Example Pitch or Query for ABNA

For those who are interested in the ABNA contest, I thought I would post my pitch/query entry. Please note, it is customized to fit the contest specifications, so you will see there isn't any mention of my credentials and such that you might typically place in a query letter to a publisher or agent. If you visit the message board for ABNA you will see a thread for contestants to post their queries, and you will see quite a variety. In any case, here is mine, for what it's worth:

Your aunt is missing and no one seems to have a clue where to look for her. In the meantime, your editor won’t stop bugging you about getting that overdue book finished, and your family just can’t seem to stop meddling in your life. So, what do you do? If you are Lilly Millenovanovich, there is only one answer because family comes first. Find Fran. As she searches for her missing aunt, Lilly finds herself on a hazardous, sometimes unpleasant journey in Whips, Cuffs, and Little Brown Boxes, a 97,000 word cozy mystery.

Turning forty, menopausal, and single, mystery writer, Lilly M. needs a little excitement in her life now and then. So, when her aunt Fran turns up missing, Lilly decides playing amateur detective might do the trick. Of course, she would have to keep her snooping from Millie, her overprotective mother. She thinks Lilly will snoop herself straight into trouble. It doesn’t take a crystal ball for Millie to predict Lilly’s fate; most of the time, her life just turns out that way. Fortunately, Lilly has boyfriend, detective Jake Kline, several friends and family to keep her safe, as together they confront many dangers and unsavory surprises. From death threats and drug trafficking to the mob and sex clubs, the journey in Whips, Cuffs, and Little Brown Boxes will reveal answers even Millie couldn’t predict.

Whips, Cuffs, and Little Brown Boxes provides an entertaining combination of mystery and humor with a plot driven by lively, amusing characters. Readers of women’s contemporary fiction will enjoy this humorous cozy and relate to its likable characters and their experiences.