Because we love you so much, we have the amazingly
talented John M. Cusick of Scott Treimel NY and the
equally talented Vickie Motter of Andrea Hurst Literary Management throwing a Twitter pitch party on the hashtag #WVTP on May 24 from
12:00 noon to 6:00 p.m. EDT.
Pitch your finished manuscript on the hashtag #WVTP. (In
other words, your Twitter pitch must include the hashtag #WVTP; otherwise, the
agents will only see it if they're already following you.) The agents will be hopping in and out of the feed during
the party hours and tweeting their requests for the manuscripts that pique
their interests. Simple, right? Not if they both make a request on the
same pitch!
Keeping in the spirit of “The Writer's Voice,” if they both
request the same pitch, you must
choose one of them and announce it in the feed. (They promise not to hold any
rejections against you.)
And one more thing: We may have other agents joining in the Twitter
pitch frenzy.
So get your Twitter pitches ready and meet us at #WVTP next
Thursday, May 24, at 12:00 noon EDT. Anyone may enter, including “The Writer’s
Voice” finalists and even other writers who didn’t make it into the contest, so
it’s sure to be a party! And don’t forget to check out the agents’ Twitter feeds
to get a feel for what they’re looking for:
John M. Cusick as @johnmcusick
Vickie Motter as @Vickie_Motter
Good luck! Feel free to leave any questions you might have in the comments below.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
Agent-Author Chat: Ammi-Joan Paquette and Tara Dairman
I’m thrilled to welcome Ammi-Joan Paquette of Erin Murphy Literary Agency and one of her newer clients, Tara Dairman, for
another installment of “Agent-Author Chat.” I’ve had my eye on Ms. Dairman ever
since she entered GLADYS GATSBY in a round of “An Agent’s Inbox” last fall, so
when she signed with Ms. Paquette earlier this year, I jumped at the chance to
interview them.
The timing is perfect, too, because Ms. Dairman just agreed to provide all of “The Writer’s Voice” finalists with additional feedback! And as you're about to find out, Ms. Dairman is something of an expert when it comes to writing queries and first pages.
Ms. Dairman’s query and responses will appear in orange, Ms. Paquette’s in blue. So sit back, relax, and get ready to add another book to your Goodreads list:)
Ms. Dairman’s Query Eleven-year-old Gladys Gatsby loves to cook, but no one in fast-food-obsessedEast Dumpsford
shares her passion--especially not her parents, who ban her from the kitchen after
one teeny, tiny crème-brulée-triggered fire. Gladys finds a new creative outlet
in an essay contest in which she writes about her dream job: becoming a restaurant
critic for The New York Times. But
when her essay lands on a Times editor’s
desk, Gladys finds herself taking on that job a lot sooner than she expected!
Her first assignment: review Classy Cakes, a fancy new “dessert bistro” inNew York City Manhattan
GLADYS GATSBY TAKES THE CAKE is a 47,000-word, humorous middle-grade novel about a girl who can’t wait to be a grown-up, even if that means biting off more (delicious, gourmet food) than she can chew. The novel stands alone but has series potential.
I graduated fromDartmouth
College with a B.A. in Creative
Writing and have a play published in the anthology FISHAMBLE FIRSTS (New Island
I would be happy to send my complete manuscript upon your request and have pasted the first [however many] pages below. Thank you so much for your consideration.
KV: Ms. Dairman, how did you first come up with the idea for THE DELICIOUS DOUBLE LIFE OF GLADYS GATSBY*?
TD: When I worked as a magazine editor inNew York
That was back in late 2005. A mere six years later, I had a completed manuscript to query! =)
KV: Tell us a little bit about your querying experience. How many queries did you send? Did you send them in batches or all at once? Did you ever pull back and revise your query and/or your manuscript, and if so, why did you decide to do that?
TD: “Send a ‘test batch’ of 5-10 queries” is probably the best querying advice I ever got, because otherwise I’m sure I would have been falsely confident and blasted a huge list at once. I sent an initial round of seven queries, all of which got rejected, and that led me to pull back and take a hard look at my query and opening pages.
I studied the winning first pages in a lot of contests--like An Agent’s Inbox here at Mother. Write. Repeat. and the Secret Agent contests at Miss Snark’s First Victim--to see what snagged an agent’s attention. I realized that I’d made a classic first-time novelist mistake by loading the opening chapters with backstory that needed to be woven in later in the book, so I stopped querying and did a big revision. I also streamlined my query from 400-something words to under 250 words, and jumped back into the game a couple of months later with much better results.
In the end, I sent about 35 queries in small batches, and also had some requests for material from contests.
KV: How did Ms. Paquette come to request your manuscript?
TD: When I was done with my revision, I entered my new first page into a Secret Agent contest at Miss Snark’s First Victim. Joan wasn’t the judge that month, but she saw my entry and was intrigued, so she invited me to send her my query letter and first five pages.
She’s usually closed to unsolicited submissions, so getting the chance to query her at all was really exciting. I sent the query off around midnight, and it must have really clicked with her, because I had a full request in my inbox when I woke up the next morning!
KV: Ms. Paquette, when you read Ms. Dairman’s entry on the Miss Snark’s First Victim blog, what caught your attention?
AP: I first came acrossTara ’s
pages while browsing the entries on one of Miss Snark’s First Victim’s Secret
Agent contests. If I may, I’d like to quote her first paragraph:
“Gladys Gatsby stood at the counter, the spout of her father’s heavy blowtorch poised over the top of the first ceramic cup. Her finger hovered over the trigger button that was supposed to turn her plain little custards into crunchy, tasty treats. That's when she heard a car door slam outside.”
This paragraph pretty much has it all: a headstrong, spunky heroine; food; and, right at the end of the paragraph, a hint of something about to go terribly wrong.Tara ’s first page
showed: voice, character, tension, and action. All in one fell swoop! I was
hooked.
KV: Obviously, the manuscript met--or exceeded--your expectations. What did you love about GLADYS GATSBY?
AP: I started reading GLADYS GATSBY during a time when my list felt very full of middle grade. I started reading knowing I’d loved the beginning but thinking I probably wouldn’t take this further.
And then I got my socks knocked off. Really!Tara fulfilled every promise she began with that first
paragraph: Heroine = lively and full of personality and absolutely iconic. Food
= more delicious than your wildest dreams. (I’m getting a little hungry just
remembering some of those descriptions.) Tension = from start to finish. I
finished reading and knew this was a project I had to have on my list.
Thankfully, Tara agreed!
KV: How quickly did you read Ms. Dairman’s manuscript? Is that pretty typical of your response times on requested material, or do those vary?
AP: AfterTara queried me,
I requested the full manuscript the next day. This is NOT typical of me at all.
I almost always read and respond to queries in order, and that can take me 3-4
weeks, depending on the flow. From the time I received the manuscript until I
was able to read and offer representation was about 2 months. This much more
typical of my return time, though I am always trying to catch up and get faster
with my responses!
KV: Ms. Dairman, now that you’ve reached the querying finish line, what do you wish you had known when you were back at the start gate?
TD: I wish I’d gotten it through my head sooner that there are no shortcuts. That may sound funny coming from someone who worked on her book on and off for six years (definitely no rush there!), but once I had a completed draft, I was so eager to get it out there in front of agents and editors that I didn’t take the time I really needed to revise thoroughly. I think I hoped that, even if the book wasn’t quite perfect, an agent would see enough potential in my writing that she’d want to snap me up anyway. But that’s definitely not how it works.
So my advice, especially for first-time novelists/queryers, is to TAKE YOUR TIME polishing the manuscript before you send that first query. Get it read by multiple beta readers, and take their opinions seriously. Also take the time to research agents before you query them, so you know you’re targeting the best fit for your work.
KV: Ms. Paquette, what querying tips do you have?
AP: I think the best way you can help your query is to write a terrific manuscript. I do read queries, but what is really going to hook me in, what really makes the difference, are the words on the page. Unless the query is definitely out of my area of representation, I always read the first page, and that’s what most determines my response. It’s all about the book!
KV: Any last words of advice or encouragement you’d like to share with us?
TD: Finding an agent (and then, a publisher) can be a long, stressful process, and it’s easy to get downhearted--especially when you see other people succeeding quickly or wildly while you only seem to be getting rejected. If, like me, you’ve dreamed of being a writer ever since you were a kid, then try to see things through kid-you’s perspective. I still feel like the proudest day of this entire process for me was the day that I wrote “The End” on the last page of my first draft. I had actually written an entire novel--if kid-Tara was able to look into her future and see that that was going to happen, she would be SO thrilled! Also, kid-Tara would have no idea what an agent was. Checking in with kid-Tara usually helped put things in perspective for me.
AP: I firmly believe that there is a path for everyone; some roads wind long and others wind short. But passion and perseverance will take you far, and by doing all you can from the get-go, then when it comes time for that sprinkling of luck, you’ll be in the right place to receive it. Write passionately!
Ah, I love kid-Tara! She reminds me of kid-Krista:)
Now, to share Ms. Dairman’s last bit of good news, I went back and found her entry from that round of “An Agent’s Inbox” I mentioned. I remembered that I left a comment, and this was the last thing I said:
“Good luck with this! I don't buy many books (I'm more of a library kind of girl), but I'd buy this one in a heartbeat. It sounds adorable!”
I’m happy to report that I will now be able to make good on that promise, as GLADYS GATSBY sold last month to Putnam/Penguin! Can’t wait for spring 2014!
*Ms. Dairman queried GLADYS GATSBY with one title, Ms. Paquette submitted it with another, and the title will probably change again sometime between now and its release date. Moral of the story: If you think your title’s set, it’s not, so don’t print invitations and get married to it.
The timing is perfect, too, because Ms. Dairman just agreed to provide all of “The Writer’s Voice” finalists with additional feedback! And as you're about to find out, Ms. Dairman is something of an expert when it comes to writing queries and first pages.
Ms. Dairman’s query and responses will appear in orange, Ms. Paquette’s in blue. So sit back, relax, and get ready to add another book to your Goodreads list:)
Ms. Dairman’s Query Eleven-year-old Gladys Gatsby loves to cook, but no one in fast-food-obsessed
Her first assignment: review Classy Cakes, a fancy new “dessert bistro” in
GLADYS GATSBY TAKES THE CAKE is a 47,000-word, humorous middle-grade novel about a girl who can’t wait to be a grown-up, even if that means biting off more (delicious, gourmet food) than she can chew. The novel stands alone but has series potential.
I graduated from
I would be happy to send my complete manuscript upon your request and have pasted the first [however many] pages below. Thank you so much for your consideration.
KV: Ms. Dairman, how did you first come up with the idea for THE DELICIOUS DOUBLE LIFE OF GLADYS GATSBY*?
TD: When I worked as a magazine editor in
That was back in late 2005. A mere six years later, I had a completed manuscript to query! =)
KV: Tell us a little bit about your querying experience. How many queries did you send? Did you send them in batches or all at once? Did you ever pull back and revise your query and/or your manuscript, and if so, why did you decide to do that?
TD: “Send a ‘test batch’ of 5-10 queries” is probably the best querying advice I ever got, because otherwise I’m sure I would have been falsely confident and blasted a huge list at once. I sent an initial round of seven queries, all of which got rejected, and that led me to pull back and take a hard look at my query and opening pages.
I studied the winning first pages in a lot of contests--like An Agent’s Inbox here at Mother. Write. Repeat. and the Secret Agent contests at Miss Snark’s First Victim--to see what snagged an agent’s attention. I realized that I’d made a classic first-time novelist mistake by loading the opening chapters with backstory that needed to be woven in later in the book, so I stopped querying and did a big revision. I also streamlined my query from 400-something words to under 250 words, and jumped back into the game a couple of months later with much better results.
In the end, I sent about 35 queries in small batches, and also had some requests for material from contests.
KV: How did Ms. Paquette come to request your manuscript?
TD: When I was done with my revision, I entered my new first page into a Secret Agent contest at Miss Snark’s First Victim. Joan wasn’t the judge that month, but she saw my entry and was intrigued, so she invited me to send her my query letter and first five pages.
She’s usually closed to unsolicited submissions, so getting the chance to query her at all was really exciting. I sent the query off around midnight, and it must have really clicked with her, because I had a full request in my inbox when I woke up the next morning!
KV: Ms. Paquette, when you read Ms. Dairman’s entry on the Miss Snark’s First Victim blog, what caught your attention?
AP: I first came across
“Gladys Gatsby stood at the counter, the spout of her father’s heavy blowtorch poised over the top of the first ceramic cup. Her finger hovered over the trigger button that was supposed to turn her plain little custards into crunchy, tasty treats. That's when she heard a car door slam outside.”
This paragraph pretty much has it all: a headstrong, spunky heroine; food; and, right at the end of the paragraph, a hint of something about to go terribly wrong.
KV: Obviously, the manuscript met--or exceeded--your expectations. What did you love about GLADYS GATSBY?
AP: I started reading GLADYS GATSBY during a time when my list felt very full of middle grade. I started reading knowing I’d loved the beginning but thinking I probably wouldn’t take this further.
And then I got my socks knocked off. Really!
KV: How quickly did you read Ms. Dairman’s manuscript? Is that pretty typical of your response times on requested material, or do those vary?
AP: After
KV: Ms. Dairman, now that you’ve reached the querying finish line, what do you wish you had known when you were back at the start gate?
TD: I wish I’d gotten it through my head sooner that there are no shortcuts. That may sound funny coming from someone who worked on her book on and off for six years (definitely no rush there!), but once I had a completed draft, I was so eager to get it out there in front of agents and editors that I didn’t take the time I really needed to revise thoroughly. I think I hoped that, even if the book wasn’t quite perfect, an agent would see enough potential in my writing that she’d want to snap me up anyway. But that’s definitely not how it works.
So my advice, especially for first-time novelists/queryers, is to TAKE YOUR TIME polishing the manuscript before you send that first query. Get it read by multiple beta readers, and take their opinions seriously. Also take the time to research agents before you query them, so you know you’re targeting the best fit for your work.
KV: Ms. Paquette, what querying tips do you have?
AP: I think the best way you can help your query is to write a terrific manuscript. I do read queries, but what is really going to hook me in, what really makes the difference, are the words on the page. Unless the query is definitely out of my area of representation, I always read the first page, and that’s what most determines my response. It’s all about the book!
KV: Any last words of advice or encouragement you’d like to share with us?
TD: Finding an agent (and then, a publisher) can be a long, stressful process, and it’s easy to get downhearted--especially when you see other people succeeding quickly or wildly while you only seem to be getting rejected. If, like me, you’ve dreamed of being a writer ever since you were a kid, then try to see things through kid-you’s perspective. I still feel like the proudest day of this entire process for me was the day that I wrote “The End” on the last page of my first draft. I had actually written an entire novel--if kid-Tara was able to look into her future and see that that was going to happen, she would be SO thrilled! Also, kid-Tara would have no idea what an agent was. Checking in with kid-Tara usually helped put things in perspective for me.
AP: I firmly believe that there is a path for everyone; some roads wind long and others wind short. But passion and perseverance will take you far, and by doing all you can from the get-go, then when it comes time for that sprinkling of luck, you’ll be in the right place to receive it. Write passionately!
Ah, I love kid-Tara! She reminds me of kid-Krista:)
Now, to share Ms. Dairman’s last bit of good news, I went back and found her entry from that round of “An Agent’s Inbox” I mentioned. I remembered that I left a comment, and this was the last thing I said:
“Good luck with this! I don't buy many books (I'm more of a library kind of girl), but I'd buy this one in a heartbeat. It sounds adorable!”
I’m happy to report that I will now be able to make good on that promise, as GLADYS GATSBY sold last month to Putnam/Penguin! Can’t wait for spring 2014!
*Ms. Dairman queried GLADYS GATSBY with one title, Ms. Paquette submitted it with another, and the title will probably change again sometime between now and its release date. Moral of the story: If you think your title’s set, it’s not, so don’t print invitations and get married to it.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
In Which I Introduce Team Krista and Share Some Thoughts About the Entries
First off, allow me to introduce my awesome team (in
alphabetical order)!
Anna-Marie and THE COIN DIVER (#35)
Ben Spendlove and DRIVERS (#149)
Carla Cullen and THE FALLEN PRINCESS (#152)
Erin Petti and THELMA BEE (#117)
Jennie Bailey and SILO (#64)
Lisa Koosis and THE ROAD OF THE DEAD (#45)
Michelle Mason and DUET WITH THE DEVIL’S VIOLINIST (#75)
Noelle Henry and FACE THE MUSIC (#50)
Ryan Hancock and AN UNCOMMON BLUE (#122)
Sarah Henson and PLAYING WITH FIRE (#146)
with Lori Eastep and CHRONICITY (#101) as my alternate
That gives me two MG projects, six YA projects, and two adult (sci-fi) projects, with an MG alternate. I like the balance of my team, and the truth is, most of it evolved on its own. I did go in thinking that I needed to have more YA projects than anything, just because it’s the most represented category among the participating agents, but these really were the projects I loved most.
As I was building my team, I originally divided the entries that caught my interest into two groups--“Contenders” and “Strong Contenders”--then realized that I was going to have enough strong contenders as it was and that I didn’t need to keep two lists. I ended up with thirty-nine strong contenders total, and of those, eleven ended up on my team (obviously), at least five or six on someone else’s, and another withdrew just yesterday after receiving an offer of representation. (Congratulations, Andrea Berthot!)
Before I go any further, a disclaimer: I am in NO WAY an expert on queries, the market, or publishing in general, so please take all these thoughts for what they are--my thoughts. These are just a few of the things I noticed as I whittled down my list, and they say a lot more about me than they do about any of the entries.
A few thoughts I had along the way:
1. After reading through a batch of entries (say, twenty or thirty), I sat back and asked myself, “Now which ones do I remember?” And the truth was, not many. Quite a few of them sounded like something I’d read--or heard of--before.
2. And speaking of things I’d read or heard of before, I’ll admit that words like “guardian,” “demon,” and “angel” immediately made me pull back. In all of those cases, the writing really had to stand out to make me take a closer look. Angels and demons are the new vampires--a lot of agents have blogged/tweeted about how they’re overwhelmed with those creatures--so you might be facing an uphill battle when it comes to querying a manuscript with those elements.
3. When I did remember an entry, it was almost always because the concept had captured my attention.
4. At least in my opinion, writing followed concept. If the concept stuck out to me, the writing usually did, too. (I’m still trying to decide if that’s because I was giving the high-concept folks the benefit of the doubt or because the people who did the best job explaining their storylines were also the best writers.)
5. I passed on several entries--including several great entries--simply because I knew the writers had been querying them for a while and worried that our agents might have seen them before. In a few cases, I knew the writers and their querying histories, but in a few others, the writers specified in their introductions that they thought the manuscript was on its last legs. I wouldn’t do this. You want every agent to think that she’s the first agent you’re querying, so I’d keep your manuscript’s battle scars to yourself.
6. So many entries seemed to have a good story buried in there somewhere, but I had a hard time picking it out from all the subplots/extraneous words in the query. I thought a lot of the queries were trying to do too much. (“Then this happened, then THIS happened, then THIS happened, and now here’s a list of all the other interesting elements that I couldn’t work into the summary.”) If you don’t think your main plot is strong enough to hook an agent, then your problem isn’t your query or first page--it’s your manuscript.
7. I noticed a lot of huge stakes without much explanation. Almost every other query ended with some line about how the world was on the brink. You can dangle the fate of this world and every other on a string, but if I can’t tell how exactly the world is in jeopardy--and more importantly, if I can’t tell why the characters care that the world is in jeopardy--then I’m probably not going to care, either. As I learned back in high school debate class, you can link pretty much every story to nuclear holocaust, so huge stakes for huge stakes’ sake might not hook an agent.
8. I sat up a little straighter every time I stumbled across an entry for a YA or MG contemporary, and to be perfectly honest, quite a few of these impressed me. However, I worried that the agents would find most of them too quiet. Quiet novels are the opposite of high-concept ones, so if your YA contemporary doesn’t have a strong hook (think French boarding schools for ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS or backpacking for WANDERLOVE), then even if you do land an agent, he or she is going to have a hard time selling it.
All right, I think that’s all for now. This post is already way too long:) What stood out to you as you read through the entries, and which ones would you have picked?
Anna-Marie and THE COIN DIVER (#35)
Ben Spendlove and DRIVERS (#149)
Carla Cullen and THE FALLEN PRINCESS (#152)
Erin Petti and THELMA BEE (#117)
Jennie Bailey and SILO (#64)
Lisa Koosis and THE ROAD OF THE DEAD (#45)
Michelle Mason and DUET WITH THE DEVIL’S VIOLINIST (#75)
Noelle Henry and FACE THE MUSIC (#50)
Ryan Hancock and AN UNCOMMON BLUE (#122)
Sarah Henson and PLAYING WITH FIRE (#146)
with Lori Eastep and CHRONICITY (#101) as my alternate
That gives me two MG projects, six YA projects, and two adult (sci-fi) projects, with an MG alternate. I like the balance of my team, and the truth is, most of it evolved on its own. I did go in thinking that I needed to have more YA projects than anything, just because it’s the most represented category among the participating agents, but these really were the projects I loved most.
As I was building my team, I originally divided the entries that caught my interest into two groups--“Contenders” and “Strong Contenders”--then realized that I was going to have enough strong contenders as it was and that I didn’t need to keep two lists. I ended up with thirty-nine strong contenders total, and of those, eleven ended up on my team (obviously), at least five or six on someone else’s, and another withdrew just yesterday after receiving an offer of representation. (Congratulations, Andrea Berthot!)
Before I go any further, a disclaimer: I am in NO WAY an expert on queries, the market, or publishing in general, so please take all these thoughts for what they are--my thoughts. These are just a few of the things I noticed as I whittled down my list, and they say a lot more about me than they do about any of the entries.
A few thoughts I had along the way:
1. After reading through a batch of entries (say, twenty or thirty), I sat back and asked myself, “Now which ones do I remember?” And the truth was, not many. Quite a few of them sounded like something I’d read--or heard of--before.
2. And speaking of things I’d read or heard of before, I’ll admit that words like “guardian,” “demon,” and “angel” immediately made me pull back. In all of those cases, the writing really had to stand out to make me take a closer look. Angels and demons are the new vampires--a lot of agents have blogged/tweeted about how they’re overwhelmed with those creatures--so you might be facing an uphill battle when it comes to querying a manuscript with those elements.
3. When I did remember an entry, it was almost always because the concept had captured my attention.
4. At least in my opinion, writing followed concept. If the concept stuck out to me, the writing usually did, too. (I’m still trying to decide if that’s because I was giving the high-concept folks the benefit of the doubt or because the people who did the best job explaining their storylines were also the best writers.)
5. I passed on several entries--including several great entries--simply because I knew the writers had been querying them for a while and worried that our agents might have seen them before. In a few cases, I knew the writers and their querying histories, but in a few others, the writers specified in their introductions that they thought the manuscript was on its last legs. I wouldn’t do this. You want every agent to think that she’s the first agent you’re querying, so I’d keep your manuscript’s battle scars to yourself.
6. So many entries seemed to have a good story buried in there somewhere, but I had a hard time picking it out from all the subplots/extraneous words in the query. I thought a lot of the queries were trying to do too much. (“Then this happened, then THIS happened, then THIS happened, and now here’s a list of all the other interesting elements that I couldn’t work into the summary.”) If you don’t think your main plot is strong enough to hook an agent, then your problem isn’t your query or first page--it’s your manuscript.
7. I noticed a lot of huge stakes without much explanation. Almost every other query ended with some line about how the world was on the brink. You can dangle the fate of this world and every other on a string, but if I can’t tell how exactly the world is in jeopardy--and more importantly, if I can’t tell why the characters care that the world is in jeopardy--then I’m probably not going to care, either. As I learned back in high school debate class, you can link pretty much every story to nuclear holocaust, so huge stakes for huge stakes’ sake might not hook an agent.
8. I sat up a little straighter every time I stumbled across an entry for a YA or MG contemporary, and to be perfectly honest, quite a few of these impressed me. However, I worried that the agents would find most of them too quiet. Quiet novels are the opposite of high-concept ones, so if your YA contemporary doesn’t have a strong hook (think French boarding schools for ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS or backpacking for WANDERLOVE), then even if you do land an agent, he or she is going to have a hard time selling it.
All right, I think that’s all for now. This post is already way too long:) What stood out to you as you read through the entries, and which ones would you have picked?
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Book Recommendation: THE SCORPIO RACES by Maggie Stiefvater
I’d heard about Ms. Stiefvater’s latest novel around Twitter
and such, but it wasn’t until I read Kelly’s recommendation that I finally
buckled down and requested the book from the library. (I had to wait for a few months, since she read it as an ARC, but I did request it back in November.) Thank goodness I did.THE SCORPIO RACES chronicles the parallel plotlines of Kate “Puck” Connolly and Sean Kendrick as they train for the race that will define their young lives. The Scorpio Races are run on the backs of legendary water horses, flesh-eating predators that, while capable of running on land, usually live and hunt in the sea. They’re as fast as a tidal wave, if you can catch one--and if you can keep it from maiming or drowning you. But death is the least of Puck’s and Sean’s concerns. Puck has to win to keep her family’s homestead out of the hands of the island’s ruthless land baron; Sean has to win to claim ownership of the one thing on the island he’s ever wanted to own: the water horse he’s kept and trained since it trampled his father to death when he was a kid.
I loved the gray, drizzly world of the novel and how deeply I came to care about these characters and what was at stake for them. But most of all, I loved the depth, the realness, of Puck and Sean’s relationship. These two never gushed about how gorgeous the other was (in fact, their physical relationship only culminated in one earth-shattering kiss), and yet the magic between them was palpable. One scene in particular, in which Puck and Sean discussed their race strategies in front of her kitchen sink, just about made me melt. I actually read it OUT LOUD to Honey Bear because it set my heart aflutter and was just so perfect. I haven’t read a romance that soulful, that fulfilling, in a long, long time.
If you like horses, soul-deep romance, or expertly crafted characters with deeply personal stakes, you’ll love THE SCORPIO RACES. I can count on two hands the number of books I buy in a year (I’m really picky about which ones I add to my collection), but Honey Bear is under strict orders to buy this for me for Mother’s Day* (or something). It’s that good.
*He actually bought it for me for our anniversary yesterday. I knew this guy was a keeper:) (He also bought me Penelope, a modern-day fairy tale that came out several years ago. If you haven't seen it, SEE IT (although that will probably prove to be difficult, since I'm pretty sure I now own the only copy in existence). You'll come back and thank me, I promise, and I'll say, "You're welcome," and then you'll spend the next several years of your life trying to hunt down a copy in one of those bargain bins at Walmart. (I'll give you a hint: It's not there.) Then you'll finally break down and order a copy online. But it'll be worth it. SO worth it. (Another hint: James McAvoy.))
Friday, May 4, 2012
Third Submission Window Will Open at Noon EDT!
Note to all writers planning to try for a slot: You must COPY AND PASTE your
blog address from the URL bar when you sign up for "The Writer's Voice."
Otherwise, the widget might kick you out.
Also, since the widget is pulling from more than one blog at once, the blogfest numbers won't settle for a few minutes. Please refresh the blog ten or fifteen minutes after the window opens to see what your final number is (and whether you made it in).
Please note that WE’RE ONLY ACCEPTING 25 MORE ENTRIES (STOPPING AT ENTRY #200) IN THE THIRD SUBMISSION WINDOW. We're closing the widget at 200 entries, so if it goes over 200, WE WILL DELETE THE ADDITIONAL ENTRIES and notify everyone via Twitter when the contest is full. Once you secure your slot in the widget, please check out Wednesday's post for specific instructions on how to post your entry and e-mail it to us
To enter "The Writer's Voice," sign up on the widget below at 12:00 noon EDT. Please remember to REFRESH THE PAGE AT NOON to make the widget work.
Also, since the widget is pulling from more than one blog at once, the blogfest numbers won't settle for a few minutes. Please refresh the blog ten or fifteen minutes after the window opens to see what your final number is (and whether you made it in).
Please note that WE’RE ONLY ACCEPTING 25 MORE ENTRIES (STOPPING AT ENTRY #200) IN THE THIRD SUBMISSION WINDOW. We're closing the widget at 200 entries, so if it goes over 200, WE WILL DELETE THE ADDITIONAL ENTRIES and notify everyone via Twitter when the contest is full. Once you secure your slot in the widget, please check out Wednesday's post for specific instructions on how to post your entry and e-mail it to us
To enter "The Writer's Voice," sign up on the widget below at 12:00 noon EDT. Please remember to REFRESH THE PAGE AT NOON to make the widget work.
Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Easy-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
For best results, use HTML mode to edit this section of the post.
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
For best results, use HTML mode to edit this section of the post.
What Happened Last Night (and How We're Going to Fix It)
Last night wasn’t fun. We had a little bit of a widget malfunction, so a lot of
people had problems signing up for the contest. We’re so, so sorry about what
happened. A lot of people still managed to make it in, but because we feel bad
that the widget didn’t work like we said it would, we’re opening up one last
submission window today at 12:00 noon EDT (or 9:00 a.m. PDT).
The widget will accept 25 more entries (for a total of 200 entries), and these will be the last entries, I promise. If the Internet implodes a minute before noon and only Molly the Mole Person makes it into the contest, well, we’re just going to have to live with it and go with what we’ve got. Of course, I hope the Internet doesn’t implode and 24 more people--in addition to Molly the Mole Person--make it in, but I’m just saying that however things turn out at noon today is how they’ll be.
Here’s the thing, though: THE SUBMISSION WINDOW WILL GO UP AN HOUR EARLY to eliminate the problem* we had last night. You’ll see the widget with the 175 existing entrants at 11:00 a.m. EDT, but you won’t be able to add your name to it until noon. That means that, AT NOON, YOU'LL HAVE TO REFRESH THE PAGE TO BE ABLE TO ADD YOUR NAME TO THE WIDGET. But the widget will be good to go right at noon this time (we hope).
If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below. (I’m starting to sound like a broken record, aren’t I?) Or if you're already sick of us, just take this pretend cookie and our apologies. We feel terrible.
Moral of the story: If at first you don’t succeed, refresh, refresh, refresh!
*The problem we had last night was that, while we were resetting the widget to accept additional entries (you have to activate the widget to reset it, apparently), a few people jumped the gun and started signing up on the first window’s post several minutes before the second window officially opened. So then we had to delete those early entries and reset it again, and by then, it was 9:01 p.m. So you would have had to refresh the page at least once AFTER 9:01 p.m., and not everyone did that, and everyone was confused, and the four of us coaches ran away screaming, waving our arms over our heads.
The widget will accept 25 more entries (for a total of 200 entries), and these will be the last entries, I promise. If the Internet implodes a minute before noon and only Molly the Mole Person makes it into the contest, well, we’re just going to have to live with it and go with what we’ve got. Of course, I hope the Internet doesn’t implode and 24 more people--in addition to Molly the Mole Person--make it in, but I’m just saying that however things turn out at noon today is how they’ll be.
Here’s the thing, though: THE SUBMISSION WINDOW WILL GO UP AN HOUR EARLY to eliminate the problem* we had last night. You’ll see the widget with the 175 existing entrants at 11:00 a.m. EDT, but you won’t be able to add your name to it until noon. That means that, AT NOON, YOU'LL HAVE TO REFRESH THE PAGE TO BE ABLE TO ADD YOUR NAME TO THE WIDGET. But the widget will be good to go right at noon this time (we hope).
If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below. (I’m starting to sound like a broken record, aren’t I?) Or if you're already sick of us, just take this pretend cookie and our apologies. We feel terrible.
Moral of the story: If at first you don’t succeed, refresh, refresh, refresh!
*The problem we had last night was that, while we were resetting the widget to accept additional entries (you have to activate the widget to reset it, apparently), a few people jumped the gun and started signing up on the first window’s post several minutes before the second window officially opened. So then we had to delete those early entries and reset it again, and by then, it was 9:01 p.m. So you would have had to refresh the page at least once AFTER 9:01 p.m., and not everyone did that, and everyone was confused, and the four of us coaches ran away screaming, waving our arms over our heads.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Second Submission Window Now Open!
Note to all writers planning to try for a slot: You must COPY AND PASTE your blog address from the URL bar when you sign up for "The Writer's Voice." Otherwise, the widget might kick you out.
Also, since the widget is pulling from more than one blog at once, the blogfest numbers won't settle for a few minutes. Please refresh the blog ten or fifteen minutes after the window opens to see what your final number is (and whether you made it in).
Please note that WE’RE ONLY ACCEPTING 100 MORE ENTRIES (STOPPING AT ENTRY #175) IN THE SECOND SUBMISSION WINDOW. We're closing the widget at 175 entries, so if it goes over 175, WE WILL DELETE THE ADDITIONAL ENTRIES and notify those people that they did not make it into the contest. Once you secure your slot in the widget, please check out yesterday's post for specific instructions on how to post your entry and e-mail it to us.
To enter "The Writer's Voice," sign up on the widget below now!
Also, since the widget is pulling from more than one blog at once, the blogfest numbers won't settle for a few minutes. Please refresh the blog ten or fifteen minutes after the window opens to see what your final number is (and whether you made it in).
Please note that WE’RE ONLY ACCEPTING 100 MORE ENTRIES (STOPPING AT ENTRY #175) IN THE SECOND SUBMISSION WINDOW. We're closing the widget at 175 entries, so if it goes over 175, WE WILL DELETE THE ADDITIONAL ENTRIES and notify those people that they did not make it into the contest. Once you secure your slot in the widget, please check out yesterday's post for specific instructions on how to post your entry and e-mail it to us.
To enter "The Writer's Voice," sign up on the widget below now!
Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Easy-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
For best results, use HTML mode to edit this section of the post.
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
For best results, use HTML mode to edit this section of the post.
First Submission Window Now Open!
Note to all writers planning to try for a slot in tonight's window: You must COPY AND PASTE your blog address from the URL bar when you sign up for "The Writer's Voice." Otherwise, the widget might kick you out. So if I were you, I'd have my blog open in another window and the URL copied before 9:00 p.m. EDT so that all I'd have to do is type in my name and paste my URL.
Please note that WE’RE ONLY ACCEPTING 75 ENTRIES IN THE FIRST SUBMISSION WINDOW. We're closing the widget at 75 entries, so if more than 75 people sign up, WE WILL DELETE THE ADDITIONAL ENTRIES and ask those people to try again in the second submission window. Once you secure your slot in the widget, please check out yesterday's post for specific instructions on how to post your entry and e-mail it to us.
To enter "The Writer's Voice," sign up on the widget below now!
Please note that WE’RE ONLY ACCEPTING 75 ENTRIES IN THE FIRST SUBMISSION WINDOW. We're closing the widget at 75 entries, so if more than 75 people sign up, WE WILL DELETE THE ADDITIONAL ENTRIES and ask those people to try again in the second submission window. Once you secure your slot in the widget, please check out yesterday's post for specific instructions on how to post your entry and e-mail it to us.
To enter "The Writer's Voice," sign up on the widget below now!
Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Easy-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
For best results, use HTML mode to edit this section of the post.
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
For best results, use HTML mode to edit this section of the post.
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