Category: Would You Read It

Would You Read It Wednesday – The 22nd Pitch

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I love Wednesdays because they bring Would You Read It, and Would You Read It means chocolate for breakfast 🙂  (In case you’re new here, Something Chocolate is the official snack for Would You Read It.  Pretty much anything qualifies – chocolate chip muffins, chocolate donuts, chocolate croissants, chocolate cereal, hot chocolate or, for the purists, just a good old-fashioned chocolate bar :))  Right now, I’m thinking brownies, although some would say they are not technically breakfast food.  Still, they do have eggs in them… 🙂

In case you missed it, yesterday was National Clean Off Your Desk Day.

(google images)

I didn’t end up observing it… (see above)… which is why I’m still working at the kitchen table…  I have a small problem keeping my desk visible clean.  I think it has something to do with creative chaos…  That’s the story I’m going with, anyway 🙂

But enough about chocolate and chaos!

Today’s pitch comes to us from Jane, a 75 years young pastoral care worker from Ontario who taught for 28 years, 5 of them in Malaysia.  She has written 10 books, mainly for children, which you can see on her website.  She blogs at Life Story Writing and has written 15 life stories, some for Hospice patients.  Welcome, Jane!

And here is her pitch:

Working Title:  Nana, I Miss You
Age/Genre:  Picture Book
The Pitch:  Jamie, who wants to spend time with his nana, is upset because she becomes seriously ill.  But her thoughtful gift, when she finally goes into a hospice, reveals her love and gives him a new interest.

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 Jane 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.  Pitches are currently queued through March 7, but there are lots of openings after that, so send your pitch for a chance to be read by editor Erin Molta!
Jane is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!

And don’t forget to join us Friday for Perfect Picture Books and a special celebration!

Would You Read It Wednesday – The 21st Pitch

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This is some kind of crazy winter we’re having.  We started with 2 feet of snow on October 29th, followed by a return of spring-like weather with a few cold days here and there, and this morning it is 4 degrees.  I am not making that up.  Seriously, go look at my thermometer.

Okay.  I guess you can’t actually see it, but it really says 4!

In my book, that is just too darn cold!  Even Scout, whose preferred location is on the back or side porch

so she can keep a sharp eye on her territory lest any rogue deer should dare to trespass, is inside on the dog couch, curled up snug as a bug in a rug with Jemma.

So what better way to warm up then with a cup of hot chocolate, some fresh donuts, and a pitch for Would You Read It?  Sounds great to me – I’ve missed Would You Read It over the holidays!

Before I give you today’s pitch, I’d like to mention that there are openings available soon for YOUR pitches.  I currently only have about 5 in the queue.  So please send some in so we can keep up this fun series, and please spread the word to all your writerly friends! 🙂

Okay.  Today’s pitch comes to us from the lovely Abby over at Something To Write About.  Some of you may also know her as Leigh Covington (her YA alter-ego.)  She writes a fabulous blog which I highly recommend.  She has a self-proclaimed addiction to chocolate, which is probably how she found Would You Read It in the first place 🙂 and she lives in Utah.  Here is her pitch:

Working Title:  What If?
Age/Genre:  Early Picture Book (ages 2-5)
The Pitch:  Little Lucy has a vivid imagination which shines through all of the “what if” questions she asks about the world around her.  With her creative perspective on things, the world holds limitless possibilities for both her and the reader.

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 Abby 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.  SIDE NOTE:  Remember, Would You Read It is booked only through January, so there are lots of openings ahead.  Please send pitches and spread the word 🙂
Abby is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!
And don’t forget to tune in Friday for Perfect Picture Books and the results of our contest poll (click here to vote if you haven’t yet!)!

Would You Read It Wednesday – The 20th Pitch

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HINT For Beth’s Birthday Hunt Clue #11

ths   s    hnt
this is a hint

If you still don’t get it, email me 🙂

Well, folks, I’m sorry to report that there’s still no news from the Editor, and today I can’t dawdle because I won’t be able to post later.  So Straight From The Editor will have to wait for Friday – which looks like it’s going to be totally action-packed because I have SO much to share then.  But we’ll get to that in a second 🙂

Before I forget, for those of you who might not have seen it, the wonderful Abby from Something To Write About had me as a guest on her blog yesterday.  Please pop over if you’d like to read the interview (or just to show Abby some bloggy love)!

And check out this excitement!  Beer Is Zo Moe! (my Dutch book which, for our English-speaking audience (I’m assuming that’s most of us) is Bear Is So Tired!) made an appearance at the Antwerp Book Fair in Belgium!  Look at it, up there with all those other books, so famous 🙂  I’m going to go out on a limb and guess “kinderboeken” means “kids’ books” but you’ve got me on “jeugdboeken” – some other kind of book is as close as I can get!

What?  You can’t see it?  How about if I zoom in a little 🙂

Ah, that’s better.  And look how much more pronounceable of a title it has than some of those others 🙂

Also, Nicole made a coloring page to go along with it.  Want to see?

Isn’t it cute?

Okay.  Enough of that.  Go get your coffee/tea/hot chocolate/steamer/mulled cider or whatever you’re imbibing this morning and your Something Chocolate (it is Wednesday!) – I’ve got a lovely pan of freshly baked brownies on my kitchen counter for my daughter’s study group this evening – they probably won’t notice if one’s missing – and I think a brownie would make an excellent breakfast 🙂 – but I digress. Get your snack and settle in.  It’s time for Would You Read It!

Today’s pitch comes to us from Vicki, a French teacher who can count to 10 in 7 languages and has forgotten how in 3 others 🙂  She writes MG and YA fiction and blogs at All The World’s In Words.  Here is her pitch:

Working Title:  Finding Sophie
Age/Genre:  YA
The Pitch:  When Sophie is forced backward in time to 1895 Paris, she takes the identity of a missing Jewish girl and falls for a young Zionist. As the window home closes, Sophie must decide whether to unlock a mysterious heirloom’s secrets and return to her own life of a potential prima ballerina, or live as someone else in the past and lose herself forever.


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 Vicki 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.  SIDE NOTE:  Would You Read It is booked only through January, so there are lots of openings ahead.  Please send pitches and spread the word to your writerly friends 🙂
Vicki is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!

Please join us on Friday for Perfect Picture Books, AND (pretend this is flashing neon!) something SO EXCITING it’s going to knock your socks right off!  I wish I could show you now, but it’s not quite ready, and it has to be perfect, so you’re just going to have to wait until Friday!

I can’t wait to share it!  🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday – The 19th Pitch

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HINT For Beth’s Birthday Hunt Clue #7

A  .-

B  -…

C  -.-.

… google Mr. Morse for the rest 🙂

I know.  The holidays are approaching.  There are decorations to hang, guest rooms to freshen, meals to plan, travel arrangements to make, gifts to buy, the mall to survive, and your mother-in-law to avoid.  It can be a bit stressful.  Which is why you guys are totally going to love me.  I have solved ALL your shopping dilemmas.  Seriously!  I have the answer to everything.  Ready?

Your Shopping Dilemmas Solved!

Take your time.  I’ll wait while you read it.  It’s so funny, and so TRUE! When you’re done, be sure to tell me which is your favorite (and I apologize to Beth who saw this on my Face Book page yesterday – it was too fun not to share here, too!)

Then, when you’re done with that list, buy books.  See?  I’ve just done all your shopping for you!  You can thank me by sending large quantities of chocolate anything to Blueberry Hill 🙂

Now that you can breathe a sigh of relief because I’ve done your shopping, it’s time to reveal the winner of the November Pitch Pick!  Who will it be?  Yikes!  The anticipation is just killing me!

This month’s race was the closest one yet.  The contestants were neck and neck.  First one looked like the winner, then another pulled ahead.  Very exciting!

So exciting that perhaps we should calm ourselves down by discussing my mother-in-law’s bunions…

Tee hee…

(I wouldn’t really subject anyone to that!)

The winner of the November Pitch Pick, whose Pitch is flying through cyberspace to Erin Molta as we speak, is none other than the amazing  DEE!!!  Congratulations, Dee!  I hope Erin will have lots of helpful things to say!

Now then.  It’s time for everybody’s favorite show, Would You Read It!  Today’s participant is the lovely Christie from Write Wild.  (BTW, for all you picture book writers, Christie’s blog is terrific!)  Christie, come on down!

Working Title:  Draggin’ My Tail
Age/Genre: PB
The Pitch:  Orville the dragon loves to fly, but when he quits breathing fire, his wings fail him.  Orville has to figure out how to get his fire back so he can lift off again.

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 Christie 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.  SIDE NOTE:  Would You Read It is booked only through January, so there are lots of openings ahead.  Please send pitches and spread the word to your writerly friends 🙂
Christie is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!
Please join us Friday for Perfect Picture Books, and I hope everyone is hard at work on their Holiday Contest entries!  Congratulations again to Dee, and don’t forget to let us know which of those gifts is your favorite 🙂

Who Will It Be? – Pitch Pick #4!

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Good Morning Everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend in which you did not get trampled by angry mobs stampeding through their holiday shopping at the mall or run over by those same angry mobs vying for parking spaces 🙂

In case you’re wondering what I did, I had a very exciting weekend.  I got to babysit for my granddaughter (oops, sorry – I’m physically unable to resist one tiny photo :))

… and I confess I was forced to go to the mall (a truly hair-raising experience – really, what happens to people?) but not because of holiday shopping.  No.  It was much more serious.  We had to get basketball shoes.  And not just ANY basketball shoes, the RIGHT basketball shoes.  Because when you are on the court, playing hard, racing up and down against the other team, it is certainly not all about function.  It is about fashion!  I am happy to report that in spite of grave risk to life and limb, out mission was successful!

I also spent WAY too much time on our holiday card.  I don’t know about you folks, but somewhere along the line I got sucked into these holiday cards filled with family pictures and produced by a company whose name starts with S but I am not plugging anyone 🙂  So this is what I do every year:  I sort through the family photos.  Usually I have virtually no decent ones and that is a huge challenge.  This year I had so many good ones I had the opposite challenge – 2 graduations and a new baby in the family will do that to you 🙂  Anyway, once I get the photos, I spend about 3 solid days messing around with card design until I’m completely cross-eyed.  Then I usually end up choosing the first card I made.  Do not say I could save a lot of time by just doing one and pressing order.  Really.  Do not say it.

So that was my exciting weekend.  I know.  It may take me days to recover 🙂

So now, on to today’s excitement!  The November Pitch Pick!  One lucky Would You Read It participant from November is going to get her pitch read by the fabulous Erin Molta.  So let’s get right to it!

First, our pitch refresher:

#1 Christie

Working Title:  The Tooth Fairy Star
Age/Genre: Picture Book
The Pitch:  Tiffany Faye loves being the tooth fairy, but when all the other fairies complain about her terrible dancing, she has to find a way to dance without being clumsy or else give up her job as the tooth fairy.
#2  Dee
Title:  Hating Ric
Age/Genre:  YA Verse
The Pitch:  On the day of his brother, Jason’s funeral, 17 year-old Ric’s anger explodes, and he races Jason’s car through the streets, crashing and badly injuring jogger, Kate.  Ric is sent to a juvenile justice centre, where survivor guilt and grief set him on a reckless destruction course. Help comes through his music and from an unexpected source in Kate who is struggling to put her own life back together.
#3  Halli
Working Title:  SIMBIOTE
Age/Genre:  YA Sci-Fi
The Pitch:  Kal is a donor in the illegal bulb trade.  He donates his own symbiotic bulbs to the humans on the multi-million dollar black market.  Their addictions can cost them a pretty penny, but what does it cost Kal?  What does he suffer every year at harvest time?  When he gets caught he realizes the risks he has put upon himself, his potential girlfriend and his family are far worse than he ever imagined.

#4  Ashley
Working Title:  Prelude To An Apocalypse
Age/Genre:  YA Literature
The Pitch:  Jack wakes up in the hospital to find a mysterious man offering to take her in, to teach her everything she needs to know about being a Wizard, but something deep inside tells her she can’t trust him.
Please place your vote now!  Poll will be open until Tuesday December 6 at 11:59PM EST so I can announce the winner on Wednesday!

<a href=”http://polldaddy.com/poll/5730407/”>Pitch Pick #4</a>
Have a great Monday 🙂  And P.S. I hope everyone is hard at work on their Holiday Contest entries (please scroll down that link for the rules) so they’ll be all ready before the mad holiday rush – you wouldn’t want to miss your chance at a great prize! 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday – The 18th Pitch and The Winner!

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I know.

You stayed up all night watching the minutes tick past, waiting for this post to be up so you could find out who won the Thanksgiving Contest and share your thoughts on this week’s Would You Read It pitch since skipping last week sent you into withdrawal 🙂

And we’ll get to both of those things in one second…

First, I have to say that I am such a complete space cadet that I forgot to mention Monday that I was being interviewed on Julie Hedlund’s blog for her How I Got My Agent series.  I know many of you are Julie’s devoted followers and have already read it, but if you haven’t please pop over and visit.  Julie writes an awesome blog at Write Up My Life and I think you’ll find her How I Got My Agent series (although not necessarily my part in it :)) very illuminating and helpful!  Thanks, Julie, for inviting me to take part and sorry I forgot to mention it Monday!

Second, I have just realized that tomorrow marks my first blogiversary.  I can’t believe it’s been a year!  I should probably be doing something wildly and crazily amazing to celebrate, but I’m fresh out of ideas at the moment.  If any of you have suggestions, feel free to share! 🙂  But I want to thank everyone for being so wonderfully supportive. I have so enjoyed getting to know so many people who are both talented and nice! 🙂  I think, at the very least, this calls for some celebratory cake!  Please help yourself to a slice, because cake definitely counts as a healthy breakfast – milk (calcium), eggs (protein), wheat (grains)… need I say more?

google images

Now on to all that excitement you stayed up all night waiting for!

I want to thank each and every person who submitted an entry to the Thanksgiving Contest as well as everyone who took time to read and vote.  I think I speak for all of us when I say we so enjoyed reading everyone’s stories and they were all so wonderful.  As you know, my assistant judge and I had a terrible time narrowing down the finalists, but we did at last and now your votes have spoken.

Drum roll, please!

DDDDDRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The winner of the Thanksgiving Contest, with a delightful, creative, and original story, is

Penny!

(That’s entry #2!)  Congratulations, Penny!  You have officially knocked our socks off 🙂  Please email me (susanna [at] susannahill [dot] com) or use the handy Email Me button on the right hand side of the blog and let me know if you’d prefer the $15 Amazon Gift Card or the hardcover copy of Balloons Over Broadway!

And now, on to Would You Read It!

This week’s pitch comes to us from the lovely Ashley who, until October of last year, considered herself a person who didn’t like to write but has now discovered she loves it!

Working Title:  Prelude To An Apocalypse
Age/Genre:  YA Literature
The Pitch:  Jack wakes up in the hospital to find a mysterious man offering to take her in, to teach her everything she needs to know about being a Wizard, but something deep inside tells her she can’t trust him.

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 Ashley 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.

Ashley is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!

Please join us Friday for Perfect Picture Books, and I hope everyone is hard at work on their Holiday Contest entries!  Who knew practicing our craft could be so companionable and fun with such great prizes? 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday – The 17th Pitch

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Isn’t it great when you wake up looking forward to the day?  And I know you all did because it’s Would You Read It day 🙂

Before we get started, let’s select our Something Chocolate snack.  It’s very drizzly and drab here this morning, so I’m thinking some hot chocolate would be mighty nice.  Care to join me?

because this is exactly how hot chocolate is always served at my house 🙂
google images

Ahh!  That’s better!

Now, before we get to today’s pitch, a couple of teensy housekeeping details.

First, a reminder about our new feature which starts Friday – Perfect Picture Books Friday.  For the full description, click here.  This new feature is intended as a resource for all of us – parents, teachers, homeschoolers, writers, and gift-givers.  The posts will showcase a favorite book and include ideas and links on what it’s good for and how to use it at home and/or in the classroom.  (I’m going to try very hard to get my post up early on Friday so that anyone who needs to look at an example of how it’s done can do so – I might even post it late Thursday.)  Not only will this be a great resource, it will also strengthen our community and hopefully encourage people to visit all of our blogs 🙂

Second, don’t forget that next week is the Thanksgiving writing contest!!!  Click here for details.  (Please scroll down – it’s the last item in the post.)  It should be really fun and the winner will get a prize along with all our admiration, so please join in!  You still have time to write your entry (and it’s short!) 🙂

And last but not least, our theme for this week’s Fun Foto, if anyone wants to do it, will be THANKSGIVING.  This will be out last Fun Foto because it didn’t turn out to be as fun as we thought and we’re hoping people will get a lot more out of Perfect Picture Books!

And now, it’s time for Would You Read It!  If you need to refill your hot chocolate, go ahead.  I’ll wait 🙂

Ready?

This week’s pitch comes to us from Halli who hails from rural Alberta, Canada, and whose YA novel Shifters is being released in March 2012 from Imajin Books.

Working Title:  SIMBIOTE
Age/Genre:  YA Sci-Fi
The Pitch:  Kal is a donor in the illegal bulb trade.  He donates his own symbiotic bulbs to the humans on the multi-million dollar black market.  Their addictions can cost them a pretty penny, but what does it cost Kal?  What does he suffer every year at harvest time?  When he gets caught he realizes the risks he has put upon himself, his potential girlfriend and his family are far worse than he ever imagined.

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 Halli 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.  (And please spread the word about Would You Read It to anyone you know who might be interested in pitching.  I have openings in mid-January which isn’t that far away :))

Halli is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  And I am looking forward to your Perfect Picture Book posts on Friday.  (I can’t WAIT to see what you all choose!)  And also to your Thanksgiving contest entries next week 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday – The 16th Pitch

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In case you were wondering, there are only 46 shopping days left until Christmas, counting today!

I’m not sure why the radio feels it necessary to tell us this in a panicky voice, as though we might have trouble getting our shopping done in 6 and a half weeks!  But there you have it.  Consider yourself forewarned.

Personally, I couldn’t shop for 6 and a half weeks.  Maybe after I write a New York Times bestselling book, or Punxsutawney Phyllis gets made into a movie 🙂 but at the moment, 6 and half minutes of shopping is more in line with my budget! … and my patience… 🙂

So.  That is my public service announcement for the day.  Chocolate creme donut anyone?

Now onto the fun stuff.  We have a winner in the Halloweensie Contest!!!  I do want to say again, before I tell you who the winner is, that ALL the entries were really wonderful – I was so impressed.  So if you didn’t make the list of finalists, don’t feel bad.  The competition was stiff.

Okay.  Are you ready???  Drum rollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!

The winner of the Halloweensie Contest, the signed copy of Haunted Party by Iza Trapani, and your admiration is #2 – Cathy!!!  Congratulations, Cathy, on a really great piece of work!  Please email me at susanna [at] susannahill [dot] com or use the handy Email Me button in the right-hand side bar to contact me with your address so I can mail your prize!

And never fear!  We will be having another contest in a couple weeks which I will be announcing on Friday!!!

Now.  Buckle up your reading glasses because it’s time for everybody’s favorite show:  Would You Read It!

Today’s contestant is Dee from Down Under who blogs at DeeScribeWriting and is currently participating in NaNoWriMo.  She presents us with the following:

Title:  Hating Ric
Age/Genre:  YA Verse
The Pitch:  On the day of his brother, Jason’s funeral, 17 year-old Ric’s anger explodes, and he races Jason’s car through the streets, crashing and badly injuring jogger, Kate.  Ric is sent to a juvenile justice centre, where survivor guilt and grief set him on a reckless destruction course. Help comes through his music and from an unexpected source in Kate who is struggling to put her own life back together.

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 Dee 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.
Dee is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  And I am wondering about your holiday shopping habits… 🙂
And a quick reminder that Friday’s Fun Foto theme is HIBERNATION if you want to post a kid-friendly, story-inspiring, hibernation-related photo on your blog Friday 🙂  Friday will also be the next installment of Straight From The Editor!, so stay tuned.  Friday may or may not include a Warm Fuzzies entry (depending on whether or not I can pull something together :)) but it will include the next contest announcement.  So see ya Friday!!!

Would You Read It Wednesday – The 15th Pitch

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(Which this week, due to Mother Nature’s sense of humor, is taking place on Thursday!)

Hello everyone!  I’m so glad to see you all!  I feel like I’ve been out of touch for ages.  I apologize to all the awesome bloggers I usually follow for missing what I’m sure have been brilliant posts this week.  I will do my best to catch up, but there’s nothing like being disconnected from the internet for 4 days to make you realize how fast you can get totally backlogged!  And right at the beginning of PiBoIdMo, too!

I’m so behind I don’t know if there’s any hope of catching up, but if you’ll all indulge me (and the wonderful writers who have taken the time to send in their pitches and write stories for the Halloweensie contest) by reading a couple extra posts too close together, I’m hoping to get Would You Read It up today, as well as the proper Halloweensie post, and the Pitch Pick for October up tomorrow, but I’ll be playing catch up for a while.

Before we start, though, I will share a couple pictures of our Halloween Wonderland.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… except for all the leaves… and the fact that it’s October  🙂
That thing in the trampoline used to be our apple tree which we planted as a mere sprout when we first moved here 18 years ago 😦
Luckily the girls love a good romp in the snow 🙂  This was a shallow spot – I didn’t have the camera out when they were over their backs in the white stuff!

Okay.  That will be quite enough of that!  Truly, all this snow is making me feel a little light-headed.  I think it’s time for a piping hot cup of coffee (which I can once again brew! :)) and some glazed chocolate Dunkin’ Munchkins!  Join me, won’t you?

Now, then.  Onward!

Today’s post comes to us from the prolific Christie, whose MG novel was pitched last month.  This time she’s sharing a picture book pitch:

Working Title:  The Tooth Fairy Star
Age/Genre: Picture Book
The Pitch:  Tiffany Faye loves being the tooth fairy, but when all the other fairies complain about her terrible dancing, she has to find a way to dance without being clumsy or else give up her job as the tooth fairy.

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 Christie 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.
Christie is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!
Please be kind enough to check back and read the Halloweensie Contest post which I will get up ASAP for all the wonderful writers who posted stories!  Thank you all for your patience and good will 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday – The 14th Pitch

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Greetings, folks!
Apologies for being absent from the blogosphere yesterday and late in posting Would You Read It today!  Yesterday was a C-RAAZY day!

First, I went to the New York State Readers Association Conference in Rye Brook, NY to mingle, sign books, and give a talk to actual professional grown-ups (and any of you who have been around here long know what terror talking to actual professional grown-ups strikes into my pitter-pattery little heart!)  I would be sharing a photo of me with fellow writers Lesa Cline Ransome and Ann Burg, but I don’t have one yet!  (I’ll add it in when I get it, or post it Friday along with my fun foto :))  The talk, much to my surprise, went well – such lovely people attended! – and I ended up having a really nice time.

When that was done, I high-tailed it home, picked up my daughter, drove her back to college after her long weekend (a 4+ hour drive), turned right around and drove back home.  By my reckoning, close to 550 miles of driving in about 11 hours in one day.  Thank goodness for my 3 month free subscription to satellite radio which allowed me to listen to a comedy station on the long drive home alone!  I felt like a cartoon.  Toward the end, near 11 PM which is WAY past my bedtime, I had to get out and run around the car a few times in the cold night air to wake up 🙂  If only I had video footage – it would be so entertaining!  I could post it on YouTube and go viral… but I digress!

So anyway, fueled up on coffee and imaginary chocolate donuts, I am here at last to post this week’s Would You Read It 🙂  Just first, I want to mention that the theme for this week’s Fun Friday Foto Fextravaganza (which I keep thinking I should abbreviate to FFFF but it’s too much fun to say fextravaganza!) is HALLOWEEN!  What a surprise 🙂

I also want to remind everyone about the HALLOWEENSIE CONTEST which will be taking place on Monday, which actually is Halloween – how apropos 🙂  A bunch of people seemed enthusiastic, so lets hope we get some entries – I already have the signed book prize in my hot little hands and I’m looking forward to the fun!

OKAY.  Time to welcome today’s pitcher, Kim, a former journalist and current Communications professor who loves to write creatively.

Working Title:  Henry Hears You
Age/Genre:  YA
The Pitch:  13-year-old boy finds his voice as the new advice columnist for the school newspaper only to discover that some problems don’t have easy solutions when he gets a letter from a kid threatening to kill himself if the gay bashing doesn’t stop.

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 Kim 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.
Kim is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!
Don’t forget to join us Friday for Fun Foto (Halloween), and get right to work on your Halloweensie Contest entries!!!  I know they’ll be spooktacular 🙂