Winner Winner Nightmare Query Dinner

The Nightmare on Query Street mini contests is over and now it is time to announce the winner.  Before I do though, I want to give a one man round of applause to the runner up of the mini contest, Sonia Hartl, for her short story, Beautiful Cruel. Check it out below.

BEAUTIFUL CRUEL by Sonia Hartl

Sam was a loyal employee of the Limb and Organ Regeneration Organization, a for-profit company that paid their regenerates good money, plus stock options, for their particular talents. Adhering to his contract was simple, until beautiful, cruel Sandra walked into his life. 

Sam met Sandra in a spring park, where he attempted to eat an egg-salad sandwich with only one arm. When their eyes met, she smiled. Not the pitying kind others often gave him, but a genuine smile. It was all Sam needed to fall in love.

They spent as much time together as the days would allow. She would push his chair during leg regrowth, spoon feed him during arm regrowth, and even write him funny love notes during ear regrowth. Proposing seemed like a logical step.

He waited through knee regrowth, so he would have one to get down on. Instead of saying yes, she spilled the secret she’d been keeping from him. She couldn’t plan a future. Born with a heart defect, death was certain as she couldn’t afford LORO’s prices. Unwilling to let cruel circumstance take his beautiful Sandra, Sam made arrangements as organ season drew near.

“You already have my heart,” he said.

As Sam stepped into the dingy motel room where the unlicensed surgery was set to take place, he thought twice. But she gave him that smile. It was worth the risk.

“I’ll come back when LORO is gone,” she said. “They’ve been watching us this whole time.”

Spending a week on ice in a cracked bathtub, Sam waited for his heart to regrow. He passed the time by dreaming of Sandra.

When he recovered, he called her phone, but it had been disconnected. Panicked, he sped toward her house, but his new heart was not yet strong enough to take in the scene of his beautiful Sandra embracing someone else. Sam’s tender heart swelled and broke to pieces. She caught his eye and smiled. Not the spring park smile he’d loved so much, but a sneer, a cruel smile. She’d gotten what she wanted.

Sam returned to work that week. With his contract violated and his swollen heart broken, LORO suspended Sam until they could decide how to proceed. Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long. A young female came in needing a new heart due to complications from a black market transplant. LORO often donated less than desirable organs, and they were eager to be rid of Sam’s broken heart. Sam was desperate to be rid of the pain. During prep for transplant, he was wheeled past the woman whose life he was about to save, where he was met with the beautiful, cruel smile of Sandra.

In taking his heart, they took his love for Sandra with it. The anguish she caused him had been surgically removed. Sam left the recovery room fully healed, with a fresh dedication to his work.

As for Sandra, she spent the remainder of her days drowning in the sorrow of her own heartbreak. 

*

Though I can't offer you much, I can ask all my followers to become your followers. That would be pretty awesome, right? So everyone, follower her on Twitter @SoniaHartl1. Also Sonia, email your query letter to NightmareOnQueryStreet (at) yahoo (dot) com and I'll give it a critique. I'll try to convince Michelle to critique it too. She's a lot more practiced at it than I am.


And now for the winner of the mini contest... (drumroll please) 

UNTITLED by Pasha Westbrook

My sister tucked a plate of apricot couscous under my arm. It is the mark of a happy occasion among us, the Lyrians. She said, be brave my dear sister, you are doing a noble thing.

what if i conceive?

do not worry sister, if you come back pregnant, you come back pregnant with a god.

but father will not approve.

we don’t care what father thinks. this is a new world, little sister. our world. we do as we please.

I wish she were with me now, my brave sister Kai, here in this other land where rumbling clouds and ashes reign. The couscous is a day old now, warm and soggy under its plastic covering. I grip it in my hands, my fingers slick with fear, her excited whispers still in my ear: gods, my sister, they are gods.    

They don’t look like gods. These armed men in makeshift uniforms greedily eyeing us. There’s ten, maybe twenty of them. I don’t lift my eyes very high to count. Their leather boots are caked in mud and animal dung. It’s dark in here. Roasted pig scents the air, its blood drippings still fresh on the ground beneath the dirty table.

they’ve been watching us this whole time, the girl to my left says with her dark night skin and white snow teeth, see how they surround us? we have the power to make their world good again.

She smiles with feverish eyes. Like my sister.

I nod, wishing it were yesterday when I still had a choice.

Then she’s whisked away from me. From us. A horde of girls stuffed in a too cramped space. Her cries are heard from the next quarters, but even still she’s giving thanks, screaming it to the sky, applauding it for her sacrifice. The girls around me nervously shuffle their bare feet.  

And now it is my turn.

I lift the veil of pure, white cloth from my face. The men say, ahh, except for the boy in the middle. He stares with disgust, not at me, but at the men around. The way he is standing with his hands clasped before him and the sweat beading on his forehead tells me this is his first time. The men shove him forward, clapping their hands and stomping in place. Their calloused palms leave pig grease on his tan uniform creased to perfection. Their oily mouths shout in celebration. Not the boy’s. His is silent. His eyes ask mine for forgiveness as he comes near.

oh kai, you were wrong, I whisper to the night; I whisper to this boy’s cheek made of human bone and skin. 

*

Everyone follow Pasha on Twitter @PashaWestbrook. Pasha, you can also email your query letter to NightmareOnQueryStreet (at) yahoo (dot) com for a critique by me (and hopefully Michelle). Congratulations and great job Pasha. Your short story grabbed me up and still hasn't let go. I'm so SO eager to read more. Good luck in the contest. I'll keep an eye out for you.

Big thanks to everyone who submitted short stories. It was a pleasure reading all of them. I wish you all the best of luck in the contest.  Until next time...later days!

My Take On...Starting A Writing Contest

When I had the idea for Query Kombat, I knew it was something I wanted to pursue but I had absolutely no idea how.

Of course, there was a lot of fear involved before even taking the first leap, and at every milestone littered throughout: Will agents respond? Will enough writers respond? Can I really do this? What if my partners and I can't agree on a key part of the contest? How can we divide the exposure and workload fairly and around each others work schedule? What happens if the contest falls through after we've spread the word?

Those fears paralyzed me for about a month. I mean, I was a new blogger with no followers, few writerly friends, and to top it all off, I'm an introvert.

About a week or two later, I entered SC's contest. One thing led to another, throw in five seconds of extroverted courage, and SC was on board with the contest. Not only that, he was EXCITED about it.

SC invited Michelle to lend her wisdom and help us out and, as you all know, she said yes as well.

At this point, I realized that taking the official first step to kicking off Query Kombat was very similar to standing at the base of Mt. Everest. I was too afraid to start something of that magnitude on my own, but with Michelle and SC standing at my side (though the fear was still there), I felt like it was possible. Not easy, just possible.

Maybe I'm out of line to say this, but I'm almost positive that a team is behind every big and medium sized writing contest out there, even if only one person hosts it. I wish you could see the HUNDREDS of emails SC, Michelle, and I sent back and forth. They would truly amaze.

Admittedly, I got lucky when it came to finding a great team. We were able to share, alter, disagree, question, expand on, and implement each others ideas without argument. And a lot of our ideas were left up to the popular vote.

Finding agents was the easy part. Explaining the entirety of the contest and their roles in it was a bit more difficult. It was almost like writing a query letter. We had to explain everything clearly but succinctly. I have to tell you, we each probably read and tweaked the email we would sent to agents a dozen times each. Same goes for each blog post concerning the contest.

Timing was also a challenge for us in more ways than one. Not only was sending and receiving time-sensitive emails impossible at times, but announcing and spreading the contest news (to the public) in a way that would keep us relevant was strategic. Too far apart and you feel like the contest isn't making enough ripples. Too close together and you feel like you're being bothersome...and if you announce all the info too soon you won't have any ripples to make later on.

Scheduling was very difficult because we were sandwiched between two holidays and had the run time of other contests to consider. Not only that, but we didn't want the contest to run longer than a month. Throw in the fact that we had to work around twenty-five other people's schedule AND we didn't really know what to expect from the judges in each round and you can see why the schedule was made to give us time to deal with any miscommunication (which there was a good amount of), mistakes, and problems.

Dividing the workload and exposure went particularly smoothly. We each had a reason for taking the round we did, and the two not hosting the round helped out the best they could. We (sort of) alternated between who wrote blog posts, emails to mentors, agents, judges, reminder emails, nudge emails, etc.

Disappointment is hard to deal with, and I think everyone can expect to have some disappointments with their first big contest (especially if their first big contest is their FIRST contest). The agent round (in our opinion) wasn't as spectacular as we hoped it would be. By no stretch of the imagination was it the agents' fault. Rather, it was our lack of experience with contests that led to a less than uber awesome round...

BUT!!!!!!

We learned. From all of our downfalls, mishaps, and failure, we learned. And when we come back next year, Query Kombat will be better. And it will only get better every year we bring it back.

All in all, Query Kombat was a difficult experience. I won't lie to you and say it was more fun than difficult, because it wasn't. It WAS rewarding though. Seeing queries get better, watching writers connect, and watching the AMAZING interactions with opponents was heartwarming. The writing community is truly like no other.

So, if you're interested in starting a writing contest, you should be nervous and afraid. Both of those feeling will help you, challenge you, and let you know whether or not you're up to the task. Sit on the idea for a few weeks. If after those weeks you haven't convinced yourself not to go through with it, talk it out with someone. See if your idea is feasible and unique in some way. Then look for agents, judges, mentors, etc if that's what your contest requires. Do that before you even announce your contest, because you shouldn't even think about conquering Mt. Everest without the right support. After that, be prepared to work. SC, Michelle, and I did share a few laughs along the way. But in between those laughs was hard work, frustration, and (at the end) relief.

Nightmare On Query Street Agents

Feel the fear because here they are! The agents of Nightmare on Query Street, live and in the flesh. 


If you haven't heard the news yet, Michelle, SC, and I are at it again with a Halloween contest called Nightmare on Query Street. You can find all the info here! It's gonna be awesomely spooky and we hope you help us make this a success.

Be sure to take a look and see if your genre is represented.

Currently, we have EIGHT agents signed up for the contest. With any luck, we'll have more come October 19th. Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for...the agent list.

Jordy Albert of Booker Albert Literary Agency

Jordy Albert is a Literary Agent and co-founder of The Booker Albert Literary Agency. She holds a B.A. in English from Pennsylvania State University, and a M.A. from Millersville University of Pennsylvania. She has worked with Marisa Corvisiero during her time at the L. Perkins Agency and the Corvisiero Literary Agency. Jordy also works as a freelance editor/PR Director. She enjoys studying languages (French/Japanese), spends time teaching herself how to knit, is a HUGE fan of Doctor Who, and loves dogs. 

She is looking for stories that capture her attention and keep her turning the page. She is looking for a strong voice, and stories that have the ability to surprise her. She loves intelligent characters with a great sense of humor. She would love to see fresh, well-developed plots featuring travel, competitions/tournaments, or time travel. Jordy is specifically looking for:

* Middle Grade: contemporary, fantasy, action/adventure, or historical.
* YA: sci-fi, dystopian/post-apocalyptic, contemporary, historical (Though I am open to looking at other sub-genres, I'm looking for YA that has a very strong romantic element).
* NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE.
* Romance (contemporary and historical).

Molly Jaffa of Folio Literary Management

Molly has been working closely with Folio authors’ projects since 2008, and is an Associate Member of the Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR). In addition to building her selective but growing list of clients, Molly utilizes her editorial background, previous work experience in the e-publishing industry, and intimate knowledge of the Folio list in her position as Folio’s Co-Director of International Rights. She actively pursues sales of international and audio rights and attends all major international book fairs, helping Folio clients’ books reach wide audiences in as many formats as possible. Molly is an avid reader, and when she’s not devouring manuscripts, she can usually be found camped out in the aisles of the Union Square Barnes & Noble (until they kick her out at closing time).

* Middle grade and YA fiction. Interest in paranormal

Pooja Menon of Kimberley Cameron & Associates

Pooja Menon joined Kimberley Cameron & Associates as an intern in the fall of 2011, with the aim of immersing herself in the elusive world of books and publishing. She soon realized that being an agent was what she was most drawn to as the job was varied and challenging. She represents both fiction and non-fiction for Adult and YA markets.

Her passion for reading inspired her to acquire a BA in Literature and Media from England. Her love for writing then took her to Los Angeles where she pursued an M.F.A in Fiction from the Otis School of Art and Design.

In fiction, she is interested in literary, historical, commercial, and high-end women's fiction. However, she's most drawn to stories with an international flavor, vibrant characters, multi-cultural themes, and lush settings.

In fantasy, she's looking for original, layered plots with worlds as real and alive as the ones that were created by J.K Rowling and Tolkien.

In YA, she's looking for stories that deal with the prevalent issues that face teenagers today. She is also interested in fantasy, magical-realism, and historical fiction.

Bridget Smith of Dunham Literary, Inc.

Bridget Smith began her career at Dunham Literary, Inc. in June 2011.

Previously, she was an intern at Don Congdon Associates, worked at a secondhand book store in Connecticut, and evaluated short story submissions for Tor.com under Liz Gorinsky and Patrick Nielsen Hayden.

She graduated from Brown University in 2010. While there, she studied anthropology and archaeology, worked as a radio DJ, fenced on the varsity team, and helped design an experiment that she later performed in microgravity at NASA.

A lifelong fan of children’s books, she’s looking for middle grade and young adult novels in a range of genres, including fantasy and science fiction, historical fiction, romance, and contemporary, plus anything that bends the rules of genre. She is actively seeking books with underrepresented or minority characters.

She is also seeking fiction for adults, especially fantasy and science fiction, historical fiction, and literary women’s fiction.

In accordance with her college degree, she’s interested in informational, literary nonfiction, especially science or history written by experts for a general audience.

Sarah Negovetich of Corvisiero Literary Agency

Sarah Negovetich is fully aware that no one knows how to pronounce her last name, and she's okay with that.

Her favorite writing is YA, because at seventeen the world is your oyster. Only oysters are slimy and more than a little salty, it's accurate if not exactly motivational. 

Sarah's background is in Marketing. FYI, your high school algebra teacher was right when they told you every job uses math. She uses her experience to assist Corvisiero authors with platform building and book promotion.

Sarah is only accepting MG and YA fiction manuscripts.

She is open to any genre within those age groups, but prefers speculative fiction.

Contemporary is not her favorite, but she will look at it. She is not interested in seeing poetry, novels in verse, short stories/novellas or anything focused on saving the environment (she's all for recycling, but doesn't want to represent it).

Victoria Lowes of The Bent Agency

Victoria is currently representing only digital-first titles.

I was born and raised in Queens, New York and graduated from the City University of New York, Queens College. Before joining the Bent Agency, I completed internships at Serendipity Literary and the Carol Mann Agency. In my spare time I can be found teaching dance classes for young students or watching re-runs of The Office.

I love books that teach me something, whether it be about a culture I don’t know, event in history or about the dynamics of a tumultuous young romance. I want to root for your characters -- connect with them and the problems they face. I'm looking for characters as complex and interesting as those I meet in real life.

Historical Fiction
YA
New Adult
Contemporary Romance
Humor
Thrillers
Mystery
Women’s Fiction

Rebecca Scherer of Jan Rotrosen Agency

Rebecca Scherer’s time at JRA began as a part-time internship during her junior year at the Macaulay Honors Program at Hunter College. She was working toward a degree in Political Science and Literature as she busily debated which law schools to apply to when the time came. As Rebecca fell for the agency’s charm, she took on more responsibilities and quickly realized that she enjoyed novels more than legal briefs and plots more than torts. When she expressed her reservations to Jane Berkey, the response was simple: “Well then you’re going to come work for me for real now, right?” And with that, Rebecca happily accepted the siren call to join the fabulous Rotrosen team full-time after graduation. She now works for Meg and Andrea as an associate in the editorial department, enjoying all aspects of the job, from queries to contracts to the whimsical wallpaper throughout the office. Rebecca’s favorite genres include women’s fiction, thrillers, and literary fiction, with a particular interest in historical and geopolitical events.

Emily Gref of Lowenstein Associates

Emily Gref is an Agent at Lowenstein Associates, as well as our contracts and royalties manager. She also handles foreign and subrights. Her interests are wide and varied. In Young Adult and Middle Grade she is looking for all genres, but has a weak spot for fairy tale, folklore, and mythology retellings. Emily is also interested in fantasy and science fiction, as well as literary and commercial women's fiction.

Thanks a million to all the agents who found the time in their busy schedules to make this contest happen. You are all AWESOME. 

Tweet your thanks using the #NightmareQuery hashtag on Twitter.

PS Don't forget I'm holding a flash fiction contest to secure a spot in the 100 entries we will accept. I've already got some great entries. I'd love to read yours!

I'm out

The Game

So, I occasionally play a game with a buddy of mine. We give each other a sentence, quote, or topic and the other person has to write a short story (no more than 500ish words) including/about the given sentence, quote, or topic.

Below is the first story I wrote for him. Highlighted is the quote he gave me. 

The Dutch Colony (For a mature audience...or at least one that doesn't mind cursing)

“Your guards think I’m a masseuse,” Nadia said as she entered the room and shut the door behind her. She tore off her gloves and jacket and threw them into the nearest chair without looking up. The television mounted to the wall to her far left whispered news regarding one of the presidential candidates but Nadia made it her goal not to get sucked into the seeming chaos surrounding the election. “but I guess there is some truth in it because I’m always giving you a happy ending.” Nadia looked up at her boyfriend sitting at the end of the bed sipping bourbon and utterly engulfed in whatever garbage was being spewed on FOX news.

“It’s ten in the morning and you already cracked open a bottle. That’s unbecoming of the President.”

President Nathan Filgrim ended his staring contest with the television and looked over a Nadia. She bent over to pull off her heels, giving him a little peek at the supple bronze breasts tucked inside her blouse.

“It’s celebratory.” The President said taking another swig.

Nadia walked over to the bed and climbed into Nathan’s lap. She coyly grabbed the glass from his hand, toasted silently, and tossed the contents back. She hated the taste of bourbon but once her boyfriend started drinking, it was hard for him to stop. And she couldn’t send him off to his Thursday morning Cabinet meeting intoxicated.

“Ahh. So what have we just celebrated?” She threw the empty glass towards the middle of the bed.

“Three things,” he replied, giving her thigh a suggestive rub. “You, my dear, will soon be the First Lady; Senator Hyrtle is no longer in the running for President thanks to a slightly racist remark; and I just secured the Black vote ensuring a second term.”

Nadia didn’t hear anything after First Lady. Her mouth fell agape as she stared into the eyes of her beloved, searching for some sign or hint of a lie. But he was being sincere. She was to be his wife. She was to be the First Lady of the United States of America.

*

“You did well Senator.” Yuri said in a deep Russian drawl as he stood over the hyperventilating man.

“I…just willingly…threw…the Presidential election.” Senator Hyrtle gasped. He was drenched in sweat, making him look sickly and pale. Every now and again the senator thick bulbous tongue would slither out and wet the corners of his mouth before snaking its way back in. Yuri was tempted to put a bullet in Jack Hyrtle’s head just so he wouldn’t have to see the disgusting display again but the Dutch Colony would flay him alive. Yuri was fond of staying alive.

“President, what is being President of America when you can own him?”

Angry, Jack stood quickly and threw his mug of coffee at the wall. “I would have been the most powerful man in the world. God, what the fuck was I thinking?”

Yuri took a step back, not out of fear, but because Hyrtle smelled lightly of the salmon he had for lunch. Yuri hated fish.

“Ruling people is not power. Why rule the people when you can rule government? That is what the Dutch Colony offers. You made wise decision in this, Hyrtle. I promise you that.”

The senator calmed down quickly before reclaiming his seat. “So what do we do now?” he asked softly.

“We do nothing. I must finish my part and you must wait.”

The senator’s tongue shot out again. Yuri looked away but couldn’t get the image out of his head. He felt the corner of his mouth curl in repulsion. It took everything he had to wipe the look of disgust off his face.

“What’s your part in all this?”

“My part is simple: I get the parts, wire the money, and let Sergei handle the rest. Then I go back to Mother Russia a very rich man.”

“Sergei, Sergei. Who the fuck is Sergei anyway? Why hasn’t either of us met him?”

“I was told you will meet him when you get a seat in the Colony. They are very secretive,” Yuri said. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if the senator would meet him or not. He just wanted the conversation to end so he could do his part and get the hell out of America. He hated the people, he hated the way English tasted on his tongue, and he hated American food.

“Will you have a seat as well?” Hyrtle asked. It was clear he hoped Yuri would say yes so he saw at least one familiar face in the Colony. He had no such luck.

“In my country, we worship God, power, or money. I am a godless man and I don’t need power, Hyrtle. I worship money and fuck beautiful women. I need nothing else to make me happy.”

*

Senators and Congressmen were already congratulating the president on a two-term office as he and Nadia meandered through the White Ball arm in arm. Their relationship was ‘leaked’ to the press two weeks after Senator Hyrtle’s racist remark went viral. Most headlines harped on their relationship being the White House’s first interracial relationship but some, mostly smaller media sources, thought it was a ploy to secure the unclaimed black vote. Nathan called it killing two birds with one stone. Nadia didn’t particularly like constantly being followed around by Secret Service and her life story being continuously looped on the news, but if it was the price she had to pay to be with Nathan she would pay it gladly.

“Everyone’s congratulating you on your second term already,” Jack Hyrtle said. “I would be a sore loser not to do so as well.” The Senator and President shook hands.

“The media is brutal. You were giving me a run for my money,” Nathan said cordially. “I won’t say I’m not relieved because we both know that would be a lie. I will say however, you would have made a fine President.”

“You are too kind Mr. President,” Jack glanced at Nadia for the first time. “And who is the lovely lady accompanying you?”

“Oh, my apologies, this is my fiance, Nadia. Nadia, meet Senator Jack Hyrtle.”

“Ah, so you were the Senator keeping Nathan away from me. Your campaign was all he would talk about for hours at a time.” Nadia leaned in a little. “He won’t admit it but you had him against the ropes.”

The Senator laughed. “I’m sorry, Nadia. If I had known he had such a lovely lady like you at his arm, I wouldn’t have run such a hard campaign.”

Nadia playfully slapped Nathan on his arm. “See, if you didn’t try to keep our relationship a secret you wouldn’t have gotten so many gray hairs.” The senator laughed again.

“Well, Senator Hyrtle, if you’d excuse us. I promised I'd introduce Nadia to a lot of wives.”

“Oh, sure. Good luck with your second term, Mr. President.” Hyrtle watched as Nadia and the President walked away. “You’re going to need it,” he muttered to himself.

Considering my hand is in a cast for the next six five weeks (and because we have a query contest coming up), I figured I could have a mini contest for a spot in the Nightmare on Query Street contest (and the winner's story will get posted on my blog so I don't have to write anything...YAY!!!)

Win-win, right?

So if you haven't guess by now, in order to win a walk on spot in the contest, you must write a short story (500 words or less) containing the phrase below and email it to me using the nightmareonquerystreet (at) yahoo (dot) com address. Put 'The Game' in the subject bar (no quotations) so I know it's a mini contest entry.

 I will pick my favorite, post it to my blog, and the writer will celebrate. 

Here's the phrase:

"They've been watching us this whole time."

This contest will close on September 25th. I will pick my winner on or by the 28th. 

Good luck.

Note: Winner gains a free pass into the 100 submissions we will be accepting, not my top ten. That being said, if you win, you definitely have my undivided attention.

Nightmare on Query Street Contest

The QK Crew is back with an awesome Halloween-themed query contest, Nightmare on Query Street!!!!!!!!! Don’t have a scary manuscript, DON'T WORRY. This contest is about fear. What is your main character really afraid of?

I know. It's scary.

The Details:

The submission window opens at 12 noon (EST) on October 19th. The window will close at 8pm or when we receive 100 entries, so please please please send early. (If there is a great demand of people in different time zones wanting to have two submission windows, we'll talk about it.)

We are accepting all age categories and genres, excluding picture books and exotica. But be sure to check our list of agents when it goes live to see if they represent your book's genre.

Michelle, SC, and I will make ten picks each, and those ten picks will go up on our blogs from the 25th through the 27th, where agents will make requests :DDD

If you plan on participating in the contest, you have to be following all our blogs (Michelle, SC, and I).

It's pretty simple, actually. But there's a catch.

Along with your query and 250, you must write a SHORT paragraph (no more than 100ish words) about your main character. This is the question you must answer:

What is your main character most afraid of?

The Format:

Send all your submissions to nightmareonquerystreet (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Here's how it should be formatted (yes, include the bolded and everything!) Please use Times New Roman (or equivalent), 12 pt font, and put spaces between paragraphs. No indents or tabs are needed.  

Title: MY FANTASTIC BOOK (yes, caps!)

Genre: YA dystopian (This means age category and genre. YA is not a genre.)

Word Count: XX,XXX

My Main Character's Greatest Fear:

My MC's greatest fear...

Nicki Minaj as a cat...and a telemarketer.

Query:

Here is my fantastic query!

First 250 words:

Here are the first 250 words of my manuscript, and I will not end in the middle of a sentence, even if I hit 252 words :)

And that's it! Send in that email during the submission window and you're ready to go :)

Send all your submissions to nightmareonquerystreet (at) yahoo (dot) com. Only one submission per email address/person is allowed.

This should be FUN. This is a Halloween-themed contest, so please please please, spend time on the MC's Greatest Fear paragraph!!!! It should be a LOT of fun. If you're writing a funny book, make a funny twist on the question, or say your MC is scared of strawberries or something. If it's a serious/sad book, you should have a field day, because the MC's fear might be so heart-wrenching.

Make us want to know more about your MC, to spend hundreds of pages with them because they are so interesting. This is a new way to pitch, so have fun with it (and don't stress out over it like its a query or something).

So go over and follow our blogs (Michelle, Mike, and I) and our Twitters (Michelle, Mike, and I) (we're Tweeting under the hashtag #NightmareQuery) to stay in touch with all that we're doing. 

I AM VERY VERY VERY EXCITED. I can't wait to see your answers to the question!!!!

Why I Cry

Childhood is supposed to be the most carefree portion of everyone's life. It's a time of wonder and hope, blind trust and love. It's a time when adventure can be had camping in the back yard or climbing up bunkbeds. It's supposed to be carefree...fun.

Mine wasn't.

My childhood was filled with terror. I was so afraid that I couldn't relax. I was always tense, on edge...waiting. Waiting for my mother to come home and yell at, curse at, or beat me and my siblings. I lived in constant fear ever single day of the first 16 years of my life. Every. Single. Day.

TV was my escape. I'd watch a show or movie and, for that hour/hour and a half, I would be someone else, somewhere else. I'd live in a place I could relax and be myself. A place where I didn't have to fear showing emotion. 

Every life that I became a part of has stayed with me from then til now. They gave me solace when I needed it the most, joy during my darkest hour, and hope for a brighter day. Lilo and Stitch, Jett Jackson, Alex Mack, Zenon, Cory Mathews, and Keenan and Kel (just to name a few) were the highlights of my life. They helped for me into the man I am today.

And I don't want to see any more of them die. Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Bernie Mac, Lee Thompson Young, Cory Monteith...they're all gone. And each time I hear the news, I lose a piece of myself because they did so much for me, and I couldn't do a single thing to save them.

RIP Lee Thompson Young

You were a memorable part of my childhood, and it's so sad to see you go. I'll always remember you as The Famous Jett Jackson

"Go big or go home."

Two Agents and a Book deal and a Champagne and Hotdogs Tree

You may know her as "Champagne and Hot Dogs" from Query Kombat. But now, you know her as Stephanie Wahlstrom, author of "The Accidental Socialite," an author with TWO agents and a book deal!

We love hearing these success stories, so thank you so much Stephanie for agreeing to do this interview (this interview is fun, especially the "The Call" question, so read it all!).

ON TO THE INTERVIEW.

1. First things first: CONGRATS! How does it feel to have two agents and a book deal?

Not gonna lie, pretty AMAZING! I still can’t believe this has all happened.

2. Tell us a little about your book.

It’s called THE ACCIDENTAL SOCIALITE and it’s about Paige, a small town Canadian girl who moves to London and accidentally becomes famous.


3. What part of your book do you love the most, and what part of it did your agents/editor love the most? (This is a trick on my part to force shy writers to brag about their book.)
My favourite part about the book is probably when she stabs Prince William with a Star Wars McDonalds toy because a version of that happened in real life. I still can’t believe I wasn’t deported for it.

I think what the publisher and my agent liked best about the book was that they genuinely thought it was funny, which is completely and totally amazing, because my biggest fear was that I was the only one who thought it was funny.


4. What would be the best compliment you could ever ever get about your book, something that’d send you into the clouds even months after receiving it?
I’ve always said that all I want to do is entertain a person I don’t know in a language I don’t speak. I have always dreamed about being in an airport somewhere and seeing a random person reading my book in another language and laughing. That would be the ultimate compliment! Also, if there was a moment when someone referenced something in front of me from the book (in a good/funny way) without knowing I’d written it that would also make my life!

5. You were Champagne and Hot Dogs in the Query Kombat Kontest. You went FAR in the Kontest; how was that experience? Did it help you out?

Query Kombat helped more than I knew! First of all, it was a much needed boost of confidence. Also, the comments were very helpful. One of the comments in particular actually made a big difference to my book. Someone posted that Paige seemed too old to be acting the way she was. They were totally right! When I first started to write the book two years ago she was supposed to be 22-ish but I googled around and realized that in order for the book to sell she would probably need to be at least 25 (New Adult wasn’t a ‘thing’ yet) so I changed the age. When I saw that comment I realized I wasn’t being true to the story and changed her age back to 22. Then all of this happened. My mentor Jean Oram was also amazing. My query was much better because of her and that’s the one I sent out with the requests that resulted in my offers.

 

6. You also were a part of Brenda Lee Drake’s Pitch Madness. Brenda helped us TREMENDOUSLY in Query Kombat, so thanks goes out to her as well! How did Pitch Madness help you? How was that experience?

Pitch Madness helped me get a good understanding of what the heart of the story was, which I think is one of the hardest things. Pitch Madness was also so awesome because it introduced me to the twitter writing community which is completely amazing and super duper helpful!

I also perfected my 35 word pitch with the help of Mina Vaughn and that’s the one I submitted to PitchMAS in July which is where all the offers came from.


7. What are your thoughts on writerly contests? Should writers enter them? Why or why not?
ABSOLUTELY! It helps you figure out what’s going right/wrong and get requests. It’s also a great way to find support with other writers. I can’t stress enough how much everyone’s support and belief got me through almost quitting, like, a million times. But I don’t think it’s the only thing they should do. I have noticed that it was a lot of the same agents participating in the comps which means after you do a few there tends to be a lot of repeats, so less requests.


8. The fun fun fun part: Tell us about getting “The Call.” How was it/What happened/What did you do when you found out you got agented? And then, separately, when you got a book deal? Tell us the WHOLE story! We love stories like these. *grabs popcorn*

So, sit down and get a glass of wine. This may be a long one….

I’d been entering competitions and having some luck with requests, but still hadn’t ever got ‘the call’. There was a lot of ‘I like it, but I don’t love it’. Which is disheartening to say the least. It got to the point where I sat down with one of my best friends who is a lawyer and we talked about self-publishing and my timeline for it. But I wasn’t sure that was for me, so in a last ditch effort to get an agent, I took the 35 word pitch I’d honed in Pitch Madness and sent it in to PitchMAS in July.

I couldn’t believe I’d made the blog part of the contest! Not only that, but I got three requests, all from publishers. My grandmother and aunt were visiting that evening so I had a quick dinner with them and then went home super excited and stayed up until midnight sending the requests out. Then I was due to meet my boyfriend in Cannes the next morning at 11. I randomly woke up at 5am and looked at my phone and I had an email from Georgia McBride, Publisher at Swoon Romance saying she loved the book, was still finishing it and would offer by the weekend. It was Friday. I sat straight up, called my boyfriend who was still asleep like normal people and sent my lawyer friend a text that went something like ‘WAKE UP IMMEDIATELY. WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP’. Then I went to the gym because I had so much energy and then I sent an email to everyone who had my MS, which was the other two publishers and 3 agents and hopped into the shower. My friend woke up, thought I was dead/being kidnapped and called/texted several times. I sent her a screen grab of the email and she freaked out with me. I danced some more and then went to Heathrow.

I got on a plane to Cannes and the second the wheels touched down, I threw caution to my mobile phone bill and turned on my roaming to find a two book deal offer from Publisher 2. Publisher 3 bowed out because they couldn’t read the MS in time. I emailed Publisher 1 re Publisher 2 and then met my boyfriend in the airport, told him the news and we both did a high five dance.

We drove to our friend’s place and that’s where I got a call from Pub 2 asking if I had any other questions. I was freaking out and it was so hard because there is pretty much no reception in the hills of Cannes. Then I got a 3 book offer from Pub 1. Then I almost fainted and a few min later I got a request in PitchMAS from Pub 4. Sorry, I know this is all getting a bit Gossip Girl cryptic and hard to follow, but that was how it happened. When I got reception, I emailed them all and asked if I could have some time to think and sent the MS to Pub 4. I had 2 weeks. Longest 2 weeks of my life!

I had no idea what to do, the offers were quite different and I really needed the help of an agent. But, the agents that had my MS got back to me and turned me down, even though I had two offers. I panicked and emailed Stephanie Thwaites, Curtis Brown’s Children’s Agent. I’d taken a course through Curtis Brown Creative that she taught with Tony Bradman. I highly recommend taking a writing course. It helped this MS a lot even though I was there with another one. Totally wished I’d taken it before I’d started writing. Anyway, I assumed Stephanie wouldn’t rep me, considering how amazing she is, but I was hoping she could offer a tiny bit of advice on some things like average royalties, sales figures etc.

To my surprise, she asked to read the MS and then sent me emails using words like ‘we’. I felt like a teenage girl whose crush hinted that he liked her. I sent a super awkward email saying something to the effect ‘does this mean you’re my agent now?’ and she was like, of course! Two weeks to the day after all the madness started, I went into the Curtis brown offices and signed with Stephanie. I had the same agent as Winnie the Pooh. Winnie. The. Pooh. EMERGAHD!

Then she took care of everything and it was so awesome. Curtis Brown works with ICM in the US and Stephanie asked Lyndsay Hemphill if she’d like to represent me there. And then she said yes! I couldn’t believe it! It was like all my dreams had come true at once. Stephanie and Lyndsay worked away behind the scenes and Pub 4 offered. It was so hard to make a decision between the three offers, but in the end, Georgia was super duper nice and also passionate about the book from the beginning and we all agreed Swoon Romance was the best place for THE ACCIDENTAL SOCIALITE in North America.

It was fitting that when I got the email from Stephanie and Lyndsay about a final decision I happened to be walking down Kings Road in London past the road my first flat share was on. I stopped right there and wrote back accepting the offer from Swoon Romance and then went to meet one of my best friends who was visiting from South Africa (and the best friend character in my book is loosely based on her). We had a glass of champagne and sitting there with her and with all the news, I welled up. This was my real life now, not just the daydream I’d been having for years!

9. Do you have anything to say to the herds of writers out there? Any advice?

DO NOT GIVE UP! I know everyone says that but literally the week before all of this started I was crying to my boyfriend about how much of a failure I was and told him I was quitting. I kept feeling like I was kind of good, but would never be good enough to be published and it was soul crushing. He made me promise to wait for five more rejections before I packed it in. I did and it worked out. But in the end, it just takes one person to be passionate about your work. Writers need to have balls of steel because there is no other job (except for TV… I work in children’s television and there is a lot of rejection there too, trust me.) where you work for so long on something and bare your soul like this only to get rejected constantly. Support each other and really take in comments and criticisms. Some of them won’t be right for you, but if I had ignored the comments in Query Kombat, I definitely wouldn’t be writing this interview right now.

Woo! Congrats, Stephanie!!! Loved your story, and all our good wishes are with you.

Growing up in Edmonton, Canada, a significant amount of my time was spent making up and acting out stories. I graduated from the University of Alberta with an English and Sociology degree and I also have a Bachelor of Motion Picture Arts (that’s a fancy term for Film School) from Red Deer College. After a fateful trip to Mexico in 2006 I decided to move to New York City to work in film development. A year later I went back home to write My Green House, a factual TV series. I moved to London in 2008 and aside from being obsessed with Eggs Benedict, Fruit Roll Ups and travelling, I also work in Children’s Television. The Accidental Socialite is my first novel.

You can find her on Twitter over here, and on her website over here! (Seriously. Go find her. And follow her (in a non-stalker way).)

Dynamic

If you've never heard of the TV show Suits you should stop reading now and marathon the first and second season. Don't worry, I'll wait...

I haven't been more excited about a TV show since Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones. The show has taught me a great deal about characters both on the screen and on the page. Here are the six 'main' characters and a brief character profile (mind you, these are my first impressions).

Louis Litt: Junior partner at the firm & envious of Harvey. Isn't afraid to fight dirty (in a clean way).
Jessica Pearson: The cocky, overbearing managing partner of the law firm Pearson Hardman
Harvey Spectre: Senior partner at the firm and best closer in New York...and he knows it.
Mike Ross: Associate attorney w/ a photographic memory. He never attended law school.
Rachel Zane: Paralegal struggling to become a lawyer. Develops feelings for Mike.
Donna Paulsen: Harvey's secretary, friend, and confidant. And they do this 'thing' with a can opener.

Every episode these character grow in such a dynamic way that my overall opinion of them and their relationship with one another changes. Characters that I consider heroes fall, and characters I utterly loathe (Lewis, I'm looking at you) grow on me.

(Start tangent)

A lot of stories can be described as 'good' vs 'evil'.

Personally, I've always disliked characters who are good for the sake of being good, or evil for the sake of being evil. People are the heroes of their own story. We have a psychological need to think well of ourselves. It's called ego justification. Every story, IMO, should have a protagonist and antagonist who can successfully convince a reader that their actions are justified.

Abortion, NSA homeland spying, or the Treyvon Martin case are all great examples. Equipped with an open mind, I think anyone could say "I understand why you believe that, but I feel...."

I recently rewrote a scene in Black Sheep from another character's POV. Initially, my MC was made to look like the hero, but after the rewrite, you realize she was being an ass. If you rewrote your story from you protagonist's POV, would he/she/it still be the antagonist? (That isn't a rhetorical question. I'd like to know)

(End tangent)

In Suits, each character does what's necessary to preserve their professional and personal relationship with one another. Sometimes both can't be satisfied. At those times, you see the job overshadow conscience. Good characters do bad things for a good reason. I believe these kinds of characters show more depth and are more engaging and realistic than characters who always do the good and right thing. Or always do the bad and wrong thing.

PS...

She's beautiful!