Category: March Pitch Winner

Would You Read It Wednesday #248 – The New Girl (MG) PLUS The February And March Pitch Winners!!!

13 Comments

Happy Wednesday, my friends!

Wow!

Has spring sprung or what?

It was (no joke!) 86 degrees on Blueberry Hill yesterday afternoon!  I’m pretty sure that’s a record for April 11 in these parts!  Of course, it’s unlikely to stay that warm (which is okay because I’d worry even more about global warming if summer had already arrived!), but it sure was nice to be outdoors in a tee shirt and shorts!  It’s forecasted to be 20 degrees cooler today.

The question for the day is: do we think the danger of frost up here on the mountain has passed, and dare I plant my spring bulbs???

Whilst we think on that, let’s congratulate the winners of the February and March Pitch Picks that you all so kindly chose last week!

I’m happy to announce that the winner of the February Pitch Pick was Kathryn, with her pitch for Penelope Pickles And The Troll Kingdom (MG)!

And the winner of the March Pitch Pick was Traci, with her pitch for Riley And The Haunted Cupboard (PB)!

Congratulations, Kathryn and Traci!!!  Your pitches are winging through cyberspace to editor Erin Molta for her comments, and I’m sure you will hear from her as soon as she has time!

And congratulations also to all the other pitchers who so bravely shared their work, opened themselves to constructive criticism and used it to make already good pitches even stronger!  You are all winners, really, because when next you need those pitches they will be ready!

And, as always, I want to thank our wonderful readers without whom Would You Read It would not be what it is!  Thank you all for your thoughtful, considered and helpful comments.  So many writers have had the opportunity to improve their pitches thanks to you! ❤

I think we should celebrate with Something Chocolate, don’t you???!!! 🙂   Since Easter is nearly upon us, I vote for delicious homemade chocolate peanut butter eggs!

 

Oh my goodness, those are mouthwateringly delicious!  Plus, I know I don’t need to point out to you, my faithful devotees, that peanut butter is an excellent source of extremely healthful protein which will help you focus your brain and build your muscles – writing and otherwise! 🙂  So by all means, please help yourself to several.  There is always plenty of chocolate around here! 🙂

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Joan.  Joan Leotta is a writer and story performer who haddock been playing with words since childhood.
She loves to use words to entertain, educate and encourage.

Find her on the web at:
Joan Leotta, Author and Story Performer on Facebook and
www.joanleotta.wordpress.com

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: The New Girl

Age/Genre: MG

The Pitch: Jenna’s Mom has just been deployed to Afghanistan. Dad is an FBI agent who went missing while on assignment. Jenna is sent to live with her Grandparents in Rural North Carolina, far from her friends in DC’s Virginia suburbs. In an effort to loose weight and gain friend, Jenna starts an exercise walking program so she can join the schools track team…on her first walk she finds a dead body. The man turns out to be a local banker long thought to have skipped town.  Jenna’s efforts to solve the mystery, make new friends and handle the separation from her parents are sided by her grandmas stitcher group  and one leader in her new school who is not afraid to make friends with Jenna, the new girl.

Possible Titles…the new girl,or  crossstitch and crossbones

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?  Also, Joan would love title suggestions if you have any!

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Joan improve her pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)

 

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on Would You Read It in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above.  There are openings in June, so you have a little time to polish your pitch before putting it up for helpful feedback and have a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!

Joan is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to planting my spring bulbs.   Do not ask me what they’re called.  Something purple that blooms in early summer.  As you can see, I am an extremely knowledgable gardener.  They don’t call me the Black Thumb of Poughquag for nothing! 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

 

Would You Read It Wednesday #129 – Roy G. Biv And The Amazing Castle Moat (PB)

66 Comments

Sometimes a box arrives on your doorstep.

If it looks like this

you know it is a very very good kind of box!!!

When you open it, you’ll see this

and then this

and then this

and finally – squeeeeeeee! –

SOMETHING CHOCOLATE!!!

Please, help yourselves!

And thank you, Kirsten, for your very thoughtful gift!  I’d like to say there were some left, but that would just be lying 🙂  I can say in complete truthfulness, however, that they were delicious!!! 🙂

Now that we are all happily munching on the proverbial bonbons, let’s have a round of applause (because it would be impolite to yell “Congratulations!” with a mouth full of Godiva chocolate truffles!) for the winner of the March Pitch Pick which is. . .

Ann!
with her pitch for Sk8r Boy!!!

Congratulations, Ann!  Your pitch has been sent to editor Erin Molta for her thoughts.  I’m sure you’ll hear from her shortly.

And congratulations to our other brave pitchers who also did a terrific job!  I hope you all gained from the Would You Read It experience, and I also hope you’ll take a few extra congratulatory truffles 🙂  Best of luck with your stories!

Now then.  Onward!

Today’s pitch comes to us from Charlotte who says, “When I was a little girl, a childless older couple who lived across the street gave me an oversized picture book, written in wonderful rhyming couplets.  More than a half century later, I can still recite the entire story of “The Children That Lived in a Shoe” from memory, as I visualize the pictures of the cherub-like little ones going about their daily routines. I still love this book.  Twenty-first century children deserve access to their own favorite stories that will endure for them throughout their lifetimes. I keep this in mind when I work on my PB manuscripts.“

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Roy G. Biv And The Amazing Castle Moat
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 5-8)
The Pitch: Sophie senses there’s magic in the world of nature, while Sam is more of a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of kid. She likes building fairy houses but agrees to help her brother construct his sand fortress.  When a sudden summer rainstorm spares their beach castle, the overflowing moat delivers a surprise visitor, Roy G. Biv.  Sam thinks someone is playing a trick on him when he hears the guest’s voice share a rhyming, rhythmic poem about the rainbow’s colors. Sophie is delighted at how Sam finds out that Roy G. Biv is not only rather magical, but is also real.

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Charlotte improve her pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above.  There are openings in July so you’ve got a little time to polish up your pitches and send yours for your chance to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Charlotte is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to the upcoming Illustrators Contest which is barely a week away now!  It will open on Thursday April 24th!  I am really, really hoping that at least a few people will enter, because I would so love to see how they bring the amazing March Madness Writing Contest winners’ ideas to life!  Please feel free to spread the word to all your illustrator friends and join me in looking forward to visiting some new blogs, getting to know some fabulously talented new people, and seeing some amazing art!!!

In the hope that you CAN actually teach an old dog new tricks, let’s try this and see if it works.  At all.  For anyone! 🙂

Tweet: Children’s illustrator contest opens April 24! Great prizes! @SusannaLHill #illustration #kidlitart

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂