My Agent Wish List: Paige Wheeler

Workout Song of the Day: "Toxic" by Britney Spears

Tag, you're it, Paige Wheeler! Ms. Wheeler is a founding partner of Folio Literary Management, LLC--a full service agency that helps to mold the next authors on the bestsellers lists!

Why I Heart Her: She's the first agent that I ever spoke to face-to-face at a conference, and she helped me realized that agents are not as intimidating as some may think. She was warm, open, and let me ask "stupid" questions. Not to mention, it was her that encouraged me to create this blog, since she believes that having a platform can garner more readership for aspiring authors.

Why You'll Heart Her: Did I mention that she's a founder of a full service literary agency? This means that not only could she garner you a publishing deal, but she'll help you shape your whole career, as well. She'll help with marketing both your books AND yourself.

Who She Represents: Anna Campbell, Sheila Roberts, Julianne MacLean, and C.E. Lawrence among many others.

What She's Looking For: In fiction, commercial and "book club" fiction; women's fiction; romance; mysteries, thrillers, and suspense. In nonfiction, both narrative and prescription--or anything that would be "a good fit for the Today show."

Notable Net Nuggets: Here are links to some of her interviews and other info:

Top Ten Pieces of Advice for a Good Agent - Author Relationship

Writers on the Rise Interview

Algonkian Writer Conference Interview

Jungle Red Writers Interview

Examiner Spotlight

How to Submit to Her: Please note--she'll only accept email queries and submissions! Send the query, synopsis, and the first 5 pages of your manuscript to her at paige@foliolit.com. Make sure to include "query" in your subject line--and expect a response in 6-8 weeks!

So, now that I've done all the dirty work for you, get a move on!

Fitness Friday: The iPod is Your Friend!

Workout Song of the Day: "Go Low" by Ludacris (I'm actually not too fond of this song, but I hear it all the time now!)

So, I'm posting my Fitness Friday a TAD late because I spent all of my Friday touring London by foot (which will actually be the topic of next week's Fitness Friday--with pictures!). I think since I try to include a workout song for each post, my first topic for this series is only fitting.

They say the best way to burn calories and lose weight is to actually include high impact intervals in your routine. In other words, spend a few minutes doing everything really hard and really fast, and then return to moderate exercising. I got this idea from a co-worker: when you're going out for a walk/jog/run, create a playlist. But here's the catch--start with about 3 low-tempo songs back to back, and then have one really fast-tempo song thrown in. During the low-tempo song, you walk/jog at a comfortable pace, and then when the fast tempo song plays, you give it all that you got. For the next round, you should have 2 low-tempo songs, and then 2 fast-tempo songs. Keep this routine going until you're doing longer high impact exercises than the low impact ones. Granted, you may need to get something done with your hair once you've finish this routine (and my "sistas" know what I'm talking about), but the pay-off will be so worth it.

So, what are you waiting for? Strap on some cross-trainers, put in your earphones, and hit the road! :)

Book Review: Thirteen Reasons Why

Workout Song of the Day: "I'm Goin' In" by Drake ftg. Lil Wayne

Teen suicide is, unfortunately, something that every high school student will have to deal with, both directly and indirectly. But imagine having a student at your school that left you audio confessions as to why she killed and herself--and that you were part of that reason! This is what Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why covers, and ultimately does a fine job in analyzing the pain that teenagers have to deal with on a daily basis.

There are two main characters in this novel--Hannah Baker, the beautiful, but misjudged, girl who kills herself, and Clay Jensen, the smart kid with a crush on Hannah, but who also is one of the recipients of her confessions. Everyone who has received Hannah's tapes had something to do with her death, and Clay becomes tormented with both hearing about Hannah's turmoil, but also having to relive her death all over again.

There were many things that I liked about this novel. First of all, the concept amazes me to no end. Teen suicide is a topic that is frequently covered in novels, but I definitely think that Asher puts a new spin on it. He actually got the inspiration for this novel from an audiotaped museum tour--I need to keep my eyes open for more good ideas! Second of all, I also feel that Asher gives a terrific voice to Hannah. I was speaking to one of my MFA professors about author's writing in the voice of the opposite sex, and he admitted that most male authors do a terrible job in creating female protagonists; however, Asher clearly demonstrates the angst that young females go through when they are considered something they are not by their peers. Finally, I think this novel enables an honest discussion about teen suicide. Asher speaks about the warning signs, risks, and preventative measures all without being too "preachy". I've even recommended this novel to a few of my students.

I only had two main concerns about this novel. First, while Asher did do a great job in giving Hannah a voice, I did felt that her confessions were a bit too neat. This is a teenaged girl pouring her heart out and telling others why she's about to kill herself, but the sentences were too concise and beautiful. I felt as if she were reading her reasons to us as opposed to actually just speaking to us. My other concern was that I felt that I didn't get to know Clay as much as I wanted to. I know that he was a vehicle for Hannah's story, but I also wanted to care more about my "tour guide." And some of his reactions to portions of Hannah's confessions actually confused me; I thought that some of them were a bit over the top, but I ultimately understood how much he cared about this girl--I know that many of you may disagree about this criticism, though. :)

Ultimately, I found Thirteen Reasons Why to be a heartfelt, and addictive, read.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Cookies

Back in the Day

Workout Song of the Day: "Back in the Day" by Ahmad Lewis (clever, huh?)


All right, YA Highway has hit us with another awesome question: what did you actually write about as a young adult? I'm pretty embarrassed to answer this question because my writing sucked as a teen. Seriously. I keep backpacks in my closet filled with notebooks of ill-advised stories. And when I say ill-advised, I mean horrendous. I'm considering erasing all traces of these documents before they're discovered after my death. Not the legacy I'm looking to leave behind.


A little back story first. I consider two of my cousins (check out Marquita's blog) to be my sisters, and--as the nerds we were/are--we would spend our summer vacations locked in a room...writing. That's it. No sneaking out to parties, no sneaking boys in to kiss. Just writing. We'd start off by each writing front and back of a notebook paper, read our page aloud, and then start again on the next sheet. When we started to realize that this didn't give us enough time to actually develop our stories, we'd wait to read aloud when we wrote a whole chapter. Now that I think of it, these were actually my first critique groups!


So, now on to why these stories were so bad. I went to a pretty "urban" school, and since I'm black, I always thought that I HAD to write about all black characters. Many of the black students in my school behaved in an almost comical way--and I'd take these antics and write about them in my story with the intentions of making my cousins laugh. So there was a lot of eye rolling, neck-swiveling, free-styling, and "yo mama" jokes sprinkled all throughout my stories--but there were never actually any plots. I threw in lines and inside jokes that I knew would get a laugh, but I never really had fun writing about them. I knew I wanted to write something else, but I never knew if I was talented enough to do so.

What I will say now is this--I needed these all night writing sessions with my cousins to find my "calling"--I know that I want to write as a living, and I would have never known this to be a passion if it wasn't for my practice sessions. I've grown as a writer--I write about a variety of cultures, and when I do represent black characters, I'm able to make them more well-rounded.

Thankfully, I'm out of the country--so I don't have access to post any of my early works. Who knows--maybe I'll get the nerve to share another time. :)

Teaser Tuesday!

Workout Song of the Day: The theme to "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" (my MFA crew would get this joke)

Okay, here's my first stab at Teaser Tuesday. I'm posting a small portion of my novel that will actually be workshopped tomorrow (hmm, no wonder why my stomach hurts). It's nothing too revealing, but I hope you all enjoy. Please feel free to let me know what you think:

“Can I help you?” The blonde inquired in an uncooperative tone. She gave Alicia another once-over before dragging her hand through her hair. Her robe lifted a little as she did so, revealing two lithe but muscular thighs. And that’s when Alicia erased all doubts that they were on the same playing field. There was no denying that the blonde was beautiful—it radiated through her skin in just a simple action.
Alicia smirked. “Actually, you can’t.”
The blonde blinked at Alicia and frowned. This was obviously an inconvenience. An intrusion on what could possibly be an alluring life, pink eyes and all. For now, at least. The two girls stared at each other in silence. Alicia forced air into her lungs.
“I’m not buying shit.” The blonde retorted, growing more impatient.
Alicia bit her lip and then stared down at her fists. “I see you hang out with that one guy.”
“Okay.” The blonde shrugged in confusion.
“It looks like you two are a couple.”
The blonde started to push the door close. “I have company.”
Alicia pressed her hand against it. “No you don’t. He’s not here right now.” The words flew out of Alicia’s mouth before she could catch them.
“Okay, you need to leave…”
“And I know this,” Alicia still gritted her teeth, pushing all her weight against the door. The blonde was no match for her. “…because I know where he is right now.”
“I’ll call the cops!” The blonde insisted, yelling at Alicia’s feet. She loosened her grip on the door and then pushed her hand against Alicia’s chest. When Alicia resisted, the blonde took her palm and swung it across Alicia’s forehead. Alicia touched her forehead, stunned. She felt the tears bloat in her eyes and that pissed her off. She grabbed the blonde’s wrist.
“He’s screwing my boyfriend!” Alicia spat out. The words seemed to smack the blonde right in the face because she, too, started to cry.
“What?” Alicia thought that was what the blonde croaked. Alicia loosened her grip on her wrist, and their fingers dangled together—a weaving of defeat.
Alicia snatched her hand away, and took in a breath. “I just thought you should know.”

My Agent Wish List: Amy Tipton

Workout Song of the Day: "Pump It" by Black Eyed Peas

My very first entry in the Agent Wish List series is none other than Amy Tipton of Signature Literature Agency. Just look at her picture--isn't she a rock star? :)

Why I Heart Her: She answered my query in like a week--record timing, especially considering I still haven't heard from a few other agents I queried WAAAY back in October. Also, she's the one who suggested that I alter my novel to make it YA. Needless to say, I'm addicted now. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have been introduced to Elizabeth Scott, Amy Reed, and Davida Willis Hurwin. You rock, Amy!

Why You'll Heart Her: Not only is she speedy, but she is so dedicated to her clients that she returned to work right after having a stroke. If that's not reliable, I don't know what is.

Who She Represents: Some of Amy's most prominent clients include Amy Reed, who has just published her first YA novel, Beautiful (be on the lookout for my review), Courtney Summers, whose second YA novel, Some Girls Are will actually be released tomorrow, and Kirstin Cronn-Mills who wrote the YA novel, The Sky Always Hears Me: And the Hills Don't Mind.

What She's Looking For: "Dirty" and "heartbreaking" women's fiction; boy MG; edgy and reality-based YA; women's studies and fashion/beauty.

Notable Net Nuggets: Here are links to some of her interviews and other info:

Guide to Literary Agents

GumboWriters.com

AgentQuery

How to Submit to Her: Amy is currently accepting submissions again! To submit to her, send your query and the first 5 pages of your manuscript (pasted in the body of your email) to amy@signaturelit.com

And there you have it! Good luck--I know I'll be knocking on her door shortly. :)

London's Calling!

Workout Song of the Day: "Uprising" by Muse

Hello peeps! I've missed you all SOO much. It's funny how accustomed you get to posting on your own blog. I've been away from it for weeks and I already feel like a negligent mama. Aside from all the hubbub that was Christmas and New Years (I love you family, but I think I've seen WAY too much of you over the past few days), I am happy to announce--drum roll please--I am currently in England for short-term study abroad. As you may note from my mini bio, I am currently back in school to receive my MFA in creative writing. As part of my program, I have to complete a 10 day residency at Wroxton College--just outside of London. I've never left the country before, so needless to say I'm a tad excited. However, I would be pleased if I never had to step foot in an airport again.

My Internet connection sucks here, and they have me actually working my butt off in all things writing, but I still want to start my new weekly format on Monday. I may not be able to post everyday, but I at least want to start my info on agents tomorrow.

Well, I'm off now to start working on a paper. BTW, anyone have any cool New Year's resolutions they'd like to share? I'm all about finishing my book and nabbing an agent. I would also add getting in shape, but that's a given--and I don't like setting myself up for failure. :)