Face-Lift 1495

Guess the Plot

Madeleine and the Attaché

1. Tired of being the last girl in two lines, Madeline slips away during an excursion to the airport, grabs some unattended luggage, and boards a plane to the Bahamas. Unfortunately, the attaché case was a blind drop for a spy ring who are willing to kill to retrieve information that may start WWIII.

2. Madeleine is in a panic. She picked up the wrong attaché, since this one belongs to an actual Attaché. But the worst of it is if she doesn't get hers back, she will get fired. Now if only these stalkers will leave her alone.

3. Madeleine is in desperate need of a husband, but she's being picky. Then she meets an attractive attaché and falls for him. There's just one problem: he's a Hungarian with a bad temper. Actually, I guess that's two problems.

4. Madeleine is America's United Nations ambassador. The Russian ambassador's attaché tells Madeleine he wants to defect. But can she trust hi m, or is it a ruse to get into Madeleine's inner circle? Or her pants?

5. When Madeleine agreed to get her neighbor's mail while he was out of town, she wasn't expecting that to include a mysterious attaché with question marks all over it. Unable to resist taking a peek inside, she now finds herself on the run from both her neighbor and the CIA.

Original Version

Dear [Agent's Name],

Paris, 1861. Madeleine’s sudden misfortune makes it imperative that she marry this season. With the help of [her sister/friend/matchmaker] Bianca, she navigates a world of rakes, soldiers, foreign diplomats, and even an imposing banker, each with their own agenda. None are [is] quite so maddening as Daniel, a Hungarian attaché with a penchant for adventure, a disdain for bureaucracy, and an inconvenient diplomatic mission. ["Maddening" could mean beguiling/seductive or exasperating/infuriating, or one of each (infuriatingly seductive; beguiling, yet exasperating). Now I have to wonder whether she's gonna settle for him in desperation and be unhappy forever, or he's gonna win her heart, only to dump her after a year, leaving her wishing she'd gone with the imposing banker.]

Their love story is interrupted by duels, the machinations of ambitious dignitaries, and hindered by their own [fiery?] tempers, but transforms into something neither of them expected. As duty and desire collide, Daniel and Madeleine must decide whether love is worth the price of surrendering the very independence they have both fought to protect. [While duels are more interesting than the machinations of ambitious dignitaries, it seems unlikely they happen with enough frequency to disrupt a romance, unless Daniel is the attaché of a Hungarian diplomat who gets challenged to duels on a daily basis . . .  and never loses.] 

I am a seasoned [Entertainment Professional] with extensive experience in [several other forms of Entertainment], bringing a deep knowledge of performance and story telling to my writing. [In other words, you're famous, but don't want us to be able to guess who you are.]

Madeleine and the Attaché is a tale of love and diplomatic intrigue. At 50,000 words, this novel will appeal to readers of A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore, The Lily of Ludgate Hill by Mimi Matthews, To Woo and To Wed by Martha Waters while maintaining a PG rating.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Notes

A lot of agents won't consider a 50,000-word book, though they won't admit it, claiming your book isn't right for their list. If you ask them to show you this "list" they supposedly have, they act like it's top secret national security-endangering information. There is no list. Anyway, if a lot of publishers wanted 50,000-word books, a lot more agents would want them too, so if you can find a place to insert another 15,000 words, you'll broaden the pool of agents willing to take this on.

Speaking of "too short," your summary of the plot is only five sentences (I didn't count Paris, 1861.). Can we up it to nine or ten by expanding on some of the generalities with specific details?

For instance, an example of diplomatic intrigue impeding the love affair (like when Daniel cancels their date because he has to act as a diplomat's second in a duel), an example of a time their tempers nearly cost them their friendship. The specifics of Madeleine's sudden misfortune. Maybe spell out what their love story transforms into.

Presumably you're aware of the classic 17-book series of children's stories set in Paris, starring Madeline, with such titles as Madeline and the Bad Hat, Madeline and the Old House in Paris, Madeline and the Gypsies, etc. She spelled her name differently, and as far as I know, never got romantically involved with an attaché.