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A Pitch Wars Team Interview with Jasmyne Hammonds and her mentor Trisha Tobias

Tuesday, 18 December 2018  |  Posted by Lisa Leoni

 

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 starting on February 6, 2019, we hope you’ll take a moment during your writing breaks and get to know our 2018 Pitch Wars Teams.

Next up, we have . . .

Jasmyne Hammonds

Jasmyne Hammonds – Mentee

Twitter

Trisha Tobias

Trisha Tobias – Mentor

Website | Twitter

 

Trisha, why did you choose Jasmyne?

Jasmyne’s manuscript burrowed its way into my head and wouldn’t let me go! She has a story that tackles so many truths about history, race, sexuality, truth—and I’m thrilled by her intelligence and the ambition she has to just go for it. When you find a tale that grips you, wows you, and even scares you a little, you have to hold on as tight as you can. And that’s what I did. Jasmyne’s novel is one to watch, and she’s a match made in PW Heaven!

Jasmyne, why did you choose to submit to Trisha?

Trish’s wishlist and my manuscript seemed like a match made in heaven! I loved that her top wishes were complicated family dynamics and flawed, messy characters because my story is full of those elements. She also seemed like she was excited and ready to work with intense and uncomfortable stories that push boundaries. All of this, combined with a mutual love of The Sims & snack foods gave me a feeling that if we were matched, it would be the beginning of not only a great mentorship, but a friendship too!

Trisha, summarize Jasmyne’s book in 3 words.

Complex. Swoony. Daring.

Jasmyne, summarize your book in 3 words.

Queer Southern Mystery

Trisha, tell us about yourself. Something we may not already know.

I’m a freelance editor, Associate Fiction Editor for FORESHADOW: A Serial YA Anthology (please submit!), and a YA intern at Page Street Publishing! Something you might not know about me: I won a poetry contest in college and received a whopping $100. The poems aren’t stellar, but the internet never forgets… Just saying.

Jasmyne, what do you hope to get out of the Pitch Wars experience?

I’ve been working on this manuscript for over two years, and I’m already excited in all of the changes Trish and I have envisioned for my next draft. I hope to write a more polished and focused story that I’m proud of. I’m also really excited to work on my query with someone with a keen eye for editing because the querying process is something that causes me a lot of anxiety. Finally, I’m looking forward to cheering on my fellow Pitch Wars mentees and seeing their stories make it out into the world.

Jasmyne, tell us about yourself! What makes you and your manuscript unique?

I grew up as a military brat and spent my childhood always bouncing from place to place. Now that I’m an adult & working as a flight attendant, I’m rarely in the same time zone for more than a couple of days. Writing is one of the few things in my life that feels like a constant. I love to create worlds that reflect my experiences (or dreams I had as a teen) growing up as a mixed race queer girl. I’m a lover of history, music, and the grey area between right and wrong.

I took all of these elements and created a story that I would have loved to read when I was younger. A majority of the queer YA I read growing up was about white characters falling in love with white characters. It was really important for me to write a story about two queer girls of color falling for each other because I feel like it’s something rarely seen. This story has made me uncomfortable, sent me into a wormhole of research about really tough topics, and raised a lot of questions-which I love! I hope other readers will love it as well one day.

 

Thank you for supporting our Pitch Wars Teams! The Agent Showcase is February 6 – 11, 2019. We hope you’ll join us to support our teams on the Twitter hashtag #PitchWars.

 

Filed: Interviews

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