Official Three Two One Pitch Contest Entry Post

This contest is now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered. We will announce the winner as soon as Tricia makes her decision. Good luck, everyone!

So you think you can pitch? Well, it's time! The Three-Two-One pitch contest takes place today and tomorrow (Thursday and Friday), April 25th and 26th. Are you ready? Great!

But before you begin posting, take one last look at the rules and regulations:

The Three-Two-One pitch contest goes like this:

THREE - Pitch your story in only three sentences.

TWO - Two days to enter: April 25th and 26th.

ONE - One awesome agent—Tricia Lawrence of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency—will judge and pick a winner.


This contest is open to unagented, completed and polished manuscripts in the genres of YA and MG.

To be eligible, you must:

• Follow this blog - go ahead and click "Join this Site" on the right if you haven't already
• Follow Dorothy on Twitter
• Follow Elizabeth on Twitter
• Spread the word! Tweet, Blog, or mention on Facebook about the contest linking back to this post

To enter, leave a comment in the comments section in the following format:

• Name and Email
• Title of Manuscript
• Genre
• Wordcount
• Three-sentence Pitch

Remember, no run-on sentences! Each person is allowed two entries. I will turn off comments on Friday at midnight.

Good luck, everyone! Can't wait to read your pitches!

Three, Two, One, Pitch Contest: Special Announcement!

It's Monday! Which, for most of us, means the weekend has come and gone and we are slogging our way back to work or school. Hopefully, you're relaxed and ready to start your week, but if that's not even close, maybe we can help (or just get you excited and antsy, which is probably not much help at all).

Today we announce the agent who will be judging the Three, Two, One, Pitch Contest in TWO WEEKS! (If you have no idea what the Three, Two, One, Pitch Contest is, read this post) Believe me, guys, this agent is a good one. She comes from a fabulous agency that is currently not opened to unsolicited queries, so this may be your chance to snag her!

Meet Tricia Lawrence of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency, the gracious guest judge of our Three, Two, One, Pitch Contest:

Tricia is the "Pacific Northwest branch" of EMLA—born and raised in Oregon, and now lives in Seattle. After 17 years of working as a developmental and production-based editor (from kids book to college textbooks, but mostly college textbooks), she joined the EMLA team in March 2011 as a social media strategist hoping to learn from Erin and Joan about agenting.

As associate agent, Tricia represents picture books/chapter books that look at the world in a unique and unusual way, with characters that are alive both on and off the page, and middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction that offers strong worldbuilding, wounded narrators, and stories that grab a reader and won't let go.

Tricia loves hiking, camping out in the woods, and collecting rocks. She loves BBC America and anything British. She has way too many books and not enough bookshelves. You can find Tricia's writing about blogging, Tweeting, Facebooking, and other social media topics (for authors and the publishing industry at large) here.

So, if you want the chance to pitch to Tricia in three sentences, click this link, read the post, and follow the directions. We look forward to reading your entries!

Interview with Mary Lindsey

Hello, my faithful readers. After taking a small break after Easter, I've returned bearing the gift of an interview with an amazing writer I'm sure you'll all love. I'm really excited to be able to introduce you to Mary Lindsey.

Hi, Mary! It's great to have you here. Tell us a bit about yourself.

I live in Houston, Texas with my husband and three teen children. We have some odd pets, like Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches.

Yikes! Odd indeed! *shudders* How long have you been writing?

I majored in English Literature, but had only written literary analysis until four years ago, when I wrote a novel for my teen daughter as a birthday present. I gave her a chapter a day for 31 days.

That's so sweet! Tell us about SHATTERED SOULS. What’s the story about?

Shattered Souls is not the novel I mentioned in the previous question. That one is safely in a binder on a shelf, never to see the light of day.

Shattered Souls came about because one of my high school acting students complained about a "lame" summer reading assignment. To help take the sting out, I told her I'd read it with her and we could discuss it as we went. It was Isaac's Storm (which is wonderful, by the way) about the Great Storm of 1900 that hit the Texas Gulf Coast and is still the worst natural disaster in terms of the loss of life in US history. I'd read essays by Isaac Cline in high school, so I knew his story, but this book really hit home emotionally for me.


I had been toying with the idea of a ghost story, and needed an event that would cause lots of people to die before their time. Jackpot!


The story is told in present day, but the characters are reincarnated, and the Storm is a feature in their past lives.


The jacket flap description of SHATTERED SOULS reads:


Lenzi hears voices. She also sees visions--gravestones, floods, a gorgeous guy with steel gray eyes. She knows she must be going crazy, just like her dad did. Her boyfriend, Zak, can't do anything to help, and the voices just keep getting louder, the visions more intense. But when Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, everything makes sense.


Sort of.


He tells Lenzi that she's a reincarnated Speaker--someone who can talk to lost souls and help them move on--and that he has been her Protector for centuries. But instead of embracing her abilities, Lenzi struggles between her life as the girlfriend of a sexy musician and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. Yet time is running out; a malevolent spirit has been trying to destroy Lenzi for ages, and he will surely kill her if she doesn't make a decision soon.


Her choices are clear: Destiny or normalcy. Alden or Zak. Life or death.

Wow, I love it already. It's definitely going on my list of books to read. And the cover is simply gorgeous! 


Tell us, what’s the hardest part of writing for you?

I think turning off my internal editor is the hardest part. When I first began writing, the stories came much easier. Now, I find myself analyzing every sentence, sometimes at the expense of getting the story out.

Any tips you’ve learned about writing you’d like to share?

Hang in there. The only thing all published authors have in common is that they didn't quit.

Absolutely excellent advice (that I will try to follow as well). Let’s get to know you on a deeper level. What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

Coffee and a window. I must have a view to the outside.

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

The ability to instill happiness in those around me (Psst: I have this power sometimes).

Very cool! Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs.!

Honestly, I don't know how writers survived before the internet. In addition to my family, of course, my online community of friends, writers, book bloggers and readers is sometimes the only thing that keeps me going. I also happen to have the most spectacular agent and agency in the world. I'm represented by Ammi-Joan Paquette of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Lotto win! Additionally, I'm blessed to have the brilliant Jill Santopolo as my editor over at Penguin. I'll spare you any more specific credits as they are in the acknowledgements of the book.

And finally, where can people find you online?

All the links to my networking sites like Twitter and Facebook can be found on my website: http://www.marylindsey.com

Shattered Souls is on Goodreads and is available for preorder on Amazon.

Mary, thank you so much for chatting with us. I wish you all the best with this book and all your future ones!