#PitchWars Bio & Wishlist

Welcome, #PitchWars hopefuls! 

I'm resurrecting the blog just for you. 

Come over here and sit for a spell.

I'm so excited to be co-mentoring again this year with the beautiful and badass Kes Trester, who was my very own #PitchWars mentor back in 2014. Her guidance helped me land an agent, and we hit it off so well during the contest that we became CPs and, eventually, co-mentors. She's the Dorothy to my Blanche, the Poehler to my Fey, the Lorelai to my Rory (although she could only be my mama if she'd been gettin' bizzy way too young). 

Here we are at The Writing Barn together last fall.
Best. Workshop. Ever.
You can read about that experience here.

We make an excellent duo, and trust me, you want to be on our team.

Reasons you should sub to us:

-Our 2015 mentee went on to sign with an agent. 

-We bring a variety of experience to the table: from Kes's film industry background and my medical background, to our combined years of writing experience.

-We have varied cultural seasonings: 

Kes brings Hollywood, I bring the dirty south.

-We balance each other out in taste and approach.

My bio:

The basics: 

I'm a Sagittarius. INFJ. Enneagram Type 4. 

Card-carrying Slytherin. (Think Snape, not Malfoy.) 

My day job: 

I work as an editor for Author Accelerator--a book coaching program designed and operated by professors of the UCLA Extension Writer's Program. I've been trained by some of the most incredible teachers in the science of story. My education is in healthcare (I'm a nurse), but five years into that endeavor, I realized I was miserable and would never truly be happy unless I was writing. So I made a huge career change, and I'm so glad I did. (And hey--if you've written a ms with medical details, I can tell you if they're correct!)

I write YA magical realism (with healthy doses of kissing). I'm a double-finalist for the 2016 YARWA Rosemary Award for my YA mss FALSE START and THE LANGUAGE OF CHERRIES. 

FALSE START is also a 2016 RWA Maggie Award for Excellence Finalist. I've had short works published in literary magazines, including The Decameron Journal. 

I'm a member of RWA, YARWA, and SCBWI.

Things I love: 

My family. Baking. (I fix a mean cherry pie.) Porch swings. Kissing. Sweet tea. Jane the Virgin. Swimming. Antiques. Poetry. My record player. Random acts of kindness. FOOTBALL. 

The beach. Sam Cooke. Climbing trees with my boys. Hiking. 

Tim Riggins (aka the holy grail of characters). My ukulele. Lipstick. The F word. Everyday magic (it exists!). My Great Dane. And of course, books.

Be sure to check out Kes's bio HERE.

And finally, here's what we're looking for:

1. Contemporary 

Especially with elements of diversity. We want to see marginalized voices and stories we haven't seen before. Teach us something new!

We also love dark subjects that reflect honest teen experiences. You won't scare us away with stories that contain alcohol or drugs or sex or profanity. We also love kissing. Girls kissing. Boys kissing. Pretty much anybody kissing.

2. Magical Realism 

Now, keep in mind that magical realism and fantasy are not the same thing. Magical realism contains subtle touches of inexplicable magic in a world we know. If you have questions about what this is, or if your manuscript fits the genre, hit us up on Twitter.

3. Thriller/Mystery 

We especially love unreliable narrators! Everyone wants a YA Gone Girl, and we are no exception.

Please do NOT send us: horror, dystopian, or mss with a racist or misogynist narrator. We also do not want stories depicting cruelty or violence to children or animals, nor do we want stories with gratuitous rape scenes.

*Please also note we are not accepting SFF this year.*

This will be our reaction if you send us anything on our DO NOT SEND TO US list.

Our ideal mentee is someone who wants help taking his/her ms the final stretch, and is willing to work hard to get there. (If you're in this for a head pat, go ahead and query! Pitch Wars is for writers who need mentoring.) A sense of humor is pretty important, too. We love to laugh, and hope you will, too.

For a more comprehensive list of our favorite books, please visit Kes's post HERE.

You'll also find the letter clue within her post!

Good luck to everyone entering! And please interact with us on Twitter if you have questions about whether or not your entry fits our wishlist! We love to interact. Plus, it makes it that much easier for us to stalk you. Ahem. I mean, check out your profile.

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