The second-ever #MoodPitch, a Twitter-based pitch contest, was on November 3rd, and it seemed even more successful and popular than the first. According to @moodpitchers’ tweets, it trended #1 for 6 hours and had around 45K tweets. Yes, 45,000. That’s some good participation! What was different this time? Well, sure, the sheer number of moodboards…
Book Spotlight: Simone LaFray and the Chocolatiers’ Ball by S.P. O’Farrell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars As a fan of mysteries, chocolate, and Paris, I knew this book was a must-read. Simone LaFray is a 12-year-old secret agent whose current assignment to stop an art thief becomes personal when her family is targeted. S.P. O’Farrell expertly immerses us in both beautiful Paris and the family…
Book Spotlight: Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls by Kaela Rivera
My rating: 5 of 5 stars Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls is spectacular and definitely a must-read for those who enjoy middle grade adventure. With a creative mixture of folklore and fantasy, Kaela Rivera creates an unforgettable world of criaturas and brujas, of darkness and fire and water. But it’s her main character,…
#PitchMe 2022
#PitchMe is a unique type of Twitter pitch contest created by author Krista Van Dolzer with the help of author Tara Shiroff. It involves four weeks of mentoring, opportunities to connect with other writers in your genre, and a pitch fest which will be reviewed by a group of agents and even editors. For the…
What is a Wishgiver or Aranea?
When I first started writing Maira and the Rainbow City (the working title for my upper middle grade fantasy), I knew I wanted my wish-giving creature to have some interesting qualities. Qualities which would affect how Maira experiences the world after she becomes one. In this fantasy world, the wish-giving creatures are called wishgivers or…
Marvelous Middle Grade
I have an ongoing debate with myself about which books I love reading more: middle grade or young adult. Because even though I adore young adult, middle grade books win me over again and again. Middle grade books tend to be primarily written for kids ages 8 to 12 but as with any genre, there…
#MoodPitch: The Most Beautiful Pitch Session Ever
It’s been a few weeks since the first-ever #MoodPitch, and I’m still thinking fondly about all the amazing moodboards and aesthetics which made the Twitter feed beautiful that day. I think this was the most creative and enjoyable pitch event I’ve experienced because we got to think beyond the words. We got to share what…
Creating an Aesthetic Moodboard
While writing this, I realize that for others creating a moodboard is fairly straightforward. For me, who is technologically challenged at unexpected moments, it wasn’t straightforward. But I successfully created one and want to share my experience. I’ve seen moodboards posted in relation to book concepts, and this is what drew me to the project….
Book Spotlight: Amari and the Night Brothers
Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston is a middle grade fantasy novel that centers on Amari, a 13-year-old girl who is dead set on finding her missing, prodigy brother, Quinton. Her search for him reveals the supernatural world and her latent powers as a magician. B.B. Alston does nice work establishing Amari’s determination,…
#PitMad 2021
There’s the old saying: It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Well, in the Twitter world, it’s better to have pitched and lost than never to have pitched at all. Because whether you get the desired literary agent ‘LIKE’ or not, Twitter Pitch can still be a rewarding…
Christine Letizia 