Pitch Wars Team Interview with Christyl Rosewater & mentors Cindy Baldwin, Jessica Vitalis, and Amanda Hill

CHRISTYL

Why did you choose to submit to Amanda, Cindy, and Jessica?
Before the Mentor Blog Hop came out in late July I had been chatting with several mentors and forming some great connections. I really wanted to love Amanda, Cindy, and Jessica, but I knew I needed to submit to the wishlists I fit best. I was ridiculously excited to see that my story fit their wishlists! I remember even squealing when Amanda and Cindy listed homeschooling and the ocean as two elements they would be interested in seeing. For Jessica, I loved her experience in mentoring and how she was so determined to get a manuscript shelf-ready. Both of these wishlists made my heart glow. They went to the top of my shortlist!

Summarize your book in three words.
Self-discovery through misidentification.

Tell us about yourself. What makes you and your MS unique?
I’m hoping that one draw for my manuscript is the balance of magical and real-world. Magical realism is such a difficult genre to nail down, and my three mentors have given me so many great suggestions already for how to allow magic to fit more appropriately within this story. I also think that while my protagonist Tami has a very specific skin condition, she undergoes a key experience of middle school kids. Tami’s voice pulls me in every time, and I was just telling a critique partner that I am going to have to move through these revisions very carefully so I don’t muck up this character along the way! I think what will make this story beautiful and unique come November is the manner in which various themes are woven together throughout the narrative and character arc. Fingers crossed I can live up to the vision of these amazing mentors!

JESSICA

Why did you choose Christyl?
Her story had it all: terrific premise, great voice, and lovely writing. Plus, she was so much fun on Twitter that I knew she’d be a ball to work with.

Summarize your mentee’s book in three words.
Duplicity, Rorschach, Discovery

Tell us about yourself. Something we might not already know.
I love Dirty Dancing (the movie). But it’s a secret, so shhhhh…don’t tell anyone.

CINDY

Why did you choose Christyl?
I’d interacted with Christyl a bit on Twitter before the submission window opened up, and I’d been intrigued both by some of her #1linewed posts and the blurb about her book in her #pimpmybio blog entry. When her submission hit our inbox, I was totally drawn in by her unique and lovely writing voice, and the way her story took a semi-familiar trope and breathed new life into it with fantastic magical realism. I also was very impressed with how enthusiastic Christyl was when I chatted with her a bit about the potential for making very large changes—I could tell from her responses that she would be a hard worker and that she was willing to do what it took to make her book shine.

Summarize your mentee’s book in three words.
Identity is tough!

Tell us about yourself. Something we might not already know.
In my former life I was a classically-trained violinist with plans to become an orchestra teacher.

AMANDA

Why did you choose Christyl?
Chistyl had a great voice and an intriguing character and premise that she pretty much could have taken us anywhere with. Plus she seemed so enthusiastic on the feeed that we knew we could trust her with big edits.

Summarize in three words.
who is Tami?

Tell us about yourself.
I lead the children’s choir at church and am best known for my silly opera voice. 🙂