Cecilia Najar

Note: The book described below is a memoir. Story Statement To regain her confidence, a middle-aged Latina must calm the inner voices of anxiety and doom caused by her past experiences with men. Antagonists Entitled, ego-driven men and their helpers are the antagonists. A selection of the antagonists in the book: A selection of characters: Leopoldo is a Mexican proud man, a surgeon, and a nasty alcoholic. He speaks Spanish, French, English and can read Greek and Latin. He has a kind heart and treats his patients without pay but he cannot give a compliment without adding a snide dismissive barb. He resents the burden of his six children and his wife's anger. He confides to the protagonist that she’s the smartest of his children and he expects her to follow his path of medicine. When she doesn’t, he tells her she is nothing. Geoffrey is part of Los Angeles’ elite, old-monied world, who built the city and its racial barriers. He’s a whip-smart rebellious pot smoker who has been thrown out of two schools but his mother and her friends consider the protagonist, his Mexican girlfriend, the threat to his future. They and their daughters set out to make sure she knows she doesn’t belong. The married men the protagonist finds on an online dating site form an obstacle course marked by various kinds of testosterone-fueled hunger. Some have FOMO, most want affection, and all want sex — but with different rules and restrictions. One lies, pins her to the wall and kisses her without consent. Another refuses to believe her rejection. Another starts a truth-or-dare confessional exchange to test her boundaries. Another shows his vulnerability but she sees the anger underneath his words. These men test the protagonist's ability to see her triggers, emotional wounds, and intuition. Jonathan is charming, handsome, kissed by wealth, and married. He’s a man who is unaware of his privilege, the damage of his lies, and a betrayal he sees as unimportant. He says he loves the protagonist but she has no idea if he knows what he means, or if she wants the kind of love he is offering. She must navigate her fears to know whether to trust him - or any man. Title The Queen of Almost 500 Men Unfuckupable Comparables Crying in the Bathroom: A Memoir by Erika Sanchez meets Blow Down Your House: A Story of Family, Feminism, and Treason by Gina Frangello meets Happy Days: The Guided Path from Trauma to Profound Freedom and Inner Peace by Gabrielle Bernstein. ie. A 48-year old Erika Sanchez blows up her marriage akin to Gina Frangello but learns to quell her anger and anxiety on a path to happiness by using self-help techniques described by Gabrielle Bernstein. Logline An anxiety-plagued 48-year old Latina leaves her husband and sets out to heal her toxic history with men by practicing new self-empowered behaviors with an enthusiastic, unlimited pool of married men she finds on Ashley Madison, an infidelity dating site. Sample Inner Conflict The protagonist is riddled with anxiety which appears as an internal chorus of doom chanting and singing her to paralysis. Throughout the book, she observes her emotional triggers as she navigates new experiences with men. Scene: A powerful married man, texts the protagonist love notes encouraging her to get over her cold feet and meet him at his hotel. She experiences an emotional rollercoaster between no and yes, as she considers her triggers, the history of women's sexual objectification, and her past relationship to men and their pressure tactics. Sample Secondary Conflict The protagonist confides her life experiment, dating married men, to her compassionate friend, Justine, who always finds calm over chaos and understands the complexity of humanity. Justine explodes with anger calling the protagonist evil and immoral. Setting The book is set in the wealthy enclaves of Los Angeles: Malibu, Brentwood, Venice and Hancock Park, with dips into the chaotic utopian world of Burning Man, a ski town and crosstown urban glam. For example, we get the inside skinny behind the confusing matrix of the sprawling city: the million-dollar trailers perched on fire-prone hills in Malibu, the reishi mushroom-loving Venice yoga scene with its obsessive chase for health trends, a behind-the-doors peak the world-famous Getty Museum restoration room, the wind-swept serenity of a private beach north of Malibu, and the grit and sequin salsa scene in a historic dance hall found in Latinx East LA.