Thursday, September 27, 2012

Hone your pitches! #PitchOn

Workshops for Get Your Pitch On will start on October 1, but you can send your pitches through now to secure your spot with a host blog.

There is no date deadline for the workshops. Each blog has allocated a set number of pitches that they can host and once those spots are full then no more submissions will be taken.

Important Rule: If you want to participate in a workshop, you must be prepared to comment on at least one other pitch.

Also! For each critique you leave in the comments, you get an entry in the draw for one of eigh 10-page critique from me and workshop hosts Larissa Hardesty, Stephanie Diaz, Catherine Scully, Jodie Andrefski, Paula Sangare, Talynn Lynn and Kaitlin Adams. Also Sarah Nicolas will be giving away three query critiques. Please use the exact same names for all of your critiques. The opportunity ends October 14.

How to submit: Email your draft pitch to pitchonws@gmail.com and include PitchOnWS and the title of the manuscript in the subject line. Pitches must follow the formatting as specified for the Get Your Pitch On contest. If you missed if before check out this post here and you can see the list of blogs participating here.

Draft pitches will be evenly distributed between host blogs.

An interview with Commissioning and Managing Editor of Hardie Grant Egmont, Marisa Pintado, will be coming up soon on my blog so that you have an idea what she's looking for before she takes your pitches both here on Down Under Wonderings and on my group blog YAtopia on October 15th. The exact contest opening times will be included in that post.

Have fun honing your pitches!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Guestopia: Suzanne Lazear

Click here for more information about our monthly Guestopia feature!



Why I Write
By Suzanne Lazear

I’m one of those people who have wanted to be a writer all their lives. I can remember back in the third grade specifically wanting to write a book that could be bought at a bookstore. I wrote short stories in junior high. In high school I had all sorts of ideas for the books I'd write one day. I even wrote chapters of a story in my English class journal instead of our assigned topic. In college and grad school I’d write instead of taking notes.

One day, about a year before my ten year high school reunion I thought to myself gee, I always thought I’d be published by now. Then, I worked backwards, well, why haven’t I?

It came to me.

Oh wait, you first have to write an *entire book*.

In all those years I’d never sat down and written a story from start to finish. I decided my new year’s resolution would be to write an entire book.

I wrote four complete manuscripts and several incomplete ones that year. Most were pretty bad. I was learning—learning how to write a book, learning what genres I liked to write and was good at, and finding my voice.

Most importantly, I reignited that passion for writing with a vengeance. Where I never lost it, somewhere a lot the way it went to “keep warm” which was probably why I never finished anything. I’m not sure why. I could have been a friend in my youth who said I couldn’t be an author because she wanted to be one, it could have been the guidance counselor who said I’d never be published, it could be that secret fear many writers have of putting their things out there – you spend so much time crafting a book and it’s hard when people point out its flaws.

Who knows.

It took me a long time to submit. Over a period of time I submitted manuscripts #2, #7, 9, and #10. After several years of writing constantly, taking online writing classes, entering writing contests, being in critique groups, and attending writers meetings and conferences, I sold manuscript #10 – INNOCENT DARKNESS.

I write because I can’t imagine not writing. I no longer want to be a writer, I am one.



INNOCENT DARKNESS, book 1 of The Aether Chronicles is Suzanne Lazear’s young adult steampunk dark fairytale debut. Suzanne lives in Southern California with her daughter, the hubby, and a hermit crab, where she’s currently attempting to make a raygun to match her ballgown. She’s also part of the Steampunk group blog Steamed. Learn more about the Aether Chronicles at http://www.aetherchronicles.com and www.facebook.com/theaetherchronicles

Be careful what you wish for...In an alternate version of 1901 Los Angeles sixteen-year-old Noli Braddock's hoyden ways land her in an abusive reform school far from home. On mid-summer's eve she wishes to be anyplace but that dreadful school. A mysterious man from the Realm of Faerie brings her to the Otherworld, only to reveal that she must be sacrificed to restore his dying world. Her best friend, V, who has secrets of his own, appears to help Noli escape and return to the mortal realm. If they are successful, Noli will live, but if she does the entire Otherworld civilization will perish.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

The Good, The Bad, and The Awesome

Well, YAtopians, we have some bad news, but we also have some really great news to soften the blow. Stay tuned to the end of this announcement to find out how you can win a $10 giftcard to the online bookstore of your choice.

The bad news:

Wendy, Leigh, Kelley, Nyrae, and Chanelle are moving out of YAtopia. We’re sure they’ll come back to visit us on major YAtopian holidays, but their careers are taking off and we wish them the best of luck under the bright lights of the big city.

Lots of good news:

We will still have the awesome content and contests you’ve come to expect from us because…

Sharon, DJ, and Sarah are sticking around. We love YAtopia and there’s no place else we’d rather be, but we can’t live here alone so….

We have already recruited three new awesome YAtopians. You’ll learn more about them in a little while, but here’s some info to whet your appetite:

That leaves us with six YAtopians. Now, six may be a lucky number in some cultures, but not in our shiny green corner of the internet… No, we’re much fonder of the number ten. So we’re holding an OPEN CALL to find four new YAtopians!

What are the civic duties of a YAtopian, you ask?
  • Post at least one original blog post per month (in English, as scheduled) related to the topics of books, writing, reading, teens, middle-grade, new adult, young adult, publishing, writing life, book promotion, etc. 
  • Keep up on group emails, which are usually light unless there’s something big going on. 
  • Participation in monthly features and organization of additional contests/features is voluntary, but encouraged. 
  • Promote YAtopian posts, contests, etc through your personal social media accounts. 

To apply to be one of the few, the proud, the YAtopians, fill out the form below. (Serious applicants only, please.) Applications are due by 11:59 PM EST Monday October 8th and we will send out citizenship papers on Monday October 15th. We’ll introduce our new YAtopians to the world starting the week of October 22nd.

APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED. Thank you.

At YAtopia, we want the best of the best, the cream of the crop – and we want you to help us find them! We’re giving away a $10 giftcard to any online bookstore of your choice to one lovely person who helps us spread the word. Use the Rafflecopter below to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Please post your questions in the comments of this blog post. We look forward to meeting our new members and continuing to build a strong YAtopia!

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Get Your Pitch On precompetition details


Here's the details you've been waiting for!

Commissioning and Managing Editor of Hardie Grant Egmont, Marisa Pintado, will be poised and ready to take your pitches both here on YAtopia and on Down Under Wonderings on October 15th.

Marisa is looking for YA in any genre and is accepting submissions from any where in the world. It's your chance to skip the slush pile and put your pitch right under the nose of a fantastic editor. There's even better news - there is no limit on how many requests Marisa will make from the contest.

Here's the rules:

  • Your manuscript must be complete, polished and ready to query - this means no first drafts or almost finished manuscripts.
  • It must be YA.
  • When the contest goes live on October 15th, post your entry details in the comments section of either YAtopia or Down Under Wonderings - each blog is accepting 100 entries only.
  • Your entry detail needs to include a 50 - 70 word pitch.
  • You can enter more than once if you have more than one complete, polished, ready to query manuscript.
Your contest details should be formatted like this:

Name: Sharon Johnston
Email: smjohnston [ @ ] live.com.au
Country of residence: Australia
Title: SLEEPER
Genre: Speculative Fiction
Word-count: 58,000
Pitch: Seventeen-year-old Mishca Richardson is a sleeper soldier with a weak heart. She has no idea that a life saving heart transplant has accidentally triggered her programming. In the search for answers, she discovers the truth and that her creator, Wirth, has classified her remaining "sisters" from her experiment group as defective, scheduling them for termination. Mishca sets out to save them before they're eliminated.

Just as it's important to get someone else to look over your manuscript before you query, it's a good idea to get feedback on your pitch before you post. We have about twenty blogs who are ready to help you hone your pitch. These workshops start on October 1 and you can find the list of blogs participating here.

We're so excited to bring this competition. So now it's time for you to Get Your Pitch On!


Sunday, September 16, 2012

My Heart Be Damned is out!!

Yaaaaaaaaaay! It's out! My Heart Be Damned is officially on sale.


Thank you everyone so far who has bought it or offered congratulations. I'm sooo excited. I'm officially a published author and the feeling is both amazing and terrifying!

If you're interested in links to buy, please see below.



Friday, September 7, 2012

Pitch Madness. Game on



It's been a long week of reading through all the amazing pitches and our wonderful readers--K.T. Hanna, Kat Ellis, Rebecca Coffindaffer, Dee (@writefor apples), Stephanie Diaz, & Summer Heacock--have narrowed the slush, and your game hosts have chosen sixty of the best entries for the game.

Comments are set to moderation so the agent's won't see their competitors' bids. Please no comments other than those from the agents. After the game later on September 12, we'll release the moderation and let you all comment on the entries. 

To check out the other 45 entries go to our partners in crime on their sites:




Shelley Watters






Erica M. Chapman











Congratulations to those who've made it into the game! For those who haven't made it, we are hosting a Twitter Pitch Party on September 13 from 8AM to 8PM EDT onthe hashtag #PitMad.

How do you twitter pitch? You tweet your twitter pitch each time you see an agent on the hashtag. The agents will request the tweets in the feed that catch their attention. Make sure to include the hashtag in your pitch and don't @ the agents. By using the hashtag, the agents will see your pitch.


Y1: Prime Grade

Title: PRIME GRADE
Genre: YA Speculative Fiction
Word Count: 81,000

When a group of teenage rebels challenge the government's Faustian bargain to save humanity through population reduction, genius Delle must detox and reunite with her turncoat father to save Detroit.
As soon as I stepped behind the curtain, I fed the schematic through the grader. I rubbed my arms while I waited, gliding my fingers across the goose-bumps. Why do they keep it so cold in the Testing Center? At least I had something to do with my shaky hands.

I didn’t remember it taking so long at my other Examinations. Maybe Final Examination was different. No clue why. We’d been culled so many times you’d think all the computer had to do was look up my prior scores and spit out my grade.

A drop of sweat snaked its way down my forehead. Weird. I was sweating and freezing at the same time. The sweat burned when it got in my eye, but I didn’t blink. I kept my eyes fixed on the projection. It read “Processing.”

Then:

DELLE JACOBS
D.O.B.: JULY 28, 2058
METRO: DETROIT
FINAL GRADE: PRIME





Y2: Mirror of Sand and Flame

Title: Mirror of Sand and Flame
Genre: MG adventure with fantasy elements
Word Count: 43,000

Through abandoned coal mine tunnels in the smoldering ruins of the hometown he destroyed, twelve-year-old Zeb Reardon enters the eerie setting of a fantasy novel to save his cousin and mend his own guilty heart.


Freezing.

I snapped awake standing in the dark.

Pressure. On my chest, in my lungs. Fear clawed me all over. When you wake up in your pajamas, you expect a cocoon of blankets and bedroom walls. Not the hollow hush of outside.

No good light anywhere. No lit-up house windows, no cars. Just a grainy glow from the nighttime sky. Shadowy mounds lumped up the road underfoot, like iron moles had ripped tunnels through the asphalt.

Sleepwalking again, but where—

Something moved in the gritty dimness up ahead. Four-legged, whitish. It dipped out of the woods, stepped into the ruined street, and went still. Looked right at me. A growl crawled out. Ears went flat. Hairy mop of a tail tucked and hid. Wolf? Coyote? Couldn’t be; too big, too tall. It cocked its broad head, probably able to hear my heart clattering along like a rusty pick-up.

I didn’t breathe.

Y3: Thunderbird Dreams

Title: Thunderbird Dreams
Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fantasy
Word Count: 47,000

Tomboy Christine Miller must save the Thunderbird trapped inside the mountain, but she’ll have to find him first before the mine boss can steal the Thunderbird’s power and trap him in the coal mine forever.


Not that I’m afraid or anything, ‘cause I’m not, but when a high-pitched wail rises in the chilly night, I pull the quilt up to my eyeballs and scooch closer to my sisters. “Did you hear that?” I whisper.

“It’s a coyote, Christine. Go to sleep,” Bethany mutters. She rolls over and yanks the quilt away. Megan keeps on snoozing in the middle of us, hugging that dang stuffed bear of hers.

“That’s no coyote,” I mutter. We’ve been in this flea-bitten middle-of-nowhere mining town for almost a week now, I know the difference. I shiver and tug my corner of the quilt back. What I heard sounded like a ghost from one of old Jeb’s stories But he’s far away now and that ghostly sound was nearby.

Another caterwaul, and I sit up. Twelve-year-olds do not believe in ghosts. I don’t. I can’t.

Y4: Mire

Title: MIRE
Genre: YA paranormal mystery
Word count: 70,000

An insecure teen finds out she wasn't adopted from the “filthy gutters of an Indian slum” (her movie star mom's words), but instead had been kidnapped from a family of powerful Seers.

Most kids would do anything to have a movie star parent, but as far as Diya was concerned, having a celebrity parent was way over-rated. If she had the choice between Miranda and being stranded in a deserted island without Wi-Fi, she knew what she'd pick.

That thought echoed in her mind, as she found herself in yet another staring stand-off with her mother across the length of the humongous dining table. Miranda’s hard face rivaled the cold wooden surface of the table.

Diya took a deep breath and counted to ten, waiting for the familiar explosion. And then it came.

“You’re not going anywhere, you brat. You owe me.” Miranda's skin stretched tight over high cheekbones, courtesy of the most popular plastic surgeon in LA. Any more stretching, and it would rip right down the middle. “I want you at the benefit.”

Y5: Paladin

Title: PALADIN
Genre: YA Fantasy
Word Count: 91,000

When the enemy tortures seventeen-year-old Grey and she betrays
secrets that can destroy her kingdom, she must fight to redeem
herself, except her only chance will condemn her people and saving
them means her death.

Hidden in the secret passageways, I knew two things: sound meant
danger, and in the midst of war a palace was never quiet. Heightened
security drew home soldiers and knights alike, to protect their king
with heavy bootsteps and drawn swords. The courtiers fought with
words, the squires dreamed their battle cries. And underneath it all
ran an endless whisper from kitchen scullions to paladins.

Will the war reach us? What will happen?

But today was different. In the early hours of the morning, the whole
world slept. The guards stood watch on tiptoe. The palace kitchens,
usually bustling, were quiet, and the cellar door didn’t creak when I
pushed it open and peeked through.

The kitchens spanned the entire western wing, three large halls clad
in darkness. Four escape routes, though only one within reach.

Across the room, a young cook’s mate slumbered next to the dwindling
flames with North, the fat red cat, draped over his knees.

Y6: Children of the Gods

Title: CHILDREN OF THE GODS
Genre: YA Steampunk/Mythology (Mythpunk) Romance
Word Count: 75,000

Amidst airships and automaton cities, Titans and Olympians live under strict segregation. Titan-born Lucas must make a brutal decision when he meets enticing Olympian Pandora: rebel and risk his life or submit and lose her.


I can say when I first saw her, my breath left me in a whoosh, but that was only because at the same moment, a meaty elbow drove into my gut. A series of curses in the old language flew out of my mouth while I stumbled to one side. A twinge ran up my left leg when I straightened to the laughing eyes of my best friend, Tiro.

"Gods, man, you can say hi like normal people." I punched him in the arm.

Tiro laughed. "Aw, Lucas, all in good fun. 'Sides, you were a little distracted. Spot something tasty?"

He slung a mammoth forearm around my neck, his attention on the dance floor below.

I skimmed the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of the girl with the multi-colored hair again, but she was lost in the mass of people. "Nah, just enjoying the view."

"And what a view it is."

Y7: An Uncommon Blue

Title: AN UNCOMMON BLUE
Genre: YA Sci-fi w/ fantasy elements
Word Count: 94,000

In a world where one's identity can be changed with a handshake, the most popular Blue on the rugby team must forfeit his social status to avoid being recognized as a murderer.

There are three unspoken rules in high school rugby.

1. Your team members are family.

2. You support your family.

3. This support must be shown periodically with an affectionate slap on the backside.

After four years as the starting right winger, I had almost gotten used to this. Almost. At least I no longer felt the urge to bloody my teammate’s nose when they tried it.

But in the middle of the hall? No way. During school hours my glutes were off limits.

I whirled around to explain this to whichever of my idiotic team members was behind me, only to find myself face to face with an attractive redhead.

“Hey, Bruno,” Drea said with a smirk. “Ready for the test?”

I opened my mouth but no sound came out.

Even with her super-short hair, Drea was stunning. Before last summer she’d often been mistaken for a boy, but that all ended when puberty hit...with both fists.

Y8: Beneath the City of Lights

Title: Beneath the City of Lights
Genre: Forensic Mystery/Suspense
Word Count: 80,000

400ft below the city of Paris, anything can happen. If you're Stella Lennon, genius of forensic archaeology, love definitely is not one of them. The murder of her ex's brother? Now that, she can handle.

The thickness in the air clung to him like a jacket that was a size too small. His breath was ragged and bounced off the stone walls, echoing. The walls felt like they were closing in, getting ready to crush anything that dared to pass. It was forbidden to come down here this deep. Now he knew why and wished he would've listened.

His legs were heavy, as if two lead weights had replaced where his feet should be. Knees bloody from crawling through rock and bone, he wondered how long had he been down here? A day, maybe even a week? All sense of perception had been lost at about 250ft below the Paris streets. Now, at almost 400ft, the only option was to go deeper.

That familiar cold chill enveloped him and he knew he had to move. Someone was coming. Or something. He wasn't sure, but even in the darkness he could feel its eyes on him.



Y9: Jo

Title: JO
Genre: New Adult Sci-fi/Horror
Word Count: 74,000

Jo was once a lovely girl, but now she’s a partially-embalmed monster, mutilated by an anarchist organization with delusions of grandeur. Self-preservation turns to self-sacrifice when Jo’s friends and parents become the group’s next targets.


I’m dead.

Almost.

I thought you should know that right away, because this story isn’t going to end well. At least not for me. I know that now. So whatever you do, don’t fall in love with me. I’ve hurt the ones I love, the ones who love me, and for that I’ll never forgive myself.

It’s not like I have much longer now, though. So at least I won’t be filled with self-loathing forever.

I’m sitting in my dorm room. My mother’s asleep on the bed, snoring lightly, a sound that reminds me of my childhood. Sometimes, when I was very small, we’d have “sleepovers” in my bedroom, pretending we were girlfriends instead of mother and daughter. We’d paint our nails and eat ice cream and giggle for hours. Sometimes even my father would come in to laugh with us.

Then, she’d sleep on the bottom bunk and I’d sleep on top, and she’d snore like she’s snoring right now. Lightly, so lightly. I loved falling asleep to that sound.


Y10: Undercover

Title: UNDERCOVER
Genre: Young Adult Thriller
Word count: 55,000

Sixteen-year-old P.I. agency intern, Jayna Kumar, pisses off the wrong people while investigating her best friend’s murder, a death the police have ruled a suicide. Will Jayna catch the killer before the killer catches her?


No one ever suspects the nerdy brown chick. That’s one of the top ten reasons I kick ass at this job: junior-investigator-in-training at ACE—Action, Confidentiality, Excellence—P.I. Agency.
I take a sip of my chai latte and look over the well-gelled heads and blown-dry locks of the business casual set crammed into Starbucks. It’s the middle of the week, but summer means casual Fridays don’t just happen on Fridays.

The PUS—party under surveillance—runs a finger along the collar of his pale blue button up. He’s a good-looking guy for someone who’s almost thirty. He glanced my way when I came in but hasn’t looked at me since. He doesn’t see me as a threat. What kind of threat has frizzy hair—I don’t blow dry let alone use the round brush when I head out on assignment—wears oversized glasses, baggy jeans and a T-shirt three sizes too big, and lugs around a five-ton calculus textbook in the middle of summer vacation?

Y11: Singularity

Title: Singularity
Genre: YA sci-fi
Word Count: 60,000

Pitch: Jules, the last cyborg, must save her ship from an alien invasion, but her love for a human overpowers hard-wired programming. She must decide between dying to save her home or risking everything for love.


“One day the cyborgs will turn against us. A revolution we’ll never survive!” Mom had once told Meo.

Sometimes she was as crazy as she was strict, but that didn’t prevent Meo from sneaking into the northern part of the ship.

In the guise of taking a run, sweat beads trickled down his forehead and neck. He huffed as the run lengthened, pushing his limits so he had an excuse to venture to the farthest parts of Verona.

He took a right. The hallway was sparse with little wording to give an outsider any idea where they were, or which room was which. He’d never made it this far before and hoped to the stars no one caught him.

He slowed down, wiped his brow, and heaved a few times. Could this be it? Could the endless wall with hidden doors made of seamless silver be one of the restricted areas he longed to find?

Y12: Charley Cross and the London Dead

Title: Charley Cross and the London Dead
Genre: YA historical thriller
Word Count: 76,000

When the eccentric inventor she works for goes missing, fifteen-year-old Charley Cross becomes lost in the underworld of Victorian London with only her street-rat friend Jack to help her fight an army of undead pursuers.

The explosion wasn't large, not in terms of explosions, but it rocked the house in Bayswater Road, making the chandeliers swing and plaster dust fall in the drawing room. Charley was on the stairs when it happened, carrying a silver tray laden with Grandmother Coghill's breakfast from the ground floor to the old woman's bedroom on the first. The noise and rumble put her off balance, and she had to lean against the wall to prevent her dropping the tray entirely. As it was, the worst was a clatter and splash as the teapot slid into the toast rack. Charley continued up the stairs with a nervous glance over her shoulder at the smoke trickling out from under the basement door, where Professor Coghill kept his workshop.

On her way back down the stairs, Charley was surprised again when the door to the basement slammed open, revealing her employer, Zachary Coghill, framed in smoke and shadow.

Y13: REDACTED

This entry has been redacted at the request of the author due to consideration by a publisher. We wish the author the best of luck!

Y14: Jack and the Bones

Title: Jack and the Bones
Genre: YA paranormal
Word Count: 66,000

In a romantic retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, Remi compels people by singing, but her mother forces her to use this ability by binding her soul into a harp.


There was a fight in the halls, right outside the principal’s office. Two stupid boys pummeling each other over something stupid. At least I assumed it was something stupid because they were stupid. If they had any brain cells worthy of the name, they would have picked a better spot to fight and I would have been able to get to class on time. I hated being tardy—it made me so conspicuous.

I sighed. Stupid high school boys. They were all the same. They all thought they were so tough and so bad. If they really wanted to see bad, they should meet my mother. She would have made them wet themselves out of fear.

I tried to push my way through the crowd, but more and more people kept shoving their way in, hoping to get a better view of the action. Not that there was much of that.

Y15: Sylvan Legacy

Title: Sylvan Legacy
Genre: Historical Romance with Paranormal Elements
Word Count: 76,000

In Regency era London, where the smallest faux pas can cause irreparable scandal, half-elven Katherine Sinclair has more to hide than anyone else; especially when drawing notice by the wrong people can get her killed.

The horse's hooves thunder across the hillside, and my heart pounds with each bunching of his muscles. My hair breaks free of its pins, pale strands sweeping across my cheek. Though the cold wind breaks through the thin barrier of the breeches and tall boots borrowed from my brother’s wardrobe, the wide smile never leaves my face. Mild discomfort is a small price to pay for a ride unhindered by the thick skirts of my riding habit.

I glance at Robert, who is keeping easy pace with me.

"Careful, dear sister," Robert calls out, the wind snatching at his words, "I'm gaining on you."
I laugh. "Serenity will refuse to jump this next bank, just as she always does."

I press my booted heels to Orion’s sides, and a little thrill jolts through me as he charges forward. His excitement bubbles over my skin, making it hard to distinguish from my own.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Pitch Madness rules of engagement - Paintball wars

 
 
PITCH MADNESS. GAME ON!
THE RULES
On September 7 through 12 until 12PM EST the agents will haunt the host blogs, read the entries, and make their shots (bid shots from the ranking sheet) for the pitches they want to read more of.
Here’s the participating blogs urls (I’ll have the urls posted on my site to make it easier to hop between them):
Making a shot is placing a bid for the entry (see Shot Ranking sheet) in the comments of that entry’s post. The agents have a limited amount of shots for each request type (partials, fulls, and trumps). The comments will be set to moderation so you won’t see what the agents’ shots are until the reveal day.
You have a limited amount of shots for each request type. Make sure to mark off your shots on the attached tracking sheet to keep track of them as you use them.
September 12 is reveal day. We’ll post all the comments and reveal the bids at 12:00PM EST. The highest shot wins the bid for that entry.
What happens with ties, you ask? Well, that’s where it gets tricky!
THE CHALLENGE
While placing their bids, the agents must make sure to save some shots or trumps for the challenge round. If there are ties, the agents will be asked to go back to that entry with their competitor to make another shot against him/her. The highest shot trumps the other and wins the bid for that pitch.
This is where the agents must come up with a strategy on what shots or trumps to use for the first round and which ones to save for the challenge round.
The challenge round starts after the reveal and if there are tying shots. We’ll announce the pitches that tied on the hashtag #PitchMadness. Shooters (Agents) will then go to the entry post and “shoot” another bid in the comments. Each challenge will continue until there is a winner or until all but one player is eliminated (runs out of shots and trumps for that pitch). Best shot wins!
Please note: Only one request per agent for each pitch during the first round.


Shot Rankings
Total shots
per agent:
10 1 body shot = Query & 1st 5 pages
10 2 Body shots = Query & 1st 10 pages
10 3 Body shots = Query & 1st 25 pages
10 4 Body shots = Query & 1st 50 pages
5 5 Body shots = Query & 1st 75 pages
5 6 Body shots = Query & 1st 100 pages
5 7 Body shots = Query & 1st 150 pages
3 1 Head shot = Full request
TRUMPS:
2 2 Head shots = Trumps all partial requests
1 Capture the flag = Trumps all full requests
Tomorrow we'll post the sixty (60) entries on all four blogs that made it into the arena with the agents!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Meet the sniper agents on the Pitch Madness prowl

 
 
While we're busy reading the slush and waiting for game day, we thought we'd take this opportunity to introduce the wicked awesome, crazy talented, good looking (I think that's enough adjectives. Yeah, agents love adjectives, right? Oh? More?) badalious gamers, sneaky competitors, and on any day but game day, extremely kind and generous agents.

So, in no particular order and because they just landed that way, here are the freakintabulous agents...


Molly Ker Hawn

Molly, aka Sharp-shooter, will need to use her accurate shot if she wants to defeat her opponents from across the pond in London.

Molly's looking for young adult and middle grade fiction that's inventive, well-crafted, and rich with emotion, whether contemporary, historical, fantasy, sf, thriller, romance, or mystery. Her favorite books have characters she wishes she could talk to in worlds she wishes she could visit, and she loves stories that grab hold of her and keep her up reading long into the night.


Judith Engracia

Judith, aka Spider Ninja, will use her speed and martial art skills to outrun her opponents and capture the flag.

Judith is currently building her client list and looking for all types of fiction, particularly literary fiction, middle grade, young adult, urban fantasy, steampunk, paranormal romance and light science fiction.



Louise Fury

Louise, aka AgentFury, will blaze across the arena leaving mayhem and the paint riddled bodies of her opponents in her wake.


Louise is seeking well written, teen Sci-Fi and Young Adult horror. She is also on the hunt for deep, dark contemporary YA and select Middle Grade fiction with a literary feel--it must be realistic and thought provoking and the characters must be authentic and original. Louise loves horror and romance, especially Regency & Victorian.


John M. Cusick






John, aka The Jester, must use his wit and skill of balancing his martini while yielding his paintball gun to distract his opponents.

John's specialty is middle-grade and young adult fiction. He is the author of the young adult novel GIRL PARTS (Candlewick Press, 2010) and the forthcoming CHERRY MONEY BABY. He is a founder and managing editor of the literary magazine Armchair/Shotgun. And you can read an interview with The Jester on Down Under Wonderings.


Dawn Frederick

Dawn, aka Red Dawn, will take aim at her opponents from the comfort of her sofa.

Dawn carries a B.S. in Human Ecology, and a M.S. in Information Sciences from an ALA accredited institution. “Not only do I know what people like to read and are currently reading; I also have the experience of working one-on-one with authors, book distribution centers, and literary organizations.”





Brittany Howard

Brittany, aka The Mask, will use her acting talent to trick her opponents into trusting her before clobbering them with a rainbow of paint.

Brittany's first love is YA--from High Fantasy to Paranormal to soft Sci-fi to Contemporary--she loves it all. She also likes high concept, adventure themed, and funny MG, but a strong voice is MUST for her in MG. For adult fiction, she prefers stories that are a romance at heart--Contemporary, Paranormal, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Historical are all genres she enjoys. Anything with theatrical or artistic or historical elements will probably catch her eye, too.



Brooks Sherman

Brooks, aka Otter Agent, will use his sleek body to slither past his opponents and his tattoo fists to wallop any agents aiming for pitches he has his eyes on.

Brooks is on the lookout for adult fiction that runs the gamut from contemporary (with an eye toward multicultural or satirical) to speculative (particularly urban/contemporary fantasy, horror/dark fantasy, and slipstream). He also has a weakness for historical fiction and a burgeoning interest in crime fiction. On the children’s side, he is looking to build a list of boy-focused Middle Grade novels (all subgenres, but particularly fantasy adventure and contemporary), and is open to YA fiction of all types except paranormal romance.







Sarah LaPolla



Sarah, aka The Bomber, don't let the name fool you, she can move silently around glass cases to avoid her opponents' shots, but she must be careful not to let the The Jester or Otter Agent distract her with Reece's peanut butter cups.

Sarah represents both adult and YA fiction. For adult books, she is looking for literary fiction, urban fantasy, magical realism, dark/psychological mystery, and literary horror. On the YA side, she welcomes all genres and is drawn to unique voices and strong, complex characters.





Victoria Marini

Victoria, aka Neo-Agent, may be newer to the game, but her tenacity and vigor will make her a force the other agents won't see coming until they get a paintball shot to the head.

Victoria represents ADULT – Literary Fiction, Commercial Fiction (suspense, thriller, mystery) Women’s Commercial Fiction (suspense, light romance and romantic suspense, thriller, mystery, urban fantasy and light sci-fi). YOUNG ADULT – pretty much everything! Literary, contemporary, heartwarming and funny YA, as well as dark, edgy and commercial YA (thriller, noir, horror, light sci-fi/ fantasy, paranormal, supernatural, urban fantasy, suspense, mystery). MIDDLE GRADE – Boys Middle Grade Fantasy novels, Girls Fantasy Middle Grade, and coming-of-age humorous middle grade.

Come back tomorrow for the rules of the game post.

And don't forget to check out my partners in crime on their sites:

 

 



Shelley Watters

Erica M. Chapman