Our mentors are mentoring, 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 9, 2021, we hope you’ll take a moment during your writing breaks and get to know our 2021 Pitch Wars Mentor and Mentee Teams.
Next up, we have . . .
Hannah B. Olsen – Mentee
Alicia Thompson – Mentor
Amy Lea – Mentor
Alicia and Amy, why did you choose Hannah?
We both finished Hannah’s book, FIRST COMES BABY, in a single sitting. The writing was exactly what we were looking for — fresh, authentic, and filled with hilarious physical comedy. The main character, Tess, accidentally winds up pregnant by her best friend (who she’s been in unrequited love with forever). And while she’s navigating that rollercoaster, she ends up falling for someone else who was unexpected but turns out to be absolutely perfect for her. Tess had a clear, seamless character arc that really spoke to our hearts! Importantly, Hannah also explored a well-known rom-com trope we both adore (friends to lovers), but subverted it in the best way, making us fall for the dreamy love interest. We also knew Hannah was keen to work on and develop exactly the editorial suggestions we initially came up with. It seemed like the perfect match!
Hannah, why did you choose to submit to Alicia and Amy?
There were so many reasons to sub to this dynamic duo! Both of their romance novels were set to come out with Berkley and both sounded amazing! They had interest in a lot of the things I was writing about, like body diversity and subverted tropes. Their social media profiles just sparkled with positivity and personality. I knew working with them would be an honor, and I had a gut feeling we would get on really well. Which, so far, we totally do! I feel so lucky!
Alicia and Amy, summarize Hannah’s book in 3 words.
Sweet, empowering, funny!
Hannah, summarize your book in 3 words.
Pregnancy Love Triangle
Alicia and Amy, tell us about yourself. Something we may not already know.
Alicia: I don’t really like cruises but I do love Paramore, and that’s how I’ve ended up on three Paramore cruises.
Amy: I am obsessed with orangutans and have watched every season of Orangutan Jungle School on Amazon Prime, as well as every orangutan wildlife documentary known to mankind. My dream is to travel to Borneo to see them in their natural habitat but I will first have to conquer my fear of nature.
Hannah, what do you hope to get out of the Pitch Wars experience?
I’m so excited to say that I’m already getting a lot of what I’d dreamt of out of the Pitch Wars experience! It’s so moving to have two people who are passionate about my project and about helping it reach its full potential. Writing can be so lonely, and sometimes that loneliness and that lack of feedback can stifle your creativity so that it’s really hard to see what needs to be done on a project. So having two talented authors on my team just feels like a really huge blessing. I’m hoping this experience leads to a really polished manuscript and some new writer friendships, particularly with those who have been through this whole (querying, submission, publishing) process before.
Hannah, tell us about yourself. What makes you and your manuscript unique?
I am a stay-at-home mother and a hobby baker living in Tennessee. This book is one of four novels that I have completed, but my first for an adult audience. I previously published a YA Fantasy gender-swapped fairytale retelling with publisher Big Small Town Books and am currently under contract for the sequel. This manuscript though is such a departure from that category. It’s been such a refreshing change! This manuscript is unique, not only because it describes all the awkward experiences of falling in love while pregnant, but it also flips the friends-to-lovers trope on its head. It’s been a lot of fun playing with tropes, leaning into them but also switching them up in some unique ways.
Check out these upcoming releases from Alicia and Amy…
SET ON YOU by Amy Lea
A gym nemesis pushes a fitness influencer to the max in Amy Lea’s steamy debut romantic comedy.
Curvy fitness influencer Crystal Chen built her career shattering gym stereotypes and mostly ignoring the trolls. After her recent breakup, she has little stamina left for men, instead finding solace in the gym – her place of power and positivity.
Enter firefighter Scott Ritchie, the smug new gym patron who routinely steals her favorite squat rack. Sparks fly as these ultra-competitive foes battle for gym domination. But after a series of escalating jabs, the last thing they expect is to run into each other at their grandparents’ engagement party.
In the lead up to their grandparents’ wedding, Crystal discovers there’s a soft heart under Scott’s muscled exterior. Bonding over family, fitness, and cheesy pick-up lines, she just might have found her swolemate. But when a photo of them goes viral, savage internet trolls put their budding relationship to the ultimate test of strength.
Thank you for supporting our Pitch Wars Teams! The Agent Showcase is February 9-14, 2022. Make sure to stop by then and check out all our mentees’ entries when it opens.
I enjoyed the interview! All the books sound amazing, so congrats all around!