Our mentors are editing, our mentees are revising, and we hope you’re making progress on your own manuscript! While we’re all working toward the Agent Showcase on November 3rd-9th, we hope you’ll take a moment during your writing breaks and get to know our 2016 Pitch Wars Teams.
And now, we have #TeamFeeling22 . . .
Christine Herman – Mentee
Amanda Foody – Mentor
Christine: Why did you choose Amanda?
When I read Amanda’s profile, I just had a gut feeling that she would “get” my book. Part of it was because of how similar we are — we’re the same age (22), we both have backgrounds in publishing, and her favorite books and mine have a lot of overlap. But part of it was that she seemed like she’d be able to push me the way I knew I needed to be pushed. I felt that we could be friends while still maintaining a mentor-mentee relationship, which was very important to me. And the Game of Thrones gifs were also a definite plus.
Amanda: Why did you choose Christine?
One of things I was drawn to was the comp of THE RAVEN BOYS, and how well I felt the opening pages lived up to that comp. It is very character-driven, despite having high plot elements, and I grew majorly attached to these characters the more I read. It’s got some of the dark intensity of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, small town creepiness and mystery of STRANGER THINGS, and incredibly strong writing on top of that. I was so impressed.
Christine: Summarize your book in three words.
my book in three words: funny, atmospheric, character-driven (is that two words? oops)
Amanda: Summarize your mentee’s book in three words.
Endearing, suspenseful, and layered
Christine: What makes you and your MS unique?
My go-to fun fact about myself is that I was raised abroad (in Hong Kong and Tokyo to be exact!). As for my manuscript, I think the thing that makes it unique is the fact that I wrote it for the teenager I used to be. I wanted to write something that had darkness and heart in equal measure, to create complex characters that were compelling to follow even when they weren’t likable, and to build an intricate, fantastical plot that would reward careful readers. I really love foreshadowing.
Amanda: Tell us about yourself. Something we might not already know.
That I talk a big game about world-building and high concepts, and as much as I’m all about atmosphere, I am such a goober for characters I love. I have a handful of characters, some my own, some from books and TV, who I find so endearing–flaws and all–and feel very protective of them. Some that come to mind are Gansey (I’m smitten) from THE RAVEN CYCLE, Sorina and Levi (from my two books), Killua (Hunter x Hunter), and now Justin from Christine’s book.
Check out Amanda Foody’s upcoming release from Harlequin Teen in August 2017 . . .
Daughter of the Burning City
wicked, wicked to the core,
the city will burn forevermore
A darkly irresistible new fantasy set in the infamous Gomorrah Festival, a traveling carnival of debauchery that caters to the strangest of dreams and desires.
Sixteen-year-old Sorina has spent most of her life within the smoldering borders of the Gomorrah Festival. Yet even among the many unusual members of the traveling circus-city, Sorina stands apart as the only illusion-worker born in hundreds of years. This rare talent allows her to create illusions that others can see, feel and touch, with personalities all their own. Her creations are her family, and together they make up the cast of the Festival’s Freak Show.
But no matter how lifelike they may seem, her illusions are still just that—illusions, and not truly real. Or so she always believed…until one of them is murdered.
Desperate to protect her family, Sorina must track down the culprit and determine how they killed a person who doesn’t actually exist. Her search for answers leads her to the self-proclaimed gossip-worker Luca, and their investigation sends them through a haze of political turmoil and forbidden romance, and into the most sinister corners of the Festival. But as the killer continues murdering Sorina’s illusions one by one, she must unravel the horrifying truth before all of her loved ones disappear.
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