Katie Hamstead's Blog, page 31

Son of a Pitch: List of Publishers

As well as our awesome Agents, we have a huge line up of publishers for you. I will be posting about these publishers and the requesting editors over the next few weeks. But for now, here they all are!



BookFish Books

REUTS

Tigearr

Bloomsbury Spark
Carina
City Owl
Elephantine
Future House
Jolly Fish
Omnific

Blog Tour: Petty Little Lives by @Alice_Reeds @yaboundtourspr

Petty Little Livesby Alice Reeds Release Date: 08/18/15Limitless Publishing316 pages
Summary from Goodreads:The only thing cousins Sapphire Hope and Roxanna Revolution have in common is they don’t want to spend the summer at their aunt’s Iowa farm.

Sapphire is an entitled L.A. rich-girl…
Spoiled by her Oscar-winning mother and a CEO father, Sapphire thrives on the lifestyle of a jet-setting socialite and aspiring model. She has no interest in rural life, or the strange cousin who seems to want to be her friend. About the only thing even remotely interesting about the farm is the good-looking intern at her aunt’s veterinary clinic, Dawn Matthews. He might do as a summer distraction.

Roxanna is a sensitive loner…
She spends her time playing guitar and posting videos for her YouTube subscribers, but at least at her aunt’s, nobody knows what she’s hiding. Since her secret drove her boyfriend away, she could use a few friends, but Sapphire clearly isn't interested—and even less so when Dawn prefers Roxanna's company over hers.

When Roxanna's secret comes out, Sapphire, Roxanna, and their friends are forced to view their lives from a new perspective and face choices they never thought they’d have to make.

Can friendship and new love help them overcome physical and emotional challenges and learn what’s really important? Or will old habits and attitudes refuse to die?
Add to Goodreads
Buy Links:Amazon: Kindle, Paperback
Barnes and Nobel: Paperback
Book Depository: Paperback


Excerpt:Sapphire“Welcome back, Miss Hope,” Albus says, in his old man voice.He is one of the butlers my mother hired because she cannot be bothered to open doors on her own. Albus started working for our family when I was twelve years old. Back then I always called him Dumbledore because his name just calls for it.“Your mother is in the living room.”“I’m sure she is,” I say and cross the entrance hall. The ceiling, which is more than four stories above my head, is vaulted and an almost cliché looking chandelier hangs off of it. The floor is white marble and so clean you could eat off it.“Sapphire!”I hear my mother call out. I had hoped she wouldn’t notice I was home. Lord knows the house is big enough so that we would never have to see each other if we wanted. I look over my shoulder to Albus who just shrugs and then walks off somewhere.“Hello, Mother,” I say upon entering the living room which is, to say the least, ginormous. Expensive furniture, high ceiling, and floor-to- ceiling windows as far as the eye can see. They allow you to look over the entirety of our garden.Mother stands up from the sofa and walks over to me. Her hair has the same shade of blonde, but it’s an inch or two shorter than mine. Judging by her clothes, I’d say she spent her morning and early afternoon at a meeting of some sorts. Good for her. I don’t really care.“You were shopping, again?” Her voice sounds dismissive, defensive almost.“Yes.” I raise the bags I’m still carrying slightly and arch an eyebrow. Aren’t these proof of that? “Ashley and I went to Rodeo Drive. I left a note in the kitchen.”“And where did you get the money from?” “Relax, Mother, I still have more than enough from what you and Dad gave me.” For my eighteenth birthday my parents gave me a decent amount of money, because I’m sure they either couldn’t be bothered to get me an actual present or they forgot about my birthday all together.
About the AuthorAlice Reeds was born in a small town in Germany but spent her first eight years in Florida, USA. Later on, she moved back to Europe, where her family moved around a lot. Alice is a soon-to-be freshman at University where she studies Political Science. In her free time Alice mostly writes, reads, or watches countless Let's plays.
Author Links:Website│Goodreads│Twitter
Book Tour Organized by:YA Bound Book Tours


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Blog Tour: Inconceivable! by Tegan Wren

Inconceivable!  By: Tegan WrenReleasing November 16, 2015  Curiosity Quills Press

BlurbA popular, young royal couple can't produce an heir? INCONCEIVABLE!
When Ozarks native Hatty goes “whole hog” during karaoke, she catches the eye of Prince John. He isn’t what she expects the heir to a small European nation to be: he's affable, witty, and isn’t put off by her tell-it-like-it-is demeanor. Their flirtation should be short lived, but a force stronger than fate—Hatty’s newspaper editor—assigns her to cover the royals. After spending time together, she and John soon begin dating, and Hatty finds herself making headlines instead of writing them.
But challenges loom that are even more complicated than figuring out how to mesh Hatty's journalism career with life at Belvoir Palace. Hatty and John soon find themselves embroiled in an unusual sex scandal: they can't produce an heir. Tabloids dub Hatty a “Barren-ess,” and the royals become irate. Hatty politely tells them to shove it. But beneath her confident exterior, she struggles to cope with a heartbreak that invades her most intimate moments with John. Pressured to choose between invasive medical procedures and abandoning John’s claim to the throne, the couple feels trapped until a trip to Ethiopia shows them happy endings sometimes arrive long after saying “I do.”

Link to Follow Tour:  http://www.tastybooktours.com/2015/09/inconceivable-by-tegan-wren.htmlGoodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24910975-inconceivable?from_search=true&search_version=service
Buy Links:  Amazon  
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Inconceivable-Tegan-Wren-ebook/dp/B014U6D2SQAuthor's Favorite Scene:Thank you for having me on your blog, Katie! My favorite scene is the last one (not the epilogue, though I really like it a lot). As many readers have noted, Hatty and John get a happy ending that’s not exactly what they expected nor what they had envisioned for themselves. I think these are the best happy endings. I’m not a big fan of predictable stories. So, tying together all the loose ends, having a couple of callbacks to establish a bit of parallel structure with a scene earlier in the book, and sending my characters off into a brilliant sunset was delightful. I definitely shed a few tears as I saw how far Hatty and John had come and how perfectly at peace they were with the place their journey had led them. Because of my own experiences with infertility, I know it’s a medical challenge that changes you. It breeds compassion, patience, and resilience. I wanted to show growth in my characters, especially Hatty. I think we really see that in the final scene. Based on early reviews, I believe the ending is also striking a powerful chord with readers.It’s not surprising that the last scene is my favorite. When I worked as a radio journalist, writing the end of my stories was always my favorite part. The opening of the story, the lede, always seemed to write itself. Creating the body of the story was as easy as logically fitting the pieces together so the listener can follow along. But the ending is where you as the producer/writer have the chance to bring it all together in a powerful way. That’s what I tried to do with the final scene of INCONCEIVABLE!                                            Author Info The best compliment Tegan Wren ever received came from her sixth grade teacher: “You always have a book in your hand!”

Guided by her love of the creative process, Tegan grew up acting in theatre productions and writing poetry, short stories, and plays. She turned her eye to writing about real life when she worked as a journalist, producing reports for various radio and television stations in medium and large markets in the Midwest and also filing some stories for a major national news network. Wren has both a Bachelor’s of Journalism and a Master of Arts in Communications. After completing her graduate degree, Tegan had the opportunity to teach journalism courses at a major state university. She absolutely loved training the next generation of journalists.

Tegan’s thankful that she’s had the opportunity to travel overseas, and uses those adventures to inform her writing. She also draws inspiration from her own struggles, joys, and other life experiences. Tegan and her husband, Patrick, experienced infertility for five years before becoming parents through adoption. Because she understands the financial stress of the infertility journey, Tegan is donating half the royalties from her book to Baby Quest Foundation. This charity awards grants to people all over the U.S. for fertility treatments. Tegan is thrilled to use her story to help other people find their happily ever after.Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

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Son of a Pitch: Agents Dawn and Jennie from Red Sofa Lit

Today I have the great privilege of introducing you to our agents who will be perusing the entries! Meet Dawn and Jennie from Red Sofa!

(Bio's from Website)
Dawn Michelle Frederick is the owner and literary agent of Red Sofa Literary, established at the end of 2008. She brings a broad knowledge of the book business to the table, bringing multiple years of experience as a bookseller in the independent, chain, and specialty stores; sales, marketing, & book development at a YA publisher, and a literary agent at Sebastian Literary Agency. She carries a B.S. in Human Ecology, and a M.S. in Information Sciences from an ALA accredited institution. Dawn is a co-founder of the MN Publishing Tweet Up, the News chair for the Twin Cities Advisory Council for MPR, and a teaching artist at Loft Literary. You can find her on Twitter at@redsofaliterary.

In Fall 2011, Jennie Goloboy joined Red Sofa Literary as an Associate Agent. Jennie Goloboy has a PhD in the History of American Civilization from Harvard. She is also a published author of both history and fiction, and a member of SFWA, RWA, SHEAR, OAH, the AHA, and Codex Writer’s Group. Her funny, spec-fic short stories appear under her pen name, Nora Fleischer. Jennie was promoted to Literary Agent in December 2013.

Review: INFORMANT by Ava Archer Payne

Publication date: July 10th 2015

Synopsis:
I’m Kylie Porter, a nineteen-year-old biology major at San Francisco State. I’m a part-time waitress, full-time smart ass, straight A student. I’m also an informant the DEA hired to infiltrate the Cuban mob.

I’m being paid to seduce Ricco Diaz, the sexy son of a sociopathic drug lord. Maybe I should have said no. But I needed the cash and the  pay was good–real good. The kind of money someone from my neighborhood would never turn down. I thought it’d be easy.

But there was one problem. Beckett—the smoldering hot undercover DEA agent who lured me into helping him trap Diaz. I never meant to fall in love with him.

And I definitely didn’t mean to hurt him… I just didn’t have a choice.

INFORMANT is a complete standalone novel. No cliffhangers!

Find it on Amazon and Goodreads

My Thoughts:
What a fantastic read! From the first chapter, Kylie's voice is strong, smart, and sharp. She's the kind of girl who's not going to get taken for a ride.
The story is fast paced, with plenty of twists and turns to keep the pages turning. The characters are vivid, and often surprising. I could never quite tell which way any of them were going to turn next.
Beckett makes for a great hero. He's strong and smart and has Kylie's back from the beginning. Together, they make the perfect team.
There is strong language and sexual content, as a warning, but considering the subject manner, that is to be expected.
All up, this is a book that's full of suspense, fantastic characters, and a great story line to boot. Definitely a must read.

Son of a Pitch Hosts and Voting Authors!

For the second round, published authors will be swinging around to critique queries and first 250 words posted on three blogs, as well as casting votes on who will make the final round. Here today you can meet those authors!

Blog Hosts:

Samantha Bryant

Samantha Bryant is a middle school Spanish teacher by day and a mom and novelist by night. That makes her a superhero all the time. Her debut novel, Going Through the Change: A Menopausal Superhero Novel is now for sale by Curiosity Quills. You can find her online on her blog,  Twitter, on Facebook, on Amazon, on Goodreads, on the Curiosity Quills page, or on Google+.



Ayden Morgen
Ayden lives in the heart of Arkansas with her childhood sweetheart/husband of over a decade, and their five furry minions. She is the author of the Amazon bestselling Ragnarök Prophesies series. When not writing, she spends her time hiking, reading, volunteering, causing mischief, and building a Spork army. Ayden graduated summa cum laude with her Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and Forensic Psychology in 2009 before going on to complete her graduate degree in CJ and Law. She currently puts her education to use in the social services and CJ fields.
Ayden also writes New Adult romance under the penname Ayden K. Morgen.
Website: http://aydenmorgen.comBlog: http://aydenmorgen.com/blog
Pitch Success Story:In July of 2015, Ayden participated in #pit2pub with her urban fantasy/paranormal romance novel, STRICKEN. Her Twitter pitch received ten requests from publishers, and ultimately led to four contract offers. Ayden has since signed the entire War Scrolls series with Limitless Publishing.


Elsie Elmore:
Elsie Elmore lives in North Carolina with her husband and two kids.
She loves the color red, has an appreciation for chocolate and coffee that borders on obsession, writes stories that challenge the laws of nature, and wishes fall temperatures would linger year round. 

Elsie is a member of  SCBWI, and WSW. The Undead : Playing for Keeps is her debut novel. Find her on the web: on twitter at @ElsieWriter, her blog at www.elsieelmore.com, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/elsieelmorewriter.


Her Story:
I wrote The Undead during the winter and finalized it mid-summer. I started querying a few agents and then participated in the September #pitmad. I had two requests for partials.After I sent the first three chapters, I tried to relax, but it was difficult. Someone was interested. That such a great feeling to know you've piqued someone's interest in your work.  About a week after I had sent my partial, the full manuscript was requested and I couldn’t push SEND fast enough.At the end of September, I attended the SBWBI conference in Charlotte, NC. While I was there, I received an email asking about my online presence.My heart stopped.I didn’t have an online presence. I had a twitter account with about twelve tweets (mostly from pit mad because I’m not much of a tweeter), I had no Facebook page as an author, and no blog. I panicked. Would they think I wasn’t serious?An online presence was a great way for people to read about you and get to know you, even if you’re an introvert (which I am, with a dash of shyness in the mix). So, I started timidly tweeting (which still is the best way to describe my tweeting habit), I created a blog where I sometimes talk writing and more, and then set-up a Facebook page as an author. And while I networked to find my voice online (which is still quiet), I read about Curiosity Quills. I checked out their book covers and their online presence. I was excited and hopeful.In November, I was offered a contract. I withdrew my queries / partials from other agencies and signed on the dotted line. And of course, went out to dinner to celebrate.
Yolanda Renee:
The Keystone state couldn't satisfy my adventurous spirit, yet Pennsylvania will always be home. Alaska called to me and I answered. I learned to sleep under the midnight sun, hike the Brooks Range and traveled from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. These experiences influenced my murder trilogy, Murder, Madness & Love, Memories of Murder, and Murder & Obsession to be released in 2016.I enjoy reading all genres, but mysteries, romance, and horror will catch my attention first.Defending the Pen is my blog. http://yolandarenee.blogspot.com/
My Query Journey: In September 2012, I won a query contest hosted by author, Sharon Bayless and won the opportunity to send my completed manuscripts to Curiosity Quills. The challenge was titled The Haunted Writing Clinic and Contest; it was an opportunity to get help constructing a submission package by posting on a blog and getting feedback from other authors. Each session was critiqued and we were given the chance to tweak, change, and re-post until perfect. Then the completed query and the first page were judged.I was thrilled to learn I was one of the winners. 

Leigh Statham - quantumfairytales.com


Critiquers and Voters:

Mara Valderran

Mara Valderran is an author of young adult and new adult books, but she's more than just a madwoman with a writing box. She is an avid reader and fan of all things sci-fi and fantasy. She loves roller skating and movies, though typically not together. She hopes to one day meet Daniel Jackson from SG1, or at least the actor who played him. When she’s not writing, you can find her reading, playing video games, or counting down the days until DragonCon.


Website  
Success story:I wrote ALTAR OF REALITY for NaNoWriMo in 2013. Once I cleaned it up, PitchMas was happening. So, on a whim, I decided to pitch it and see if I got any bites. I had a few from agents that didn't pan out, but then James Wymore, one of the acquisitions editors from Curiosity Quills, asked me to send it over. A few months later, I had a contract! 



Stacey Nash

Book Blitz: Lucid Dreaming by Cassandra Page

Lucid Dreaming
Cassandra Page
Publication date: November 2rd 2015
Genres: New Adult, Urban Fantasy

Who would have thought your dreams could kill you?
Melaina makes the best of her peculiar heritage: half human and half Oneiroi, or dream spirit, she can manipulate others’ dreams. At least working out the back of a new age store as a ‘dream therapist’ pays the bills. Barely.
But when Melaina treats a client for possession by a nightmare creature, she unleashes the murderous wrath of the creature’s master. He could be anywhere, inside anyone: a complete stranger or her dearest friend. Melaina must figure out who this hidden adversary is and what he’s planning – before the nightmares come for her.

Goodreads / Amazon US / Amazon UK / Smashwords / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Createspace
EXCERPTI closed my eyes and looked into Larry’s dreams.
I was expecting to find a tortured psyche, an aspect of his subconscious manifesting itself there. Daddy or mummy issues, arachnophobia, anxiety, even garden-variety stress: I’d seen them all at one point or another. I couldn’t fix his psychological issues, but I could put a temporary block on his dreams until his doctor’s referral came good.
That was what it usually was.
What I found was a thing.
The creature was an amorphous black cloud about the size of my torso. Greasy as a burger shop floor, it had yellowing eyes and writhing tentacles … if tentacles could be covered with fine hair and worm into your skin like something from a bad horror movie.
I’d seen manifestations of people’s nightmares before, more times than I could count. But this wasn’t part of Larry. It was an interloper. A blight.
“Hello,” I said.
The blight hissed like a feral cat over a broken-backed lizard that wasn’t quite dead. Around us, the dreamscape resolved into a rolling hillside, distinctly Australian in its gentle undulations. No sharp-edged peaks here. The grass underfoot was withered, not by the summer sun but by the blight’s corruption. A single eucalypt wept tears of black sap. Clouds loomed, obscuring the vast sky.
I wouldn’t have picked Larry for the rural landscape type. You can never tell. “You’re an ugly little grease-ball, aren’t you?”
The blight’s eyes were flat, uncomprehending and angry. I wasn’t going to be able to goad it into letting go. And I didn’t want to attack it while those tentacles were embedded in the reddish dirt beneath the tree. What if one of them tore off? That could result in residual badness for Larry, like leaving a bee sting under the skin to spit toxins long after the bee has died.
Still, the blight was only small. I could take it.

Author Bio:
Cassandra Page is a mother, author, editor and geek. She lives in Canberra, Australia’s bush capital, with her son and two Cairn Terriers. She has a serious coffee addiction and a tattoo of a cat — which is ironic, as she’s allergic to cats. When she’s not reading or writing, she engages in geekery, from Doctor Who to AD&D. Because who said you need to grow up?
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Google+

GIVEAWAY!
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ANOUNCEMENT! New Pitching Competition: Son of a Pitch!

Pitching comps can seriously suck. They make you freak out with the pressure, make you sick as you sit waiting for news for weeks, then get practically nothing out of it, not even one sentence of useful feedback.

You end up secretly thinking something like...



Well, this comp isn't like that. This is your chance to get real feedback, not wait forever, and to see as the comp unfolds how you're going. 
Want a round first up to refine your query and first 250 words? Done. First week is all about that. We want you to stand a chance, and also increase your chances querying outside of the comp. Because really, cold queries get more deals than comps do, so let this comp help you get there by giving you a week full of feedback from your peers.
Want a round where published authors give you feedback? You want someone who has been there and done that to help guide you? Done. The second week, the Son of a Pitch team, who are all published, will post your emailed in queries and 250 words, provide feedback, and fight over who has the best pitches on their blogs. They will vote for their favorites to go onto the final round.
Want to get seen by industry professionals? Done. We have a line up of editors, publishers, an agent, and we're still working on more agents (please let us know of an agent or publisher you might like to see your pitch here!) But they'll swing by the final contestants to try to bribe you into subbing to them. Who knows? You might get a sweet book deal!
And finally, we'll have a free-for-all twitter pitching opp under the hashtag #sonofapitch
And guess what? You can say whatever you want. Don't worry about this pretentious nonsense that floats around comps, express the real you. Your story rocks, make sure everyone else knows it as much as you do by taking advantage of other people's experience and point of view.

So, DATES!
Week 1 starts Feb 15, 2016Week 2 starts Feb 22, 2016Week 3 starts Feb 29, 2016Twitter Pitch: Mar 7, 2016
This is for all genres of YA, NA, and Adult.
More details to come! I will be announcing the publishers, editors etc soon, and how to join in from the 2nd round. As a hint, I featured some of the participating publishers earlier this year on my blog.
So... tell your friends! Let's make this awesome.

Blaze Feature End and Submission Details

Thanks to those who dropped by to support the Blaze feature this week.Below I've included details for subbing to Blaze. I love supporting indie publishers because they bring out rich, unique, and a wide range of books that break from the mainstream and dare to be different.

Don't forget to swing by for the big announcement next week!

Blog Tour: Reawakened by Mari Denae

Publication date: October 26th 2015
Genres: New Adult, Romance
Synopsis:
Some secrets should never be kept…
Growing up in the servants’ quarters at Haven Hill, Claire Brown was a poor outcast, living in a world of money and privilege. Her only solace was best friend, Alice Sinclair, and secret desire, Jackson Montgomery. Rich and connected, they were perfect in every way and perfect for each other.
Still, Claire was foolish enough to fall in love with Jackson, and desperate enough to hide it. When Alice found out, there was a terrible accident that left her in a coma. Jackson disappeared, leaving New Haven without even saying good-bye.
Ten years later, Claire has managed to build a life without them. So when Jackson calls out of nowhere to say Alice is awake, Claire’s first thought is Thank God. Her second? I’m screwed. Lusting after Jackson destroyed her. It’s nothing compared to what she’s hiding now.
But nothing stays hidden forever.
Reawakened Secrets  is part one of Jackson and Claire’s story.
Part 2,  Reawakened Sins  and Part 3,  Reawakened Seduction  will be released early next year.  To be the first to get information on deals, teasers, excerpts, bonus scenes and release dates, connect with the author on Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25074964-reawakened-secrets?ac=1
Purchase: Amazon

What is my favorite scene from Reawakened Secrets?Overwhelmingly, the favorite scene for Beta Readers is in Chapter 3, The Betrayal.  This is the moment that the h and H finally give in completely to their feelings for each other.  I enjoyed writing this scene.  It’s a flashback from when the characters were younger and I think that is reflected in the language and description of their intimacy even though the chemistry is off the charts hot.  I love the way this scene shows how deeply they feel for each other even if they shouldn’t.  This is the moment that solidifies the inevitable pain and heartache at the center of this story.

My favorite scene to write may surprise some, but it is another flashback (there are only 3, I promise).  In a desperate attempt to distract herself from her feelings for Jackson, Claire decides to date someone else.  The results are unexpected and only end up highlighting who Claire’s heart truly belongs to.  Claire’s feisty and sarcastic personality is on display in a way that the older version no longer shares.  I love the layers of this scene.  I hope it leaves you with questions, like:  Why didn’t Jackson just go for it with Claire and how much did Alice really know?


AUTHOR BIO:My name is  Mari Denae I am a married mother of three and publishing my first novel is a dream come true. As the nerd that went to bed with a flash light to read the books I swiped from my mom’s room, I have always been an avid book lover. My favorites are hot, alpha male heroes (think Kristen Ashley), suspenseful, romantic thrillers (think Sandra Brown) and poignant, sweet love stories (think Abbi Glines or Colleen Hoover). My plan was always to be a writer of some sort, but somehow real life responsibilities got in the way. Now, I am an accountant with a night time writing obsession.One Saturday afternoon, I took my girls to see the latest teenage movie. Four days later, I had read all four Twilight books. I was inspired by the innocent romance and ‘Edward Cullen’ (don’t judge). Once I found my way to Fifty Shades of Grey, I was a complete goner. All my spare time was spent reading, writing or blogging. After version one million, five hundred and fifty five of my series Reawakened , I’m finally ready to share it and hope that someone enjoys reading the story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. This one’s for my mother. I hope she’s looking down proud because I finally finished what I started.

Author links:https://www.facebook.com/Mari-Denae-Author-249916851690343/https://twitter.com/Mari_Denaehttp://booksbymaridenae.com/https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13575406.Mari_Denae

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