Welcome to the Pitch Wars Team Interviews by Marnise Nicole
Bringing you a closer look at each Pitch War Team and their project.
Be sure to comment with support, comments, and questions.
Meet Molly Cluff and Tabitha Martin
Team Kismet
Tabitha Martin (Mentor), tell us a little about yourself.
Hey! I’m Tabitha and I write (mostly) YA contemporary. And if I can make you cry by the time you finish one of my novels, well, I feel I’ve done my job. I’m a sucker for feels and like to punch you in the gut with them. My writing style is messy. Gimme all the fragmented or run-on sentences. Because of my love of feels and internal struggle, I wrote a lot through introspection and tend to be more on the literary side of things. Though I love writing contemporary, my favorite genre to read is fantasy. Can’t get enough of it.
I started writing when I was 8, after I was in a pretty bad accident. I climbed up my neighbor’s house to retrieve a Barbie from the roof and ending up falling off, and scraped my back, shoulder to hip bone on a nail that was sticking out of the wall. I got 200 of those internal dissolvable stitches, 56 on top, and then 9 staples to seal the deal. For months I begged my mom to call that show “Rescue 911” so they could tell my story, but she did not cater to my wishes. I’m still slightly resentful of this. I missed the first 3 weeks of 3rd grade, but when I got back, my teacher told us to write a story, and so I wrote about what happened to me. Long story short, I won a school wide and then a county wide contest and I’ve been writing feverishly ever since.
Molly Cluff (Mentee), tell us a little about yourself.
Hi everybody! I’m Molly, and I write Contemporary Young Adult—usually with a teeniest hint of magical realism. I really enjoy creating flawed characters who don’t look perfect and don’t make the smartest decisions. I love the writing styles of writers like Rainbow Rowell, Laurie Halse Anderson, and E. Lockhart. Oh, and Maggie Stiefvater (I will love her and her aviator glasses forever and always).
I’m also a hardcore classics nerd. Once my CPs and I trekked 18 miles across the moors of Haworth, England where the Bronte sisters lived. BECAUSE WE’RE NERDS LIKE THAT. Also, once I met a hot blonde guy at a National Monument who was talking up how much he knew about Shakespeare. When he mentioned the play Titus Andronicus, I told him I’d seen that play in Stratford upon Avon. Then he looked at me with love sparkling in his eyes, and now we’re married. True story.
Tabitha, why did you decide to participate in Pitch Wars?
The writing community on twitter is all about helping others out. I wouldn’t be where I am now if it hadn’t been for the people who helped me get there. I participated in Pitch Wars almost 3 years ago and wasn’t chosen, but it was the best thing for me. I entered a fantasy before realizing that contemporary was my niche. So when I signed with my agent last year, I reached out to Brenda immediately, knowing that giving back was something that was really important to me.
Molly, why did you decide to participate in Pitch Wars?
I began noticing a trend that many of the awesome writers I admired on Twitter who were starting to find success in their young careers had formerly been mentored in Pitch Wars. Many of these writers also had very close friendships from going through the Pitch Wars tornado together, and I was like, “That. Yes. I want.”
I knew my manuscript was getting close to submission-ready, so I set my sights on Pitch Wars freakishly early in advance and set to work whipping the story into shape. Tabitha and I are still taking huge measures to whip it into shape, and it’s so much easier with her as a constant sounding board, voice of reason, and ultimate champion fangirl.
Tabitha, what are you most excited for?
I’m excited to get to know Molly better. Though at this point, we’re like BFF. I as immediately drawn to Molly’s story and couldn’t wait to work with her on it. She’s fabulous and is super eager to whip her story into shape. It’s been great to talk out revisions with her and meld our minds to get the best story possible. And I’m really excited to see how her MS does in the agent round. Molly has a really great and unique story and I can’t wait to see where it soars to.
Molly, what are you most excited for?
I’m most excited to see how the new ending for the manuscript turns out! Tabitha and I both really liked the climax scene, but a few of the chapters leading up to it seemed off, so as we alter them, we’re changing the climax too.
Haha, when I got into Pitchwars, a few of my good friends started reading my manuscript. One of them said, “I can’t wait to see how it ends!” and I was like, “Oh boy, ME TOO!”
Honestly though, most of the Pitch Wars things I was excited for have already happened (not to say that the upcoming stuff won’t continue to enhance that awesomeness). I’ve made great friendships with the other mentees, and sat at the feet of literary-goddess Tabitha and eaten up all of her spot-on revision ideas. My dream is realized! Heh heh…now I have to, ya know, finish the hard work . . . x)
Molly, describe your novel in 3 words.
Ribbon trees everywhere!!
Tabitha, describe your mentee’s novel in 3 words.
Ribbons! Moose! Feels!
Check Us Out …
Molly Cluff, Mentee
Molly is a writer of Contemporary YA. When she’s not writing, you can find her kicking people in the face (ok, not really, but she does have super long legs and a black belt in taekwondo). She enjoys being taller than people, hiking the heck out of Utah’s National Parks, sushi outings with her husband, and wearing her map-of-Middle-Earth scarf.
Tabitha Martin, Mentor
Tabitha writes (mostly) YA contemporary with lots of feels! She’s ripped by Laura Crockett of Triada US Literary. When she’s not writing, she’s procrastinating on something else (probably her master’s degree) or playing video games or watching netflix. She’s a wanderer and spends most of her free time trying not to be an adult.