Well, my goodness! This has been a busy week so far, hasn’t it?
I apologize for the extra post yesterday, and thank everyone who took the time to read and vote for their favorite Halloweensie Contest entry. If you haven’t had a chance to vote yet, the running is VERY tight and we need all the votes we can get, so please go HERE!
And speaking of voting, we’ve had so much of it this week! Voting for the president… voting for the Halloweensie Contest… and now voting for the October Pitch Pick winner. Truly, I feel a little weak, and I suspect you may too, so I’d like to offer you all a restorative chocolate cake pop 🙂
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| Photo copyright Stacy Jensen 2012 used by permission |
Very festive, don’t you think? And orange-y and yellow-y for post-Halloween scrumptiousness 🙂 And as we all know, if it’s cake, it’s breakfast (milk, eggs, grains, need I say more?) Hmm… I like that! I think it should be my new motto: “If it’s cake, it’s breakfast!” (and you have to say it in the voice of a Saturday morning cartoon narrator, you know, like “Not far outside the city, the evil scientist, Simon Barsinister, was up to no good!”!)
Now that we are thusly fortified, here are the revised pitches from October, presented for your voting pleasure. Enjoy reading the new and improved versions and then please vote for the one you think deserves a read by editor Erin Molta.
#1 Linda
Alpha Bitty (PB ages 4-6)
A special tree stands on Wordy Hill. It doesn’t sprout apples or oranges but letters, from A to Z. All year Wind, Rain and bright Sunshine, have helped the letters grow strong, but how can they pick them? Alpha Bitty comes to the rescue and together the friends share the letters near and far so new stories may blossom.
#2 Sidney
Phantom And The Boneyard (MG)
The Phantom awakens to find himself separated from the other airplanes in his squadron and relocated to a military “boneyard” in the Arizona desert where retired aircraft are used for spare parts. But Phantom isn’t ready to retire. With the help of new friends, he starts plotting his escape before he, too, ends up in permanent storage with his “eyes” wrapped shut.
#3 Brenda
Dishing Up (PB ages 3-8)
What could possibly go wrong when Dan Platter, Kay Gravy Boat and Amy Gravy Boat take over the kitchen!
#4 Carrie
Scooter Annie (PB ages 4-8)
Annie loves swooping and gliding on her new scooter. Nothing can stop her…except the hill at the end of her street. Now, if Annie wants to ride in the neighborhood parade, she must find a way to tackle that big hill – without getting hurt in a big way.
And now for today’s pitch from the lovely Heather (who you may remember from that gorgeous dragon painting we all enjoyed so much for the Summer Send-Off Contest – helpfully linked in case you want to go look at that picture again!) Heather is an artist, writer, wife and mom living in the woods of Maine. When she’s not scribbling away at her desk, she’s busy exploring, learning and generally raising a ruckus with her family. You can find her at her blog or her website.
Working Title: A Banshee Birthday
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8)
The Pitch: Ailbe wishes she had some friends to invite to her birthday party, but it’s tough finding girls willing to attend a nocturnal banshee celebration. For those girls brave enough to say “yes” and stay awake past bedtime, Ailbe has many secrets of the night to share.
So what do you think? Would You Read It? YES, MAYBE or NO?
Heather is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! And I am looking forward to a lovely day in which there will be sunshine and temperate temperatures and certainly NOT what the weather man is calling for which I will not repeat here because this is a kid-friendly blog and the weatherman is tossing about a four-letter word that begins with S!
See you Friday for Perfect Picture Books and the winner of Amy’s giveaway for Marathon Mouse!
Have a fun-filled, snow-free day! 🙂
Susanna Leonard Hill 
Thank you, Tracy!
Thanks so much for your comments for Heather and for voting, Stina! 🙂
Thanks so much for your (as always!) very helpful comments, Carrie! I think I speak for all of us when I say we aure are glad you come over every Wednesday 🙂
Thanks for answering, Heather! When Erik asked it occurred to me that I wasn't sure exactly what constituted a banshee either!
Heather Newman wrote, in response to This Kid Reviews Bks:
A banshee is a female spirit from Irish mythology whose appearance is believed to be an omen of death, but in my story the people simply believe to hear the song of a banshee brings bad luck. No unfortunate deaths 🙂 Thanks for asking, Erik!
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If you get tired of writing picture books, Carrie…you definitely could have a stellar career in editing and pitch writing!!! Your advice is spot-on. 🙂
I voted. 🙂 It was difficult because all of the pitches sounded like books I would like to read. 🙂
And I would DEFINITELY read Heather's book…love the banshee celebration…I think, from what I've seen in recently published books, that a 'banshee celebration' would be just what the editors are looking for. 🙂 I totally agree with Carrie's pitch 'fix'…and the 'secrets of the night' almost made me think of 'ladies of the night'…about whom I'm sue Heather's book is not (that was a very convoluted sentence fragment, but you get my meaning)!
And about the cake pops…”life is uncertain, eat dessert first” (little-known but much quoted writer Ernestine Ulmer) is a saying I have long believed. 🙂 So bring them on…cake pops and brownies and lindzer tarts and apple pie and charlotte russe and…..:)
Vivian, that is my kind of thinking! 🙂 I often feel like it would be fun to go to a nice restaurant and order one dessert for dinner and another for dessert and just skip the other food altogether… but I've never done it… yet 🙂 Thanks for your comments for Heather! And thanks for voting!
You're welcome. 🙂
Wow, these are model pitches. Aspiring authors who want to write for the young adult or adult markets should come here and see how to write succinct, bell-ringing pitches
Glad you like them, Mark. The majority of our pitches are for picture books, but we do get some for middle grade and YA.
Thank you, Vivian! It's funny that you said that about ladies of the night. I asked my husband if that's what it sounded like and he said no, but apparently you and I have similar thought processes!