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A Pitch Wars Team Interview with Kaitlin Bartlett and her mentor, Jamie Howard

Wednesday, 16 January 2019  |  Posted by Gwynne Jackson

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 . . .

Kaitlin Bartlett – Mentee

Website | Twitter

Jamie Howard – Mentor

Website | Twitter

Jamie, why did you choose Kaitlin?

Oh gosh, I cannot begin to tell you how much I fell in love with DROWN THE MERMAIDS. The heart of the book–the horrific destruction of a friendship–is one that I think is incredibly important. Almost as important as the two leading ladies in this book who are allowed to make mistakes and be messy, ambitious, and heartbroken. This book resonated with me on such a strong level that I couldn’t imagine not choosing Kaitlin as my mentee.

Kaitlin, why did you choose to submit to Jamie?

Jamie is a champion of ambitious and “unlikeable” female protagonists. My book features two girls who make mistakes and react emotionally, and I wanted a mentor who would treat them with the same care I have for them. After reading her manuscript wish list, I knew my characters would be safe with Jamie. She pushes me to tell the best story I can, but I know she would never ask me to change my characters just so they’d be more likable for readers.

Jamie, summarize Kaitlin’s book in 3 words.

Heartbreaking. Real. Necessary.

Kaitlin, summarize your book in 3 words.

Messy friendship breakup.

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

One of my former homes was once featured on a ghost hunters TV show.

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

A mentor I adore and a manuscript I am proud of. I’m so lucky to have Jamie as an amazing mentor and supporter, and I’m confident that by February, DROWN THE MERMAIDS will be my biggest writing accomplishment so far. I also love the sense of community between all the mentees so far, and I’m hopeful that will continue through the end of Pitch Wars and beyond!

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

I currently live in the Philly area. When I’m not writing or reading, I binge-watch Gilmore Girls and The West Wing, eat French toast, and belt Hamilton lyrics in my car. My book is about a friendship breakup, something many teens (girls, especially) go through but isn’t often focused on in YA literature. DROWN THE MERMAIDS began as a NaNoWriMo project and I wrote it while watching Game of Thrones for the first time. Many of Sloane’s reactions to the series were my own! There are also several references to Hamilton—my favorite musical, like I’ve already mentioned—in the book.

Check out Jamie Howard’s latest release, ALL THE WAYS YOU SAVED ME…

Available on Amazon

Thank you for supporting our Pitch Wars Teams! The Agent Showcase is February 6 – 11, 2019. If you’re an agent and would like to participate, you must register here: https://pitchwars.org/info-for-agents/. We hope you’ll join us to support our teams on the Twitter hashtag #PitchWars.

Filed: Interviews

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