It's almost time for PITCH WARS!!!
Most of you have followed the link from Kate Karyus Quinn and already know what Pitch Wars is...but if you're just stumbling across this post, check out Kate's blog for a full explanation. Kate is my co-mentor, critique partner, and all around super-woman. Her books include ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE, (DONT YOU) FORGET ABOUT ME, and the recently released, BRING ON THE SHINE. This is her third year mentoring and my first year, so I'm lucky to have such an awesome co-mentor.
Our category is Young Adult!
So what are we looking for? For Kate's likes, stop back by her blog, but I'll give you a few insights into my favorite things to read.
Let's start with Science Fiction!
I love all Sci-fi...old school, new school, in space, on earth, post-apocalyptic, alternate history, space opera, time travel, you name it, it will probably interest me.
Fantasy
Okay, so when I say fantasy, I mean high fantasy. With elves and wizards and maybe a few dragons thrown in. Actually, there doesn't have to be any of those things. It just has to be epic! I read a lot of fantasy, and world building is key, but I also don't want to get bogged down with too much info at once (yes, the dreaded info dump.)
Historical Fiction
I love me some historical fiction. The juicier the better. British royalty is always a good bet, but I also love American historical.
Let's see, what else do I enjoy reading? Horror, Paranormal, Psychological Thrillers...pretty much anything with a great plot.
A few things I would probably skip; dystopian (not including post-apocalyptic), werewolves, vampires, angels. Publishers/agent just aren't interested in these right now, and we want you to have your best chance.
Oh, also, I'm not a huge fan of romance. So at the cheesy part of the movie when everyone else is saying, "Ahhhhh", I'm saying "Vomit." It's fine as part of a story but if you have a full blown YA romance, you might want to submit to another mentor because the chances I'll take it are pretty slim.
Really, I just want to find an MS that makes me do this...
A little more about me...I'm represented by the awesome Maura Kye-Casella with Don Congdon and I have a sci-fi (post-apocalyptic) duology out now with HarperTeen that includes
IN THE AFTER and IN THE END. I'm also an editor and
contributing author for the YA anthology, AMONG THE SHADOWS: 13 STORIES OFDARKNESS & LIGHT. Kate also has an awesome story in the anthology, so check it out.
My next book, BAD BLOOD, is a paranormal set in Scotland, releases 3/14/17 with Delacorte Press/Random House.
Please read all of Kate's post because she has a lot of good info on there about our critique style and how to get extra entries for a better chance of finding a mentor. Okay, by now you're probably like, show me the freaking letter already. The magic letter is....
