Entry #4

Name: Jodie Andrefski

Book Title: Summer of Hope

Genre: YA Contemporary

TAGLINE: A secret changes everything

1^ST 250 WORDS:

"No!" Sobbing, Callie sat up and punched the pale yellow wallpaper next to her bed. She was afraid to go to sleep; she couldn't remember the last time she had slept without the dream recurring. It played over and over again in her mind.

Jamie, laughing with his friends, reaching over to elbow Matt over something Callie couldn't hear from where she was standing.

It was a gorgeous spring day. The classic kind that makes everyone want to just forget about any responsibilities they might have indoors, and enjoy the sunshine and breeze and just being alive. It was also the kind of day that makes sixteen-year-old kids try to be impressive and drive like they're in the Indy 500.

They said Jamie never even knew what hit him. 

He had barely stepped down from the curb when a convertible roared around the turn, ignoring the stop sign, and ran directly into him. She could still hear Matt's screams in her head...still see Jamie's body as it was thrown into the air before landing, not moving, several yards away. He was missing a shoe.

"Why?" Callie banged her head back against the wall. "Oh God, why?"

She knew she had to stop reliving it, had to put it in the past. But the nightmares wouldn't stop, wouldn't let her.

Her parents still grieved Jamie's death, but they said they placed it in God's hands. God's hands?? Callie no longer felt any such faith.

Her twin brother Jamie had been closer to her than any other person in the world. 

Entry #3

Name: Rebecca Yarros

Book Title: Aeolian

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Tagline:  If you finally had everything, would you be brave enough to destroy it?

First 250: 

“I don’t care how hot he is, no guy is worth throwing yourself off a cliff for.”  The words slipped out of my mouth before that little thing called a filter could stop them from interjecting into the insipid conversation next to me.  By the wide-eyed, gaped-mouth stares I was getting from the girls on the aquatics bench, I’m guessing that was not the input they were looking for.  

            Wait for it.  Wait for it.

            Ah yes, there it was: the awkward moment I was so fond of having when I’d spoken before thinking.  Luckily, their medley was called on the PA, saving us all from my social gaff.  As they disrobed and headed for the fifty-meter, I leaned back against the cold tiles of the wall and slipped my ear buds in, happy to escape my embarrassment.  

So here’s the thing; I had a normal life.  I guess you could call me average, whatever that means.  I was pretty, but in no way a bombshell.  I dove for my high school, but never in the run for captain, or homecoming queen.  That just wasn’t me.  I pulled grades that were good enough to make my parents proud, but not to stand in competition for valedictorian or anything.  I tended to hug the middle ground.

I’m not telling you this so you set your expectations of me low, but rather to make you understand that I wasn’t some extraordinary person.  Instead, there were extraordinary events that I just kind of rolled with.  

Entry #2

Name: Leslie Hauser

Title: HOPE IN BLOOM

Genre: YA Contemporary

Tagline: Desperate for hope, eighteen-year-old Mallory decides playing the lottery is the ticket to erasing the misery surrounding her as her senior year unravels, but it’s not a jackpot win that changes her life.

First 250:

I should have worn the emerald green shirt, the one with the rainbow embroidery along the neckline. I'm convinced that magic lived in every thread. It’s the shirt my boyfriend Ben told me I was wearing the day he fell in love with me. I'd also worn it the day I found out I’d finallymade the varsity cheerleading squad and the day I’d gotten my first ‘A’ on a pre-calculus test. That shirt gave me confidence, something I lacked at times. And I really wished that I had worn it to the party that night.

We arrived at Kyle’s house, and my giant smile led us up the stone walkway toward the front door. Sara, Taylor, and Nicole trailed behind me, gossiping about something, but I wasn’t interested in my friends’ conversation. My heart somersaulted in anticipation of seeing Ben. He left for college a month ago, and I missed him. A lot. I missed that fresh-from-the-dryer smell of the sweatshirt he always let me wear. And the taste and feel of his soft lips when he kissed me at the end of our dates. And most of all, I missed his smile, that special treasure that could always melt away my troubles. He was home that weekend for the end-of-summer party, and we’d be reunited after four long weeks.

Entry #1

Name: Anya Hauenstein

Book Title: Blame it on Meryl Streep

Genre: Women's fiction

Tagline: Sometimes you have to lose yourself in a fantasy to fix your reality. 

First 250 words:

I’m Laura M. Sanders.

I’m twenty-eight.

I’m a TV producer in Los Angeles.

I've travelled the world.

I have a cat named Sartre.

I drive a Horizon Blue Mini Convertible.

I own 108 pair of shoes. 

I’m a virgin. 

The worst part about my pathetic, sex- and relationshipless life is the constant pretending. Pretending to be normal. Fact is everybody knows the drama of relationships, the passion, the pain. Not knowing makes you an utter and complete freak. At least that's how I feel. Until some years ago I used to be honest and tell friends at some point that I was still a virgin and never had a boyfriend. Someday I’ll tell a stranger that I killed a person. Simply to see if that confession arouses a similar mortified look.

After the look there’s always the pity. And after the pity the good advice.

Good Advice Number One: Be dumb. Men don’t like smart women.

Good Advice Number Two: Be hard to get. Men still think like hunters.

Good Advice Number Three: Be a listener. Men need attention. 

After the look, the pity and the good advice, there’s the worst part: the awkward silence. After all, everything everybody ever seems to talk about are relationships. Who they met, who texted or called, or who didn’t, and what either implies. Who broke up with whom, who got engaged, who is pregnant, who had an affair, who is good in bed, who is hot  … and of course you need stories to contribute. So I make up stories. 

Contest Window! :)

Here we are, you guys! Keeping it short and sweet: send your submission to writerlyrejects@gmail.com

PLEASE format it properly!
Name: 
Title:
Genre: 
Tagline: 
First 250 words: 


The contest is open until we receive 35 submissions (30 entries and 5 alternates).

Please remember you need to be a follower of the blog, and will be expected to crit five fellow contestants. That's all folks! Spread the word on Twitter and come back to read and comment on the entries Monday morning! :)

N~

Success!!

You guys! We have a bit of a treat for y'all today--an interview with IlIma Todd!

IllIma was a finalist in the last contest we hosted and afterward, contacted us. She's landed an agent, y'all! And some of that comes from entering our contest! :) So here's a bit from her.

Tell us a little about yourself?

I'm a mom to four kids and wife to one hot babe. I homeschool during the day and write late at night to alternative music thanks to a lot of Diet Coke. I love to read anything YA, especially if there's kissing involved and am hopelessly dependent on my amazing critique group for keeping me sane. They are my best friends in the whole world. I'm a Firefly/Battle Star Galactica fan nerd who loves to eat avocados.

How long have you been writing?

I made a new years resolution in January 2010 to write a novel, just something I've always wanted to do--a bucket list item. Once I started, I realized I could never stop. It was just too much fun! So that would make just over 2 1/2 years of living this wild and crazy life as a writer.

What genres do you focus on?

I'm sticking with YA sci-fi and fantasy for now. I've written an MG and a YA contemporary, but my heart lives in speculative fiction for teens.

How many manuscripts have you written?

REMAKE is number 4. And I've started a 5th, but it's kind of on the back burner while I'm refocusing on REMAKE again.

How long have you been querying?

I queried my first book in January for a few months with a handful of requests but no offers. I queried REMAKE for about 2 1/2  months this summer before getting an offer

 What agent did you accept an offer from?

Jennifer Skutelsky of Veritas Literary.

Tell us how you found this agent:

I'm super proud to say it was from a cold query, so for all you writers in the query trenches, it really does work! Also, I received an offer from another agent as a result of an online contest, eerily similar to the ones here on Writerly Rejects. Hint. Hint. ;) So those work too. I know the search for an agent is super stressful, but don't give up!

 Our two standard questions:  What piece of advice do you wish you were given when you started writing?

Learn how to write. After a year and a half of writing what I though was brilliant literature, I attended my first writers conference and realized I had no idea what I was doing. After that, I found some critique partners, read a ton of writing craft books, stalked the internet for writerly blogs, and continued to write write write. And that would be my advice to everyone now no matter what stage you're at, don't stop writing!

 Favorite desert:

Anything that combines chocolate and peanut butter. And ice-cream. Chocolate and peanut butter ice-cream...mmm.

 Where on the web (blog, facebook, twitter) can you be found?

I tweet at @ilimaktodd. My blog is ilimawrites.blogspot.com

News! And an AGENT CONTEST! :)

Wanna know what’s coming up on the blog? Sure you do, and I’m gonna tell you. Cuz I’m cool like that.

Next week, we have an INTERVIEW. From a Reject reader who has some exciting news to share. On September 12, S.R. Johannes (author of Untraceable and the upcoming Uncontrollable) will be joining us for an interview about indie vs self-publishing.

ANNNND!

We have an agent contest coming up! :) Mark your calanders or phone or what have you, for Friday September  7^th. We will begin accepting submissions at 9am and will be a little different from our previous contests. Some quick notes:  

• We will take the first 30 entries.
• You must be a follower of the blog to enter.
•  The entries WILL BE POSTED ON THE BLOG.
•   Entries will be open to peer critique, and we (the Rejects) will be stopping by and offering thoughts. (You are not guaranteed a crit from a Reject).
• IF YOUR ENTRY IS ACCEPTED, you must critique at least 5 others.
• Our super awesome-sauce agent will be reading and selecting her favorite
• This is for FINISHED POLISHED manuscript
• You’ll need a tagline and the first 250 (ish) words.

So here’s how to format it

Name:

Book Title:

Genre:

TAGLINE:

1^ST 250 WORDS:

Simple enough, yeah?  Genres are:

Fantasy

Historical Fiction

Middle Grade

Science Fiction

Women's Fiction

Young Adult

Posts will go live on the blog for critique on Monday the 10^th. Questions? Ask in the comments! :)