Hi, AQ Connect. UPDATE: I have received my first full request from an agent! But I am still querying. Please read and let me know what you think!
Draft #4
When Madeline Schofield was seven, an angel taught her how to name demons. Now she’s eighteen, and wishing he hadn’t.
The summer before her senior year is supposed to be a quiet one: working at a downtown coffeeshop by day, hanging around her cousin’s pool hall by night. That changes when Madeline’s long-distance dad presents her with a summer internship: a paranormal group seeks volunteers for their newest case. Their goal is to cleanse their clients’ home of a vindictive demon, before it destroys what is left of the family. To do that, they’ll need someone with insouciance.
Madeline is an insouciant, a psychic who interacts with non-human entities. With her parents’ encouragement, she used the ability in her past to name demons. There is power in knowing the name of an entity: once named, it can be commanded back to hell and save the possessed victim’s soul. Enter Madeline, escorted into these exorcisms to point at the monster and reveal its name. Because of this some called her gifted; others, exploited by her parents.
As Madeline tries put the demon in its place, she finds what used to come so easily for her is now a cat-and-mouse game. The demon evades each attempt to cleanse the home, and her failures only serve to enrage the demon. Madeline knows that the longer it takes, the closer the demon gets to its final act: possession.
Know a demon’s name, and you know how to command it. And when that doesn’t work, you get creative -- like learning a few tricks from her new friend, Death.
INSOUCIANCE is a 74,000 word young adult horror story about angels, demons, and the mortals who try to live their lives despite them.
Draft #3
Dear ____:
[shameless begging and mild stalking of agent revealed here]
When Madeline Schofield was seven, an angel taught her how to name demons. Now she’s eighteen, and wishes he hadn't. Madeline is an insouciant, a psychic who can only interact with non-human entities. Thanks to her parents, she used the ability all her life to give the names of demons during exorcisms. Some called her gifted; others, exploited by her parents.
The summer before her senior year is supposed to be a quiet one: working as a barista in downtown by day, hanging around her cousin’s pool hall by night. That changes when Madeline’s dad presents her with a unique summer internship. A paranormal investigation group is hunting down volunteers for their most recent case. Their goal: to get rid of a stubborn demon before it erodes away what remains of a family.
As Madeline tries put the demon in its place, she finds what used to come so easily for her is now a game of cat and mouse. The demon evades each cleansing, each spiritual healer, each demonologist who tries to rip it away from the family it harasses. Fail to cleanse the house, and the demon becomes angrier. Anger it, and another person gets hurt. Madeline knows that the longer it takes, the closer the demon gets to its final act: possession.
Know a demon’s name, and you know how to command it. And when that doesn’t work, you get creative -- like getting a few tricks from Death itself.
INSOUCIANCE is a 77,000 word young adult horror story about angels, demons, and the mortals who try to live their lives despite them.