Jolene McQueen Sails Away

QUERYING SOON… Upmarket fiction novel, JOLENE McQUEEN SAILS AWAY (87,000 words)

Cult survivor Jolene McQueen’s twisted plan for redemption and success is a comedy contest on a Caribbean cruise ship, but it might cost her everything she has left to lose, including her five-year old daughter. Full of dark humor and tenderness, JOLENE McQUEEN SAILS AWAY will appeal to fans of Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Queenie, and HBO’s Hacks.

When thirty-seven-year-old Jolene McQueen is caught squatting in the mansion where she used to dog-sit on the same day that her ex-cult leader reconnects about a Caribbean cruise hosted by their favorite 90s band, Jolene takes it as a sign from the universe that her life is about to change. As the child of stoner country-rock musicians, Jolene has always wanted a successful, stable life, yet she’s been sleeping on her sister’s couch and struggling financially with house cleaning gigs while chasing her dream of becoming a stand-up comedian in New Orleans. She tries her best to raise her five-year-old daughter, Jonas, the product of living in a psychedelic sex cult for the better part of a decade, but with Jonas’ increasing behavioral problems in kindergarten, it’s becoming evident that Jolene is not up to the task. After a chain of epic and embarrassing fails involving a prominent comedy emcee and her current f-boy, Jolene needs to leave town. Desperate for a win, she opens another line of credit, constructs a web of lies, ignores every red flag, and signs up for an open-mic comedy contest on the Carnival Destiny cruise. Jolene prays to the goddesses this opportunity will be her big break, but she secretly fears this relentless pursuit of her dreams will finally break her.