First Friday Five Favorite Things – Crazy

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by Linda Phillips
This past Friday, November 7, Marcy and I posted our
answers to Linda’s debut novel in verse, Crazy. Today, you get to read
Linda’s favorite’s. 
Great picks, Linda! We learned even more about your
characters through your answers.

We hope our readers enjoy the story as much as we
did.
1) What is your favorite line or paragraph
from the novel as it relates to the main character’s development and/or growth?

As for the main character’s growth and development, it
would have to be the very end of the book, in the last piece called “Figurines
and Forgiveness.”  Laura has just asked forgiveness in her own
way: 

“I’m not sure if she gets it at all,
what I am trying to say,
but the important thing is
I get it
and I did what
I needed to do,
and it feels as good
as anything I have ever done.”

2) What is your favorite chapter ending or
cliffhanger?
Probably the most emotional and high-tension poem of
the book is “The Sound of Breaking China.” It’s a cliffhanger in the sense that
the reader doesn’t know how Laura will react, but can expect that it will be
bigger than the reaction she had to the first breakdown.

“The ambulance and the police get there as we pull up.
Someone makes me stay in the car,
makes me drink something, holds my hand,
tells me it’s going to be all right,
tries to turn my head when
they take her away.”

3) Who is your favorite secondary
character and why?

Of course that would have to be Beth, Laura’s cocky,
irreverent best friend, who knew her well even though Laura never shared any
part of her mother’s illness.  Beth was Laura’s voice of reason,
always with a dry sense of humor. 
4) What is your favorite line or paragraph
of description?

I love the description of Laura’s parents and a brief
glimpse of their relationship in “Puzzling Music.”

“I stop playing after I hear them leave, and I
watch the old Studebaker chug down the hill
in the bright moonlight
with the frozen snow glistening all around
like precious jewels.
I catch the silhouette of the two of them
in the front seat.
It occurs to me
that the love they share
is both mysterious and haunting
like the song of the reed flute.”


5) What is your favorite line of dialogue?
And speaking of Beth, this is my favorite dialogue
sequence in the poem called, “The Call.”
“He called.  HE CALLED!”
“What? Stop shrieking.  I can’t understand
you.
Speak clearly into the microphone, madam.
Did you say some is bald?  Who is this,
anyway?
“Beth, stop playing with me, you dimwit.  You
know
who this is and what I said.”
“So darling Dennis finally called.  So?”
Beth is unable to hide her biased opinion.
Congratulations to Linda and her debut novel Crazy.
Kudos to Linda for this book being selected as a Junior Library Guild
selection. Way to go!
To read more about Linda Phillips debut YA
novel Crazy please go to:

First Friday – Five Favorite Things – Debut Novel Day

by Dave Amaditz and 
Marcy Collier

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Welcome to November’s version of – First Friday – Five Favorite Things – Debut
Novel Day
. In this monthly series, we ask five simple questions about a
debut novel that will hopefully entice anyone reading this post to pick up the
novel and read it themselves, and/or give them at a glance some insight into
the author’s writing style and voice as well as how some of the characters
might think or act. We do this by presenting, first, answers to our Five Favorite Things, followed by the
author’s answers in a follow-up post.

This month we’re pleased to highlight debut YA novelist,
Linda Phillips and her novel, Crazy,
a novel in verse. Laura, the main character, is worried she’s destined to
suffer from the same mental illness as her mother. You’ll love reading to find
out if, and how she copes with the problem.

1) What is your favorite line or paragraph from the novel as it relates to
the main character’s development and/or growth?

Dave – This particular section
comes from later in the book, and even though I don’t think I’m giving the
story away, I will label it as a “spoiler alert” –  just in case. Laura has gone to see the
family doctor to determine if in fact her mother’s mental illness is
hereditary.

I thank him,
even give him a hug,
and walk slowly out to the car.
The image of a shot put
comes to mind again,
and I realize the weight
is out of my hands.
I have no control over it now,
and the farther away it lands
the better.

Marcy – This passage comes a
little later in the book when Laura’s dad shares with her poems that her mother
sent to him long ago. Laura begins to realize that her mother wasn’t always
the way she is now.

Now I’m confused, because I always 
thought he was the one who 
originally
sent the poems to her, 

but maybe it was the other way 
around. Anyway, I get 
embarrassed when he starts 
showing them to me 
because some of them are
downright mushy, 

even racy and passionate, 
I’m thinking he’s probably 
made some
mistake and gotten 

an old girlfriend’s stuff 
mixed up with my mother’s stuff 
because this certainly isn’t the mother 
I know. 
If this is my “old” mother, 
I
want to know more about her, 

I already know more than I want to know 
about this
“new” mother.

2) What is your favorite chapter ending or cliffhanger?

Dave – This particular section comes
about three quarters of the way through the story. Laura’s mother is in the
midst of a breakdown. She’s broken china and has blood all over herself. Laura
has had to telephone the police.

The ambulance and the police get there as we pull up.
Someone makes me stay in the car,
makes me drink something, holds my hand,
tells me it’s going to be all right,
tries to turn my head when
they take her away.

Marcy – I won’t go into details so
as not to spoil it, but everyone has that one particular friend who has an
opinion about everything and is not afraid to share it. In Laura’s life, Beth
is that friend. Laura tells Beth about the date she had with Dennis.

Stunned silence. 
For once, 
Beth has nothing 
to say.

3) Who is your favorite secondary character and why?

Dave – My favorite secondary
character is Dennis. I love the lingo he uses – ripped straight from the 1960s.
Following is an example:

“So Laura, babe, you look like glum with a capital G.”

Plus, with lines like the one that
follows, it’s easy to see Dennis genuinely cares.

“Laura,” he says, almost shouting. “For God’s
sake, you look like death warmed over, you’re angry
at the world, you’ve all but abandoned
the one thing that makes you happiest,
and you really ought to give up lying,
because you don’t do it very well.”
Marcy –  Mrs. Boucher is my favorite secondary
character. Laura visits an art gallery to shop for a present for her mother.
When she realizes she can’t afford anything, Mrs. Boucher takes her back to
check out the sale items in the back of the store. When Laura admits she doesn’t
have enough money, Mrs. Boucher tells Laura she can pay her back when she gets
the rest of the money. The two end up becoming friends and Laura finds refuge
in the back of Mrs. Boucher’s shop while they both create art.

Mrs. Boucher leans back, 
sighs deeply, 
takes both my hands in hers 
and says, “Well, Laura, 
it looks like we are in this 
together. Do you know why?”

“No…no, I really don’t,” I say, 
giving her a completely honest
answer 

and a very blank stare.

“Well it sounds like 
we both have work to do, 
and we can do it right
here in 

my shop, together.”

4) What is your favorite line or paragraph of description?

Dave – There were quite a few
for me to choose from, but I think this particular section describes
particularly well what it is that Laura has to endure on a day-to-day basis
while living at home with her mother.

Instead
she sits and stares,
rocks and rocks the devil
out of the green rocker,
smokes and stares
stares and paces
paces and mutters
and stares and stares
out those blank eyes through that thick cloud of smoke,
eyes that shut you out of her secret world,
and sometimes
when you do break through,
you know,
you just know,
that she left part of herself on the other side of sanity
and she’s trying to remember
where she was when she got lost.
Marcy – I love the way Dennis is ever so subtly trying to get through
to Laura. In this instance, he has broken through the guard she puts up around
everyone.

Dennis passes me a note: 
“So sorry you
didn’t win, 

but guess you can’t win 
if you don’t try. Have you 
given up?”

Instead of writing back 
I turn fully
around and hiss, 

“Not on your life, Dennis Martin,
 not on your life.”

He flashes his gorgeous smile, and I
smile right back through a deep blush.
5) What is your favorite line of
dialogue?

Dave – This particular line is
taken from early in the novel. I chose this section to again give you a glimpse
into what Laura has to deal with living with her mother. Her mother is in a
manic state, up all hours of the night, painting, painting constantly.    

“Oh, there’s much more where that
came from, Laura, especially since
you suggested I start painting again.
You just wait and see.
No go on back to bed
and don’t you worry. Everything is just fine, honey.
Just fine.”
Marcy
–  This line said
by Laura’s best friend Beth made me laugh out loud.

“Well,” Beth says dryly, “I’d be throwing up 
too, if I had to
spend an evening with 88 Fingers

and his cheerleading pals. 
Seriously, I can’t
believe 

your father will let you go, 
and even if he does, 
you wouldn’t consider
it, would you?’

To read more about Linda Phillip’s debut
YA novel Crazy please go to:

First Friday – Five Favorite Things – Nearly Gone

by Elle Cosimano

Elle Cosimano

This past Friday, October 3, 2014,
Marcy and I posted our answers to Elle’s fantastic debut novel,
Nearly Gone.
Today, you get to read Elle’s favorite’s. We hope you enjoy reading them as much we enjoyed reading the novel.

1)
 What is your favorite line or paragraph from the novel
as it relates to the main character’s development and/or growth?
Hard science follows rules. Its assertions are quantifiable and
concrete. Clamp down the facts under a bright light and magnify them to the 10x
power until the details are so clear, the truth isn’t a matter of debate. It
just is.
  
2) What is your favorite chapter ending or cliffhanger?
The room was pink with twilight shadows.
Found a stray cat.
Think he belongs to you.
Tonight @9. The answer’s in the box.
I checked the clock and pulled out my phone.
Less than one hour to find him.
  
3) Who is your favorite secondary character and why?
I’m head over heels in love with Lonny Johnson. He takes “bad”
to a whole new (and deadly) level, which should make him completely unlikeable.
He’s a violent drug dealer, powerful within his community and terrifying to
look at. But Lonny is street-smart and astute, wise beyond his years, and these
layers to his character are so much fun to write.
4) What is your favorite line or paragraph of description?
We zoomed down the street, the bike leaning into the curves,
wind whipping over me. The faster we went, the more Reece’s bitterness faded. I
pressed into his back until all I could smell was the leather tang of his
jacket, and all I could taste was the sweet thrill of flying away.
  
5) What is your favorite line of dialogue?
Nearly is an analytical thinker with a scientific mind. One day,
while tutoring Reece Whelan, she tells him, “Just because it’s
complicated, doesn’t mean there isn’t a solution.” 
I feel like this
one line captures so much of her intelligence, her resilience, and her spirit.
Congratulations to Elle on her debut novel Nearly Gone.
We can’t wait to read Nearly Found in
June 2015! You can check out Elle’s October 2nd Huffington Post article and cover reveal.
To find out more about Elle, check out the following links:

First Friday – Five Favorite Things – Debut Novel Day

by Dave
Amaditz and
Marcy
Collier

One of the best things about fall is snuggling up with a warm glass of apple cider and a great book in front of the fireplace or outside fire pit. If you’re looking for your next terrific debut novel, check out today’s post.

Welcome to October’s version of – First Friday – Five Favorite Things – Debut Novel Day. In this monthly series, we ask five simple questions about a debut novel that will hopefully entice anyone reading this post to pick up the novel and read it themselves, and/or give them at a glance some insight into the author’s writing style and voice as well as how some of the characters might think or act. We do this by presenting, first, answers to our Five Favorite Things, followed by the author’s answers in a follow-up post.

This month we’re pleased to highlight debut YA novelist, Elle Cosimano and her novel, Nearly Gone. Leigh is on target to win the $25,000 scholarship for achieving the highest grade in her chemistry class, her ticket to getting out of the low-class trailers where she lives. One thing stands in her way, a killer set on destroying her.

And we’ve just learned from Elle that today is extra special. She is revealing the cover for book two – Nearly Found, which is slated to come out in June 2015. Congratulations, Elle! You can check out the cover reveal and read more in an article posted today in the Huffington Post.

1) What is your favorite line or paragraph from the novel as it relates to the main character’s development and/or growth?

Dave – I think this line of dialogue from Leigh, the main character, captures everything about her that she is and why she acts the way she does.

“When I touch someone, I feel what they feel. I can taste it. I don’t know how or why. I just know I can’t control it. The only way to stop it is not to touch anyone at all. So I don’t. Because it’s too hard to be inside someone’s heart. And that sucks.”

Marcy – Leigh doesn’t know why her father left. She has faith that he had to have a good reason to leave her and her mother behind. And even though he’s been gone for years, she knows or at least hopes that he’ll return to them one day.

“My father wouldn’t have just left. He must have had a reason. And I believed that one day, he’d come back. That it was all some necessary sleight of hand, and he’d turn up like a card in a trick, right back where he was supposed to be.”


2) What is your favorite chapter ending or cliffhanger?

Dave - Leigh has found one of her friends in a dark, deserted room. I’ll say no more as I don’t want to spoil anything about the mystery of the novel, but needless to say a chill or two – – or more, ran up my spine after reading this.

I pushed myself farther into the aisle toward his face, wedging myself between his shoulders and the seats. His glasses hung askew inside a clear plastic bag that clung to the opening of his nostrils and stuck in his mouth. The plastic sucked tight over his face – and I didn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. The bag was knotted at Teddy’s throat, tied with his own shoelace. I reached out to tear it, to rip it away from his face. Breathe, Teddy, breathe! A dark hand shot in front of me before I could reach the bag. A glove clamped over my mouth and I screamed into it.

Marcy – One of my favorite chapter endings in the novel.

At least Jeremy was honest with himself. He never tried to be anyone he wasn’t, accepting each of us for who we were, flaws and all. He was a real friend, not a paid one.

I knew he wouldn’t mind when I asked him to skip lunch to drive me home so I could pretend to be sick for the rest of the day. I knew he’d share half of his sandwich with me on the way.

And we both knew I wouldn’t have anything to give in return.


3) Who is your favorite secondary character and why?

Dave – My favorite secondary character has to be Jeremy because he knows Leigh as well as she knows herself and he was there for her, willing to do anything he could for her, as long as she was willing to accept his help. This line gives an example of how he jokingly proposed to stand up for her.

“Seriously,” he insisted, holstering his pathetic guns. “I’d have challenged him to a spelling bee. Total jock obliteration. I’d have been ruthless in defense of your honor.”

Marcy –  There were so many characters that I really enjoyed, it’s hard to pick one. I guess I would choose Lonny. He is this scary drug dealer guy. You would not want to get on this guy’s bad side. But Leigh stands up to him and he respects her for it. I won’t give you details because it would reveal too much, but there’s a scene at the end of the book where Lonny leaves Leigh a black rose and her bag that she has left behind. This sentiment reveals a lot about Lonny’s character and shows he has a soft side beneath the gruff exterior.


4) What is your favorite line or paragraph of description?

Dave – Okay. So many great ones to choose from. How would you like to run into this guy in a dark alley – – let alone have him as a neighbor? Someone has to let me know.

I jumped at the snap-clink of a lighter flipping shut. Lonny perched on his saggy front porch, elbows on his knees. His tank top was moist at the neck, tattoos blooming like ghosts through the thin white cotton. He squinted at me, reaching slowly behind himself into the waistband of his jeans. He laid something between his legs. The silver barrel glinted in the sun. We stared at each other while he lifted the cigarette to his lips. His exhale felt like a bullet between the eyes.
Marcy – I had a difficult time choosing because of all the terrific descriptions in this novel, but this scene painted a clear, vivid image, and I felt like a spectator in the room. Eric bets Oleksa that he can’t solve the Rubik’s cube in less than ten seconds.

Oleksa caught the cube and his fingers flashed over the surface in quick successive turns, each pass aligning the colors with increasing accuracy. My heart sped up as I counted down in my head.

There’s no way…” Eric clenched his hands, glancing at his money. “The world record is just under seven.”

I rocked forward, inching up on my toes for a better look. The timer looked from Oleksa to his watch. “Five… four… three…”

Oleksa gave the cube a final turn and slammed it down on the desk between them.

“I win,” he said.

5) What is your favorite line of dialogue?

Dave – This line comes from early in the novel from her mother. Pretty much lets us know why Leigh acts and thinks the way she does.

Your education is the only thing you can count on to get you out of this trailer. If I’d spent more time on mine instead of chasing after a boy, neither of us would be here.”
Marcy –  This one line has so many meanings. Love it!

“Just because it’s complicated, doesn’t mean there isn’t a solution.”



First Friday-Five Favorite Things – Far From You

Tes BridgeFAR-FROM-YOU-final-coverbig


by Tess Sharpe


This past Friday, August 1, Marcy and I posted our answers to Tess’s debut novel, Far From You. Today, you get to read Tess’s favorite’s. She’s obviously given a lot of thought to her answers, which isn’t surprising since the novel addresses so many thought-provoking topics.


1) What is your favorite line or
paragraph from the novel as it relates to the main character’s development
and/or growth?
Near the end
of the book, Trev and Sophie burn Mina’s diary along the shore of the lake, and
it includes a paragraph about how Sophie views love and her heart that I’ve
always been very fond of:
“But my
heart isn’t simple or straightforward. It’s a complicated mess of wants and
needs, boys and girls: soft, rough and everything in between, an ever-shifting
precipice from which to fall.”
2)
What is your favorite chapter ending or cliffhanger?
“No help comes.
It’s just her and me.
Mina’s skin gets colder by the
minute.
I still don’t let her go.”
As you
can tell, I’m kind of into misery.
3)
Who is your favorite secondary character and why?
I
really love Aunt Macy. If I ever write the girl detective books I have in the
back of my head, Macy will definitely be making some guest appearances in them.
I’m a
big fan of including extended family into my teen character’s lives, because I
had a lot of official and unofficial aunts and uncles growing up, and they had
such a great influence on me.
4)
What is your favorite line or paragraph of description?
It’s
actually one that is not in the book anymore! Harper’s Bluff, where the book
takes place, is based on a town in my home county. And the downtown setup is
super weird. We have the county jail and the police station on one side of the
main street, and directly across the street, a liquor store and a smoke shop.
When I described this in the book, my copy editor asked, “Maybe we should
change this? This seems a little unrealistic.” I changed it, but little did she
know, it was based on real life!
5)
What is your favorite line of dialogue?
Sophie
and Mina’s confrontation in the girl’s bathroom, after Mina has tried to set
Sophie up with Trev is one of my favorite scenes in the book, but also contains
my favorite piece of dialogue, which is:


“I’ll choose you. No matter how
hard it is. No matter what people say. I’ll choose you. It’s up to you to
choose me back.”
I love
this not only because it sums their relationship up very well, but it’s the
first time Sophie has really stood up for herself in a very overt way.
Congratulations Tess on your debut novel. We can’t wait to read your next book!

To read more about Tess Sharpe’s debut
YA novel Far From You please go to:

First Friday – Five Favorite Things – Debut Novel Day

US book cover for "Far from You"



by Dave Amaditz and
Marcy Collier


As summer is winding down, Marcy and I still have a
lot more on our reading list. If you’re looking for a terrific debut novel,
check out our post today for a book we couldn’t put down.

Welcome to August’s version of – First Friday – Five Favorite Things – Debut
Novel Day
. In this monthly series, we ask five simple questions about a
debut novel that will hopefully entice anyone reading this post to pick up the
novel and read it themselves, and/or give them at a glance some insight into
the author’s writing style and voice as well as how some of the characters
might think or act. We do this by presenting, first, answers to our Five Favorite Things, followed by the
author’s answers in a follow-up post.

This month we’re pleased to highlight debut YA novelist,
Tess Sharpe and her novel, Far From You.
To describe the story in one word… Wow! To describe the story in a few
sentences… It’s a love story, a murder mystery, and the quest for a young girl,
Sophie, to begin the search for who she is – – without the help of her best
friend, who has been murdered.

1) What is your favorite line or paragraph from the novel as it relates to
the main character’s development and/or growth?

Dave – As with Marcy (see her
answer below) I chose a mantra that is repeated throughout the novel. To me,
this is another thing that helped define Sophie… who she is and what motivates
her.


This section comes from early in the
novel when Sophie is riding with her aunt, Macy, a bounty hunter. Mina is the
name of Sophie’s best friend who was murdered.

Macy taps her fingers against the steering wheel. She’s itching
to get going, to chase down that guy and put him in jail where he belongs.

I know that feeling, that drive for justice. All the women in my
family have it. Macy’s is wrapped up in the chase, in the hard and fast and
brutal judgment, and Mom’s is wrapped up in rules and laws and juries, the
courtroom her chosen battlefield.

Mine is wrapped up in Mina, magnified by her, defined by her,
existing because of her.

Marcy – This mantra is repeated
over and over (days and months changing and increasing) throughout the novel.
For me, this helped carry Sophie and her story through the book. If she focused
on how long she had been drug-free and stayed clean, she might be able to get
through all of the awful things that were happening in her life.

Six months. Five days. Ten hours.

That’s how long I’ve been clean, and I repeat it over and over
to myself. As long as I focus on that, as long as I’m committed to making that
number rise, minute by minute, day by day, I’m going to be okay. I have to be.

2) What is your favorite chapter ending or cliffhanger?

Dave – I think I could’ve listed
every chapter ending because they were all so tense and they all made me want
to keep reading. Plus, there were so many cliffhangers throughout the story
that made me sit on the edge of my seat. And yes, I had on my list the one
Marcy picked below, so I won’t list that. And I won’t list the one that was my
very favorite because it’s at the end of the book and will give away the story.
So I’ll pick another. I think you’ll like it, too.

A click. It’s familiar. Dread surges through me. I’m blocking Trev.
Maybe I can save him, like I should’ve saved her. I spin around, instinctually,
toward the noise, and for the second time in my life, I’m looking down the
barrel of a gun.

Marcy – Usually I go for the cliffhanger
ending, but this time, I chose the tearjerker. I won’t go into details. You’ll have
to read the novel to find out!

I curl my fingers around the ring so tightly, I’m surprised the
word stamped into the silver doesn’t carve its way into me the way she did.


3) Who is your favorite secondary character and why?

Dave – There are so many great
secondary characters in this story. All have such strong personalities. All are
so believable in everything they do. I went back and forth between picking Mina
and Trev (as well as Rachael for a while, too). In the end, however, I settled
on Mina. I hope this short passage helps to explain why.

“Oh, Soph.” Mina practically deflates. She sits down next to me.
“What happened to you was horrible,” she says. “Beyond horrible. And it isn’t
fair or right that Trev and I came out of it fine and you…” She trails off.
“But gross?” She presses her hand against my heart. Her thumb brushes up
against the edge of the scar on my chest. “This isn’t gross. You know what I
think when I see this?”


I shake my head.

Her voice drops. She’s whispering, a secret for just the two of
us: “I think about how strong you are. You didn’t stop fighting, even when your
heart stopped. You came back.”

Marcy – I chose Rachael as my
favorite secondary character. Rachael is the one who finds Sophie after she
witnesses the murder of her best friend Mina. Rachael is an offbeat character
who genuinely wants to help Sophie. She always believes her new friend and is
never judgmental. This scene takes place when Sophie comes to Rachel’s house
and asks for help in solving Mina’s murder. These two paragraphs show how
Sophie sees Rachael.

She smiles, a big stretch that shows all of her teeth, so genuine
it almost hurts. I don’t think I can even remember how to smile like that.

There’s a determination in Rachael that I’ve never seen before.
She has conviction. In herself, in what she wants, in what she believes. I want
to be like that. To be sure of myself. Rachel had stuck around when she didn’t have
to. When everyone else, everyone who’s know me forever, had turned their backs.
That means more to me than anything.


4) What is your favorite line or paragraph of description?

Dave – Again, there are so many to choose from, but I picked this
particular passage from early in the novel because it says so much about the
conflicted feelings Sophie experienced. And for me, anyhow, and without giving
too much away, was a much more powerful passage once I read further into the
story. (Sophie is with Trev, Mina’s brother and close friend since early
childhood.)

I let myself be touched. Kissed. Undressed and eased back onto
the wooden floor scarred with the remnants of our childhood.

I let myself feel it. Allow his skin to sink into mine.

I let myself because this is exactly what I need: this terrible
idea, this beautiful, messy distraction.


And if somewhere in the middle both of our faces are wet with
tears, it doesn’t matter so much. We’re doing this for all the wrong reasons,
anyway.

Later, I stare at his face in the moonlight and wonder if he can
tell that I kissed him like I already know the shape of his lips. Like I’ve
mapped them in my mind, in another life. Learned them from another person who shared
his eyes and nose and mouth, but who is never coming back.

Marcy – This powerful paragraph left a punch and a strong image in my
mind that haunted me until the end of the story.

The second time, I remember everything. The beam of the car’s
brights. The shooter’s eyes shining at us through his mask. How steady his
finger is on the trigger. Mina’s hand clutching mine, our nails digging into
each other’s flesh.

After, I’ll trace my fingers over those bloody half-moon marks
and realize they’re all I have left of her.
5) What is your favorite line of dialogue?

Dave – This line, well,
actually two lines, are from the end of the novel. A short discourse between
Sophie and her mom.

“That can’t be an excuse,” I say. “There can’t be any excuses.
Every single therapist you’ve sent me to will tell you that. I’m an addict.
I’ll always be an addict. Just like I’ll always be crippled. And you’ve never
been okay with either. I am. It took me a long time, but I am. You need to be,
too.”


“I’m okay with who you are, Sophie,” she says. “I love who you
are. I love you no matter what.”

Marcy
– Sophie has a strained relationship with her mother and isn’t afraid to be
blunt sometimes when talking with her.

“You
want me to play the gimp card?” I cut in, and she flinches like I’ve slapped
her.

To read
more about
Tess Sharpe’s debut YA novel Far From You please go to:

First Friday Five Favorite Things – Nil

by Lynne Matson

This past Friday, July 4, 2014, Marcy and I posted
our answers to Lynne’s debut novel, NIL. We would like to
congratulate Lynne on her debut novel and for providing us with her responses
which will give you terrific insight into her intricate characters.



BIO: Lynne Matson grew up in Georgia in a house full of books and a backyard full of gnarly pines. Back then, Lynne would stay up late, reading Nancy Drew books under the covers (with a flashlight . . . a weak attempt at ninja stealth). Now she still stays up late reading books and writing them. When she doesn’t have a book in her hand, you’ll find her listening to music, messing around with paint, or hanging out with her husband and their four boys. Cookies are her kryptonite, especially Thin Mints.:)

Thank y’all so much for having me! I love the format
of this interview, and the questions!
1) What is your favorite line or
paragraph from the novel as it relates to the main character’s development
and/or growth? 

I chose the following paragraph (okay, I cheated,
because it’s actually a few paragraphs :D) from Charley’s point of view.
Charley is the newcomer. She’s still putting the pieces of Nil together, and
the following excerpt shows how she thinks: how she both sees the island and
questions it at the same time . . . even as she struggles to figure the island
out. The following excerpt also highlights the beauty and horror of Nil, a dual
vibe running throughout the novel.

The sun sparkled, rising into a
cloudless sky. The ocean lay ahead, stretching until it met the horizon, blue
kissing blue. Close to shore, the waves broke and retreated. But for the first
time since I’d set foot on Nil, the beach was full of people and activity. A
firepit wafted lazy smoke into the air. Around the fire, kids laughed ad
talked. Two shirtless boys were playing catch with a coconut, their shoulders
and backs rippling under a sheen of sweat. The girl built like a Playboy bunny
was sprinting down the beach beside a tall boy with dreadlocks, like an
advertisement for island athletic wear. Other kids floated on surfboards past
the whitewater. It looked like an island retreat, like the perfect Hawaiian
vacation spot.

Something twanged, like when a violinist
strikes a sour note.

“Natalie,” I said, turning, “where are
the adults? The little kids?”

2) What is your favorite chapter ending
or cliffhanger?

Oh, great question! And tough. :D Probably the very
last one, but since I don’t want to give away the ending, I’m going to pick one
of my absolute favorites from early in the novel. From Charley’s point of view,
and it’s the same one Marcy picked! Why? Because this chapter ending drives
home how surprising Nil is at the most unexpected moments…and how frightening
too.
I took another step and my toe hit
something hard. My sandal caught and stuck. I looked down, and when I realized
what I’d kicked, I screamed. 

It was a human skull.

3) Who is your favorite secondary character and why?

Nil has a full cast of secondary characters, and
this question is like asking me to pick among my children!  (I have 4
boys btw…so I know all about large casts of characters. :D)

Rives is one of my absolute favorites. He’s strong,
a Leader-in-waiting, and he’s not only one of Thad’s Second, he’s Thad’s
undisputed wingman, the one Thad trusts most. He’s close to Thad, and Charley,
and he’s clearly the glue of the City in Thad’s wake. Through his relationship
with Talla, the reader learns that Rives is more than he appears, that pain
lurks beneath the easy-going exterior. Plus, he’s got the most international
background of all the teens on Nil, giving Rives depth that Nil barely
scratches the surface of.
Another favorite secondary character? Dex. I love Dex.
How he arrives, and grows as a character. Dex provides much needed humor at
just the right moments. Other faves? Ramia, because she’s creepy and
mysterious. Jason, Li, Natalie….I’ll stop.:)
4) What is your favorite line or paragraph of
description?
I have so many! I love the one that y’all both
picked, the one from Thad’s point of view.
Here’s another. From Thad’s point of view as well,
but Charley is the speaker. It captures the tick tock of Nil, the sense that
it’s temporary–that everyone arrives with a personal expiration date already
stamped in invisible-yet-permanent ink. That even though it’s gorgeous, danger
lies beneath Nil’s beauty:

She shook her head. “I’ve never seen
such beauty. The black sand, the Crystal Cove. The Flower Field. Even the red
lava field was beautiful in its own freaky way. But it’s not really real.
Because in three hundred fifty-two days, it will all disappear, right?” Charley
turned to me, and her golden eyes were haunted.

The façade was gone. For Charley, Nil’s
mask had finally cracked, this time for good.

5) What is your favorite line of dialogue?

Again, I have many.:) But I’ll pick one where
Natalie, a veteran and former Leader, is talking to Charley in their hut one
night. The dialogue comes in the contest of a conversation about Thad, but the
implications are much broader.

Twisting her covers between her fingers,
she spoke quietly. “I know this sounds old school, but don’t waste a minute.
Not one. Time flies here, faster than you’re ready for. No regrets, okay?”

Time does fly fast on Nil, and the idea of “no
regrets”
 plays a big role. Time flies fast everywhere, actually. :D
#deepthoughtfortheday

Thank for having me! Welcome to the #NILtribe, Marcy
and Dave!

To read more about Lynn Matson’s debut YA
novel Nil, please go to:
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/LSMatson        
BookMark
(signed copies):
  Atlantic Beach, FL. (http://www.bookmarkbeach.com)

First Friday – Five Favorite Things – Debut Novel Day

 
 
by
Dave Amaditz and
Marcy
Collier
Happy Fourth of July Readers! Independence Day
typically means that summer is half over, but we optimists at
Route 19, say the summer has barely begun. If you haven’t made your summer
reading list yet, don’t fret. Marcy and I have a great lineup of summer books
for you to enjoy on this long holiday weekend. Check out today’s post as well
as past First Friday reviews.
 
Welcome to July’s version of – First Friday – Five Favorite Things – Debut Novel Day. In this
monthly series, we ask five simple questions about a debut novel that will
hopefully entice anyone reading this post to pick up the novel and read it
themselves, and/or give them at a glance some insight into the author’s writing
style and voice as well as how some of the characters might think or act. We do
this by presenting, first, answers to our
Five Favorite Things
, followed by the author’s answers in a follow-up post.
 
This month we’re pleased to highlight debut YA novelist,
Lynn Matson and her novel, Nil, a
compelling story about a girl who’s transported from the Target parking lot to
an unknown land called Nil. It’s packed with adventure, love and heartache as
the young people living on Nil try to escape – the catch – they only have 365
days to get out. The book is told from alternative points of views (Charley and
Thad), which gives the reader a terrific perspective into these two complex
main characters.
 
1) What is your favorite line
or paragraph from the novel as it relates to the main character’s development
and/or growth?
 
Dave – Charley has not been living on the island long in terms of days, but she grew quickly to understand its
force, its power… and perhaps more importantly what she believed were the
secrets needed to escape. The following section gives some of that insight.
 
And now that I’d seen the Woman in the Maze for myself, I was more
convinced than ever that the carvings provided not only the start of the gate
wave, but something deeper, something more personal. Something each person had
to figure out before he or she could leave.
 
Marcy –Thad is a veteran on the
tropical island of Nil. He leads the people on the island, but he never stops
working long enough to get close to anyone, that is until Charley arrives. This
paragraph shows Thad doing something he typically wouldn’t.
 
It was a serious WTF moment in my own head.
 
I couldn’t believe I’d just offered to comb her hair. But she
did look ready to take a header any second. Make that another header. She still
had a nasty lump from yesterday. Her coloring had paled, or maybe that was
because I’d just offered to comb her hair. Seriously, Thad, WTF?
 
Charley’s eyes were glued to the comb, like she was weighing
whether to say yes. Like she was wondering why the hell I’d asked.
 
Maybe she thinks my post-Nil plan is to become a professional
hairstylist.
 
2) What is your favorite chapter ending or cliffhanger?
 
Dave – I picked this chapter ending
from early in the book. To me, it set the scene and described so well in so few
words what the main character was feeling at that particular time.
 
The noise intensified, then stopped. Silence rushed in, louder
than before. Pressed tight to my rock, I listened. A twig cracked, then
another, snapping as crisply as the break of dry bones. A whoop, guttural and
plaintiff, reverberated through the night air.
 
Something was moving through the trees behind me. Something that
didn’t sound human.


Something that just might be as hungry as me.
 
Marcy – I will let this scary
chapter ending speak for itself.
 
I took another step, and my toe hit something hard. My sandal
caught and stuck. I looked down, and when I realized what I’d kicked, I
screamed.
 
It was a human skull.
3) Who is your favorite secondary character and why?
 
Dave – One of the younger residents
of the island, Jason, is my favorite. He’s quiet and unassuming but he’s always
there for Thad, and for everyone for that matter, giving unselfishly of
himself as a spotter, the person with the vision needed to search for the wave
that would take them home. Although he could’ve hopped a number of waves
himself and left the island earlier, he respected the rules of “the city”. He
allowed those there the longest the opportunity to leave first.
Marcy – I would choose Natalie as
my favorite. She befriends Charley when she needs a girlfriend the most. She
takes her into her cabin as a roommate. In this scene, Natalie is doing a
makeover on Charley.
 
Using two thin sticks, she’d swept part of my hair into what
Natalie assured me was a very fashionable ‘do. The rest trailed down my back.
Then she smudged my eyes with charcoal and glossed my lips with something that
tasted like pomegranate. Stepping back, she looked at me like a painter
studying her canvas. 
 
“You look amazing. I’d kill for your coloring, not to
mention your legs. There’s just one thing missing.” She raised one finger and
grinned. “Got it.” Reaching over, she broke a single white blossom off a wreath
by her bed and tucked it behind my ear. “There,” she said, nodding. “No bunches
of flowers in the hair, too fussy for you. “But this” – she adjusted the flower
– “is perfect.”
 
4) What is your favorite line or paragraph of description?
 
Dave – I believe this short
paragraph describes perfectly the life they faced living on the island of Nil.
(And once again I picked the exact same quote that Marcy has chosen. Usually,
when we do something like that I’ll choose another. But this paragraph of
description is so right-on that I think I’ll leave it.)
 
Nil’s like that girl you spot in the Lodge after a full day of
kick-ass boarding, when you’re stoked and high on life.
 
She looks good, freakin’ hot. Long hair, tight body, killer
smile. Has a name like… Mallory.


But once you really get to know her, the truth rips your guts
out. The truth is, she’s cruel. Heartless. The kind of girl who sleeps with
your best friend when your back is turned. And once the mask falls off, so does
the glamour. That’s the island of Nil in a nutshell. Blow-your-mind gorgeous,
until you peel away the façade and see who she really is.
Marcy – Nil is paradise with a catch. It’s as if it’s a breathing,
living person who can give and take away from each of its inhabitants. Thad’s
description of Nil is powerful.
 
Nil’s like that girl you spot in the lodge after a full day of
kick-ass boarding, when you’re high on life.
 
She looks good, freakin’ hot. Long hair, tight body, killer
smile. Has a name like…Mallory. 



But once you  really get
to know her, the truth rips your guts out. The truth is, she’s cruel.
Heartless. The kind of girl who sleeps with your best friend when your back is
turned. And once the mask falls off, so does the glamour. That’s the island of
Nil in a nut-shell. Blow-your-mind gorgeous, until you peel away the façade and
see her for who she really is.

 
5) What is your favorite line of dialogue?
 
Dave – This particular line of
dialogue was used often throughout the story as both internal thought and
dialogue. I chose it because I believe it aptly describes the thought everyone
who ever lived on the island would have. It’s the perfect dilemma that pretty
much sums up everything about the island of Nil.


“I’m glad you’re here, even though I’m sorry you’re here.”
 
Marcy
–  I won’t ruin the line with backstory,
but Johan has strong beliefs and doesn’t hold back telling the others the right
thing to do.
 
“No
offense, but you two should leave. Thad makes three, and right now we need all
the luck a trinity can bring.”

 

Amy Tipton – Signature Literary Agency – Interview

reading is sexy hoodie

photo by Ed Glazar

In a previous post http://rt19writers.blogspot.com/2014/01/announcement-of-representation-amy.html  I gave a shout-out to everyone that I had signed with the awesome, Amy Tipton, Signature Literary Agencyhttp://signaturelit.com/. To say that time passes quickly is an understatement, as it’s already been six months. Much has happened since then. Amy has been busy behind the scenes doing what agents do… Sorry, you’ll have to wait a little while longer to hear what keeps her busy.

As for me…, after doing two or three rounds of editing with Amy to make sure my novel was ready for submission, I’ve been able to concentrate on my writing (another young adult novel with the first draft now nearly three quarters complete). Having Amy’s expertise behind me has made writing so much easier. Instead of worrying (or worrying too much :-)) about submission status, I can now more fully focus on the important things like character, plot, setting and conflict.

Also, before I forget, I want to say that I’ve gotten a quick taste these last six months of the massive amount work required on Amy’s part to maintain success as an agent and I know she’s awfully busy… So… Amy… Thank You For Your Time and for Agreeing to the Interview. It means so much to me that you’re willing and excited to do the interview. It Reminds Me How Lucky I Am to Have Signed with You.

Now, to the questions……

Dave: For those who don’t know you, could you give a little history of how you came to choose a career as an agent… And a bit about Signature Literary Agency.

Amy: I joined Signature Literary Agency in 2009. I graduated from Naropa University with a B.A. in Writing and Literature and received my MFA from New College of California in Writing. I come to Signature after working as a literary assistant and office manager at several literary agencies including JCA Literary Agency, Diana Finch Literary Agency, Gina Maccoby Literary Agency, and Liza Dawson Associates. I had  also (very briefly) worked as a book scout for Aram Fox, Inc. dealing with foreign rights. I became an agent with Peter Rubie (Peter first suggested I agent) and continued to agent with FinePrint Literary Management. In addition to my agenting experience, I also worked as a freelance editor to Lauren Weisberger, author of The Devil Wears Prada.

Needless to say, I have some experience …

Dave: Impressive experience, to say the least. So who better to talk about the fact that we’re in a changing market, a constantly evolving market. Could you address a few major concerns your current and future clients should know, or should be made aware that will affect the likelihood of publication? (The battle with the self-published market. The book market being oversaturated with inexpensive or free material as well as poor quality material. Lack of marketing dollars. Less people reading. Etc. etc.)

Amy: I think you just addressed a few major concerns yourself: the self-published market. The book market being oversaturated with inexpensive or free material as well as poor quality material. Lack of marketing dollars. Less people reading. Etc. etc. …

Publishing is in transition and it is hard to know where it will end up but it’s not going away—listen, Chicken Little, the sky isn’t falling. I think Malcolm Gladwell said in 2013, “No industry sells something people want and need more than the book industry. If they were selling Styrofoam, I’d be worried, but books have tremendous impact on people’s lives.” I agree.

Dave: Excellent advice. Now that we know that the sky isn’t falling on the publishing business, it’s obvious writers should continue to write and submit their work. Which one do you check out first when scanning your submissions? Query letters? Sample chapters? Or both? Can a terribly written query be overlooked if the writing sample shows promise? Would you give someone who sent in a writing sample that wasn’t completely polished a chance to redo it because the concept addressed in the query was so awesome? How about letting us know your fastest time to hit the delete button and what it was that could’ve prompted such a drastic response?

Amy: Query letters and the actual writing in a book are so different—they’re completely different animals. I don’t really read sample chapters—though my colleagues at Signature do (which is why we request the first five pages)—I mean, if the query is good, I’ll just request and if it’s awful awful, I just reject (if there are misspellings everywhere, words missing, commas lacking, etc). I look at the sample if I’m on the fence—so it does pay to send. And a terrible query *can* be overlooked by me. If I am excited by the idea in the query, if I see potential, I’ll request. If I read and the concept was awesome but the book just wasn’t there, I will reconsider/reread later (I have read the same book 4-5 times now by an author in different incarnations because the idea is cool.)

Dave: You hear that everyone? Sounds to me as if the submission door is open. We’ll talk later about what exactly she’s looking for, but first, another question for Amy.

What’s your take on submitting to you what might be trending in the marketplace? Or don’t you bother with trends?

Amy: I don’t tend to bother with trends because publishers are so fickle—like, they *say* they want A but they don’t want A, they want B. (Plus, things that are trending, I don’t rep nor do they get me excited …).

Dave: I mentioned earlier that I’ve been able to write, and write a lot, since signing with you. Could you give us a brief rundown of what it is that occupies your day as an agent. The exciting, and what we might consider the not-so-exciting. Could you let us know what is your favorite part of being an agent, and if like me and most writers, you’re often checking the email inbox for messages of good news?

Amy: Of course, I’m checking my email for good news! Always! That is my favorite part—passing on the good news! (Hopefully, I’ve sold someone’s book and get to tell them! Or I’ve offered rep to someone and they’ve accepted!)

I am super busy but it’s mostly boring stuff (like contracts or royalty statements or following up with editors that have various subs) and sometimes it’s fun (like cover consultations) … I get tons of queries to read and I am either rejecting or requesting, plus reading (and editing—which takes time) my already-signed clients; I also work with a foreign rights agent so I’m talking foreign with them and I am working with a film/TV agent and I keep in contact with them too … I also do awesome interviews (which also takes time)!

And I do try to do it all in a timely fashion and that’s hard …

Especially (and I never talk about my personal life—why would you care?—but this info pertains to occupying time) now, I am relearning to walk—I had a stroke a few years back—and physical therapy is intense and I do it about once a week but anything/everything I do (even this interview) is therapy and hard for me.

Dave: And you still didn’t hesitate, didn’t blink an eye to agree to do this. Which makes what you’ve done here so much more impressive. So readers, listen up!! You’ll definitely want to hear the answer to the next question.

Amy, what, if any, is the one story you’re dying to hear a pitch for? Why that story?

Amy: I am DYING for some sort of YA about homegrown terrorism/anarchy/Black Bloc group—kinda like the movie “The East.” Or some secret society. I could get into an idea about a bitchy/dark sorority … Hazing gone wrong, maybe?—not some “Afterschool Special” about the dangers of drinking too much either, please! I actually read a ms. (I requested) that addressed this YA terrorism idea, which I (reluctantly, even stupidly) passed on. Then I rewatched that documentary about the Weathermen and it rekindled the idea.

I also rewatched that movie “Heavenly Creatures” and am searching for a story that explores a close/weirdly close friendship/relationship between 2 kids …

Also, I am super into the shows “Orange Is The New Black” (which, yes, was a book) and “Breaking Bad”—if there is anyone out there with an idea like these shows, I’m listening …

Dave: Wow! I know that I’d love to read something on those topics, too. But just in case somebody’s written something else that doesn’t exactly fall into those categories, perhaps you can give the readers an idea of your taste in literature. What are some of your favorite all-time reads? Can you perhaps pick two or three classics and two or three more recently written?

Amy: Favorite all-time read is either “The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966” by Richard Brautigan or “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. Adult reads I love include “The Great Gatsby” and “She’s Come Undone” and even “Fear of Flying” and I love author Michelle Tea. Kid books include “The Outsiders” and any Ramona Quimby book or any Judy Blume (but especially “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”) and, I know it’s not great literature or anything, any Sweet Valley High book. Books I love as of late are “Butter” by Erin Jade Lange and “Charm & Strange” by Stephanie Kuehn and, of course, “Wonder” by RJ Palacio. (It’s not recent recent but also shout out to “Living Dead Girl” by Elizabeth Scott.) I also love “Night Film” by Marisha Pessl and, of course, “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn. (And not recent recent is “Snakes and Earrings” by Hitomi Kanehara—OMG, love! And “Chump Change” by Dan Fante. And “Homeboy” by Seth Morgan.) How about those books in my TBR (to be read) pile? Now, I don’t know if they’re any good—I can’t vouch for them—but the idea of them is making me salivate: “Bird Box” by Josh Malerman, “The Fever” by Megan Abbott, and “Room” by Emma Donoghue.  There are so many great books—I am not even able to list them all … I didn’t even touch nonfiction …

Dave: What an awesome list – many I’ve not read but are now on my to-read list. So, say someone has written about a topic that you love, that you’re DYING to hear. What is it that sells you on a story? Voice? Characterization? Both?

Amy: Both. Definitely. You should have 1 or the other, at least.

Dave: Would you choose to not represent an author or a story because you have a sense it’s not marketable enough? Or do you go after it finger on trigger simply because you’ve fallen in love with the story?

Amy: It depends. I used to go full-force simply because not only did I love the story but I loved the idea behind the story. But it’s a lot of work to take on a project like that so now I weigh my options—consider the pros and cons. But I’m still more likely to take on something because I love it—market be damned! (You know that song by Tom Petty, I Won’t Back Down? Marry that with Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation. That is me.)

Dave: I Won’t Back Down. Isn’t that the attitude any writer should want from their agent?

I mentioned above that I’ve done a few edits for you to make my novel submission ready. Can you briefly describe for the reader your editing process, how hands-on are you, what you expect from an author once they’ve signed etc. etc.? And just as importantly: is editing necessary before submission?

Amy: I’ve also mentioned projects taking work so that should clue you in that I am hands-on. Extremely hands-on (but have no fear—I will not suggest that your cat turn into a ninja!—I try to stay with you/your vision). Editing is necessary in most cases (and you should always, always edit before subbing agents!)—even just a word misspelled or a comma needed is something I will revise before submitting (see?–hands-on).

The only thing I require/expect from an author once they’ve signed is patience! It is a S-L-O-W process. I can’t stress that enough. Add even more time to the already slow process because I rarely follow what’s “hot”—the trends—so it’s a fight with publishers to publish what I like, what I do. (And trust me—I want to get you/your book published, I want to get paid too—so, believe me, I’m working my a** off for you! OMG, relax will ya! Re-lax! You’ve found an agent—let them work for you, it’s their job so let them do their job!)

Dave: Yes. We talked about that right away, and you answered a whole list of questions for me before I signed. Fees. Royalties. Expectations etc. etc. What are some questions a prospective client should ask of you, or any agent for that matter, before signing?

Amy: I don’t know! Ask anything! Ask everything!

Dave: Could you give a brief rundown before we close of what it is you are looking to see come your way? And, what it is you have absolutely no desire to read and therefore, should not ever be sent?

Amy: Do. Not. Send. Sci Fi. Please! That means no paranormal or magical or supernatural or fantastical or even alt worlds; I don’t rep books with made-up languages or faeries or wizards or vampires or ghosts or aliens, etc. No magic potions (or elixirs) here. There are many other agents, good agents, who do rep those things. I like reality-based YA and MG.

Dave: What should an author include in their submission package when sending to you? Is there a best time to send? And finally, where and how can you be reached?

Amy: I am always working (even on vacation) so send your query any time (I am up late and rise early) or day. Send by email: amy@signaturelit.com.

Thanks again, Amy, for taking the time to answer this long list of questions. I know it was extremely detailed, but by doing this I was hoping to let everyone know everything about your awesomeness, and just as importantly to allow them to do a one-stop-shop where they could find out everything they ever wanted and needed to know before sending you a query.

<Reblogged from RT 19 Writers>

Announcement of Representation: Amy Tipton, Signature Literary Agency

December 13, 2013, fell on a Friday. If I’d ever been superstitious about Friday the 13thbeing an unlucky day, the early morning email I received would’ve quickly put an end to that nonsense. Amy Tipton, of Signature Literary Agency, an agent on the top of my list to query, offered me representation.

(All smiles above examining my contract.)

The dream I have worked toward for years had arrived. Needless to say, I was barely able to control my emotions. And as much as I had planned and prepared for the moment, trying to think of the things to say, questions to ask, how to proceed and still sound like a professional, I found myself sputtering around aimlessly for quite a while.

Then, after taking one step off the clouds, I telephoned my wife. Followed quickly with another to my father. I shot an email to my closest writing friends. Got back on the telephone to call other family members, all of whom shared in my excitement, and although they tried, probably didn’t fully grasp the significance of the announcement.

If you’re reading this, chances are good that you, too, are a writer. Because of that, you will know why I was, and still am, so excited. You’d be aware of the many revisions made to the manuscript before submission. You’d be aware of the many hours of research necessary to target the appropriate agent. You’d be aware of the heartbreak of rejection. And because you may have experienced one, if not all of those, you’ll truly be able to understand the joy and excitement I’m experiencing now because of the offer of representation.

Of course, I accepted her offer. I would’ve been a fool to say no. I felt an immediate connection and so welcomed by her from our first communication. I felt as if it were meant to be.

(Attaching my signature to the contract… and still smiling.)

What do I want you to take from this? Don’t give up. Be persistent. Be aware of your goals. Be professional.… And one day, as with me, it will happen to you.

(Stand by for a future post about the top 10 questions… or more, to ask an agent once you are offered representation