Pitch Wars 2016 #PimpMyBio

Hi! If you're reading this, you either follow my blog regularly or you're considering me as a potential #PitchWars mentee! So welcome!

My name is Kristin Smith, and I write YA contemporary and science-fiction novels. My debut novel, CATALYST, releases November 2016 from Clean Teen Publishing! Can I get a WOOHOO?!

The novel I've entered into Pitch Wars is a YA contemporary called MIDDLE OF KNOWHERE. It's a modern-day Beauty and the Beast story of summer love, where a city teen discovers that falling for a poverty-stricken country boy—and the secrets he’s hiding—could tear her world apart. It would appeal to fans of Sarah Dessen or Stephanie Perkins.

I love YA. I love the thrill of falling in love for the first time and, of course, I love the kissing! Whether I'm writing a YA near-future thriller or a YA contemporary, all of my books have an element of romance and enough kissing to make my mother blush. I love to read the romance, and I love to write the romance. 'Nuff said.

When I'm not writing or reading YA books, you can find me beating my kids at Just Dance, sneaking way too much chocolate, or belting out karaoke (from the comfort of my own home). I'm the mother of five loud but fun boys, and I currently reside in the middle-of-nowhere North Carolina.

Here are a few of my favorite things (cue the music!):

Favorite TV Shows:

Modern Family

Gilmore Girls

Vampire Diaries

White Collar

Reign

Castle

Drop Dead Diva

Favorite Movies:

Okay, this is a hard one! I LOVE to watch movies but I tend to gravitate towards the romantic comedies or the dystopian books turned into movies.

You've Got Mail

Life As We Know It

Hunger Games

Divergent

Kate and Leopold

My Best Friend's Wedding

And many others that I can't think of right now!

Favorite Books:

Another hard one! I love so many! But here are a few on my shelf that stand out to me.

THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by Jandy Nelson

CINDER by Marissa Meyer

THE SELECTION SERIES by Kiera Cass

TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVED BEFORE by Jenny Han

ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins

BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver

DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver

HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins

WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart

FRACTURE by Megan Miranda

THE RED TENT by Anita Diamant

THE POISONWOOD BIBLE by Barbara Kingsolver

Anything by Sarah Dessen

LEGEND by Marie Lu

Books in my TBR pile:

My pile is HUGE! But here are a few...

RED QUEEN by Victoria Aveyard

SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo

THE RAVEN BOYS by Maggie Stiefvater

IF I STAY by Gayle Foreman

HEIST SOCIETY by Ally Carter

THE HEIR by Kiera Cass

THE GIRL ON A TRAIN by Paula Hawkins

ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES by Jennifer Niven

MORE STUFF ABOUT ME:

I love sushi, overdosing on chocolate, all things girly and sparkly, music, being creative, throwing parties, and decorating. If you looked in my closet, you'd notice that I have a major scarf fetish. And if you peeked at my bed, you'd discover that I have WAY too many pillows. I'm always up for a little adventure, and I'm slowly knocking things off my bucket list, including ziplining through the Guatemalan jungle. So FUN!!

I also love small towns, yummy bakeries, and one of my favorite places is New York City. HELLO BIG APPLE! :)

WHY YOU SHOULD PICK ME:

I am ready, willing, and able to work hard. I welcome your critiques, thoughts, changes, suggestions... I WANT IT ALL! I know that it takes an incredible amount of perseverance, dedication, and hard work to whip a manuscript into shape, and I'm ready to do it! I'm willing to put in the time and effort (and blood, sweat, and tears!) to get it ready for submission.

WHAT I OFFER:

I like to think that I'm a friendly, positive person. I love to laugh, and I love to have fun, but I also know when to buckle down and get serious. I'm a hard worker. I know how to meet deadlines. I'd love a mentor that I connect with as a person because it would be awesome to walk away from this with not only a perfectly polished manuscript (and maybe an offer of rep!), but a new friend as well.

So, if you think I'd be a good mentee, I guess there's really only one thing left to say...

Thanks so much for stopping by! :)

My Most Amazing, Fabulous, and Exciting News!!!!

I've been waiting forever to share this news with you, and FINALLY I can because it's official. And just because I want to tease you a little more, you have to watch the video to find out...

So, that's my exciting news!! After receiving several offers from different publishing companies to publish my YA near-future thriller, CATALYST, I've decided to go with Clean Teen Publishing! And I couldn't be happier!

Clean Teen Publishing is a mid-list publisher who publishes a wide range of books for teens. They don't believe in censorship, they believe in content disclosure, which is why each book has a rating system so readers know what they're getting before they read. I love that concept! To learn more about Clean Teen Publishing, go HERE.

In other news, here's what else happened while I was away from the blogosphere that has contributed to my roller coaster ride these past few weeks:

1) I received multiple offers from publishers so I actually had to turn some down. And it wasn't a very good feeling. :(

2) I survived my first phone call with a literary agent (boy was I nervous!!) She was super nice and so helpful and even though she didn't offer representation for Catalyst (she basically said I'd done all the hard work myself by finding a publisher on my own), she asked me to send her another project I'm working on. We'll see what happens.

3) Out of 811 entries, I made it into Pitch Madness with my YA contemporary MIDDLE OF KNOWHERE!! You can find my entry HERE. I received a few requests during the agent round, so I'm pretty happy how it turned out.

4) It's my week to host on Unicorn Bell and I have an exciting line-up of authors sharing their How I Got My Agent stories. Stephanie Faris was there on Monday, Suzanne Warr is there today, and author Wendy Knight will be popping in on Friday. You don't want to miss these amazing stories!

And I think that's it! How has your week been?

IWSG December: Holiday Crazies

It's that time again! Time for another group posting of the IWSG. Hosted by the amazing Alex Cavanaugh, this is a wonderful group to be a part of. It's never too late to join us, so if you're interested, you can check it out HERE. And as always, a big thank you to our co-hosts for this month.

I've decided to quit querying and quit submitting and start revising—not one, not two, but THREE different manuscripts. They all have potential but they all need tweaking. Based off suggestions from an editor who used to work at Simon and Schuster, I've decided to dig in and make some pretty drastic changes to the beginning of Middle of Knowhere. I need to cut another 5K from Catalyst and revise another MS for pacing.

But here's the thing, I'm not putting a whole bunch of pressure on myself to get it done by a certain time. With the holidays coming up, I've kind of taken a step back from writing. I want to enjoy my family. I want to be present for field trips and class parties, tree lighting ceremonies and Christmas programs. I don't want to miss a single moment, which is how I feel lately—that I've missed so much with nothing to show for it.

I know everyone says that if you're serious about writing then you should write every day. Well, I AM serious about writing, but I know that right now the best thing for me is to take a step back, enjoy my time with my family, and gear up to start back in January. I'm not sure what my course of action will be when January hits, whether I'll keep querying agents or submit to publishers, but right now, I like not having to think about it.

And if you're feeling guilty because you aren't writing everyday, DON'T! Enjoy your life. The writing will be there when you're ready.

Has the Well Dried Up?

I love being in the writing mode. And when I say writing mode, I'm referring to being enmeshed in a story that makes everything else around you fall away. It's the moment when your characters are so much a part of your life that you miss them when you aren't with them. It's the time when you're driving around town and your head is filled with scenes and dialogue and you can't wait to get home so you can write it all down. It's when you stay up way too late writing and wake up early in the morning with your heart pounding because you can't wait to finish a scene or torture your characters a little more.

I miss those feelings.

Ever since I finished Middle of Knowhere I've started about four different novels. But nothing is sticking. I have ideas, yes, lots of them. But the most I've written on any of the novels is about 6K, which is nothing. Most are just a page, just an idea, a start, nothing more.

The inspiration isn't coming, and I'm not sure if it's because I'm focused on querying and my brain can't handle two things at once, or if none of those stories is the ONE I should write next. I love all the ideas though, but I'm not sure where to go from there.

So, how do you do it? When you're filled with multiple story ideas, how do you choose which story to write next?

Source

Who the Heck Am I? An Unofficial #PitchWars Mentee Bio

Who am I?

Well, hopefully, if you're reading this, I'm your potential mentee! :) Or perhaps a fellow #PitchWars contestant.

(For those of you who are a little confused right now, I'm entering a contest called #PitchWars and will spend the next few paragraphs convincing the lovely and talented mentors why they should pick ME! For more info on this contest, please visit the amazing Brenda Drake's website HERE.)

So here goes...

WHAT I WRITE:
I write both YA and Adult romance. My #PitchWars entry is a YA Contemporary that is actually the 4th book I've written. It's a coming-of-age story about a city girl who moves to the middle of God-Only-Knows-Where the summer before her senior year of high school. She plans to hate it, but finds that sometimes love can be found in the most unlikely places. It would appeal to fans of Sarah Dessen or Stephanie Perkins.

I love YA. I love the thrill of falling in love for the first time and, of course, I love the kissing! Whether I'm writing a near future thriller or a YA contemporary, all of my books have an element of romance—that's just how I roll. I love to read the romance and I love to write the romance. 'Nuff said.

WHY YOU SHOULD PICK ME:
I am ready, willing, and able to work hard. I welcome your critiques, thoughts, changes, suggestions... I WANT IT ALL! I am in this for the long haul, and I know that it takes an incredible amount of perseverance, dedication, hard work, and patience to get to where all of you authors are today. That is my goal, and I'm willing to put in the time and effort (and blood, sweat, and tears!) to get there. Please give me the chance to prove myself! (Okay, I'll lay off the begging for now...) :)

WHAT I OFFER:
I like to think that I'm a very friendly, positive person. I love to laugh and I love to have fun, but I also know when to buckle down and get serious. I'm a hard worker. I'd love a mentor that I connect with as a person because it would be awesome to walk away from this with not only a perfectly polished manuscript (and maybe an offer of rep!), but a new friend as well.

MORE STUFF ABOUT ME:
I live in the middle-of-nowhere North Carolina with my husband and five sweet, fun, and wonderfully noisy little boys. Like many writers, I began writing as a child and wrote my first "book" in fifth grade. Time lapsed and in high school I became involved in things like cheerleading, show choir (think Glee but with dorkier outfits), soccer, boys... You catch my drift? Writing took a back burner.

Fast forward a decade. As a mom of young children, stories began to fill my mind (especially after I read the Twilight series. What can I say? Stephenie Meyer is my idol.) So, I started writing again. And now, here I am with four novels under my belt, begging you to PICK ME! Yup, I'm not ashamed to beg...or offer chocolates!

OTHER STUFF:

FAVORITE BOOKS:
Well, obviously, this list is endless, but I have read some books recently that I LOVED.

—THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by Jandy Nelson
—ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins
—DEFY by Sara Larson
—WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart
—FRACTURE by Megan Miranda
—THE SELECTION SERIES by Kiera Cass


FAVORITE TV SHOWS:

—Vampire Diaries (I can't get enough of this show. Puh-lease tell me there are more coming out!)
—White Collar (This one is a little obscure, but Matt Bomer who plays the main character Neal Caffrey is a hottie!)
—Castle (Nathan Fillion fan, anyone?)
—Drop Dead Diva (If you've never watched this one, you must! Find it on Netflix and watch ALL the seasons. Back to back. One right after the other. All day long. You won't be able to stop, trust me!)
—Modern Family (Like I said, I love to laugh!)
—Downton Abbey (In another life, I was born with a British accent and lived in a castle, so this one is fitting!)

MORE OTHER STUFF:

I love sushi, overdosing on chocolate, all things girly and sparkly, and beating my kids at Just Dance. If you looked in my closet, you'd notice that I have a major scarf fetish. I also love a little adventure, and I'm slowly knocking things off my bucket list, like this:

Ziplining through the Guatemalan jungle
(The handsome guy next to me is my
hubs. Sorry, he's taken!) :)

Just look at that form! :)

And this:

Parasailing over Gulf of Mexico—that's how small the boat
looks from where we are in the sky. And yep, the only
thing tethering us to the boat is that little cable.

And, of course, this:

Snowmobiling & snowboarding in Utah

Oh, and can't forget this:

Completing my first Triathlon (Man, I look
rough! And rightly so...) :) 

I'd like to forget this:

Eating escargot—gotta say, I'm not a huge fan!

And this isn't so much adventurous as just plain fun:

Braving the SCBWI conference and making
some great friends.

 And my greatest hit so far:

Being a mom to 5 bouncing boys!

Does that make me a *Superstar*? :)

So, if you think I'd be a good mentee, I guess there's really only one thing left to say...

Thanks so much for stopping by! :)

IWSG July: Final Four

Hi everyone! I can't believe it's already July—where is the summer going? Before I know it, my kids will be back in school and I'm seriously dreading that! I'm loving the no-schedule thing!

Well, since it's the first of July, it's time for another group posting of the IWSG! It's a time for writers to air our insecurities or triumphs and offer support and encouragement to other writers. As always, a big thank you to Alex Cavanaugh for starting this awesome group! And thank you to the co-hosts for today: Charity Bradford, S.A. Larsen, AJ, Tamara Narayan, Allison Gammons, and Tanya Miranda!

I'm not feeling insecure this month, instead, I kind of feel like I'm floating on Cloud 9! The past month has been a really good ego-boost for me. And hopefully this feeling will carry on as I begin to query my YA Contemporary MIDDLE OF KNOWHERE.

As many of you already know, a few weeks ago I was chosen to be on one of the teams for Query Kombat. And thus began my amazing ride! After weeks of "battles" against other Kombatants and after beating out four of my opponents, I made it to the Final Four round. Now, can I just say that I never in my wildest dreams would have thought I'd make it that far! In fact, over this past year as I've queried a different manuscript and entered contests with it, I didn't get anywhere in those contests. Making it into the Final Four is seriously like a dream—or an answer to a prayer.

Anyhoo, I got knocked out in the Final Four round BUT I was finally able to see my agent requests from the Agent Round. And the total number of requests I received is...Seven!

I'm super excited, especially because I haven't even started querying KNOWHERE yet. But, as always, I don't want to get my hopes up. But one thing is certain, being in Query Kombat has given me the confidence I need to keep going at this trying-to-get-an-agent thing. I can do this. It may take months, it may take years, but at least I know I'm in it for the long haul.

Thanks, as always, for all of your support! I am always amazed by how wonderful writers are, especially when it comes to cheering on fellow writers.

Happy Wednesday!