Krista Van Dolzer's Blog, page 27
August 20, 2014
An Agent's Inbox #27
Dear Agent,
In an alternate Victorian England where social prestige stems from a trifecta of blood, money, and magic, sixteen-year old Anna Arden is barred from the society she yearns for by a defect of blood. She is Barren, lacking even the most rudimentary magic. Anna believes she can overcome her defect by marrying the lord she loves, but after inadvertently breaking her sister’s debutante spells, Anna finds herself suitorless, censured by the local Circle of Magic--and worst of all, exiled...
In an alternate Victorian England where social prestige stems from a trifecta of blood, money, and magic, sixteen-year old Anna Arden is barred from the society she yearns for by a defect of blood. She is Barren, lacking even the most rudimentary magic. Anna believes she can overcome her defect by marrying the lord she loves, but after inadvertently breaking her sister’s debutante spells, Anna finds herself suitorless, censured by the local Circle of Magic--and worst of all, exiled...
An Agent's Inbox #26
Dear Agent,
When Mae Westaway agreed to help her friend, Brooke, hold a séance, she thought it would be like the rest of Brooke’s Wiccan rituals--a whole lot of nothing.
She was wrong.
Tonight’s séance is different. There’s someone on Titanic Brooke wants to meet, and she’ll do anything to make it happen. Too bad, things don’t go exactly as planned, and instead of communicating with the dead, she sends Mae back in time to the ship.
Aboard the luxurious liner, Mae is mistaken as a stow...
When Mae Westaway agreed to help her friend, Brooke, hold a séance, she thought it would be like the rest of Brooke’s Wiccan rituals--a whole lot of nothing.
She was wrong.
Tonight’s séance is different. There’s someone on Titanic Brooke wants to meet, and she’ll do anything to make it happen. Too bad, things don’t go exactly as planned, and instead of communicating with the dead, she sends Mae back in time to the ship.
Aboard the luxurious liner, Mae is mistaken as a stow...
An Agent's Inbox #25
Dear Agent's Inbox Contest,
Thirteen-year-old Laurel can’t think of anything worse than the Salem Witch Trials--until her first day at Albert Einstein Junior High. She’s left her family’s trans-dimensional castle to go undercover as a mundane eighth-grader. And in this new, treacherous environment, she soon finds that both her supernatural skills and her snarky familiar, Twee the cat, come in mighty handy.
With a new best friend who would probably ditch her if she knew Laurel could conjure, and...
Thirteen-year-old Laurel can’t think of anything worse than the Salem Witch Trials--until her first day at Albert Einstein Junior High. She’s left her family’s trans-dimensional castle to go undercover as a mundane eighth-grader. And in this new, treacherous environment, she soon finds that both her supernatural skills and her snarky familiar, Twee the cat, come in mighty handy.
With a new best friend who would probably ditch her if she knew Laurel could conjure, and...
An Agent's Inbox #24
Dear Agent,
Not many women are magicians in 1870s Paris, but that doesn’t stop Valentina Gianetti--until the day her father is killed onstage. She abandons her dreams to find his killer, and soon finds herself entangled in an underground society of spectacular performers that are much more than they seem.
Helping Valentina in her quest are the honest, Daire O’Flynn and not so-honest, Cooper Mathers. The three follow new leads to old murders, uncovering family secrets, and discovering a co...
Not many women are magicians in 1870s Paris, but that doesn’t stop Valentina Gianetti--until the day her father is killed onstage. She abandons her dreams to find his killer, and soon finds herself entangled in an underground society of spectacular performers that are much more than they seem.
Helping Valentina in her quest are the honest, Daire O’Flynn and not so-honest, Cooper Mathers. The three follow new leads to old murders, uncovering family secrets, and discovering a co...
An Agent's Inbox #23
Dear Agent,
I have been working on my YA fantasy novel, Favored, since 2007. I’m submitting to “An Agent’s Inbox” because after several intense rounds with my critique partners and beta readers, we believe it is ready for fine-tuning. Your guidance would give me the feedback I need to make it shine.
Favored is the story of sixteen-year-old Lucy Howland, an Empath whose half-baked plans to fight poverty through stealing are thwarted by the secretive Brittany Kennedy, who’s after her for a power...
I have been working on my YA fantasy novel, Favored, since 2007. I’m submitting to “An Agent’s Inbox” because after several intense rounds with my critique partners and beta readers, we believe it is ready for fine-tuning. Your guidance would give me the feedback I need to make it shine.
Favored is the story of sixteen-year-old Lucy Howland, an Empath whose half-baked plans to fight poverty through stealing are thwarted by the secretive Brittany Kennedy, who’s after her for a power...
An Agent's Inbox #22
Dear Agent,
Payton has 5 people in her life and they will all break her heart.Her dad will use her.Her mom will betray her.Her boyfriend will manipulate her.Her best friend will lie to her.And Bunny will mold her into a monster.
In a near future, where the wealthy graft animal parts on their bodies so they can be stronger, look younger and live longer, 17-year-old Payton doesn't know who she is or where she fits in, yet she has the means to craft herself into any creature she can imagine. But e...
Payton has 5 people in her life and they will all break her heart.Her dad will use her.Her mom will betray her.Her boyfriend will manipulate her.Her best friend will lie to her.And Bunny will mold her into a monster.
In a near future, where the wealthy graft animal parts on their bodies so they can be stronger, look younger and live longer, 17-year-old Payton doesn't know who she is or where she fits in, yet she has the means to craft herself into any creature she can imagine. But e...
August 18, 2014
Now Accepting Entries
UPDATE: I've now responded to every e-mail sent before 2:00 p.m. EDT (or 11:00 a.m. PDT). I have a few more to go, but I just wanted to let everyone know that this month's round is FULL.
For transparency's sake, here's the list of lottery winners (with original lottery numbers as opposed to post numbers):
4 31 1 7 19 18 6 9 32 20 23 27 28 2 13 29 22 16 10 17 26 34 25 24 5 33 11 30 15 12
The entries will go up Wednesday morning, so I'll see you then!
I'm n...
For transparency's sake, here's the list of lottery winners (with original lottery numbers as opposed to post numbers):
4 31 1 7 19 18 6 9 32 20 23 27 28 2 13 29 22 16 10 17 26 34 25 24 5 33 11 30 15 12
The entries will go up Wednesday morning, so I'll see you then!
I'm n...
August 15, 2014
"An Agent's Inbox" Contest Alert
THIS IS NOT A CALL FOR ENTRIES! I’M JUST GIVING YOU A HEADS-UP. THE CONTEST OPENS NEXT MONDAY, AUGUST 18.
It’s been a while since we did one of these, so here’s a quick refresher. “An Agent's Inbox” is exactly what it sounds like--next week, I'm turning the blog into an agent's inbox, a public one. We'll get to see 20 queries along with their first pages, and we'll get to hear what a bona fide agent thinks of each one.
The queries and first pages will be yours, of course. I'll accept your entri...
It’s been a while since we did one of these, so here’s a quick refresher. “An Agent's Inbox” is exactly what it sounds like--next week, I'm turning the blog into an agent's inbox, a public one. We'll get to see 20 queries along with their first pages, and we'll get to hear what a bona fide agent thinks of each one.
The queries and first pages will be yours, of course. I'll accept your entri...
August 13, 2014
#AvailableAlmostEverywhere
As I've been reading about Amazon's latest volley, one refrain keeps scrolling through my brain: "That could be me next year, that could be me next year, that could be me next year." When giants clash, it's usually the little guys who get trampled, and in this industry, there is no one littler than the debut novelist.
Douglas Preston and Stephen Colbert are going to be just fine. They're well-established and can easily reach tens of thousands--if not millions--of readers. But when you're a deb...
Douglas Preston and Stephen Colbert are going to be just fine. They're well-established and can easily reach tens of thousands--if not millions--of readers. But when you're a deb...
August 8, 2014
Agent-Author Chat: Mackenzie Brady and Catherine Lo
I’m thrilled to welcome Mackenzie Brady of New Leaf Literary & Media and Catherine Lo to the blog for this latest installment of “Agent-Author Chat.” In Ms. Lo’s case, it’s something of a homecoming, since she and THIS IS HOW IT ENDS participated in “The Writer’s Voice” back in 2013. I’m happy to report that in the last year and a half, Ms. Lo signed with Ms. Brady and Ms. Brady sold THIS IS HOW IT ENDS to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The book will be released in 2016, but in the meantime,...
