Pitch Wars Team Interview with R.R. Baker and her mentor, Laura Brown

 

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 #TeamShmexyCrutches . . .

R.R. Baker – Mentee

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Laura Brown – Mentor

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Rosalyn: Why did you choose Laura?

I chose Laura Brown because when a mentor asks specifically for something you’ve written, GIVE IT TO THEM! Although I had three other mentors to choose, it took me all of 5 minutes to solidify Laura as a potential mentor. I hoped she’d connect with my words but knew I had to have my research together or she’d call me on it.

Laura: Why did you choose Rosalyn’s manuscript?

RR’s query first caught my attention. It was full of yummy diversity and a rich, romantic plot that I wanted more from. Her voice sealed the deal for me. In fact, the moment I met the disabled hero, I was sold. I couldn’t stop reading, even if I wanted to, and more importantly, I connected to the story in a way that I knew how I’d make the story stronger.

Rosalyn: Summarize your book in three words.

Passion. Resilience. Acceptance.

Laura: Summarize Rosalyn’s book in three words.

Swoon-worthy. Diverse. Heart-wrenching.

Rosalyn: Tell us about yourself. What makes you and your MS unique?

I live in Memphis, TN and no I’ve never been to Graceland and don’t plan on going. Ever. My day job as a 504 Compliance Associate keeps me busy. I work with students who have physical or mental impairments that affect them academically. When I’m not writing my 8-yr.old pit bull, Charlie Brown does a great job bossing me around.
What makes me unique? I believe I’m the only African-American in my state, possibly the country, to own VHS’s of Riverdance, Riverdance: Live From New York, and Lord of the Dance. I also may or may not have the soundtracks to all three.

My MS is unique in that the heroine comes from a culturally strict background but is unapologetic in her lifestyle choices. She’s proud of her body and her profession. My hero is sexy, talented, and just so happens to be disabled. It’s something not normally seen on shelves but it should be!

Laura: Tell us about yourself. Something we might not already know.

I’m pretty much an open book, not sure if there is much that others don’t know! A few facts that might be different: 1) I dropped out of high school after my sophomore year, to go to college. My first alma matter, Simon’s Rock College, is for younger scholars. My parents threw a High School Drop Out party, and for years later people still were confused as to where I really went, until I graduated college two years early than my high school peers. 2) I’m also missing a bone in my ear. The incus is the second smallest bone in the body, and when I was eight I had mine removed in an attempt to make my hearing better in that ear. It didn’t work, in fact it weakened my ear. But I have the bone at home and glued it to a picture of where it should be!

 

Check out Laura Brown’s latest release …

SIGNS OF ATTRACTION, a new adult contemporary romance

Do you know what hearing loss sounds like? I do.

All my life I’ve tried to be like you. I’ve failed.

So I keep it hidden.

But on the day my world crashed down around me, Reed was there.

He showed me just how loud and vibrant silence can be, even when I struggled to understand.

He’s unlike anyone I’ve ever known. His soulful eyes and strong hands pulled me in before I knew what was happening.

And as I saw those hands sign, felt them sparking on me, I knew: imperfect could be perfect.

Reed makes me feel things I’ve never felt. It’s exciting…and terrifying.

Because he sees me like no one else has, and I’m afraid of what he’ll find if he looks too closely.

The only thing that scares me more than being with him? Letting him go.

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Thank you for supporting our Pitch Wars Teams! And remember, there’s a #PitMad Twitter pitch party on September 8th.