Our mentors are editing, our mentees are revising, and we hope you’re making progress on your own manuscript! While we’re all working toward the Agent Showcase on November 3rd-9th, we hope you’ll take a moment during your writing breaks and get to know our 2016 Pitch Wars Teams.
And now, we have #TeamStrangestThings . . .
Elle Evans – Mentee
Sarah Cannon – Mentor
Elle: Why did you choose Sarah?
Sarah listed comp titles for her forthcoming novel, ODDITY, which read with a tone and wavelength I aspire to in my own work. Add to that ODDITY’s intriguing premise (and throw in what I knew about her agent’s unusual, and stellar, tastes)–and I knew this was an author who would totally get the off-kilter world and characters I love to write.
Sarah: Why did you choose Elle?
Honestly, SAMTO DIES AGAIN was impossible to say no to. It had everything I was looking for: larger-than-life setting, an adventurous plot, an engaging cast of characters, and a terrific sense of humor to top it all off. Elle responded to my questions like a total pro, and I could hear her rolling up her sleeves. I knew it was a fit.
Elle: Summarize your book in three words
Swamp-cursed Achilles
or if “Achilles” might seem too misleading toward Greek thinking:
A swamp, a curse, a hero
Sarah: Summarize Elle’s book in three words.
Bayou tall tale.
Elle: Tell us about yourself. What makes you and your MS unique?
I set out to write a book that would make boys laugh. I’m also an outdoor lover from Arkansas, and I wanted to root my story in a visceral Southern setting, one where readers would experience a different world. So in the end, the Southern voice, mixed with the magical swampy setting, give it a unique flavor. And I think it ended up dead-funny.
Sarah: Tell us about yourself. Something we might not already know.
Ha! I tend to think of myself as an open book. OK, how about this: I’m an avid gardener, but I move roughly every four years. So basically, I am the Johnny Appleseed of native wildflowers, herbs, and fruit trees/bushes. And I’m starting all over RIGHT NOW. Seeds and transplants welcome.
Sarah Cannon’s debut MG novel will be coming out next year . . .
ODDITY, follows 11-year-old Ada Roundtree as she searches for her missing twin sister Pearl in Oddity, N.M., where the dumpsters can be carnivorous, aliens big and small walk the streets, and the local Protection Committee defends citizens from the Blurmonster roaming the town outskirts– though the organization may not be as benevolent as believed. Publication is planned for fall 2017 by Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan.