YA Scavenger Hunt Winners

You can see all the winners of the hunts here: http://yascavengerhunt.blogspot.com

RED TEAM WINNER:

Janice Bartelt

BLUE TEAM WINNER:

Sharrice Hewlett

MY WINNER:

Taharah (taherahabbas@aol.com)

Congrads and thanks so much for playing. I met tons of great new bloggers and plan to visit your blogs - yay! :)

Winners

Hey guys just a quick post to announce the winners from the last two giveaways :)

the ebook of The Forever Girl goes to...

C.M. Brown

a copy of both Elana's books, Possession and Surrender goes to...

Jolene and Family

Thank you all for entering and have a great week!

Winner(s) of Diana Fox Agent Pitch Contest!

CONGRADS everyone - here's Diana with the winners!

This was a hard decision, because there were so many great pitches in this contest! Thanks so much to Shelli for hosting it, and to everyone who entered.

Winners:

1^st place: A. Lockwood, OLYMPUS GATE

Genre: YA Historical Fantasy

Pitch: A girl from a broken future travels back to ancient Rome to stop her sister's murder, confront the gods, and prevent the coming apocalypse.

Comments: Post-apocalyptic dystopias, time travel, AND ancient Rome and the gods? I'm hooked!

2^nd place: Elizabeth Briggs, ALTERNATE

Genre: YA Sci-Fi

Pitch: A teen hacker is drawn into a war between parallel universes when she meets an alternate version of herself from another dimension.

Comments: I love the concept, it's kind of like Hackers meets Fringe.

3^rd place: S. Kyle Davis, BLACKBIRD

Genre: YA Fantasy Technothriller

Pitch: Spy chick bypasses a top-of-the line security system to steal an object before the sorcerers do in this "Mission:Impossible w/ magic" tale.

Comments: This just sounds FUN!

Winners, please email your full manuscripts to submissions@foxliterary.com and mention the pitch contest in your subject line.

Top ten honorable mentions:

Jen, BOYFRIENDS, SPIES, AND LIES

Genre: YA Contemporary

Pitch: If Carissa's oppressive parents weren't paying her boyfriend to be her bodyguard, art school would have been her perfect escape.

‪Carmen Ferreiro Esteban, THE REVENGE OF THE WOLF KING

GENRE: YA Medieval Fantasy

PITCH: Princess Ines's love for her whipping boy is put to the test when the king accuses him of the queen's murder and sentences him to death.

‪Elizabeth, FLICKER

Genre: Sci-Fi YA

Pitch: A grl w/a bad ♥ learns shes being kept alive by an alien virus that gives her the pwr 2 bend reality &save the wrld from an insidious force

‪Lori M. Lee, SOUL WITHOUT A BOY

Genre: YA urban fantasy

Pitch: In a world where souls can be ripped free and harnessed as a weapon, a 17yo boy learns the hard way that standing out can be deadly.

‪Cheree Smith, SHADOW EMBRACED

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Pitch: To control the creature threatening to take over her, 16-year-old Scar joins an underground fight club of witches, werewolves and vampires.

‪Lindsay Cummings, CHANGED

Genre:YA dystopian

Pitch: After an ecological disaster caused by environmentalists, a girl uses enhanced vision to find where the Disappeared go in a walled-in world.

‪Tracey Neithercott, ALIVE

Genre: YA sci-fi

Pitch: When she discovers Eli's healing ability, Alex plans to bring her sister back to life. She never expects 2 uncover lies about her childhood.

‪Emma Hollingberry, SKYBORNE

Genre: Literary YA Sci-Fi

Pitch: The emperor forces a hardcore racer onto his assassin team and then pits her against the people who deserted her as a child in an inter-galaxy war she'll refuse to fight.

‪Janet Johnson, THE PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY FRIENDSHIP

Title: The Peanut Butter and Jelly Friendship

Genre: MG Contemporary

Pitch: When selling her appendix on e-bay doesn’t work, ten-year-old Annie seeks other ways to save her best friend’s house from foreclosure.

Huntress, OF OAK AND DRAGONS

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Pitch: An unexpected inheritance, a snarky rapier with delusions of grandeur, and a tall stranger put Leah in the middle of an ancient war.

If you have an honorable mention, I would LOVE to see your query and sample pages!

Please email me at submissions@foxliterary.com and mention the pitch contest in your subject line.

PIF Query Winners and Some Book Love

Pay It Forward Query Winners

Okay so I am a sucker because I could not narrow it to 3.

So I have 5 queries that will move on to the next stage.

I made this decision based on the query, the premise, but mostly what I think Alyssa would like. I personally loved all 10 for different reasons.

The winners of the query contest are: (DRUM ROLL!)

Lisa Galek

Mary Kate Connelly

Wendy Lawrence

Shannon ODonnell

Rita Monette

Congrads! You win a query critique and move on to the final stage. Please email me (sjohannes@bilaninc.com) your most updated query and your FIRST THREE chapters by this SAT 9am EST.

I will read them and choose the winner to pass on to Alyssa. At this stage it comes down to the writing and pacing for me. :)

Just like before, if the other five writers would like some feedback on their query - please feel free to email me and I will share my notes that may or may not help you.

NEW COVER LOVE

The Pledge

Kimberly Derting - author of The Body Finder series

Coming from S&S

Fall 2011

A romantic fantasy set in a dystopic, war-torn world where women rule, in which a teenage girl discovers that her secret ability to speak all languages, and her dangerous attraction to a beautiful, mysterious boy who speaks a language she's never heard before, are the key to her world's survival.

AUDITION

By Stasia Kehoe

Coming from VikingOctober 13, 2011

Share your audition story

Once you've been chosen, what step should you take?
Seventeen-year-old Sara's dream of becoming a star ballerina is challenged when she falls for Remington, an older choreographer. Instead of success onstage, she becomes Rem's muse, which is a future she never considered--and one that threatens to break her heart.

MARCH RELEASES

• Saundra Mitchell’s THE VESPERTINE
• Lindsey Leavitt’s SEAN GRISWOLD’S HEAD
• Rachel Hawkins' DEMONGLASS, the sequel to HEX HALL
• Lee Nichols’ BETRAYAL, A Haunting Emma book
• Kim Harrington’s CLARITY
• Carrie Ryan's THE DARK AND HOLLOW PLACES, the final book in The Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy.

Winners of Agent Pitch - Onto the next round

First - Im sorry everything took longer. And thank you for being supportive and patient.

Okay - so here's the deal....

I could NOT get my list down to 5. So I choose the top ten I would like to read a query from. I will say these were - for the most part - great pitches with good ideas.

Most of my notes include the sentence: "But, what is different?" BE SURE in your pitches and query letters that you hone in and highlight the ONE thing that makes your book different. Especially the paranormal and angel books!

Because I know how frustrating it is to enter and wonder why you didn't get chosen, I will offer all of you some extra love on V-Day! :)

If you submitted a pitch in THIS contest and want to know WHY I didn't choose your pitch in the top 10 or as an Honorary Mention, you can email me your pitch and I will share my notes with you in case it helps you perfect your pitch. sjohannes@bilaninc.com

Next Steps for WINNERS:

1) I'd like these people to post their query letters on today's post by the end of this week (Fri 5PM EST). After 5 - the query will not count. Your query letter should have more content in it plus a bio aspect. I'd like to have everyone see how the pitch moves into the query letter. If you don't want that - you can email it to me offline st sjohannes@bilaninc.com

2) Of these 10 - I will pick three to get a query critique and send me the first three chapters.

3) I will choose my winner from those.

May sound involved but my name will be attached to it.

Winners:

I shared why I chose these pitches so you could see my thought process. From what I hear, Im pretty sure agents and editors choose in same way - what calls to them for whatever reason. Could be a very random thing.

1. Rita Monette (MG) - I like the Louisiana setting with the voodoo.
2. Janet Johnson (MG) - The voice pulled me in on this one (love the appendix line) but I would work on it to give more. It didnt tell me the story.
3. Mai (YA) - im intrigued because of the creating a person - Very "Weird Science" and I loved that movie. I would play up the girl more than the rest of it.
4. Lisa - I chose this because I think likes classics redone especially in mysterious houses :) I love the twist on Jane Eyre.
5. MarcyKate - Loved the idea of letters in her writing. Also Alyssa loves mysteries in mansions. The runaway millgirl peeked my interest.
6. Wendy Lawrence - (MG) I've seen time travel fighters (be sure to read Time Raiders- i think it came out in the last year) but i really liked the voice so Im interested to see how it is different.
7. Shannon ODonnell - (MG) Again, the voice pulled me in. The idea of a Naughty Camp for Boys was funny to me.
8. BJ Andersen - First - she did her research and is right - Alyssa loves wishing stories. Second, the voice was evident.
9. Marie Reardon - at first , the angel/heaven/Hell thing threw me off (I would take play that down). But I like the idea of stealing memories ( Very Inception-ish for kids)
10. Rachel - I like "contemporary humor" of Operation Sex Appeal - seems kinda like the new movie (A) a little.

Honorable Mentions:

I wanted to mention these because I may have picked them had they offered more information. The premise was intriguing but in a stack of 100, it simply didn't stand out only because it was too short or too general or not different enough.

I thought this might help you hone your pitches more b/c that is all it needs:

• Christine Arnolds (YA) - liked a story about a girl who controls the elements. Very MindBender but it sounds like its MG for some reason?
• Dorothy Dreyer (YA) - a story about Muses (reminds me of Al Brooks and Sharon Stone movie Muse.) Though the pitch with the Zeus part and being grounded sounded a bit MG to me.
• Holly Ann - I love the monsters under NYC but I didn't get enough of the story. Reminded me of a YA Neverworld by Neil Gaiman
• Magan - I like the idea of girl falls in love with alien - but didn't understand the whole story.
• Amy - the split conscious thing grabbed me but I couldn't get my head around it. May need to pull this out more? Also - the first 2 lines confused me as to who this girl was?
• Tanya Reimer - I was intrigued but I needed more. I like the world with no males but didnt understand any more.
• Karen Atkins - I think you need to explain more who Bree is and how she is involved in your query? The ONLY reason ( i thought this was a good pitch) I didn't choose this is b/c I just started a book "kinda similar" (but DONT WORRY, ours are obviously probably very different) I just didn't want to get "corrupted" by your idea at all (or scared of you because I like you! :)
• Elena Solodow - I liked this but it was way too short. Didnt give me enough to stand out.
• Angelica Jackson (YA) - I like the historical aspect to this combined with paranormal. But how is it different?

Congrads to everyone!

ARC Winners

Hey guys -

So sorry I have not announced these yet.

We got snowed in last week. And with kids being home (for the whole week!) and Internet being iffy. I didn't get to the Arc contest.

Here are the winners (chosen by random number generator):

1. S. Kyle Davis
2. Riv Re
3. Shallee
4. Addictedtolife
5. ♥ttlyoverit17♥♪
6. Amber Cuadra
7. Shoshana
8. Jenna Wallace
9. Mariska
10. Kristin Rae
11. Mim
12. Sara B. Larson
13. Mrs. DeRaps
14. Grace
15. Cinette
16. J. Ro
17. Meradeth
18. Kailia Sage
19. Spav
20. Shelly B
    

Please email me your address at sjohannes@bilaninc.com and tell me if you would like YA, MG or Adult. I will send you a list to choose from. First come first serve! (US only)

If I do not hear from you by end of day on Friday - I will choose another name. hey - it's only fair! :)

Congratulations!

Also - here is a hint of what is coming up: Get your paragraph query ready! :) 4- 5 sentences.

Josh Adams Pitch Contest Winners!

Congrads to all the winners listed below!

All winner(s) and honorary mentions can contact me for specific instructions at sjohannes@bilaninc.com.

Here is a note from Josh himself announcing the winners: (isn't he sweet! :)

=============================

Hi Shelli,

I'd like to thank everyone who participated in the agent pitch contest. It was a great opportunity to see a range of stories, and it was surprisingly difficult to choose favorites from among all the promising pitches.

In some cases among those I did not select, I loved the titles, but wasn't grabbed by the pitches; in other cases, it was the other way around. Other times, writers had me until one key word threw me off; or, I'd be intrigued, but a bit confused by the need to cram too much detail into too few words. But in every case among those I selected, a simple but effective message emerged—and I'm excited by the possibilities.

In the spirit of the season, I've selected multiple winners, along with honorable mentions.

Winners: (full manuscript submission to Josh personally)

• Seventy-Seven by Chanelle Gray
  
• 9:59 Rewind by Candyland
• The Curse of Elizabeth Brewster by Julietruekingsley.com

Honorable Mentions: ( full synopsis or query letter to Josh personally)

• Not Your Average Fairy Tale by Chantele Sedgwick
• Spitfire by Shayda Bakhshi
• The Last Onset by Chersti Nieveen

Happy Holidays,
Josh Adams

---------------------------------

CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE! :)

Thanks for being loyal followers and happy Holidays!

Winners of the Agent Pitch Contest

The winner is of Susan Hawk's Agent Pitch Contest is...

Slippers of Pearl by Danyelle
(MG fantasy)

After his uncle—who has a bad habit of dying—is fatally poisoned, Faryn’s family packs him off to the King’s Seat to learn magic and find his place as his uncle’s heir. What he discovers instead is a knack for making magical shoes, that turning a girl into a goose is a bad way to make friends—and dying her bright blue only aggravates matters, sinister apples that enchant all the maidens at court, and a royal edict to undo the apples’ magic if he wants to keep his head.

Danyelle - congrads! Please email meat sjohannes@bilaninc.com for instructions on your critique with Susan.

Honorable mentions are:

• The Tweed Coat Mystery by theartgirl
• Wistful by Jenn
• Not Your Average Fairy Tale by Chantele Sedgwick
• Lock 19 by Bree
• Futureless by Sandy Shin

Congrads to the mentions and thanks to all who entered. Hope this was a good exercise for you.

Don't forget, Josh Adams from Adams Literary will be here next month so keep working on your pitches :)

Have a great weekend!

Agent Pitch Winners!

Here’s Sarah choice for winner and some honorable mentions (there were so many good ones!)

Winner: High Hopes by Lisa (contemporary YA)
You win a critique of a query letter and your first chapter!
Lisa - congrads and email me at sjohannes@bilaninc.com for instructions

HIGH HOPES is a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s “Northanger Abbey,” but instead of going to Bath, eighteen-year-old Katie Moreland takes a trip to Florida for Spring Break week. There, she meets Hal Tilney, who quickly wins her over with his charm and wit, and who also happens to live in one of the most haunted houses in America – the home where the events of “The Amityville Horror” took place. When Katie is invited to visit for the weekend, her horror-obsessed brain goes into overdrive and she imagines ghosts and ghouls around every corner. Hal tries to explain to her that all the sinister stories about the house are just rumors, but Katie is convinced that the Amityville home is hiding a dark secret. Katie tries to find the source of her supernatural suspicions, but doesn’t know she also runs the risk of something truly scary – losing the guy she loves.

Honorable Mentions

• Flight by Allison Morris (literary fiction/magical realism)
• Unraveled by Susan Bradley (YA mystery)
• Mercy by Jess (YA magical realism)
• The Last One by Chersti Nieveen (YA dystopia)
• Waiting for April by Jaime Loren (paranormal romance)
• The Ghost Writer by MarcyKate (YA ghost story)

The “honorable mentions” are in no particular order and that they were all great!

Next week, Sarah may post some critiques of these pitches so stay tuned.

I'm unplugging this week and heading out of town to be on faculty for SCBWI Carolina conference in Charlotte. I'll be back next Monday with a whole slew of fun new posts!

Have a great week! :)

Mary Kole Pitch Contest Winners!!

There were so many awesome queries it was hard for Mary Kole to narrow it down to one. WE have 2 winners and a few Honorable mentions. Mary Kole gave some feedback on each one in blue. (wasn't that sweet!)

There were many entries that went over 140 characters some even up to 200 characters!

To both winners - email me so I can put you in touch with Mary on your query critique!

If there is nugget you take away from this - whether chosen or not - it is this: I cannot stress how important it is to FOLLOW THE RULES when querying agents. Sometimes it can be the difference between a rejection or a request! They go through hundreds of queries a week and have to look for ways to say no. DON'T GIVE THEM A REASON to reject you just because you are going to fast or don't pay attention to the details/instructions!

WINNER 1: Blogger Wendy
Title: Burying Elsie
Genre: Contemporary YA
As Elsie dives into drugs, sex & even hardcore shows, goody-goody Shawna must decide if helping her BFF is worth risking all she believes.

Mary said: "I love the character conflict implied by this query and the high stakes. The title tells me that it might not work out for the best, but I’m really curious to see how the downward spiral plays out."

================================

WINNER 2: Blogger Rachael Harrie

Title: From The Other Side

Genre: YA Paranormal

Misfit Verity is murdered by the boy she loves and awakens with strange powers, uncontrollable rages, and an unquenchable desire for revenge

Mary said: "This query kicks ass. It has punch and voice, which is really hard to do in 140 characters. This sounds like something I might really like."

==============================

Honorable Mentions!

Blogger Amanda J.

Title: The Sandman's Apprentice

Genre: MG paranormal

To save her kidnapped brother, Taryn must become the first female Sandman; venture into new realms; and, oh yea, save the world from monsters.

Mary said: "I like this pitch a lot and would probably request more. But to be fair to everyone else, this is not a winner since the character count was high."

Blogger Jess said...

Title: N/A

Genre: YA magical realism/time travel

The first time, Madelyn drowns accidentally. The second time, her twin sister Camilla lets it happen, a choice that could pull her under.

Mary said "Good concept, but unclear whose story it is. First sentence indicates Madelyn, second sentence indicates Camilla."

Blogger meradeth said...

Title: Colors Like Memories

Genre: YA UF

Julia’s secret: she killed the guy she loved. It was an accident—sorta. Now she must save her best friend, but her ghosts won’t make it easy

Mary said: "Really like this. Could’ve made a clearer connection…is the guy she loved one of the ghosts in her way?"

Blogger Nazarea said...

Title: FireFall

Genre: YA paranormal

Falling in love isn't easy, but when 17-year-old Alianna Clayton falls for a shapeshifting phoenix, everything in her life heats up.

Mary said: "Like the wordplay here. Could do without the generic “falling in love isn’t easy” bit and give the reader more of what makes Alianna unique as a character. Don’t need her full name and ID, would rather know who she is."

Blogger Pam Harris said...

Title: WANTS

Genre: Contemporary YA

When two girls discover that their boyfriends are lovers, high school cliques are reevaluated as this “love square” begins to unravel.

Mary said: “High school cliques are reevaluated” is a bit dry, but this gives us a great situation that launches the story. My imagination is sparking."

Blogger Meredith said...

Title: Four Stones

Genre: YA historical fantasy

Four Stones = (The Highlander - swords + sparkly gems) x (one spunky heroine + one reluctant hero) ^ 700 years of English history

Mary said: "I really like the format of this query, very unique to the constraints of the character limit. You take a risk when you break it down like this but it sounds fun."

Blogger Tracey J said...

Title: Alice and Olivia

Genre: MG Contemporary

Everyone thinks Alison's gone for good but twelve-year-old Olivia knows better, Alison would never leave--they pinkie promised she wouldn't.

"I love the emotional sweetness implied by the last line and this sounds like it would really resonate with the MG audience because of the friendship hook. But when you say “gone,” do you mean “dead”? That would mean the difference between realistic and paranormal/magical realism. That’s my one quibble with the query."

Blogger Steph Sinkhorn said...

Title: The Tick-Tock Hearts

Genre: YA Steampunk/Mystery

Pitch: In Edwardian Chicago, Clara must avenge her dead father & stop a group of cyborg immortals fueled by synthetic hearts before they cage her.

Mary said: "I like the idea here but the query, and title, focus too much on the cool idea for cyborg robot hearts that you had, and we get almost nothing about who Clara is as a character. This makes me wonder what else this story has to offer beside awesome cyborgs..."

Blogger Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Title: SEA DAUGHTERS

Genre: YA urban fantasy

A teenager learns she's half-mermaid and must accept being an inter-species freak if she's to reveal mermaids exist & what's killing them.

Mary said: "The mermaid thing has been done but the mermaid species dying out gives this idea really high stakes."

Congrads to everyone! Take a look at the schedule - there is another pitch coming soon! Get your pitches and queries ready :) have a great weekend!

Winners of Fabulous Follower Contest!

Winners of the 1000 Follower Giveaway
Thank you all so much for following and visiting!

Winners, please email me at sjohannes@bilaninc.com with your address. It must be a US address.

Grand Prize + query critique - Sherri Peterson
Firelight (ARC 9/10)
Red Moon Rising (ARC 11/10)
Revolution (ARC 10/10)
Body Finder (HB)
The Enemy (ARC 5/10)

Faithful Follower#1 - Deb Salisbury
Wings (ARC)
Wake (PB)
13th Reality HB
Meanicures (ARC/10/10)

Faithful Follower #2 - Tere Kirkland
Revolution (ARC 10/10)
Candymakers (ARC 10/10)
Dangerous Neighbors (ARC 8/10)
Daughters Break The Rules (ARC 11/10)

Blogger Buddy - Jamie Burch
Candymakers (ARC 10/10)
Songs for Teenage Nomad (ARC 9/10)
Death of Silas Winterbottom (ARC 9/10)
Who Killed Wesley Payne (ARC/2/11)

Lovable Lurkers - Anna
The Replacements (ARC 9/10)
Virals (ARC 11/10)
Girl Parts (ARC 8/10)
Jane (ARC 10/10)

Lovable Lurker #2 - Okapi
The INvisible Order (ARC 9/10)
The Exciled Queen (ARC 9/10)
Adios Nirvanos (ARC 10/10)
The Witch's Kitchen (ARC 10/10)

Agent Pitch Contest Winners!!!

The winner of the lot of boy's books is.....Erika Lynn!

The winner of Personal Demons (one of Suzie's clients books) is Throuthehaze!

please email your address to sjohannes@bilaninc.com

Agent Pitch Winners

Couple notes:

• Thanks to everyone who entered!
• I did check every entry for instructions and character count.
  
• To those who were over 140 characters or did not include all the information requested, I sent your entries to Suzie (highlighted in red) and let her make the decision to judge since it was her contest.
• There are a few who did not win but Suzie wants to see your manuscripts. Mention this contest when you query her.
  

Suzie's Comments:
These were so hard to judge because so many of them were so good! The secret to an amazing pitch is balancing specifics with just enough interest to have readers going - wait, what happens next?!?!?! And what separates the good pitches from the greats? Same thing that separates good manuscripts from great ones - VOICE.

Prizes
Third Place - a query critique
Second Place - a query critique + 5 pages
First Place - query critique + 10 pages

• send query and winning pages for critique first or they can just send everything (but mention you are a winner of my contest and that you get a critique)
  
  The three manuscripts she wants to see - send Suzie the ms straight away, but include the query in the body of the email and mention the contest.
  
  Winners:
  
  Great Pitch (but too long):
  
  • CL with GIRL WITH A TAIL
  Honorable Mentions:
  
  • Jamie with EVER
  • Mim with THE SHADOW OF MOONLIGHT
  • Danyelle with SLIPPERS OF PEARL
  • Morgan Dempsey with RUNNER
  • writerhailey with DIARY (um, I want to see this ms!)
  Best MG
  Jared Larson with I'M HERE TO SAVE YOUR DAY
  
  Third Place: Win QUERY CRITIQUE
  Jemi Fraser with STEAMED UP (I would love love love to see this ms when it's ready :)
  
  Second Place: Win QUERY CRITIQUE + 5 pages
  L.J. Boldyrev with GREYSKIN (I would love love love to see this ms when it's ready :)
  
  Winner! query critique + 10 pages to first place
  Candyland with 9:59 REWIND
  (I must read this! Really, I might die if I don't know what happens after rewind!)
  
  Candyland - email me for instructions on how to submit your query to Suzie.
  
  "At 9:58, Thursday Night Scum singer, C.J. Greyson is shot on stage by the man that killer her father, but at 9:59, she presses rewind."
  
  Thanks everyone. If you didn't win or get chosen, don't worry - Mary Kole will be here in August for another pitch contest so perfect your pitches!! :)
  
  Here's a little something to make you (and your hubby's) laugh...(trust me this is worth clicking)
  
  IT'S A DAD'S LIFE!
  
  
  
  
  

And the Winner of the Agent Pitch Contest is...

Giveaway - Update!

Oops sorry - I almost forgot today's giveaway(s)!!!! WTF!

I went to Kay Cassidy's Book signing this past weekend and hung out with her, Jackson Pearce, and Vania (Reverie). Had so much fun. Kay gave me a few items to give away with a signed book.

So today, I have 2 packages to giveaway!

Package A - It is Kay Cassidy's The Cinderella Society. Its signed and comes with a cue glass slipper, a adorable glass slipper book marker, and an Inspire notepad. (trust me - you want this - its adorable!)

Package B (b/c I have so much to give away!) is a lot of Middle Grade books from Little Brown (President of the Fifth Grade Oct 2010, Tumtum and Nutmeg Oct 2010, and Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream, Jan 2011)

If you are a Follower, comment and tell me what is one thing you are planning to do this summer! Also - if you have a preference, tell me what Package you would like.

Now for the Pitch Contest Winners!

First let me say that your pitches were awesome!

So much so that Bree could not narrow it down to 3 so she picked 4!

Now, if you didn't win, don't fret. The last week of June, Suzie Townsend from Fine Print Lit will be here to judge another pitch contest so perfect your pitches. This one will only be 140 characters (a Twitter pitch)

Here are the awesome winners: (please email me for instructions at sjohannes@bilaninc.com)

1st place: Dorothy Dreyer (submit full manuscript)

As seventeen-year-old, Faith Daniels gradually pieces together the forgotten events that landed her on the neurosurgeon’s table, she becomes haunted by her past — literally. And there’s nothing worse than being stalked by a bunch of your dead classmates, except perhaps becoming one. When Faith eventually recalls the details of the catastrophe that lead to these unexpected and ghostly class reunions — and the horrific realization of her brother’s involvement in the death of her friends — she must make a heart-wrenching decision: hide the truth (and continue to be pestered by ghosts) or betray her family.

2nd place: Larissa (submit partial - 3 chapters)

When people in his small town begin obsessing over a book and literally reading themselves to death, thirteen-year-old Mitch must find a way to break the obsession before he loses everyone he loves.

Tied for 3rd place: (query critiques)

Kristi Helvig

When wings of a murdered faerie fetch big bucks on eBay, a teenage girl discovers her kind aren't only being oppressed--they're being hunted.

aimeestates

Claire Daniels and Toby Reed were never supposed to meet, but they have, and now one is fated to kill the other. Their fabricated destiny takes it's toll on the people they love, so it's up to them to stop the hands of death before everyone gets squeezed.

Congrads! I'm so excited for you guys and be sure to let me know what happens! :)

Body Finder Giveaway Do-over!

The winner of the Body finder book and swag never contacted me!

So I drew another name....

Suzette Saxton - you won!!!!

If you don't mind - sloppy seconds :) then email me to claim your prize at sjohannes@bilaninc.com

Roundup coming later today!

What makes a Winner?

Thanks for sharing your stories!

They were hilarious....

The winner of their very own Glass Slipper is

MPAX


Congrads email me at sjohannes@bilaninc.com and I will get you in touch with Kay!

What makes a Winner?

I was on a kidlitchat the other night and something someone said really struck a chord with me.

The topic was - "what makes a book a winner?"

People were saying voice, plot, hook, characters, setting etc.

Then someone chimed in with, "You have a winner, when you get an offer."

If we were in a room, the room would have gone silent. At least 10 seconds went by where not one comment came through the chat. As if tweetdeck had crashed....again!

Now, my initial reaction was "you got that right!" I mean, if an agent doesn't offer representation or if an editor doesn't buy a book - than obviously the book is not a winner, right? That's how most of us feel right? Am I alone?

But then, surprisingly, an editor chimed in first and said, "So if an editor doesn't buy your book, then you don't think your books a winner anymore?"

I don't know why but that comment made me sit up in bed. (yes I am a lazy chatter! I lay down and chat while watching tv.)

I thought about it more. All night in fact.

I started thinking about a book I put down a year ago. A book close to my heart. A book I love. A book that I really thought was a winner.

I put that book aside to focus on my tween angel story because I felt it was more marketable.

Now that the book is off my plate, I've been contemplating what book to focus on next. I went through my idea document and picked a couple. Started a couple. And for some reason, during this time, I didn't really think about the book I love. That book was somehow and for some reason - still on the back burner. Why was I not focusing on Grace? After all, I had several agent offers of rep on Grace. Grace was developed - flaws and all. Grace had evolved so much. Grace got me my agent.

Had I given up on it? Had I given up on a winner?

This morning, as I was doing the dishes, I started to cry. (yes I am emotional that way. And it wasn't over the crusted overnight dishes.) Over the crusted spaghetti and old oatmeal, 'it hit me.

Over the last year, I've lost my way a little.

You see once you get an agent, you no longer write for yourself. And I can imagine that only gets harder and harder as you move through the process. Get an editor, deal with marketing, sell to stores. Now your agent needs to love the book as much as you. You are a team. Their reputation is on the line as well as your career. When an agent takes you on - they are stamping their name on you professionally. I don't care what anyone says, your agent must like your work

Somewhere along the way, I started writing for my agent, for editors, for submission, for everyone else's revision ideas.

Until this morning. This morning I made a decision. I'm going back to my book and see where it leads me. IT may need some work, but it may not. Who knows.

But I'll never know if I don't try.

And now, I can breathe again.

I'm back to writing for me again.

Where I love to be. Where I need to be. Where my agent wants me to be.

And where my heart is.

So what do yo think? Do you ever find yourself writing for someone else? And why?

Time to Give Back!

1) Body Finder Contest Winner

The Winner of the Body Finder swag and signed book is.....

Denise Madness

Denise, please email me your address by sat am or I'll need to choose another name :)

Congrads!

2) Do The Right Thing For Nashville.
My blogger buddies: Amanda Morgan, Myra McEntire, and Victoria Schwab have started Do The Write Thing For Nashville with the hopes of raising money for Nashville Flood Victiom.

This group is currently throwing an auction and all the money goes to Metro Nashville Response Fun. You can still donate items or go to bid on items for a good cause.

I have donated a marketing package so go over and bid on it or many items they have received from editors, agents, and authors.

As you know Nashville was tore up this last week by a sudden dump of 14 inches of rain. Its an interior Katrina situation. People without homes, fatalities, families tore apart, and homes gone.

3) A Mom's Tragedy.
I heard a story about about Sherry Quall, a mom in Nashville who lost her husband and daughter within a matter of seconds. The flood just swept them out of their yard. The husband risked his life to save his kids. He saved the son, but wasn't able to save his daughter - or himself. They both lost their lives. Sherry has her son, but she lost her family and her home in a matter of minutes. Everything.

Guys, can you imagine losing your child, husband and home? It broke my heart. I found out there is a fund set up at First Bank in Linden. The public can mail donations to:

First Bank/The Bobby Qualls Fund
120 West Main Street
Linden, TN 37096

4) Glee. Oh Glee. I was a bit disappointed with Glee this week. And that is hard for me to say because I LOVE GLEE. But I felt this week they took it too far. I feel like the episode made fun of bullying and cyberbullying which I do not find funny. With everything going on in the US with these two topics, I think it was irresponsible to make light of either one. Kids are committing suicide over bullying and cyberbullying. We should bring attention to it - not make fun of it. Needless to say, I was disappointed. If you want to get more involved, Carrie Jones (author of Need) and Megan Kelly Hall (author of Sisters of Misery) have started a YA Authors against Bullying

So if you have anything to give, give back something to one of these organizations for a good cause. And count your blessings.

Library Appreciation Day Winners!

Thanks again to everyone who showed the love for libraries!!!!

The winners of the drawing are....








Michelle Sussman won the free query/5 page critique with Mandy Hubbard!!!!!!
Congratulations and email me at sjohannes@bilaninc.com for instructions.

Katterly's Chatterly has won the free book basket to donate to her library.
Congratulations and email me at sjohannes@bilaninc.com me your address

Thanks to all the authors who donated their books to the Book Basket:

• Paco Y La Planta De chile Gigante (Spanish version), by Elizabeth Dulemba
• Where Am I Sleeping Tonight, by Carol Gordon Ekster
• Hollywood Hills and The Year My Sister Got Lucky by Aimee Friedman
• 2 copies of Lipstick Apology, by Jennifer Jabaley
• The Adventures of Archie Featherspoon (Ready For Chapters), by Cathy Stefanec Ogren
• Gone From These Woods, donated by author, Donny Bailey Seagraves
• 2 copies of Eternal, by Cynthia Leitich Smith
• Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different, by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb

Other books donated:

• Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Dad (donated by Cathy Hall)
• Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff and Heartbeat by Sharon Creech (donated by Jessica Leader)
  
• Twilight PB - by Stephanie Meyer
  
• Faerie Path by Frewin Jones
  
• The Hunter's Moon by OR Melling
• The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
• Cross and Double Cross by James Patterson
• Eragon by Christopher Paolini

If you sent me a book or are sending me a book, please email me at sjohannes@bilaninc.com and I will add you to the list. These are the ones I have received so far.

Come back tomorrow for an interview with the Assistant Director at The Georgia Center for the Books who discusses how they support libraries and how you can best market to libraries.

Winners of The Amanda Project Books

The 2 random drawing winners of The Amanda Project Book 1 - Invisible 1 are:



Danyelle!!




Lisa Nowak!!




Thanks for taking the time to comment.

Please email me your address at sjohannes@bilaninc.com.

Congrads! :)

Mardi Gras Wrap up/Grand prize Winners

Thanks to Elana Johnson for throwing this CRAZ-EE PAR-TEE with me!

After the hectic last few weeks preparing for the party, I've decided to not blog this week and focus on my new book. I also want to try and visit some of my new followers during my breaks and we all know how long that takes!

To all my lovely new followers: thank you and don't give up on me just b/c I'm out this week. I will be back on my regular blogging schedule next Monday.

To those who dont know, I give a 30 day money back guarantee. If I don't make you laugh at least three times, go "hmmmm" at least twice, and think "I feel the same way" at least once, you have my permission to UNFOLLOW me :)

Don't forget: Next Monday's Marvelous Marketers are Alyson Noel, Melissa Marr, and Kelley Armstrong talking about how they've been setting up their new group book tour that starts this summer.


Mardi Gras Update!

Wow last week was fun. Right? I think I still have a blog-over from the Marketing Mardi Gras. I met so many great people. Had some really great comments. And most of all, I got to giveaway a bunch of prizes that made people happy.

Al those books will go out by the end of this week (including the ones from the Fabulous 500 Follower Week.)

Now to the part you all have been waiting for....

Grand Prize Winner #1 (unagented). Wins 3 writing craft books and most importantly, a query/3 chapters critique from my agent, Alyssa Henkin at Trident Media Group is...




SHARI BIRD!



Grand prize Winner #2 - (Agented/published) - wins Guerrilla Marketing for Writers, a free two hour consultation with me on marketing, and design on one piece of collateral (bookmarker, business card ext). The winner is...



COREY SCHWARTZ (Thing 1 and Thing 2)!



Winners please email me with your address and for next steps at sjohannes@bilaninc.com! :)


Hope to see you all back here on Monday and congrads to the winners!!

See you next Monday!

(FYI - all drawings last week were done by assigning each entry a number or numbers for the Scavenger Hunt. They were assigned as the entries came in and I used a random number generator to choose.)

The Winner!

The Winner is (from the Random Number Generator).....




PATTI!





Patti - email me at sjohannes@bilaninc.com with your address. I probably won't mail it until after the holidays though.


Congratulations!!