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 Team Ginger Snaps!
Rebecca Schaeffer – Mentee
Stacey Trombley – Mentor
Rebecca Sky – Mentor
Rebecca Schaeffer: Why did you choose Stacey and Rebecca as your mentors?
Lots of reasons. I think the first thing that drew me to Rebecca Sky and Stacey Trombley was their interest in dark stories featuring antiheroes. I knew my novel was only going to appeal to a certain demographic due to the very grey morals of all the characters involved, so I explicitly looked for mentors who were into that kind of thing. Once I’d narrowed that down, I still and a reasonably big list. But then I had my own criteria for people. I liked the commitment they expressed for their prospective mentee, both during and after the contest, and the willingness to do work, and push me to do work and improve my novel. Then I stalked them on twitter and liked the writing advice I saw and the types of things they talked about.
Also, they wanted voice-alicious. I LOVE voice-alicious writing. A character’s voice can make or break a book. I want to do that kind of writing, and I thought they could push me further.
Mentors: Why did you choose Rebecca Schaeffer?
Stacey: It’s so creepy! Like in a really cool way. From the beginning it reminded me of Daughter Of Smoke and Bone and uhh, can you get a better comparison? I know this book has so much potential and I can SEE it sitting shelves one day. I just hope Rebecca and I can help it get there!
Rebecca: For me it was love at first sight. I knew within a few paragraphs that if the rest of the pages held up, I’d want it. I messages Stacey right away but before I could even push send on my message, a message from her popped up asking if I’d read the creepy new sub we just got. I had a feeling that she was having the same response to the MS as I was, and I was right.
Rebecca Schaeffer: Summarize your book in three words.
Why do you hate me? I shall attempt this. I shall most probably fail.
“Dexter meets Curseworkers” <— I know, using comps, that’s probably cheating.
“Girl vs underworld.” <— I tried. I really did. >o<
Mentors: Summarize Rebecca Schaeffer’s book in three words.
Stacey: Body parts Black-market
Rebecca: Dark, atmospheric, twisted.
Rebecca Schaeffer: Tell us about yourself. What makes you and your MS unique?
Hmm. Well, I’m a technomad — I wander the world, never staying in one country too long, and take random jobs in person and online. When I was creating the concept and idea for this manuscript, I was living in Peru writing articles for a company about health, herbs, and poisons. I definitely think that influenced the novel — its set in Peru, and the main character dissects and sells body parts of supernatural creatures on the black market. It also features several different creatures from different South American legends. My travels have definitely given me a lot of different perspectives on things, and I like to think those experiences help give my writing a different flavor than usual.
Mentors: Tell us about yourself. Something we might not already know.
Stacey: Up until 11th grade, I had never, not once, read a book we were supposed to read in school. In fact I could count the non-picture book books I’d read in full on one hand until around that time (2!) Another related fun fact, I very nearly failed English my freshman year of high school! I’m pretty stubborn and importance of school was never something that was instilled in me so I did what I had to to get by. Why do what I’m told to just because I’m told to? Not really my thing. I started reading for me around 16 (Lord Of The Rings was my breakthrough book, go figure.) But I’ve never cut class in my life. I’m a pretty lame rebel, honestly. Other rebellious things I did (or *cough* still do): wear mismatched socks, got married at 19 (still married, 8 years in!) go the wrong way up the escalator, scream bloody murder on roller coasters even though I’m not scared at all (the reactions are pretty funny).
Rebecca: Something you might not know, eh? Well, I used to be a professional skier, there was even talk of me making the next Winter Olympics. But then I went on a humanitarian trip to Africa and while there I got bite by a spider, and that caused a lot of health problems. As a result, I spent a year in bed, unable to move due to the pain, I had to give up skiing, dancing, driving, pretty much everything I thought defined me. It was a very difficult time, learning to cope with pain, learning to be okay with yourself when everything you thought you were is gone. Mostly, it was difficult to ask for help – I had always prided myself on being independent – now I couldn’t even raise my arm enough to brush my own hair. It took a while and a lot of mind over matter, but I learned not to be ruled by pain. If it weren’t for that time I would have never taken up writing, and once I started writing, I found myself in a way so profound that it made everything I’d gone through worth it.
Check out Stacey Trombley’s novel, Naked . . .
The best place to hide is in a lie…
I could never fit in to the life my parents demanded. By the time I was thirteen, it was too much so I ran away to New York City and found a nightmare that lasted three years. A nightmare that began and ended with a pimp named Luis. Now I am Dirty Anna. Broken, like everything inside me has gone bad.
Except that for the first time, I have a chance to start over. Not just with my parents but at school. Still, the rumors follow me everywhere. Down the hall. In classes. And the only hope I can see is in the wide, brightly lit smile of Jackson, the boy next door. So I lie to him. I lie to protect him from my past. I lie so that I don’t have to be The Girl Who Went Bad.
The only problem is that someone in my school knows about New York.
Someone knows who I really am.
And it’s just a matter of time before the real Anna is exposed…
On Goodreads
On Amazon
Rebecca Sky is included in the anthology 
. . .
