Meet Team Exclamation Point!

When I say that narrowing down my Pitch Wars entries to one winner and two alternates was an agonizingly hard decision, I’m really not exaggerating. I got about four times the number of entries as I was anticipating, and so many of them were SO strong. I wish I could have taken more than three on, but, you know, rules and rules and deadlines are deadlines.

At the end of the day, these three entries stood out to me more than the others.

My winner: Adrianna Cabello

Adrianna (aka Addie) blew. me. away. I couldn’t stop thinking about her book, WHERE DEVILS BREED, a story about a girl who’s hell bent on rescuing her sister from her life as one of the Sultan’s concubine slaves. Did I mention that it’s a fantasy based on the Ottoman empire? Um, YES PLEASE.

Addie’s writing is compelling and concise and … well … beautiful. I’m in love with this book, and I know everyone else is going to love it too.

My first alternate: Sarah Ahiers

Sarah is the author of ALL THAT REMAINS, a Renaissance-inspired fantasy about murder and betrayal amongst assassin families.  It’s so compelling. The world Sarah has created is richly imagined (for real—the level of detail she goes into is impressive), and she has that way of writing that leaves you on the edge of your seat. I’m so honored to have Sarah on my team!

My second alternate: Nicole Lisa

Nicole’s book, THE DESERT WALL, has everything I could want in a story: magic, a foreign setting, family secrets, and did I mention MAGIC? This book is compulsively readable, with a main character you can’t help but root for. I can’t wait to mentor it!

Go Team Exclamation Point!