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 starting on February 5, 2020, we hope you’ll take a moment during your writing breaks and get to know our 2019 Pitch Wars Mentor and Mentee Teams.
Next up, we have . . .
Kat Hillis – Mentee
ST Sterlings – Mentor
ST, why did you choose Kat?
I chose Kat because she gave me the enemies to lover trope I love and combined it with a fake dating and vampires. If that wasn’t enough, she added cryptids to the mix. I knew I HAD to have it!
Not only that, but Kat is a hard worker who is passionate about her writing and determined to make it the best it can be.
Kat, why did you choose to submit to ST?
When I read her wishlist, I got super excited, because I’d been following her on Twitter for a while, and I knew she loves vampires! Her wishlist also asked for other things my book has—enemies-to-lovers romance, fantasy grounded in reality, a darkly humorous voice, and, most importantly, queer stories. She also mentioned liking dinosaurs. There aren’t dinosaurs in my Pitch Wars book, but I love dinosaurs enough that it’s bound to come up with anyone I work with.
Her mentoring style sounded perfect for me—someone to help guide my story in the right direction, but who wouldn’t force me to take it in a direction that didn’t feel right. I wanted a mentor who would help inspire new ideas and figure out fixes for problem areas. When I finished reading her wishlist, she immediately landed on my “Definitely submitting to” list!
ST, summarize Kat’s book in 3 words.
Vampires, Humor, Cryptids!
Kat, summarize your book in 3 words.
Fake dating disaster
ST, tell us about yourself. Something we may not already know.
As much as I loved writing when I was younger, I thought I’d grow up to be a marine biologist. I never even considered that writing would be an option for me. It took years of writing fanfiction and having my readers encourage me to try original fiction for me to start believing that it was something I should at least try. As for the marine biology thing, I actually ended up being a librarian. A librarian who absolutely LOVES sharks!
Kat, what do you hope to get out of the Pitch Wars experience?
I want to make this book as good as I possibly can, and give it the best chance at success I can manage! And I want to take all the lessons I learn from revising this book to future projects.
I also hope to make lasting friendships with other mentees! It’s said all the time, but it never stops being true: the most valuable part of any writing contest is the community. No matter what happens after the agent round, I’m so excited to see where this group of mentees goes!
Kat, tell us about yourself! What makes you and your manuscript unique?
I’ve wanted to be an author since I was 12 and first tried to write a story. I write YA and adult sci-fi and fantasy, and sci-fi is my first love! I’m an avid reader, a professional artist, and I love gaming. I make handcrafted soap from scratch, which blends science and art in a delightful way! I also use writing as an excuse to go down research rabbit holes and spend way too much time learning about new things.
As far as my manuscript goes, I hope what makes it unique are the characters! I also had a lot of fun with vampire tropes and subverting them. And speaking of tropes, I shamelessly put all of my favorite ones in this book!
Thank you for supporting our Pitch Wars Teams! The Agent Showcase is February 5 – 10, 2020, and our next Twitter Pitch Party on #PitMad is March 5, 2020! Want to know more about #PitMad? Go here.