The Agent = Ammi-Joan Paquette of Erin Murphy Literary Agency

This month's agent was Ammi-Joan Paquette of Erin Murphy Literary Agency! If you'd like more information about Ms. Paquette (besides what you can glean from her QueryTracker page and agency website), you might follow these other links:

Ms. Paquette's author website
Absolute Write's subforum on Ms. Paquette's agency

And now for a few quick blurbs.

From Erin Murphy Literary Agency's "About" page: "Joan joined EMLA in spring 2009 as an associate agent after working in the editorial area of educational software development. In the last few years she has placed dozens of manuscripts with editors and is especially passionate about connecting with and launching the careers of debut authors. As the “East Coast branch” of EMLA, Joan works from her home office in Massachusetts, with long-distance support from the main Flagstaff office. She represents all forms of children's and young adult literature, but is most excited by a strong lyrical voice, tight plotting with surprising twists and turns, and stories told with heart and resonance that will stand the test of time.

An EMLA client herself, Joan is also the author of a picture book, THE TIPTOE GUIDE TO TRACKING FAIRIES (Tanglewood, 2009), a mid-grade novel NOWHERE GIRL (Walker, 2011), and several other books due out in the next few years. When she is not on the phone, answering e-mail, or writing, you will most likely find Joan curled up with a book. Or baking something delicious. Or talking about something delicious she's baked. Really, after books and food, what else is there worth saying?"

From Erin Murphy Literary Agency's submission policy: "EMLA is closed to unsolicited queries or submissions. We consider queries that come to us by referral from industry professionals we know, and individual agents are open to queries from attendees of conferecnes where they speak. If you have met us at a conference or have a referral please paste your query into the contact form on this page. Please note that we are no longer responding to unsolicited queries or submissions sent in hard copy form via post or other means, and those sent via e-mail will receive a form rejection."

You should note that the Erin Murphy Literary Agency is generally CLOSED TO UNSOLICITED QUERIES AND SUBMISSIONS. However, if Ms. Paquette mentioned she wasn't necessarily interested in the manuscript you submitted to "An Agent's Inbox" but was interested in seeing future work, YOUR QUERY NO LONGER QUALIFIES AS UNSOLICITED. That's huge, guys. HUGE. So make sure you add Ms. Paquette to your to-query-someday lists if you're in that group.

That's all for now! Winners coming up sometime in the next couple of hours...

And We're Off!

The September round of "An Agent's Inbox" is now in full swing, with all 50 entries up and ready for your feedback. Remember, ENTRANTS, YOU MUST CRITIQUE AT LEAST 3 OTHER ENTRIES; everyone else, feel free to critique however many you'd like. You might look for those that haven't gotten as many comments, just so we spread the critiquing love around. And please, please, please keep the criticism constructive. We all want to know what's wrong with our writing, but it's always easier to accept--and incorporate--advice that's gently given.

I'll reveal The Agent's identity next Tuesday, October 4, along with his or her winners and prizes. Until then, have at it!

An Agent's Inbox #50

Dear Awesome Agent,

On Annika Fitzsimmons’s eighteenth birthday, she learns she is a Traveler--someone born with the ability to move through Past Events and to change the future for the better. That explains the vivid, excruciatingly painful visions she's had since she was eight years old, but not the same blue-eyed boy she sees in each one.

When Nik arrives at the underground compound of Traveler's City for initiation, she discovers her ability to move through time without the aid of computers or coordinates is rare--the stuff of legend. Only one fellow initiate can do the same: Davis, the boy from her visions. Nik and Davis soon discover they are Bonded, born to Travel together no matter what.

But Traveling is dangerous, and sometimes people die. That’s what happened to the husband of the charismatic Director of Traveler's City--he accepted a Final Mission when he learned his death was the only thing that could convince a key witness to testify against the mob. When Nik and Davis are repeatedly pulled, against their will, into the same treacherous Events that caused his death and see the Director there every time, they realize that she’s trying to bring her husband back from the dead, and it’s their job to stop her. Now, Nik and Davis must risk their own lives to keep the Director from killing them, violating Traveler’s Law, and changing Current Events as they know it. As they discover even more about Traveler’s City, the Bond, and what they truly mean to each other, they’ll learn just how far someone with power will go to save the one they love.

THE TRAVELERS is a Young Adult light science fiction novel complete at 81,000 words and stands alone, with potential for a sequel. Thank you for taking the time to consider my submission.

Sincerely,
L.A.K.


THE TRAVELERS

Nik forced her eyes to open and flexed her jaw against the rough carpet fibers of her bedroom floor, wincing when it popped.

Ten years since her father died, and ten years since she’d been having these episodes, or visions, or whatever they were. Sometimes once in a month, sometimes twice a week.

They all had three things in common. They only happened at night. They wracked her body with piercing, all-consuming pain. And in them, she saw the boy with the blue eyes. Every single time.

She always felt his presence an instant before she saw him. A thrill ran through her, followed by a delicious warmth. No matter how terrifying the vision, when she met his gaze, she felt calm, confident, strong.

Too bad she’d never seen him in real life. In the end, he twisted, confused and distorted, together with the asphalt or dancing candlelight or sounds of police sirens, into the same thing.

Pain, stabbing at her skin from the inside and invading every inch of her body, so intense that nothing else mattered.

Nik dragged her still-pounding head from the floor and glared at the useless pile of medical textbooks that sat on her desk, mocking her cluelessness. For years, she’d been trying to figure this out. Her blood pressure and sugar tested fine. No anemia. Three separate EKGs had shown her perfectly functioning heart.

Narcolepsy could strike at any time of day, but didn’t cause pain. Epileptic seizures could be painful, but they happened any time, too. Besides, the MRI had come up with nothing.

An Agent's Inbox #49

Dear Agent,

I have completed an 88,000 word science fiction YA novel entitled LOVELY, PERILOUS THINGS, and I think it might interest you.

Saresyn.

Just the name of the mythical sea monsters strikes fear in the heart of every sisterling at The School for Sisterly Studies. But one-day-shy of sixteen, Clementine has bigger things to worry about than imaginary squidbeasts lurking outside of the island walls of Rivanna. Like that tomorrow is her Choosing, and she’ll just die if handsome Beau Langford doesn’t pick her to be one of his brides. And that her snobby sisterling Esme thinks they’re all being watched. (And she might be right.)

So what happens when weird Gideon Langford with his ugly birthmark chooses her instead? And Clementine finds a mysterious amulet and a torn up book by a missing girl that says the Saresyn are real? Inside the opulent city of Eastlanta, she learns the true price of her privilege and discovers dangerous secrets about the fate of her sisterlings and the origins of the island itself.

But when one little island is all that’s left, sometimes a girl has to take a leap of faith.

And swim for her life.

I hold an MFA in fiction from New York University and I have taught high school English and college writing. My novel can stand alone but is intended to be the first of a trilogy.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
R.G.


LOVELY, PERILOUS THINGS

A cheetah crept by me in the high grass, stalking an ostrich off in the distance. The awkward bird was strutting aimlessly, its feathers plumed and totally unaware that it was so close to death. I could hear my breath, and I felt the tension in my body rise as the cheetah pounced, it’s long, powerful torso undulating into movement as it ran, fast, now faster, hunting its prey.

The African heat barreled down on me, and I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand. I tried to keep up, wanting but not wanting to see the end of the chase. The ostrich craned its long neck and it’s legs pounded against the ground as it tried to escape. I could feel the vibrations, hear the distressed calls of the bird and the eerie silence of the big cat, as it leaped, heavy but graceful, turning this way and that, preparing to grab onto the ostrich and…

Ooomph. I stumbled, and the next thing I knew I was picking my face up from the hard rubber floor.

“What the?” I cradled my sore nose in my hand. There was only one reason the treadmill would stop in the middle of a simulation. One of my stupid sisterlings had ignored the Occupied sign. It would be just my luck that the day before the Choosing I’d break my face. Not even the medical bots could fix it that fast. And what man would choose me for a wife with a crooked nose?

An Agent's Inbox #48

Dear Agent:

Lucy's always wanted a horse and a big sister. Now her mother's remarried and she has both. But her sister is a Little Miss Perfect and is always bossing Lucy around. And she doesn't even like horses!

Lucy's new horse is the love of her life. But she only has him on a thirty day trial. If her parents find out her horse ran away with her, they'd take him away. Lucy has to find a way to make Valiant behave. Maybe her new sister, the animal behavior 'expert', could help but Lucy's not sure she's that desperate yet.

I am a published author and librarian.

LITTLE MISS PERFECT AND ME is a contemporary middle grade complete at 20,000.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
R.R.


LITTLE MISS PERFECT AND ME

My Perfect Plan was a bust. Mom and Mike said, “No way!” when I wanted to go to the barn after dinner.

And I said “No Way!” to staying home when my new horse was arriving at Aunt Margaret’s barn any minute. Of course I didn’t say it out loud.

Perfect Plan B: Operation Sneak Out.

I was ready. Dark blue T-shirt, dark blue jeans--I’d blend right into the shadows.

I eased open my bedroom door and listened. No sound from Charlotte’s room. Probably doing homework. Being Little Miss Perfect as usual.

I picked up my barn boots and tiptoed to the stairs. I listened again.

“M! Pick an M!” I heard my stepfather say.

“No, Mike,” Mom said. “He needs a D.”

I smiled as I inched my way down the stairs. Mike really loved those TV game shows. He and Mom probably wouldn’t even notice I was gone.

One step, two steps, three! Duck into the dining room. Dash into the kitchen and...

“Charlotte!” I skidded to a stop inches from Charlotte’s backside.

“Watch out, Lucy.” Charlotte straightened from the refrigerator, her long brown braid swinging across her back. “You almost made me drop the pickles.”

“Shh!”

“Why should I shush?” Charlotte eyed the boots in my hands. “You’re sneaking out!”

To think I’d been happy when Mike married my mother, and Charlotte moved in with us. A big sister! Someone to talk to and share secrets with.

But instead of my dream sister, I got bossy Charlotte.

An Agent's Inbox #47

Dear Agent,

Getting into a car accident was the second to last thing Maggie Lyons expected on prom night. The last thing she expected? Finding out she’s part machine.

Turns out, there are a lot of things Maggie didn’t suspect. Like the fact she almost died when she was four. And her parents let a stranger replace her broken parts with technology more advanced than anything on the Syfy channel. Or that her geekoid next door neighbor, Tommy, is hiding in the backseat of her car when she runs away in the middle of the night.

But that’s just the way her weekend is going.

Now Maggie and Tommy are on the lam in a stolen car, running from the police, the doctor who might be on to her condition, and the bald dude with a seriously bad attitude tailing them. Tommy would give anything to have her newly manifested strength, but Maggie’s not so keen--even a simple tickle fight could turn deadly. All she wants is to find her Maker and get her human parts restored. As they follow clues on a cross-country road trip, Tommy totally cramps her style, but he is beginning to distract her from the guy who wrapped his car around a tree on prom night. That’s problem in itself--geek love is definitely not a part of Maggie’s plan. If only she can find her Maker, maybe, just maybe, she can go back to life as normal.

Then Maggie meets the others like her. Turns out, there’s a lot more to be afraid of than winding up under a microscope.

I’m seeking representation for CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE CYBORG, a YA science fiction novel complete at 71,000 words. I have a MS in Arts Administration from Boston University and as the former marketing director of a professional theatre, I can actively promote my work. Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

Regards,
M.C.


CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE CYBORG

Weightlessness is a funny thing.

One moment ago, Dean and I were joking about the stupid, lime-green dress his ex-girlfriend wore to prom. His cheeks dimpled when he laughed.

Now his car skids over the embankment. Our bodies are a blur of pink satin and black tuxedo. My insides lurch and jerk, like knots trying to untie themselves. Dean’s face is a blank sheet of confusion and me, well, I don’t know how I look but I’m sure it isn’t pretty.

The free fall ends when we hit the tree. All that remains is pain and panic. And noise. All kinds of noise. Screams, creaks, and cracks from all sides. I can’t feel my legs or arms, but I’m standing and screaming and tugging at the crumpled car door.

Dean’s stuck. I have to get him out.

Gas fumes sting my nose and burn my chest. I tear the door off the car and nearly tear Dean’s arm off, too. He tumbles out and I drag him toward the field. The car explodes, flames consuming it in a burst of red and orange. The force throws us back from the wreck. I sit in the long grass in my tattered dress, barely aware of the hot metal in my hands or Dean unconscious at my side.

I can't tear my eyes away from my left arm.

It’s ruined.

The skin is ripped open, gaping from wrist to elbow, but I hardly bleed. I try to make sense of it, but my arm isn’t right.

An Agent's Inbox #46

Dear Agent,

Sixteen-year-old Jessica Jacobs is a super spy, a famous actress, and a princess.

Okay, not really. But she likes to daydream she’s all of those things and more. So when she wakes up with a medieval knight aiming his sword at her throat, Jessica thinks it’s just another daydream. Until she realizes that, 1- dude is actually causing her neck to bleed, 2- her dress is so hideous she never would have daydreamed herself into it, and 3- Zac Efron is nowhere in sight.

After pondering her sanity, Jessica is left with one option: ride out her time in Crazy Medieval Land until she can figure out a way home. Unfortunately, that means working for the Count’s horrible daughter and doing her best to avoid Lord Pervy’s wandering hands. It sucks being the peon instead of the princess.

Enter Lord Alric, AKA: knight-in-freaking-hot-armor. It would be easy to let him protect her, but Jessica refuses to be a damsel-in-distress. Instead, she convinces him to teach her to swordfight. Somewhere amidst the grueling hours of training, she falls for his chivalry and playful smile. Could time have brought them together? And if so, why are so many people conspiring to keep them apart?

Happily ever after was so much easier in her daydreams.

Daze and Knights is an 84,000 word YA novel about an average girl facing the kind of adventures she always imagined. I have almost completed a sequel where Jessica finds herself in Virginia during the American Revolution.

Full manuscript is available upon request. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
M.S.


DAZE AND KNIGHTS

Chapter 1: Blake The Snake

He was supposed to be my knight in shining armor. My prince charming. The guy who would sweep me off my feet and trot me away from my boring life on the back of his white horse.

He wasn’t supposed to be the guy who kicked me out of his car four blocks from my house before speeding away without looking back.

Worst. Date. Ever.

I daydreamed about Blake Chapman asking me out since middle school. His sandy blond hair and cocky smile were enough to make me woozy. In a good way.

Too bad he didn’t actually like me. He only asked me out to make my best friend jealous. When I wouldn’t dish the dirt on Dani, pay for dinner, or give him any (in that order), he dumped me on the side of the road. Now he makes me woozy in an I-want-to-vomit kind of way.

“I can’t believe he would do that!” Dani whispered during Algebra the next day. “He always seemed like a nice guy.” Her eyes flicked to Blake who sat with his head down, texting underneath the desk.

“He probably wouldn’t do that to you,” I whispered back, trying to keep the bitterness from my voice. Plucking at the pages of my textbook, I avoided looking in his direction.

“Oh Jess, I would never go out with him. What a jerk!”

I couldn’t stop my gaze from straying towards him. “Yeah.” He looked up then, noticed me looking, and smirked. Crap.

An Agent's Inbox #45

(Redacted)