Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Winter Holiday GIVEAWAY!!!


It's time for another giveaway and it's going to be HUGE people! We have 4 autographed copies of some of the best YA books that are currently out on shelves right now. 

My AWESOME agency-sister (and co-host on this giveaway) Kimberly Lovell-Chase was kind enough to brave throngs of fans at Y'allFest and get these fantastic books signed! We're linking blogs and joining forces in order to give one winner the fabulous prize just in time for the holidays!!! 

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare and Beautiful Creatures by Garcia and Stohl will premiere on the big screen in the year 2013, so we have a little movie schwag thrown in as well. Poster, bracelets, book marks. 

Kimberly Derting was recommended to me by Molly Lee (my agency sister and co-host on this giveaway) and I could just HUG her for recommending this fabulous author to me. I've apparently been living under a rock because I don't know how I wasn't a huge fan of Kimberly's until recently. The Pledge is the first in a dystopian type series and an exciting read. Kimberly is also very well known for her The Body Finder series. Not only are her books terrific, but she was super sweet in person. You'll find even her signed note on the inside makes you think!

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love Cinda Williams Chima and her Demon King Series. The final installment of the series, The Crimson Crown, to me, is the crown jewel of this prize. Cinda's descriptive writing and imagination come to life in all of her work. 

I would like to thank Y'allFest for the opportunity to even have these autographed books in my hands.

They say a picture speaks a thousand words and I'm going to put that to the test. 

Our Holiday Prize....

*drum roll*

To enter to win this fabulous prize use the rafflecopter widget below: 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

PITCH WARS AGENTS REVEAL!!!

Are you ready for this? We have 16 incredible agents vying for our Pitch Wars team manuscripts. We're so excited to see what pitches they fall in love with, and what teams will win the coveted Pitch Wars Most Requested Manuscript title. 


And, in no particular order, here are the agents...



Louise is seeking teen Sci-Fi and Young Adult horror.  She's 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 and Victorian.





Jessica Sinsheimer

Jessica is seeking Literary, Women's, Middle Grade, and Young Adult Fiction.





Natalie is looking for commercial fiction, with an emphasis in children’s literature (from picture book-teen), romance (contemporary, paranormal and historical), and upmarket women’s fiction. Specific likes include historical, multi-cultural, paranormal, sci-fi/fantasy, gritty, thrilling and darker contemporary novels, and middle grade with heart. 



Pam represents young adult and middle grade children’s book authors, and adult romance authors. 



Jordy is on the look out for Romance (contemporary, historical/Regency, and paranormal). YA contemporary/historical or dystopian, sci-fi/fantasy with romance elements. She's also open to YA GLBT within those genres. She'd love to see unique, well-developed plots featuring time travel, competitions, or travel.



Andrea's looking for the following categories: Fiction; literary, commercial, womens fiction, romance, thrillers, mystery, paranormal, fantasy, science fiction, young adult, middle grade.




Jennifer Mishler

Jennifer is seeking Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult Contemporary, Young Adult Literary, and Young Adult Historical. 





Suzie represents adult and children's fiction. In adult, she's specifically looking for romance (historical and paranormal), and fantasy (urban fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, epic fantasy). In Childrens' she loves YA (all subgenres) and is dying to find great Middle Grade projects (especially something akin to the recent movie SUPER 8).

  

Victoria Marini

Victoria is looking for literary fiction, commercial fiction, pop-culture non-fiction, and young adult. She is very interested in acquiring engaging Literary fiction and mysteries / suspense, commercial women's fiction (romantic suspense, sci-fi, fantasy), and Young Adult (contemporary, sci-fi/fantasy, thriller and horror ).



Kerry is looking for Young Adult and Middle-Grade fiction, both commercial and literary. She tends to shy away from werewolves, zombies, faeries, and the like, but she’ll read anything with a fresh voice and compelling characters. She is particularly keen on contemporary YA, quirky MG, books with a strong cinematic element.  




Drea is currently seeking: fiction, memoir, crime, non-fiction and YA. Her roster consists of British, American, and Canadian clients. International talent is welcome. 




Katie Shea

Katie specializes in fiction and memoir, especially women’s fiction and commercial-scale literary fiction, and realistic YA.  She is most interested in coming-of-age stories and stories of unique relationships.


 Elise Capron

Elise is interested in serious character-driven literary fiction, well-written narrative nonfiction, and short story collections. (Note: She is not interested in Fantasy, young-adult/middle-grade, picture books, romance, and sci-fi.) She aims to work with writers who have a realistic sense of the market and their audience.



Jodell is interested in YA, MG (especially funny) , fiction and nonfiction, book proposals, and picture books. She will also coach writers wanting to self publish.  She simply loves a well-paced story that moves her between joy and tears.


Brittany and Michelle are teaming up to look for Adult, YA, and MG manuscripts. 


 Michelle Johnson

Michelle’s published one novel, The Footloose Killer, and edited several others for publishing houses and private clients. She also is a Script/Story consultant on an independent film in Halifax, NS, Canada, and enjoys working closely with writers to help them develop their voice and craft.



Brittany Howard

When reading, Brittany  loves to be introduced to new and interesting people and places. She looks for strong voice, good storytelling, and fascinating relationships between characters—romantic or otherwise. More than anything, she loves when a book surprises her.




There's just one more day to get your applications in for Pitch Wars. Make sure to check out this post here to get all the details.

Monday, November 26, 2012

PITCH WARS SUBMISSIONS OPEN!!!! PICK ME!!!

Below is my Bio and Interests for PITCH WARS! After that you'll find the information on how to submit to me :) 

Bio: I'm a YA author represented by the fabulous Brittany Howard of the Marisa Corvisiero Literary Agency for my YA Paranormal Romance novel entitled Judges. I'm a military spouse who married her best friend, has a spoiled english bulldog named Whiskey, and love falling into books and losing track of time. Some of my favorite books (I say some because there is NO way to list them all) are--THE BODY FINDER series by Kimberly Derting, THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS and THE INFERNAL DEVICES series by Cassandra Clare, and the SOUL SCREAMERS series by Rachel Vincent. 

What I'm looking for: YA Paranormal Romance--Even though this genre is saturated right now a fresh concept and plenty of twists can catch my eye (please no vampire falls for the clumsy girl next door) Also the romance has to be strong and the hotter the better :) 

YA with Biblical Themes--I enjoy everything from taking inspiration from the Bible to retellings to fallen angel stories! As long as it is believable and has a purpose in the story I'm ready to read it!

YA Fantasy--This genre needs strong world building and believable character motivations for me. I'd rather it be in the smaller scale verses epic and if there is a romance that is swoon worthy I'll be hooked! 

Qualifications: I have a Bachelors degree in Creative Writing and read thoroughly in the YA genre. I firmly believe that reading in the genre you write improves the strength of your skills immensely. I have a YA Paranormal Romance book currently on submission with publishers and before I got to this point I had to go through several rounds of edits with my agent. During this process I've learned what to look for and what to expand on in YA stories. I'm honest but never malicious and my comments are always geared to making the story as strong as possible :) 

Submissions start today (11/26) ! The cut off time to get your applications (query & first five pages of manuscript) in is 8AM EST on December 5. 
Send your applications to brendadrakecontests@gmail.com. Writers can apply for up to 3 coaches. The coaches' categories are set. Coaches can only consider the categories they've signed up for. Writers cannot apply for a coach that is not in their category.
For additional information about this contest go HERE 

·        This is open to finished manuscripts only.
·         You may only enter one manuscript.
·         Only the genres requested by each coach will be considered for the contest.
Formatting... 
Subject line: Pitch Wars Application: Coach Name you want to apply for: Title (Example: Pitch Wars Application: Brenda Drake: GONE WITH THE WIND) 
Name: Your Name 
Genre: The genre of your manuscript 
Word Count: The word count of your manuscript 
Query letter here  (embedded in email). Single spaced. No indentions. A space between each paragraph. 
First five pages of the manuscript here (embedded in email). Single spaced. No indentions. A space between each paragraph. 
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REMINDER: You can send an application for up to 3 coaches.  
Check back soon for a complete list of the amazing agents participating in the contest. There's over a dozen! 
Today all the coaches are posting bios/wish lists on their blogs. So before choosing your top 3 picks, check all the coaches' posts in your category before deciding which coach to submit. To jump from blog to blog, just click on our pictures below. 
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