I was a mentee to two wonderful writers, Erica Chapman and Brenda Drake (!!!), in 2015 and am excited to be a mentor for Pitch Wars 2017!
I have been an intern for an Amazing Agent for almost two years, and have watched with such joy as Agent's clients have made the NYT Bestseller list and other projects have sold to an impressive list of publishers. As an intern, I read manuscripts that Agent requests from queries or conferences, and I write in-depth Reader Reports that typically run 12-16 pages because I have A LOT of opinions. I read each manuscript twice, once straight through and the second time taking notes. My reports focus on a summary, characters, pacing, writing, plot, and issues or concerns I have with the manuscript. Agent consults intern reports when crafting the edit letter for clients or deciding to sign a new client. I have learned so much about writing through in-depth analysis of other writer's work. Interning has been a great experience.
And that brings me to my own work! I signed with my own Amazing Agent agent, Steven Chudney, in April of 2016. We spent time polishing my manuscript and it is now on submission. The title started out as VANISHED, changed to THE SAPPHIRE HEIST, and it is now called THE LIST. Who knows what it will end up as?!? My characters, Raj and Sasha, are a brother and sister team of jewel thieves. When a heist goes disastrously wrong, they are left challenging their loyalties to each other as they try to figure out who set them up and why. Here is my Picture Collage:
As you can see, there is also a set of twins. One of them has a swoony sort-of-not-quite-boyfriend named Connor who mixes them up and causes all kinds of chaos as they try desperately to find each other. The action starts on the outskirts of Rome, moves to New York, Paris, and an island off the coast of Greece and ends in . . . oh wait. I can't give the ending away!
Besides, Pitch Wars 2017 is all about YOU! I can't wait to start reading submissions and finding an outstanding manuscript to help polish up for agents to see!
