時裝設計師施美琳。
當他試圖阻止未來悲劇再次發生時，卻發現改變過去並不容易。每一次選擇，都可能創造新的未來。
一封來自未來自己的電子郵件，以及一張施美琳和未來孩子的全家福照片，成為連結過去、現在與未來的神秘線索。
蔡世男必須在初戀情人的承諾與新的愛情之間做出選擇，也必須重新理解：
真正的人生重啟，不只是回到過去，而是在重新選擇中找到真正的自己。
作品特色與市場賣點
一、結合時空穿越與愛情情感的創新題材
《再版的青春》並非單純探討科技或時間悖論，而是透過時空穿越象徵人生遺憾與自我救贖。
二、具有跨文化共鳴的普世主題
「如果人生可以重新開始，你會如何選擇？」是全世界讀者都能理解的人生命題。
三、複雜而動人的愛情結構
小說透過蔡世男、林黛華、張雅惠、施美琳之間的情感糾葛，描寫初戀、錯過、等待、犧牲，以及成熟愛情的力量。
四、具備電影與影集改編潛力
本作品具有高度視覺化特色：
- 科技園區中過勞倒下的工程師；
- 神秘時空蟲洞改變人生；
- 矽谷科技文明與台灣小島生活的對比；
- 跨越時間的愛情選擇；
- 一張預示未來命運的家庭照片。
作品兼具科幻概念、愛情戲劇張力與家庭情感，具備國際市場電影改編潛力。
作者簡介
陳文翰，筆名陳清揚，台灣作家、詩人、文學評論家、修辭學研究者及影視編劇。
長期投入小說創作、現代詩創作、文學評論與敘事美學研究，專長包括現代詩修辭美學、小說結構分析、影像敘事與跨媒體創作。
著有：
《東方詩學（一）：華文現代詩修辭美學——形式設計美學》
《東方詩學（二）：華文現代詩修辭美學——表現技巧美學》
其創作融合東方文學精神與現代敘事技巧，希望透過小說、詩歌與影像創作，向國際讀者呈現華文文學新的可能性。
《再版的青春》希望尋找具有國際出版視野的文學代理商，將這部關於愛、時間與人生重新選擇的作品介紹給全球讀者。
感謝您的閱讀與考慮，期待有機會提供完整稿件。
敬祝 順心
陳文翰（筆名：陳清揚）
台灣
