Mentee Seeks Novel Mentor!

This is it! My bio for Pitch Wars!

Let me give it to you.

What's this?

Brenda Drake, a YA author, started the annual contest, PitchWars. In it, publishing professionals (authors and editors) kindly give over their valuable personal time to mentor to writers seeking representation for their manuscript.

One of the things you can do to get ready is write a bio per Lana Pattinson's #PimpMyBio.

So I am doing that.

Right now.

About Me

I'm originally from Cleveland (home of god child, Lebron James) and have been living in Boston since 2011.

I moved there after doing the six week, intensive, fantasy and science fiction writing workshop, Clarion. It made me more connected to the writing community than I have ever been before.

I have published short fiction and poetry in pro and semi-pro writing magazine markets!

Strong female characters are awesome. Dynamic female characters from different backgrounds, perspectives, and modes of strength in a narrative where none of them are The One Girl are even better.

I like to babysit people's cats and house plants when they're away.

I'm bi and like to write queer and LGBTQA+ (QUILTBAG?) characters.

I have a podcast with a friend where we yell about superhero movies!

I've been a panelist at Readercon, Boskone, and Arisia to talk about Doctor Who, anime, myth, fairy tales, fanfic Mary-Sues, Outlander, Harry Potter, comic books, Marvel movies, and many, many other things.

I've worked in academic publishing.

I dislike soda and love homemade smoothies.

My friends at my writing group, BSPEC, including Emily Strong, got me interested in doing this!

About My Book

High school freshman Elsie saves the life of a magical boy exiled from Faerie.

This is great. He's also Puck, King Oberon's powerful servant. Now, due to Faerie law, he becomes bound to her every whim until he can repay the favor. 

At first, Puck’s impulsive magic and companionship opens up Elsie’s world. This includes having her face conflicted, romantic feelings toward childhood friend, Pollyanna. 

But he has a dark sense of humor. His mischief turns increasingly dangerous and Elsie must find a way to break the bond in case people are hurt, even though she and Puck have started to become friends.

Unfortunately, Puck has enlisted the help of Queen Mab to break the bond, and she's a powerful ally with no sense of scale.

Puck is a young adult suburban fantasy recasting the characters from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. It's looking for a good mentor and a good home.

Why Pick Me

I'm ready for a mentor!  After critiquing, re-writing, and re-structuring my novel over the course of years, the only piece missing is an industry professional to show me the light!

I've been taking constructive criticism since middle school, where I participated in the school's official writing club, Power of the Pen. Yes, that's the name.

I'm a hard worker ready to make enormous revisions!

And I just need to find the person to help!

Some of My Favorite Things

Books: Among Others by Jo Walton, Tithe by Holly Black, The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, The Diary of a Teenage Girl: An Account in Words and Pictures by Phoebe Gloeckner, My Happy Life by Lydia Millet, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Movies and TV shows: Guardians of the Galaxy, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Princess Mononoke, Tokyo Godfathers, Back to the Future, Parks and Recreation

Thank you and best of luck to all mentors, mentees, and participants!