Michelle Hauck's Blog, page 100

Query Kombat 2014 Grand Champion

Betsy Aldredge & Carrie DuBois-Shaw
 
Betsy Aldredge is a former magazine editor turned museum professional. She’s worked at a library and at two independent bookstores including Shakespeare and Company. Born a book nerd, she is happy to pass on the tradition. Her four-year-old daughter is named after a Harry Potter character and already insists on sleeping with piles of books in her bed. She lives and works in New York.


Carrie DuBois-Shaw has had two plays for young audiences produced in New York City and spearheaded the new play development program at The New Victory Theater, a performing arts venue in Times Square dedicated to engaging and entertaining kids and families. She recently relocated to San Francisco, where she is enjoying the abundance of independent bookstores, sour dough bread, and fog.



Betsy and Carrie are members of SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators). They met at NYU where they lived in a haunted dorm, studied theater, and were secretly delighted to be mistaken for English literature majors.
BLOG @betsyaldredge /  @carriedubois



Query Kombat 2014 Championship Entry:

Entry Nickname: Shalom Sasquatch
Title: Sasquatch, Love, and Other Imaginary Things
Word count: 77K
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Query:
Seventeen-year-old Samantha Berger is pretty sure most nice Jewish girls don’t have parents who force them to hunt Bigfoot, especially on national T.V.  Just when Sam thinks she couldn’t be more humiliated, she meets the competition: a team of snobby anthropology students from Yale who are set on wiping the floor with her “Squatch” loving family.

The captain of the other team, Devan Mehta, is impossibly cute in a Bollywood Romeo-meets-Sherlock Holmes sort of way — until he opens his perfect British mouth and calls her family a bunch of low-class wankers. Sam’s no longer just embarrassed. She’s livid, and determined to beat the ascot off Devan and his crew. After all, the prize money will allow her to study pre-med at the college of her dreams, far from Yetis and Yalies.

Teamed up by the producers for a special challenge, Sam and Devan bond over family pressures, geek out over fantasy fiction, and learn to rely on each other. In a moment of honesty, Devan admits he may be kicked out of his anthropology program if his team fails and Sam worries about paying for college if she doesn’t win. Before they know it, understanding leads to attraction and a steamy snogging sessionFirst 250:
On a good day, my parents were just mildly embarrassing. The day the camera crew came to our house was not a good day.

I squinted at the bright lights illuminating our dingy living room, and turned to my older sister, Sophie. “Hunting Bigfoot in private isn’t bad enough?” I whispered. “Now Mom and Dad have to humiliate us on national television?”
Sophie shrugged. “You’ve been complaining for weeks. It’s time to suck it up.”

Colin, the producer of a new TV show called “Myth Gnomers,” stood behind our scratched-up coffee table shooting pre-interviews with my parents, me, and my two sisters. The awful title of this lame reality show should’ve served as an obvious warning we were about to do something ridiculous, but nope, it sure didn’t. Instead of running like hell, all five of us were squished together on our stained, saggy brown couch, smiles frozen in place. At least our butts hid the holes in the upholstery.

“Checking. Checking one, two. Your mics should all be on now.” Colin peered over the camera at my parents’ matching neon green shirts that read, “Ohio is Bigfoot Country.”

My mom’s smile tightened. She glared and gestured at me until I put on a Northern Ohio Bigfoot Society hat like my sisters. Each Sasquatch club designed their own logo. My tacky trucker cap had a cartoon footprint and a motto on it in Latin— which probably translated to “We have nothing better to do.”

I pulled the brim over my eyes and slumped down, wishing I could join the pennies and crumbs hiding in the crevices of the sofa.

IN WITH THE NEW CONTEST Announcement

Time for my latest mini-contest! You’ve heard that old expression In with the New. Well this contest is all about the NEW! 238 years ago the United States was a new country. What better way to celebrate July than with something new. (Look for it on twitter under #NewAgent)
New things can be great. It’s fun to try new foods. It’s great to vacation in new spots. I’m all about making new friends.
New agents are another source of new potential, and they are eagerly on the lookout for clients. We want to roll out the red carpet and welcome them. This contest celebrates new agents with a different sort of fireworks. The fireworks of requests!
I’m assembling a collection of new agents, both those from established agencies and those on their own. My team of Pyrotechnics (slush readers) will patrol the entries and choose their two favorites. I’ll make my own picks. Then all will be posted on my blog for the inspection of the agents. (This could be anywhere from 13 entries to 30 depending on the number of agents and Pyrotechnics.)
Please if you’ve made an agent round in another contest, such as Query Kombat or Pitch Wars, refrain from entering and give others a chance. Though if you have a new manuscript, that’s absolutely fine to enter.

This contest will take MG, YA, NA, and Adult of all genres. No non-fiction or picture books.
The submission window will open July 14th at noonand will close at 8 pm Eastern time. There will be email confirmation. Selected picks will be revealed July 21stfor the agent round which will last three days.
In order to enter the contest you MUST follow formatting guidelines, and submit during the contest window. All entries that follow those guidelines will be considered.

Entries will be sent to:  NewAgentContestJuly (at) gmail (dot) com
Formatting guidelines:
Font: Times New Roman, 12pt font, single-spaced with spaces between each paragraph. No indents. (If you can’t get Times New Roman in your email, use whatever is closest. Formatting problems will not eliminate you from contention but missing pieces of an entry will.)
Subject line of the Email: Title: Genre (audience included). Do not skip this step or your entry will be deleted. (ex. Pygmy Hazards: MG Humor) You need both an age category and a genre.
In the body of the email (with examples):

Name: Michelle HauckEmail address: MichelleHauck@loveher.com
Title: Pygmy Hazards
Word count: 34,000
Genre: MG Humor
Query:
Tom, the classroom hamster, wants to escape from the h-e double hockey sticks otherwise known as school. His old military pet shop days didn't include playing house or being sentenced to a boot camp of never-ending show ‘n tell, math facts rap, and story time. But he’s learned a lot behind the bars of his cage. For example, if you want to keep breathing, never trust a pygmy who has earned the nickname Squeezer. Somehow he has to get away before the pygmies dress him as Strawberry Shortcake again or worse.
When a “subspatoot” fills in, Tom sees his chance to put Operation Escape the Pygmies into action. He makes a run for the border, hamster style. Bad news. The principal says Tom is a distraction to learning and better off flushed. The way out is turned into a battlefield of snapping mousetraps, sticky snares, and poisoned pellets.
Tom seems doomed until the friendless Squeezer lends an over-excited hand. She quickly goes from supervillain to super sidekick. Now, the greatest obstacle to his freedom may be Tom’s soft spot for this lonely pygmy.
(Only include the meat of your query. No bio. No Dear, and no sincerely. Just the good stuff. Queries may be up to 350 words, but 250 is preferred.)
First 250 words:
First 250 words. Don't include the chapter title, they eat up words. And please, don't stop in the middle of a sentence. 255 words are fine. 260 are too much.
Also, no indentations. Indentations are evil. Put line spaces between paragraphs please!
All queries submitted are FINAL. We will not edit them in any way, shape, or form. Please read, reread, and rereread your submission before you hit send. You have time to polish your work. Take advantage of it. Competition will be fierce.
In order to enter the contest, you MUST follow all Pyrotechnics and contest host on twitter. And you must follow host’s blog.

Agents and Pyrotechnics will be revealed soon. (As of now we have 9 agents)

Query Kombat Thanks to the Judges!

Now that Query Kombat is over, IT'S TIME TO THANK THE JUDGES!! 

Click this link to see the original judges' reveal post and read all their bios; this post will reveal their nicknames (Judges, if you don't want your nickname revealed, contact me by Twitter or commenting on this post ASAP so I can take it off!).

I know from personal experience (last year's contest) how hard the job of judging was. Endless over-thinking, second-guessing, and a LOT of time. But this contest revolved around the votes acquired. There is no possible way this contest could have run without a trust group of talented, generous writers.
Here they are below. Be sure to thank them on Twitter, buy their books, follow them, etc. Because they truly deserve it.

[image error]





Angie Sandro was Apple.

Goodreads
Facebook
Blog
Twitter








Lauren Spieller was Luna Lovegood.
NovelsShort Stories Critiquing Services Twitter




[image error]




L. L. McKinney was Gundam Girl.
Website
Twitter
Blog
Facebook




[image error]





Amanda Heger was Jessie Spano.Twitter







[image error]


Vicki L. Weavil was Silverwolf.

Website/blogTwitter
Author page on Facebook
Tumblr 1and Tumblr 2
GoodreadsPinterest







Wendy Nikel was River Tam.
WebsiteTwitter











Ingrid Seymour was Pen Dreamer.
TwitterWebsite








Karen Bynum was ghostbuster_extraordinaire.

TwitterFacebookWebsite







N.K. Traver 
Website
GoodreadsTwitter





[image error]





Sarah Glenn Marsh was Khaleesi.

Twitter
Blog [image error]



Aimee Hyndman was Girl with the Golden Pen.

Twitter
Pinterest: Aimee Hyndman
Tumblr
Blog








Tatum Flynn was OmarComin.
GoodreadsTwitterWebsite





[image error]







Naomi Hughes was Artemis.
Editing. WebsiteTwitter



[image error]





Carla Luna Cullen was Invidia.
Blog
Twitter











MJ O'Neill was Allusion Assassin.
Blog Twitter.










Tracy Jorgensen was Sprocket.

Book Blurb
Win a copy of the book!Twitter










Heather Van Fleet was Book Boyfriend Connoisseur.
Website
Twitter
Facebook









Amber Mitchell was Papercuts.
Blog
Twitter 








Amy Trueblood was Tiny Tornado.
BlogTwitter











Stacey Trombley was Short Stack.
Website
Twitter








Katie Teller was The Hybrid. [image error]
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Amazon






N.N. Light was Mrs N, the Query Queen.

Website
Blog
Goodreads
Twitter
Pinterest








 S.K. Falls was Princess Primrose.
​WebsiteTwitter





[image error]




Jessika Fleck was Chelsea Morning.
Blog
Twitter
Facebook




[image error]




Ami Allen-Vath was Sally Draper.
TwitterFacebookBlog










Amy Pine was Captain Yawp.
Debut novel: "IF ONLY", TwitterFacebookBlog



[image error]




Katharyn Blair was Mrs. Malcolm Reynolds.
TwitterBlog




[image error]






Richard Taylor Pearson was DivaDeconstructed.
TwitterWebsite





Also, a HUGE sorry and special thanks to Susan Keogh whom we forgot to mention in the original post announcing the judges! Because of that, we'll include her bio here so you all can read! Again, huge sorry!


Susan Keogh was Baniac.


From her website:
When Susan Keogh won an elementary school writing contest and a trip to a regional young writers conference, she hadn’t realized that experience was the beginning of a love affair with words. Keogh was raised in a large family where reading was encouraged. Through her mother’s interest in history, Keogh grew to admire such authors as Michael Shaara and Bruce Catton, a fellow Michigan writer who focused on the American Civil War. So it was no wonder that her first writing credit was a featured article in the magazineAmerica’s Civil War. Keogh’s particular interest in the Civil War led her into re-enacting for several years as a field musician.

Keogh's most recent time period of historical interest is early colonial America and the age of piracy. She is crafting a series of novels that center around the adventures of Jack Mallory, a young Englishmen who is both pirate and eventually the patriarch of a large rice plantation in the colonial province of Carolina.

Outside of her writing life, Keogh works in the health care field and enjoys travel (preferably to warm places outside of her native Michigan!), the arts, and equestrian activities.

Twitter

I know, I know, it seems like a lot of names. It is - 29 amazing judges who gave up their valuable time to help with this contest.
The least we can do is thank them on Twitter and follow them!
I've went through and followed everyone on Twitter who I wasn't following before - especially you Kombatants, try doing the same! They deserve it.
Also, we'd absolutely love it if you picked 3-5 judges (even more, if you wish!) who critiqued your entry and thank them on Twitter, detailing who you are, what they said, and why it was so helpful. It might not seem like much, but it can very possibly make somebody's day, somebody who gave you the critiques for free.
Feel free to Tweet under the hashtag #QueryKombat so judges can see your tweets even if you don't @ them (if it's directed towards a specific judge, please @ them!).
THANK YOU SO MUCH JUDGES! We could not have done this at all without you.

Getting the Call with Larry Day

A little something different today. Larry Day entertains us with how he got stated writing.





Miss Bunker (I can’t remember her first name) was principal of East Side School in Idaho Falls, Idaho, circa 1945, when I was in Miss Melton’s (I can’t remember her first name) fourth grade class. Dean Larsen, who sat in front of me in Miss Melton’s class, wrote a smart aleck note and passed it back, unnoticed, to me. I wrote “Screw You!” on another piece of paper and passed it back. Miss Melton saw me pass the note back to Dean, and told me to bring the note up and put it on her desk. She went on with the class. I forgot about the incident until the next day when Miss Melton told me to go see Miss Bunker. In the Principal’s Office, Miss Bunker had the note inher hand.

Miss Bunker: “What does this mean?”

Me: (scrubbing my foot on the floor and looking down) “Idon’t know.”

Miss Bunker: “What does this mean?”

Me: “I don’t know.”

Miss Bunker: “I’m going to call your mother on the phone.”

Me: (in desperation) “It’s the title of a story.”

Miss Bunker: “A story?”

Me: “Yes. I’m writing a story about a boy who gets a tool box for Christmas.”

Miss Bunker: “I want to read that story. Bring it to my office by the end of the school day or I’m going to call your mother.”

That’s how I became a writer. From that time to the present I’ve written a lot of fiction. Some of it was written for newspapers and international new services. I’ve reported for the Idaho Falls Post Register, The Deseret News (Salt Lake City) The United Press International (from Buenos Aires), the Minneapolis Star and Tribune, The Miami Herald, the Kansas City Star, Universal Press Syndicate. Everyone knows that newspaper stories aren’t supposed to be fiction. But with tight deadlines, and because journalism is more art than science, a lot of creativity is involved in covering the news. I’ve written news stories from the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean (including Cuba), the Sudan (Africa) Botswana (Africa) (the old) Yugoslavia, England, Hong Kong, and Letongaloosa (a fictional town in the U.S. Midwest). Many newsstories, carrying my byline, were actually published by newspapersor by news services.

For the past dozen years I have been writing humorous fiction for the Kaw Valley Senior Monthly of Lawrence, Kansas. Do I notice a difference between the fiction writing I do now and the news writing I did as a journalist? Yes, I do. Fact checking is more rigorous on the Kaw Valley Senior Monthly than fact checking was during the days when I covered coups and earthquakes in Latin America.

-30- (that means “the end” in journalese)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author Bio for Dr. Larry Day
A horse that Larry Day’s mother was riding on the way to the hospital to deliver him bucked her off into a patch of four leaf clovers. Larry has felt lucky ever since. My real name is John Laurence Day I was born in Idaho of godly Mormon parents I’ve been married to the same woman nearly 50 years. I have two children and twograndchildren Because my parents and my wife indulged me, I earned BA, MA and Ph.D. degrees Because the United States of America indulged me, I have earned money, among other things, as a potato picker, newspaper carrier, stage hand, model in a student art class, graduate assistant, newspaper reporter, copy editor, foreign correspondent, full time university professor, Fulbright lecturer, trainer of journalists on three continents, documentary television crew member, nonfiction book author, short fiction writer* and humor columnist**
Day Dreaming Tales is a book of humorous short stories (700 words maximum). The stories were written over a 10-year period for publication in a small monthly newspaper in the Midwest. The stories have disparate plots and topics and characters. A few recent characters are reprised (in new plots) from earlier appearances. The book is divided into the following theme (topic) sections: Media Marvels, Weird Rich Folks, Corporately Clueless, Alien Encounters, Marital Blitz, Hilarious Higher Ed, Home Town Folks, Fairy Tales Redux, Luv a Guvmint.

QUERY KOMBAT 2014 IS OFFICIALLY OVER!!!!

Incredible congrats to co-authors  Betsy Aldredge  and Carrie DuBois for their winning entry, Shalom Sasquatch! Also, huge congrats to the runner-up Judy Clemens with her fantastic Tag, You're Dead.

Make SURE you click on all the authors' names and congratulate them on Twitter under #QueryKombat!

Stay tuned for the awards ceremony post and judges' thank you coming up soon!

CONGRATS AGAIN!

Query Questions with Myrsini Stephanides

Writers have copious amounts of imagination. It's what makes their stories so fantastic. But there's a darker side to so much out of the box thinking. When a writer is in the query trenches, their worries go into overdrive. They start pulling out their hair and imagine every possible disaster.

 


Here to relieve some of that endless worrying is a new series of posts called Query Questions. I'll ask the questions which prey on every writer's mind, and hopefully take some of the pain out of querying. These are questions that I've seen tossed around on twitter and writing sites like Agent Query Connect. They are the type of questions that you need answers for the real expert--agents!

If you have your own specific query question, please leave it in the comments and it might show up in future editions of Query Questions as I plan to rotate the questions.

Welcome to Myrsini Stephanides of the Carol Mann Agency. She is looking for both fiction and non-fiction and has great advice for querying writers.



Is there a better or worse time of year to query?Not really. I read queries year round.

Does one typo or misplaced comma shoot down the entire query?No. Typos can be disruptive but I don't reject because of them.

Do you look at sample pages without fail or only if the query is strong?I always read at least a few of the sample pages, even if the query is terrible. But a great query is what gets me excited to read the sample pages. A great query is one that makes me want to request the manuscript even before I read the sample.

Do you have an assistant or intern go through your queries first or do you check all of them?Queries that are sent to my attention at our general submissions email get screened by interns who know my taste and what I am and am not looking for. I review queries that are sent directly to my email.


If the manuscript has a prologue, do you want it included with the sample pages?Absolutely not. I have strong opinions about prologues (99 percent of the time they are unnecessary) and don't want them included with sample pages (or ever, really).
Some agencies mention querying only one agent at a time and some say query only one agent period. How often do you pass a query along to a fellow agent who might be more interested?Query only one agent at a time and don't double submit to my attention at our general submissions email and to me personally at my email. This always causes confusion. I occasionally pass queries on to other agents at CMA, but not often, as my areas of interest don't overlap very much with those of my peers. I don't see a problem with querying another agent at CMA if I've passed.


Do you prefer a little personalized chit-chat in a query letter, or would you rather hear about the manuscript?If you can pull of a little chit chat, that's fine by me, but keep it short and to the point. D​on't be overly familiar if you don't actually know me​ because that can be creepy.


Most agents have said they don’t care whether the word count/genre sentence comes first or last. But is it a red flag if one component is not included?I like to see this info somewhere in the query, ideally in a leading sentence.


Writers hear a lot about limiting the number of named characters in a query. Do you feel keeping named characters to a certain number makes for a clearer query?Yes and no. If your novel is character driven then yes, it's important to find a way to introduce the lead characters effectively. But broad strokes with thoughtfully selected details sprinkled in are what usually hook me. And shorter is always better.


Should writers sweat the title of their book (and character names) or is that something that is often changed by publishers?Titles are more fickle (and fluid) than character names. 

How many queries do you receive in a week? How many requests might you make out of those?100-150 per week to me directly. I'll request 2-3 a week. Sometimes I'll go weeks without requesting anything and then one week, I'll send 10 requests. ​Many agents say they don't care if writers are active online. Could a twitter account or blog presence by a writer tip the scales in getting a request or offer? And do you require writers you sign to start one?I consider online and social media presence before I request nonfiction. For fiction, platform isn't as important. If a fiction author has an online presence that's a bonus, but it isn't something that's a pre-requisite. But, yes, once I sign an author I strongly encourage them to start building a presence online and tapping in to any relevant communities. Ultimately this will become the foundation for publicity and marketing efforts relating to their work.

​​Some writers have asked about including links to their blogs or manuscript-related artwork. I’m sure it’s not appropriate to add those links in a query, but are links in an email signature offensive?I work on a lot of illustrated books and I prefer low resolution PDFs attached to the email rather than a ton of links. A single link to a blog or website is fine.

If a writer makes changes to their manuscript due to feedback should they resend the query or only if material was requested?If I've requested the manuscript the author should send an email with a short summary of what changes were made and why. If I haven't requested they should not requery. And if I already passed they should not requery with the revision. If I really like a manuscript and have substantive feedback, I make it clear to the author that I would be happy to re-consider a revision. 

What bio should an author with no publishing credits include?Just a few sentences about who they are, what they do, where they live. I prefer to know something about the author rather than nothing at all. I regularly get queries that don't even include the author's name, and that's kind of off putting.

What does ‘just not right mean for me’ mean to you?It means that there are a number of objective and subjective reasons why I'm passing. I know authors are not fans of form rejections that include this kind of language, but it's a succinct and professional way of acknowledging the query and saying that I’m not the right agent to advocate for the project.

What themes are you sick of seeing?Dystopian YA. Anything with vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, etc (I don’t represent Fantasy or Sci-Fi but I still receive a lot of queries in these genres). Grief memoirs.
Do you consider yourself a hands-on, editorial type of agent?Yes (I’m was an editor for many years and it’s hard to turn that part of my brain off).
What’s the strangest/funniest thing you’ve seen in a query?A pair of soiled baby shoes that were sent with a physical query.
What three things are at the top of your submission wish list?1. Strong, voice-driven narrative science that’s accessible to a general audience.2. Multicultural fiction (adult and YA) with a commercial edge.3. I’m always looking for humor (illustrated or narrative) that will make me laugh out loud and/or do a spit take.
What are some of your favorite movies or books to give us an idea of your tastes? My taste is all over the map. I update my Goodreads account (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/971921-myr) regularly, so that’s the best way to see what I’m I loving now (I don’t give many five star ratings, but when I do, it’s love) and my epic To Read list. Two of my favorite movies of all time: Ravenous (directed by Antonia Bird with an amazing soundtrack by Damon Albarn) and Little Miss Sunshine (also has an amazing soundrack).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Myrsini has 10 years of experience as a nonfiction editor and book packager specializing in highly illustrated books. Most recently, she worked as an Acquisition Editor at Sterling Publishing, where she developed the pop/culture and music category with titles including Woodstock: Three Days That Rocked the World, Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and the Music of Laurel Canyon, The British Invasion, and Record Store Days. Myrsini was the editor of the Weird travel series (Sterling), senior editor of The Duke Encyclopedia of New Medicine: Conventional and Alternative Medicine for All Ages (Rodale, 2006) and developmental/series editor of the first three books in the Men’s Health Best series (Rodale 2005). She has also collaborated on projects with The Smithsonian, Archaeology magazine andYANKEE Magazine and was a contributing writer to the fifth edition of the Hammond World Atlas (Langenscheidt, 2007).

(Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit!)It's here!!!!! After a MONTH ...

(Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit!)

It's here!!!!! 




After a MONTH from Round 1 to here, we've dwindled down the 230 submissions to the final two standing. They are Shalom Sasquatch and Tag, You're Dead, two AMAZING entries.

I have no idea how the judges are going to vote on this one and how they'll pick a winner. But, well, they have to. *evil laugh* HAVE FUN!!!

You can find the final round here.

It's the home stretch! In the week coming up, it's all about Query Kombat wrap-up: presenting the badges to the winners of each age category, thanking the judges, etc. so you better not tune out for another week!

BATTLE ON!

DARK PARADISE is Here!

I'm jumping out of my skin! It's RELEASE DAY for my awesome sister-in-writing, friend and CP extraordinaire, Angie Sandro! 
I can't stress enough how great this book is. The writing! The suspense! The diversity! You'll love how it's set in a bayou of Louisiana. You'll never guess who done it. And the ending!  Well, we can't go there. You can find my Goodreads review here.




DARK LEGACY
Mala LaCroix has spent her whole life trying to escape her destiny. As the last in a long line of "witch women," she rejects the notion of spirits and hoodoo and instead does her best to blend in. But when she finds a dead body floating in the bayou behind her house, Mala taps into powers she never knew she had. She's haunted by visions of the dead girl, demanding justice and vengeance.
DEADLY SECRETS
Landry Prince has always had a crush on Mala, but when Mala discovers his sister, murdered and marked in some sort of Satanic ritual, he wonders if all the rumors about the LaCroix family are true. Yet after Mala uses her connection to the spirit world to identify his sister's killer, he starts to form his own bond to her . . . a very physical one. As they move closer to each other and closer to the truth, Mala and Landry must risk everything-their families, their love, and even their lives.
EXCERPT:
Landry’s truck sits in the driveway when I stroll out of the house at a quarter to eight in the morning. I’m in such a glorious mood that I don’t bother trying to sneak off without him catching sight of me. It would’ve been easy, I learn upon climbing on the bumper and sticking my head through the truck’s open window. He has the seat pushed back and his legs stretched out kitty corner across the passenger seat. Snores, loud enough to scare a bear, echo through the cab.             I reach in and poke his shoulder a few times. “Wake up, Sleeping Beauty.”            Landry’s thick lashes flutter then open to meet mine. “I’m supposed to be woken with a kiss, not a jab.”            I snort. “I don’t kiss slimy critters. You’re playing double duty as a frog, and I throw them in a frying pan with a little butter and garlic.”            “Oh, so now you’re trying to butter me up?”            The heat of a blush rises. “Saints, boy. You’re fraying my last nerve.” I plant my hands on my hips, toe tapping. “What are you doing here? In case you forgot, I’m mad at you.”“No you’re not.” He grins and runs his fingers through his thick hair. My breath catches as my brain stutters. I shake my head to dispel the wave of pheromone-induced stupidity that washes over me. My noses twitches. Why does he have to smell so good? Like cinnamon and brown sugar. “Did you forget yester—”An oily paper bag flies in my direction. I grab it out of the air before it drops to the ground. It’s warm in my hands, and the smell makes my mouth water. “Ooh, cinnamon rolls,” I mumble around the melting mouthful of cinnamon-y goodness. “I love these.”“I know,” Landry says, throwing open the truck door. I hop off the bumper with a scowl. The arrogant jerk thinks he has me eating out of his hands; all he has to do is flutter those insanely long eyelashes, smile to show off his pearly whites, and tempt me with fresh, warm buns. “These are mine?” I clutch the bag to my chest as I eye him in suspicion. “Yeah, they’re your favorite, right?” “Mmm hmm.”Landry props his elbow on the open window and ducks his head. Black hair tangles across his face, hiding his eyes. “I hoped you’d be more accepting of my apology if I bribed you with sweets. Forgive me for being an ass yesterday?” Lucky guy. He figured out the fastest way to soften my heartstrings—sugar. Wait how does he know they’re my favorite? Stupid question. It’s like him knowing my nickname and my job. He pays way too much attention to me, and I’m kinda scared to ask why. I stare at my sticky fingers, then lick the icing off one by one. Landry’s gaze draws my attention. He’s staring at my mouth. My gut tightens in response, and I slowly lick my lips. Get a grip. Don’t trust him just because he says he’s sorry.             I concentrate on the mouthful of cinnamon roll. Each chew echoes the rapid patter of my heart. God, why does my body react like this when I’m around him? Why? He’s still staring at me. Can’t he tell I’m uncomfortable? Oh, I get it. He’s irritating me on purpose so I can’t totally ignore him. I pass the empty bag to him. “You’re not going away, are you?”
“Nope.” He smiles.

Buy links:B&N: http://bit.ly/1rImn9KKobo: http://bit.ly/1jWBWFMiTunes: http://bit.ly/1lVTNkkAmazon: http://amzn.to/1rImtOy


a Rafflecopter giveaway


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Angie Sandro was born at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. Within six weeks, she began the first of eleven relocations throughout the United States, Spain, and Guam before the age of eighteen. Friends were left behind. The only constants in her life were her family and the books she shipped wherever she went. Traveling the world inspired her imagination and allowed her to create her own imaginary friends. Visits to her father's family in Louisiana inspired this story. Angie now lives in Northern California with her husband, two children, and an overweight Labrador.


http://anjeasandro.blogspot.com/http://facebook.com/pages/Angie-Sandro/253044268078356@AngieSandro

Getting the Call with Jennie Davenport

When the going gets tough and you want to give up, true-life stories can be a source of inspiration. This one comes from Jennie Davenport. The struggle can be long, but the end is worth it! Congrats, Jennie! I'm so happy for you! We must have been reading Bookends blog at the same time because I learned from that wonderful source also.

As an added benefit, Jennie's story ties in nicely with my upcoming July contest: In With The New. Her agent was a new agent at the time! 






Thanks for this opportunity, Michelle! I love telling my Call story—the time I officially was offered representation by Beth Campbell of BookEnds. BookEnds was the first agency that ever caught my eye years ago, when I first decided I wanted to make a career out of writing. Back when I decided to look into the business of getting an agent, back when I had no idea how it all worked, I came across the BookEnds blog. No joke, between this and the Nelson Literary Agency blog, I learned every single thing there is to know about the publishing and agenting world. Everything. I owe my passion for it to this blog. Unfortunately, they stopped doing posts because of time constraints, but they keep the blog public for anyone to reference. Because of this immediate love for them, and in researching their agents and agency, they were my dream agency.

I queried them.

Multiple times.

On a few different projects, back when I was an even greener rookie than I am now. Of course they were all rejected, and rightfully so. It wasn't until a couple of years later, when doing my last round of queries for Hemlock Veils, that I came across Beth, who was a new agent with the agency. Funny, after dozens and dozens of rejections, and many other agencies I came to adore, I would eventually land a place with the agency who was my original number one choice. Kind of awesome.

So, how did I get my agent? The last batch of queries I sent off, about a year ago, was probably my roughest yet, because even though the batch before showed a lot of interest, this batch, for some reason, showed none whatsoever. I don't know if it was the market's sudden decline for an interest in paranormal (which is very probable), or timing, or what. Either way, I had ZERO luck, unlike six months before that, when I had numerous requests (all of which were rejected because the project wasn't ready, and I totally appreciate that now because that rejection and feedback made Hemlock Veils what it is now). So, I had put all that wishful thinking aside and moved on from the world of agents for a bit. I had decided that I would hop back into it a few months down the road, and do a whole other batch.

So in the meantime, I bettered my manuscript and even entered a few contests. The last contest I entered was a simple twitter pitch party—one I felt pretty negative about, I hate to admit. I was thinking, “These things never work! It'll get me nowhere, and I'm doing this just because I feel like I have to.” I had spent so many months/years trying to be positive through the rejection, that I had just sort of reached a point of giving up. I had started thinking that, for the first time ever in this process, it just may never happen for me. But I pitched anyway.

And though I didn't get the attention of an agent, I did get the attention of a FABULOUS editor from Swoon Romance. It shocked me. She wanted to read my manuscript. Still not trying to get hopes up, I thought, “Okay, sure, I'll send it. Whatever.” So I did.

And she loved it. My jaw dropped when I read that. And, what?! She wanted to sign me?! I was floored. And SO flattered.

But...I didn't have an agent! I kind of freaked out. I didn't know how to treat the contract. I didn't know what to do. So I did some research on the publisher, waiting it out. And what happens in the meantime?

Beth from BookEnds just so happens to email me, back from the query I had sent her months before—the one I had mentally moved on from. Turns out she got married (how dare she?) and was pretty darn busy. Turns out she was interested and wanted a partial.

So I sent it to her, but told her I got an offer from a publisher and they gave me a deadline.

So she asked for the entire manuscript. And Heaven help her, she read the entire thing in a week, even with all the other things she had going on.

My deadline was quickly approaching by this time. During, I decided to take a somewhat spontaneous trip to Oregon by myself. Yeah. For me, an introverted writer mom, this was a dream come true! I had never been there, but always wanted to, which is why I placed Hemlock Veils in that setting. And as though fate had its hand in my journey, as soon as I got off the plane at the Portland airport (after a horrendous SLC airport experience, I might add), I turned on my phone and found an email and voicemail from Beth.

I listened.

And I FLIPPED inside when she said she wanted to offer me representation. Guys, this call was the thing I had been dreaming about for the past three years—the thing I had been working SO desperately hard to achieve, and the thing I was beginning to think may not come to pass. So, right there in terminal D, I had "the call." I had to sit at one of the little tables for quite a while to gather myself after. I didn’t even care that the hundreds of people walking by saw a dopey smile on my face. And of course, I was totally awkward and weird on the phone with Beth, even though she was awesome. Bottom line: I was SO thrilled, and it just set the tone for the rest of my amazing trip!

The idea that I have an agent, as well as an awesome publisher who is releasing my book in October, is still, to this day, surreal as ever to me. Not even seeing the cover for the first time this week felt real. Please, do NOT give up on your dream. I worked so hard at it, and in retrospect, I can easily say it happened at the right time. Hard work does pay off!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jennie is an author of modern fairy tales and the paranormal, represented by Beth Campbell of BookEnds, LLC. Jennie’s first published novel, HEMLOCK VEILS, will be released by Swoon Romance this fall. Lover of words, to-do lists, nature, music, movies, theater, books (duh), and anything that moves her to real emotion. Sometimes (most times) Jennie can survive only because of caffeine. She hates anything crafty, only because she’s terrible at crafts. Her ideal getaway? Solitude, so she can write uninterrupted.

jennieswritingrant.blogspot.comwww.facebook.com/jenniemaydavenporthttp://www.myswoonromance.com/#!jennie-davenport/c1wrnhttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8137290.Jennie_Davenport?from_search=trueTwitter: @may_davenport

Query Kombat 2014 Round 5

They're here. They fought and revised their way from 230 entries down to four! The judges have voted them the best of the best!

Who will emerge victorious and head to the finals?





The judges will be pulling out their hair on these match-ups! 

Congratulations to everyone who entered for showing their bravery. Best of luck to all Kombatants near and far!