Monday, December 31, 2012

2012 was cool and also cats

This morning someone launched fireworks in my ear to wake me up and I sat up and realized; NEW YEAR.

GUYS WHAT IS TIME. WHERE HAS IT GONE WHERE WILL IT GO, INTO A VOID OF FOOD AND WRITING AND BREATHING AND SLEEPING AND BILLS AND POOPING? YES. I AM TWENTY-TWO. WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN. CAN IT HAVE ANY MEANING AT ALLOHMYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYGOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDD.

As I was calmly considering the meaning of time and the universe, I hit my cranium on the headboard and it jostled my thoughts about into a more acceptable frame of mind i.e. Not Insane.

2012 has been an incredible year.

I wrote three books. One of them got me represented by a fantastic agent who supports me and guides me in all the right ways. May 11th, my agent called me out of the blue and offered rep. The rest is history.

By June, we were on sub.

I am lucky and incredibly lucky and so freaking lucky and grateful that my submission time was relatively painless. I missed a whole world of horrible anguish. I got my share of kind rejections and static silence, and through it all my writing friends supported me.

Sometimes, before I became represented, I woke up with stress nightmares. Querying for three years took its toll, and only after I'd signed with my agent did the nightmares stop. My faith in myself, my work, and my agent became a driving force in my life. If the book got picked up, great. If it didn't, okay, fine, I can write an even better one! Just knowing there was someone in my corner (Hi Jessica!!) gave me the confidence to forge forward. And that's true to this day.

August 25th, Jessica let me know we had an offer. From a fantastic, mind-blowingly awesome editor and house.

I can't describe the moment. I should be able to, since I'm a writer. The closest thing I've got is the feeling you have when the roller coaster goes down too fast and your stomach lifts off your intestines and the little hollow floods with suspense. And then the coaster sits flat and everything gets back in place and you're so grateful for it, for feeling full and right again.

I talked to Sharyn and I knew. I knew the book belonged to her, and us, but most of all she got it. PRETENDING TO BE ERICA had not only found a good home, but the right home.

I did a lot of silly crying.

Because feeling right, seeing things become right, that's the best feeling in the world.

A few days after that I turned twenty-two and halloween and thanksgiving and christmas. I was a judge in PitchWars and got to read so many amazing manuscripts. I went on my first blind date (!!!), which is insane because I hate dates and am ridiculously shy, but hey, I DID IT. I became friends with lots more writers. I saw writer friends become better and faster and happier and sadder. The world gets so big the less you see, gets so small the more you see, and it's pretty and momentary but always there under the surface, like a tidepool.

When there's a lot of water, a lot of things, we can't see it. When there's a little water, we can see.

And now New Years.


I think most of all, what I learned this year is that living is scary. But fun.

Most of all, I learned that dreams really do come true. I was a cynic and I still am but holy shit. Life schooled me this year. It slapped me in the face and said "how dare you underestimate me". And that's made this year my best one so far.


I can do anything!

So can you!

Isn't that scary.


It's not about the journey, or the end. It's not about who you are or who you'll become. It's about finding what makes you happy. Happiest. And going for it really hard. All or nothing.

Because right now, you are all. And you are nothing.


Thank you. yes. you.




If you're scared, hold my hand. I'll be here for you if you need it.


Let's go.





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Thursday, December 13, 2012

PM Announcement!

Okay guys, it's the moment I've been waiting for. It's official. PRETENDING TO BE ERICA has now been announced in Publisher's Marketplace!

Here's the announcement screenshot (click to enlarge!);


December 11, 2012




Children's:

Young Adult

Michelle Painchaud's debut PRETENDING TO BE ERICA, a thriller about the daughter of Las Vegas' best conman, who is posing as the abducted daughter of a wealthy family in order to steal the family's most valuable asset, to Sharyn November at Viking Children's, by Jessica Faust at BookEnds.





I'm still in a state of shock, really. I found out about the deal right before my 22nd birthday, at the end of August. I never, in my wildest dreams, thought I'd get this far. BIG THANKS to Jessica and Sharyn for believing in me, for taking a chance on a book that, to this day, makes me cry while reading it. 

Much love to my writing group the LitBitches, you guys have been a support ring like no other. I'll love you guys till the end of the world when we release the krakens. ^_~

Mega thanks to everyone on twitter who's been following me and giving the congrats - my arms are hugging you from a million miles away. Thanks to my family and friends for being super cool cats all around. 

Also an obligatory thanks to caffeine and my body for still breathing even when I was freakin'. 



Brb, doing this all day;
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Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Pitch Wars - AGENT POST~~~


Pitch Wars ... the agents!






Are you ready for this? We have 16 incredible agents vying for our Pitch Wars team manuscripts. We're so excited to see what pitches they fall in love with, and what teams will win the coveted Pitch Wars Most Requested Manuscript title. 

And, in no particular order, here are the agents...




Louise Fury
L. Perkins Agency
Twitter: @louisefury 

Louise is seeking teen Sci-Fi and Young Adult horror.  She's also on the hunt for deep, dark contemporary YA and select Middle Grade fiction with a literary feel--it must be realistic and thought provoking and the characters must be authentic and original. Louise loves horror and romance, especially Regency and Victorian.






Jessica Sinsheimer
Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency
Twitter: @jsinsheim 

Jessica is seeking Literary, Women's, Middle Grade, and Young Adult Fiction.




Twitter: @Natalie_Lakosil 

Natalie is looking for commercial fiction, with an emphasis in children’s literature (from picture book-teen), romance (contemporary, paranormal and historical), and upmarket women’s fiction. Specific likes include historical, multi-cultural, paranormal, sci-fi/fantasy, gritty, thrilling and darker contemporary novels, and middle grade with heart. 


Twitter: @BookaliciousPam

Pam represents young adult and middle grade children’s book authors, and adult romance authors. 

Twitter: @bluedragonfly81 

Jordy is on the look out for Romance (contemporary, historical/Regency, and paranormal). YA contemporary/historical or dystopian, sci-fi/fantasy with romance elements. She's also open to YA GLBT within those genres. She'd love to see unique, well-developed plots featuring time travel, competitions, or travel.


Andrea Somberg 
Twitter: @andreasomberg 

Andrea's looking for the following categories: Fiction; literary, commercial, womens fiction, romance, thrillers, mystery, paranormal, fantasy, science fiction, young adult, middle grade.




Jennifer Mishler
Twitter: @literarycounsel 

Jennifer is seeking Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult Contemporary, Young Adult Literary, and Young Adult Historical. 





Suzie represents adult and children's fiction. In adult, she's specifically looking for romance (historical and paranormal), and fantasy (urban fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, epic fantasy). In Childrens' she loves YA (all subgenres) and is dying to find great Middle Grade projects (especially something akin to the recent movie SUPER 8).

  

Victoria Marini

Victoria is looking for literary fiction, commercial fiction, pop-culture non-fiction, and young adult. She is very interested in acquiring engaging Literary fiction and mysteries / suspense, commercial women's fiction (romantic suspense, sci-fi, fantasy), and Young Adult (contemporary, sci-fi/fantasy, thriller and horror ).



Kerry is looking for Young Adult and Middle-Grade fiction, both commercial and literary. She tends to shy away from werewolves, zombies, faeries, and the like, but she’ll read anything with a fresh voice and compelling characters. She is particularly keen on contemporary YA, quirky MG, books with a strong cinematic element.  




Drea is currently seeking: fiction, memoir, crime, non-fiction and YA. Her roster consists of British, American, and Canadian clients. International talent is welcome. 





Katie Shea

Katie specializes in fiction and memoir, especially women’s fiction and commercial-scale literary fiction, and realistic YA.  She is most interested in coming-of-age stories and stories of unique relationships.


 Elise Capron

Elise is interested in serious character-driven literary fiction, well-written narrative nonfiction, and short story collections. (Note: She is not interested in Fantasy, young-adult/middle-grade, picture books, romance, and sci-fi.) She aims to work with writers who have a realistic sense of the market and their audience.



Jodell is interested in YA, MG (especially funny) , fiction and nonfiction, book proposals, and picture books. She will also coach writers wanting to self publish.  She simply loves a well-paced story that moves her between joy and tears.





Brittany and Michelle are teaming up to look for Adult, YA, and MG manuscripts. 


 Michelle Johnson

Michelle’s published one novel, The Footloose Killer, and edited several others for publishing houses and private clients. She also is a Script/Story consultant on an independent film in Halifax, NS, Canada, and enjoys working closely with writers to help them develop their voice and craft.


Brittany Howard

When reading, Brittany  loves to be introduced to new and interesting people and places. She looks for strong voice, good storytelling, and fascinating relationships between characters—romantic or otherwise. More than anything, she loves when a book surprises her.






There's just one more day to get your applications in for Pitch Wars. Make sure to check out this post here to get all the details.

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