Pitch Wars Details & Mentor Bios

Please note that Nazarea & Liz are both mentors so check below for BOTH mentor bios AND the rules on how to submit.

Nazarea's Bio:



So me: I write or play devoted mom and wife between devouring books. And I’m sarcastic to a fault. I tend toward dark stories and angsty romance, and I’m so head over heels for steamy stuff that I took an editorial assistant position with Swoon Romance. This might come as quite a shock, but I’m also a blogger here at Writerly.
I love critiquing and my specialties lie in big picture issues—characterization, plot holes, predictability (things that remind me of other books), although I do enjoy line edits and the nitty gritty. My favorite books are Anne Bishop’s Dark Jewels, Juliet Marillier’s Sevenwater series, and Mira Grant’s Newsflesh trilogy. (ZOMBIES!!).
I also like chocolate, preferably with raspberries. Or almonds. Coffee with way too much cream and sugar. Beaches and sexy boys on them. Tattoos and college football. But I’m dying for a good story. If you have something delightfully original, dark, or twisted—send it my way because there’s a good chance I won’t even know I’m going to love it until I see it.
Okay, enough about ME, let’s talk about what you really want to see…my wishlist. :)

Remember I’m taking ADULT AND NA. Not ya. All good? Here we go.

Historical. I’d LOVE to see something set in the French Revolution, or a time travel book, similar to Outlander or The Rose Garden.

Fantasy. I’m talking epic here—something like Game of Thrones, or even better, The Kingkiller Chronicles.  Something dark and grand and, yes, EPIC, with characters that make me laugh and cry and give a damn.

Paranormal/Urban fantasy. I do not want sparkly vampires, and I do not want a chick who is inexplicably drawn to a dude who looks like a serial killer. Have anything else? I’m your girl. (Seriously. Words like ‘inexplicably drawn’ or anything similar in your query, inexplicably draw the manuscript towards my rejection pile.)

RETELLINGS. I’m a huge fan of retellings. LIKE, HUGE fan (notice the all caps here, folks?). So if you have an awesome myth or fairy tale retelling, a new take on a classic story, you have to give it to me. I will hunt you down if you don’t.

Romance. I’m a sucker for killer chemistry. So if you have a story that is a gorgeous, sexy love story, I want to see it.

What else?
Sci-fi (light on the sci, heavy on the fi) that’s epic and takes me places I’ve never been.
A dystopian similar to the world around me.
A zombie book that turns the genre on its ear.

Bottom line—I want a good story. Send me something amazing. 

Liz's Bio:

So what makes me a good mentor? Well, I’m a literary agent intern with the kid lit agent, Ali McDonald, at The Rights Factory. I read and evaluate manuscripts on a daily basis. I don’t just read the slush but comment on client manuscripts from the nitty gritty details to overall story arc, characters, and plot. I also handle publicity for Gilbert King, whose book “Devil in the Grove” was released by Harper this past March. Barnes and Noble recently named “Devil in the Grove” one of the Best Books of 2012. I’m a kid lit writer myself and plan to head off to NYC this June to become a literary agent.

Now, my wishlist:

I’m looking for YA and NA in all the genres below. Oh and I NEED some sort of romance in every story.

Epic Fantasy: Give me something in the vein of Tamora Pierce and I’m sold. I may love me the occasional contemporary romance, but epic fantasy got me into reading as a kid and holds a special place in my heart.

Contemporary Romance: I absolutely adore Anna and the French Kiss. If you send me something within that vein you’ll have the greatest advocate. Give me swoon worthy and sexy boys. Drama, laughs, tears and all the fluffy! Note that I adore a kick-ass voice. In fact, I’m all about the voice. If it’s not there, then neither am I. Give me a concept like losing your virginity and make it work! In terms of NA, I’m a college student so if you have a college story—oh I’ll definitely be able to relate and aide you.

Urban Fantasy/Paranormal: I’ve read a lot of these and the market is saturated. Give me something that takes an old idea and flips it around in a new way and I’m sold.

Retellings: I LOVE retellings! Absolutely adore them. Greek, Egyptian (I’d kill for an Egyptian myth!) fairytale, Irish, whatever. Send them my way!

Sci-fi: I adore Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Obsidian. Anything in that vein would be lovely, also I love things concerning genetics.

Oh and I have a definite soft spot for roguish pirates.

This isn’t a hard and fast list. Look, if you’ve got a book with fun characters, a kick-ass voice, and romance just send it my way anyway. No one really knows what he or she is looking for until they see it.

Submissions start today (11/26) ! The cut off time to get your applications (query & first five pages of manuscript) in is 8AM EST on December 5.  
Send your applications to brendadrakecontests@gmail.com. Writers can apply for up to 3 coaches. The coaches' categories are set. Coaches can only consider the categories they've signed up for. Writers cannot apply for a coach that is not in their category.
For additional information about this contest go HERE.
·        This is open to finished manuscripts only.
·         You may only enter one manuscript.
·         Only the genres requested by each coach will be considered for the contest.
Formatting...
Subject line: Pitch Wars Application: Coach Name you want to apply for: Title (Example: Pitch Wars Application: Brenda Drake: GONE WITH THE WIND)
Name: Your Name
Genre: The genre of your manuscript
Word Count: The word count of your manuscript
Query letter here  (embedded in email). Single spaced. No indentions. A space between each paragraph.
First five pages of the manuscript here (embedded in email). Single spaced. No indentions. A space between each paragraph.
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REMINDER: You can send an application for up to 3 coaches.
Check back soon for a complete list of the amazing agents participating in the contest. There's over a dozen!
Our mentors ...

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