Good Morning, Dear Friends!

Boy are you going to love today!

It’s all about sharing your opinions and letting your voice be heard!

Your vote matters!

Because today we have not one, not two, but THREE pitch picks for you to weigh in on!

(And in case you’re wondering, of course I planned this on purpose to be fun for you and give you a little lift in the dead of frigid winter, and three pitches in one day posted weeks after they should have been has nothing at ALL to do with being swamped with holding writing contests and meeting editorial deadlines and taking trips to Brazil and the holidays and visiting family and poor sick daughters who need company during Say Yes To The Dress marathons to recover from their terrible coughs!  No sirree Bob!  This was a matter of careful planning… 🙂 )

To fuel you for your voting marathon, here is Something Chocolate – and Something Perfect for these cold, cold January days!

The World’s Best Hot Chocolate!

Ah!  Isn’t that delicious?  So hot and creamy and chocolatey?!  Feel free to add extra whipped cream (we all need calcium, right?! 🙂 )

Alrighty, then!  Let’s Pitch Pick!

Please read through the groups of pitches below and vote for your favorite in each month (there are 3 separate polls.)  Whichever of these wonderful pitches win will be sent to editor Erin Molta for her professional feedback!

Please place your votes by Sunday January 14 at 5PM EST.  Winners will be posted next week, good lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise! 🙂

September Pitch Pick:

#1 – Maureen – Kit, Not Kitty (PB ages 4-8)
For as long as Kit can remember remembering, she has felt more like fetching a ball and less like laying on a laptop. But how can she convince her family that it’s nothing to take puuuuurrsonally, it’s just that how she feels on the inside does not match how she looks on the outside.

#2 – Katie – Pirate For Hire (PB ages 4-8)
Patch loves being a pirate. The beards! The singing! The treasure! There’s only one problem…he gets seasick. When his shipmates begin poking fun at him, Patch looks for a new gig and a new crew who understand him, but where to work? Patch fumbles as a barber, flounders and a singer, and fails as a jeweler before finding a place perfect for a pirate.

#3 – Leonie – I’m Hungry Mummy (PB ages 2-6)
I’m hungry, but so is Mommy… She pretends to ‘eat you all up’, but there are some problems I make her overcome first!

October Pitch Pick:

#4 – Corine – The Puffin That Couldn’t Fly (PB ages 5-8)
When Paolo the penguin adopts a friendly puffin colony he doesn’t understand why he can´t fly like his friends—until he follows his gut into the deep sea where his flippers lead him to his family and true identity.

#5 – Kim – Belly Button Piranhas (PB ages 4-8)
Olivia is a gullible eight year old girl that must come to terms with her Dad’s explanation of the origin of the holes in her favorite shirt. With the help of her friends and her dog Rowdy, they will cure the infestation of the belly button piranhas.

#6 – Leonie – The Magician’s Apprentice (PB ages 4-8)
The boys are preparing for a show, but Sam keeps forgetting his costume! An outfit disappears and they need to find who stole it!

#7 – Laura – Gustavo’s Big Idea (PB ages 4-9)
Aliana’s little brother Gustavo wants to be in charge for the day. Knowing she’s really the boss, Aliana agrees to play along. Now Gustavo needs to come up with a BIG idea to impress his sister! As they head out to explore the woods near their Rocky Mountain home, Gustavo searches for inspiration, finding his idea in the clouds. The power of observation combined with imagination show both siblings new ways to take pride in their discoveries. Easy-to-follow hands on science project for home or school included.

November Pitch Pick:

#8 – Jennifer – Dewey Drops (PB ages 4-7)
Dewey wants the chance to make someone’s day, but that will never happen if keeps raining on playgrounds and parades. Plus, the next drop zone will be the worst one yet! There’s no way he’ll see a smile now, all he can do is hope not to land on the cake.

#9 – Candice – The Wildness In Mellie Feye (Upper Middle Grade Eco-Fairytale Retelling)
Mellie isn’t sure what her mom made her…half sea serpent? Peculiar mermaid? Water spirit? Or simple cursed?!

Fifteen-year-old Mellie wants to get back home to the magical isle of her two triplet sisters, but her mom’s curse keeps her away, stuck on a spit of land near Sand Blast Bay, FL. Apparently Mellie getting revenge on her dad wasn’t what her mom intended when she told the girls he was still alive. To break the curse, Mellie needs (what else?) true love’s kiss. She’d rather suck out scallop guts. Until her beloved bay turns septic and all the fish and oysters start dying off. It doesn’t look like she can return home to her sisters until she figures out how to restore the collapsing ecosystem. Her revenge is what caused it after all.

THE WILDNESS IN MELLIE FEYE is an upper middle grade fairytale retelling of the Melusine legend (the water spirit on your Starbuck’s cup) with an ecological twist.

#10 – Leonie – Sara Stole My Hiccups! (PB ages 4-8)
Tommy has a problem and Sara is here to help! Follow these two friends on their journey to solve Tommy’s problem – with a twist.

#11 – Candace – Cock-A-Doodle WHAT? (PB ages 2-4)
Clarence Rooster is pacing around the barnyard. He is the smallest rooster at the farm and tomorrow morning will be his first turn at waking up Farmer Judy. What if he’s not loud enough and she sleeps right through his crowing? He decides to hold a practice session behind the barn. Clarence invites his friends to come listen. Each one has a bit of advice for him. Now, he must figure out whose idea is the best.

Wow!  That was a lot of pitch picking!  I hope you had fun, and I hope you know how much I and the participating pitchers appreciate you taking the time to read and vote, and on regular WYRI Wednesdays give thoughtful feedback to help our pitchers improve and give all of us the chance to learn!

Now then.  One last thing before we all tootle off to our Wednesday appointed rounds.  I have realized that, due to the craziness that was October 1 – December 31, 2017, I failed to mention around the web that we need pitches for Would You Read It!  I actually currently have NONE!  So if you have a pitch that you need some help on and feel could benefit from the wisdom of your peers over here, please send it my way!  You could go as early as next week!  If no one sends any pitches, we’ll just have to eat chocolate and shoot the breeze (which wouldn’t be so bad – I love your company and I love chocolate 🙂 ) but really, we’re supposed to do something productive around here, so fire those pitches my way! 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!  Read! Write! Eat chocolate! 🙂