Literary Rambles

Tip Tuesday #121

Tip Tuesday features writers' tips on craft, research, querying, blogging, marketing, inspiration, and more. If you'd like to send in a tip, please e-mail me at agentspotlight(at)gmail(dot)com.

This week's tip was sent in by Kathryn Jankowski. Kathryn doesn't currently blog, but you probably recognize her name from commenting here and at other kidlit blogs. Here's her tip!

I'm writing a fantasy set in the late 16th century and have been wondering if the language my characters use is appropriate for the times. Don't want them spouting modern lingo! ;-)

Luckily, I found an online aid that not only defines words, but tells you when they were first used. It's the Merriam-Webster site. When you're done checking the definition, you can switch from the dictionary to the thesaurus with just a click. There's even a Spanish-English feature. It's been a great help to me and I think others might like it, too.

~Kathryn Jankowski

JENNY LUNDQUIST INTERVIEW AND SEEING CINDERELLA GIVEAWAY

First I'm going to announce the winner of my Newly Released YA Book Giveaway. We had 80 entries and lots of comments about how you promote middle grade books. It's so good to see how many people do try to promote middle grade books on their blogs.

So the winner is:

DAVID KING who chose THE WOOD QUEEN!

Congrats! E-mail me your address so I can send you your book.

Today I’m excited to interview debut author Jenny Lundquist about her new book SEEING CINDERELLA which will be released on March 20, 2012. Jenny nailed all the issues of middle grade like fitting in, changing friendships, and boy crushes. And I liked the little magical twist of the magical glasses. I really loved this book and read it in a day. It was that good.

Here’s a description from Goodreads:

Calliope Meadow Anderson wishes her life could be more of a fairy tale—just like the stories she writes. Her best friend, Ellen, is acting weird, her parent's marriage is falling apart, and to top things off, she found out she needs hideously large and geeky glasses.

But Callie soon learns they aren't just any glasses—they are magical and let her read people's thoughts. For the first time ever she's answering all the questions right in math class, and gets a glimpse of what goes through people's minds all day, including what Ellen—and her longtime crush—really think of her.

As if dealing with these crazy glasses weren't enough, Callie tries out for the lead in her school's production of Cinderella and actually gets the part. Instead, Callie chooses to let Ellen have the lead and be Ellen's understudy—just like she has done for their entire friendship.

Add in a new girl who has something to hide, a secret admirer, a best friend stealer who isn't what she seems, and Callie's year just went from ordinary to extraordinary.

Can this supporting actress learn to be a leading lady in her own life? Or is she destined to stay in the background forever—even with her super-freaky-magic glasses?

Hi Jenny. Thanks so much for joining us.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became a writer.

Thanks so much for having me, I'm a huge fan of LitRambles. I live in the Sacramento area now, but I grew up in southern California in Huntington Beach. This means my high school had a surf team. I didn't realize that was weird until I moved north. I always liked to write, but I didn't start writing seriously until the year I turned thirty. That was the year I realized all the time I'd thought, "I'd like to write someday…" was gone, and I had nothing to show for it. It's become my firm belief that the word someday is a dream killer. So I decided that instead of waiting for "someday" to appear, I'd start writing today, now. I sat down and started working on a story idea I had at the time, and I've been writing ever since.

2. Living in Michigan, I can't imagine a high school surf team. It'd be fun living somewhere you could have one. Like I said, I loved the magical glasses aspect of the plot. From seeing your 7th grade picture on your blog I’m guessing they may have helped you develop the look of the glasses. I could so relate to that picture because I’ve worn glasses since I was a baby and some of mine were less than fashionable to put it nicely. More like how did I ever wear those things? What made you decide to make them magical and why did you pick having them let Callie read others’ minds?

I first got the idea for a pair of magic glasses when I had to relate an incident that happened to me in seventh grade. It involved my glasses, a cute boy, and spit. You can read about it here. Anyway, I found myself saying, "My glasses had magic powers: They repelled boys." Then the writer in me thought…Hmmmm, but what if my glasses really did have magic powers? Like…what if they could read thoughts? At first I envisioned it as a short story, but I'm too long-winded to write those, so I started writing a middle grade novel that eventually became Seeing Cinderella.

3. Amazing how a question can develop into a story. And I'm glad you decided on a novel instead of a short story. Voice is really hard to get right, especially in middle grade books. You nailed Callie’s voice both as a character and then in the little stories she wrote. Did you struggle with her voice and do you have any tips on developing voice for the rest of us?

Voice is really important to me—I think it's what I enjoy the most about middle grade literature. I did struggle with Callie's voice to the extent that I initially wanted to write a story about a really aggressive girl who didn't always "see" how her actions affected others. But sometimes we get to choose our characters…and sometimes our characters choose us. For me, I kept hearing this really shy character's voice in my head, and I decided to just go with it and scrap my original plans. I spend a lot of time journaling trying to find my character's voices and that's what I did with Callie. I think I had one or two spiral bound notebooks completely filled up with notes before I finished my first draft.

4. Two notebooks! That's true dedication to getting the voice right. Another aspect of the story that you did well was the whole middle grade scene and Callie’s shyness, issues with her best friend Ellen, and her boy issues. Tell us about the process of developing all these themes into your plot and weaving them in with the magical glasses. Did you draw on your own experiences from middle school?

Developing the secondary characters in my book was very time-consuming. One question I like to ask myself when I'm in the early stages character development is, "Based on who I think my main character is right now, who do I need my secondary characters to be in order to complement/highlight the things about my main character that I want the reader to see?" Yeah, it's a mouthful, but it works for me. I also wrote journal entries from my secondary character's point of view to help me see into their thought processes. In terms of my own middle school years I definitely felt shy and overwhelmed by middle school life. I was the late bloomer in my clique of friends and they were ready for a lot of things that I just wasn't. There's a part in Seeing Cinderella where Callie says her goal is just to survive middle school by being as unnoticeable as possible. I really related to that.

5. I can relate to that too. My whole childhood wasn't a happy time. Your agent is Kerry Sparks of Levine Greenberg Agency. Tell us about your journey to find an agent, how long you queried, and any tips you’d recommend for the rest of us starting or in the middle of that process.

I'm glad you asked! For anyone interested in obtaining an agent I recommend they subscribe to LitRambles and read all of the Agent Spotlights as well as Casey's articles on Agent Research. I'm not kidding. The content here is invaluable. I used LitRambles as my "homebase" when I was researching agents. I queried for about two months before I received an email from Kerry requesting a phone call. Because I was on vacation at the time and I only had spotty internet/email access it turned out I only had one hour to prepare for her call and I didn't have a clue what I was supposed to ask her. I was seriously panicking. Then I remembered…LitRambles had a whole article on Questions for the Call! I quickly went to LitRambles, wrote down a ton of questions and had just enough time to calm myself down before Kerry called. So in a very real way, LitRambles was invaluable to me as I went through the process of obtaining an agent.

And, for anyone who's currently querying, Kerry is an amazing agent. She's a prompt and clear communicator, a great cheerleader, and she gives fantastic editorial notes. I can't say enough good things about her. She's a rock star!

6. Casey does an amazing job with the agent spotlights. And they are a lot of work. I so appreciate she does them. I'm definitely going to use her questions if I'm ever lucky enough to get a call from an agent. You are part of The Apocalypsies, a group of 50 debut authors. How did you network with this group and when did you find out about them? When should a debut author connect with a blog group of other debut authors and how do we find these groups when they are forming?

I found out about them when Jenny Torres Sanchez, my agent sister, contacted me and encouraged me to join. Being a part of the Apocalypsies has been amazing. It's been great connecting with other writers who are at a similar point in their journey. I would say, start connecting with other authors as soon as you're offered a contract, if you haven't before. For anyone that's signing for a 2013 release, The Lucky 13's have just formed. Check out their blog and they'll let you know how to join. Being a part of the Apocalypsies has been invaluable. I would be a big quivering mess of nerves and indecisiveness without them.

7. That's a great tip to find out about these groups from other debut authors with your agent. Thanks. I'd been worried about this. Besides being a part of The Apocalypsies, what are you doing to market your book? What ideas are you trying from seeing other middle grade authors debut?

Besides scheduling interviews with bloggers, I've held contests on my blog for an ARC of SEEING CINDERELLA. I've spoken at a PTSA meeting for a local middle school in my city. I've sent postcards to librarians and independent bookstores asking them to consider my book for their collection. I'm an introvert at heart, so stepping out to market my book has been really challenging for me. But I'm finding that the more I do, the more I get a sense of what I'm comfortable with.

8. I'm shy too. The thought of a book signing is pretty scary. Okay, I’m dying to ask this question. How did you get your ARCs so early? I’m curious because most seem to come out only three months before publication, but I got yours way before that.

All the credit for that belongs to my editor at Aladdin M!X, Alyson Heller. She always let me know when she needed my draft, or first pass pages back by and from what I can tell on my end, she did a remarkable job of making sure things were always moving along. I've enjoyed working with her, and am excited to be writing another M!X book….

9. What are you working on now?

…Which is currently titled PLASTIC POLLY. It's about a girl who's the second most popular girl in her middle school. Many of her classmates don't like her, and call her Plastic Polly behind her back. It's inspired, in part, by a phrase I heard a lot growing up, which is, "She's so fake." That statement has always intrigued me, because what does that even mean? To an extent, we all wear masks, and yet we're all authentically who we are, and so I wanted to write a book from the perspective of the girl that many people didn't like in middle school. But, I also need a lot of fun in my projects, so Polly ends up having to coordinate a talent show competition between her middle school and their rival school. She finds out that only the popular kids (as opposed to the most talented kids) are being selected to participate in the competition, and she has to decide what she's going to do about it.

Thanks Jenny for all your advice. Good luck with your book.

You can find Jenny at her Website, Twitter, Facebook, and Discussion Guides for Seeing Cinderella.

Jenny generously offered an ARC of SEEING CINDERELLA for a giveaway. All you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment by midnight on March 31st. I’ll announce the winner on April 2nd. If your e-mail is not on Blogger, please list it in your comment. International entries are welcome.

If you mention this contest on your blog, Twitter, or Facebook, please let me know in the comments and I’ll give you an extra entry.

Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays was started by ShannonWhitney Messenger to spotlight middle grade authors. Check it out here.

And check out these other Marvelous Monday Middle Grade Reviewers:

Michael Gettel-Gilmartin

The Accidental Novelist

Gabrielle Prendergast

Gina Carey

Nye Louwon

Charlotte’s Library

Brennan and Meyrick Murphy

Here's what's coming up. Next Monday I'm interviewing Anne Nesbit and giving away a copy of her debut book THE CABINET OF EARTHS. Then the following Monday I'll be interviewing Leah Bobut and giving away a copy of her debut book ABOVE. I'm really excited to interview Leah because Cheryl Klein, one of my favorite editors, is her editor.

Hope to see you next Monday!

Agent Spotlight: Jessica Regel

This week's Agent Spotlight features Jessica Regel of the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc.

Status: Open to submissions.

About: “Jessica Regel has been with JVNLA since 2002. She maintains her own list of talented writers while also handling Film, Audio, and UK rights for the agency. Originally from Iowa, she was working at her local library when she was offered an internship at JVNLA and she promptly moved to New York City. After receiving her B.A. in English Literature from Hunter College, she became a full agent at JVNLA, representing both children's and adult writers. With energy and persistence, Jessica works closely with her writers to develop and sell their work to publishing houses.” (Link)

About the Agency:

“Jean Naggar established her eponymous literary agency in 1978 with no staff, no capital, and ten previously unpublished authors. What she did have was unwavering commitment and dedication to her authors' careers and the tenacity to fight for their success on all fronts possible.

“As this singular philosophy proved its worth, Jean's one-woman agency expanded. In 2004, Jean decided to partner with Jennifer Weltz, who had joined the agency in 1994. They incorporated as The Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc., or JVNLA, Inc. Some 30+ years later, the agency numbers five agents. Each agent represents an independent list of authors that reflects her individual styles, tastes, and strengths, with all collaborating as a team to orchestrate the agency's contracts, subsidiary rights, publicity, and editorial development.

“JVNLA is an agency that has never identified with the ordinary. Our list includes award-winning writers from every genre. Our books have been published in over 50 countries; showcased in big screen, in small screen, and on stage; featured in short story anthologies, magazines, and webzines; and adapted for audio and e-book publications. Our knowledge of the print and digital world is driving the conversation of publishing's future so that our authors are protected in an ever-changing market. We invite you to peruse our website and learn more.” (Link)

Web Presence:

JVNLA website.

JVNLA blog.

Happy Birthday, Book! (Ms. Regel’s blog).

Goodreads.

Twitter.

AgentQuery, QueryTracker.

What She's Looking For:

Genres/Specialties:

Fiction: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Commercial Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Edgy/Quirky Fiction.

Non-Fiction: Young Adult, Narrative, Biography, Memoir, Humor, Pop Culture, Journalism. (Link, Link)

From the Website (03/2012):

“Jessica's list is split evenly between children's and adult writers.

“In children's books, she represents young adult and middle grade writers of all genres, but specifically literary and commercial fiction with genre elements, such as fantasy, gothic, horror, suspense, or romance.

“In adult books, she represents novels that bridge the gap between literary and commercial. She especially likes humor, modern love stories, international fiction, and quirky/edgy fiction. She also represents a select amount of nonfiction titles in the humor, pop culture, journalism, and memoir genres.” (Link)

From an Interview (01/2012):

“I’m actively looking for more young adult and middle grade books, so anything that is pitched to me in those genres I’ll pay special attention to. However, I also represent women’s fiction and a select list of non-fiction. […]

“I’d love to see more magical realism, more gothic, more creepiness, more suspense. For example, I loved Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. I’d love to find the YA Sarah Waters. I’m also interested in taking on more contemporary stories with unique takes, such as something like 13 Reasons Why or The Hate List. Finally, I’m also on the hunt for good tear-jerkers and modern love stories.” (Link)

From AgentQuery:

“She is looking for novels that balance literary & commercial. She doesn't do genre fiction, but she would do a novel with fantasy or sci fi elements-- such as THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE, THE END OF MR. Y, or THE SPARROW.

“She's looking to find fresh Young Adult and Middle Grade writers.

“She handles some historical novels, but she prefer contemporary settings. The historicals she tends to be interested in feature popular historical figures.

“She would love to find a memoir or a narrative non-fiction book directed at the teen market.” (Link)

From an Interview (07/2010):

“The one type of manuscript that I’m looking for, and never seem to get, is international fiction. For example, I’d love to find a novel by a Jamaican writer or a Moroccan writer. Not necessarily something that’s heavily political, but something that deals with contemporary characters in a setting that isn’t often written about in mainstream fiction.” (Link)

From an Interview (06/2010):

“I’d love to see more narrative nonfiction and memoirs for teens. Something similar to In Cold Blood, Eat Pray Love and Random Family, but for issues that would interest teen readers. Memoirs and narrative nonfiction books are so successful for adult audiences, and I really think this is a genre that the teen market isn’t hitting. I also think these books could rope in some of the non-readers out there.” (Link)

What She Isn't Looking For:

“She is not looking to represent picture books, practical non-fiction, inspirational or spirituality books, genre fiction (such as sci-fi, fantasy, cozy mysteries, crime, or romance), political thrillers, misery memoirs, screenplays, or animal books.” (Link)

“I’m not typically drawn to books that play with the formats. I’ve never liked epistolary novels (and don’t even get me started on Pamelaby Samuel Richardson). I’m also not a fan of books that are told through verse or text message.” (Link)

Editorial Agent?

“Typically I like to do a round of edits a on manuscript before submitting out to editors, just to make sure that the manuscript is in tip-top shape. And then, I keep my author’s in the loop as things progress.” (Link)

Clients:

There are lists of clients on the JVNLA website. Ms. Regel’s clients include:

Julie Bourbeau, K. Ryer Breese, Jeryl Brunner, Jillian Cantor, Emily Danforth, Cecilia Galante, Kristi Helvig, Adrienne Kress, Lesley Livingston, Steve and Matthew Murrie, Kate Kae Myers, Karen Schaler, Susan Schoenberger, Samantha Seiple, Victoria Strauss, among others.

Sales:

As of this posting, Ms. Regel is listed on Publisher’s Marketplace as having made 7 deals in the last 12 months, 1 six-figure+ deal, and 36 overall. Recent deals include 1 debut, 1 thriller, 1 advice/relationship, 1 middle grade, 1 young adult, 2 international rights.

NOTE: PM is usually not a complete representation of sales.

Query Methods:

E-mail: No.

Snail-Mail: No.

Online-Form: Yes (only).

Submission Guidelines (always verify):

Follow the steps and submit to Ms. Regel using the agency form online.

Note: Ms. Regel asks for an exclusive on requested material, though she’s usually willing to wave it if it’s not possible to grant.

See the JVNLA website for complete, up-to-date submission guidelines.

Query Tips:

“One of my pet peeves is repeat queriers. I remember if I’ve read a book concept before from an author. I’m bombarded with queries– which is a good thing!– but I don’t like to waste my time rereading a query that I’ve already read before.” (Link)

“Yes! I hate it when a query starts with a question!” (Link)

“Major #queryfail -- when authors diss their genre, ‘I wrote this because all the other YA books suck.’ Stop talking smack about my babies!” (Link)

Response Times:

Ms. Regel only responds to queries if interested. Her response time on requested material ranges from days to about a month.

What's the Buzz?

Jessica Regel is a well-established agent with a great list of clients and sales. She handles the agency’s film, audio, and UK rights, and her clients seem happy with her representation. The Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency is recommended by P&E.

You can follow her on Twitter @jessregel and celebrate her clients’ book birthdays at her Happy Birthday, Book! blog. I also recommend following the JVNLA blog for additional agency news and tips.

Worth Your Time:

Interviews:

Q&A with Agent Jessica Regel at Sisters in Scribe (01/2012).

Interview with Jessica Regel at MediaBistro (07/2010).

Agent Advice Interview with Jessica Regel at Guide to Literary Agents (06/2010).

Interview with Literary Agent Jessica Regel at editors, agents and blogs, oh my! (03/2009).

Interview with Jessica Regel, Literary Agent with Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency at Gumbowriters (12/2008).

Q&A with Jessica Regel at Pennwriters (5/2008).

Around the Web:

Jessica Regel at P&E ($, AAR).

Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency at P&E ($, AAR, Recommended).

Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency thread at AbsoluteWrite.

Click on the book covers on Ms. Regel’s JVNLA website page for tidbits on what she loves about her clients’ work.

“The Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc. Announces New Venture” at the JVNLA blog (01/2012).

How I Got My Agent post by client Kristi Helvig at Sisters in Scribe (01/2012).

Jessica Regel: What Works in Women's Fiction, YouTube video (07/2011).

How 2 Pitch to an Agent at a Writer’s Conference, article with quotes by Ms. Regel at WOW! (2010).

Contact:

Please see the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency website for contact and query information.

Profile Details:

Last updated: 3/15/12.

Agent Contacted For Review? Yes.

Last Reviewed By Agent? 3/15/12.

***

Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail me at agentspotlight(at)gmail(dot)com

Note: These agent profiles presently focus on agents who accept children's fiction. They are not interviews. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found herein is subject to change.

THE LIFEGUARD Winner!

The winner of THE LIFEGUARD by Deborah Blumenthal is...

...Dana Carey!

Congratulations, Dana. You should have an e-mail from me in your inbox.

Enjoy!

The Lifeguard is the story of 16-year-old Sirena Shane who is shipped off to the Rhode Island shore to spend the summer with her Aunt Ellie, because her parents, at home in Texas, are going through a difficult divorce.

It turns out to be a summer that will transform her life – forever.

She moves into a beach house filled with ghosts, falls hard for a hot lifeguard with mysterious healing powers, and meets an 80-year-old Brazilian artist and shaman who leaves her an unusual gift.

Tip Tuesday #120

Tip Tuesday features writers' tips on craft, research, querying, blogging, marketing, inspiration, and more. If you'd like to send in a tip, please e-mail me at agentspotlight(at)gmail(dot)com.

Today's tip was sent in by Dale S. Rogers. Dale writes young adult and middle grade fiction, as well as articles, poetry, and adult fiction. You can find her at her blog here where she's been sharing some fun life anecdotes. Please give her a visit after you read her first tip submission below!

My Tuesday Tip involves using a word search to find the best words and sentence structure for prose. We all have pet words and phrases--those pesky little things that show up too often in our manuscripts. I never real- ized how much I overuse certain words until I utilized Ctrl F. I press and hold Ctrl, then I hit F. When the finder pops up, I type in the suspect word or phrase, click "find next," and watch the page numbers to gauge how close together the terms are as I continue the process.

Although time consuming, this tool has helped me to not only eliminate problem words, but to improve sentence structure, since I've also discovered other weaknesses in my writing while doing this in-depth search. When I find a substitute word for the one I've targeted, or decide the word can just be left out, I feel I'm improving my writing in more than one way. It's better to go through a document a little at at time, sincethis method can be tiring.

In addition to said, asked, and little, which we know to watch out for, some words I find so often in my work are: there, that, some, after, before, when, looked, glanced, thought, wondered, later, nodded, smiled, finished, finally, reached, and of the. I leave the ones that really belong, but other- wise, I try to find a better way to express what's going on, especially if the duplicate words are too close together. I just wish I'd started this practice years ago!

-Dale S. Rogers

YA BOOK COVERS AND SHATTER ME GIVEAWAY

Sorry guys but I did not get the answers for my ASK THE EXPERT INTERVIEW this month so there's no expert this week. But I have an important issue and a fabulous book to share with you.

First, I'll announce my giveaway winners.

The winner of UNDER THE NEVER SKY is:

KRISTIN LENZ

The winner of SAVING FORT SMOKY is:

JEN DAIKER

And the winner of THE PRINCESS CURSE is:

JESS KEATING

Congrats! E-mail me your addresses so your books can be sent to you.

Before I talk about SHATTER ME, I want to mention a fantastic blog post last week by Ellen Oh about how Asian Americans are a silent minority that still face discrimination and about how YA book covers are filled with pretty white girls even when their characters are not white. I really recommend you read Ellen's post. My daughter is adopted from China and my husband is Hispanic so we are definitely sensitive to issues like that.

My daughter has come out of a movie more than once commenting that the skin color of the actress or actor did not match the true color of the character she read about in her favorite book. We'll have to see what she thinks when she goes to see THE HUNGER GAMES in a few weeks. It's her favorite book and I hope she's not disappointed. Because it tells her when it's wrong that Asians and minorities are not valued in our society enough.

The trend Ellen talks about sends such a terrible message to our teens whether or not they are minorities when the covers do not celebrate our diversity. And also when they focus so much on beautiful girls. What is that telling our teen girls to value? And how are they supposed to feel when they don't meet that standard? Because let's be honest, most of us don't fit those standards even though we're beautiful in our own way.

Anyway, this is a sad trend in publishing and in movies that I hope changes soon. I'd encourage you to read Ellen's post.

Today I'm spotlighting another fantastic debut YA book, SHATTER ME, by Tahereh Mafi.

Here's a blurb from Goodreads:

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

I found Juliette's power to seriously injure or kill someone with her touch very unique. At the beginning of the book, she's been locked up in isolation for a long time until she gets her roommate Adam. At first, she's pretty withdrawn, insecure, and guilt-ridden over her powers and how she's used them. I loved watching her transformation as a character as she became more comfortable with her powers.

Adam's such a solid nice guy who is dedicated to Juliette. You can't help but like him and wish you were involved with someone like that. As their relationship develops, Juliette struggles with her feelings for him and the fact that she'll injure him if she touches him. What a dilemma!

Warner, the antagonist, is equally interesting. He's cruel, but obsessed with Juliette and how she can help the The Reestablishment. I was left wanting to know more about him and what his connection to Juliette or her powers might be at the end of the book.

Tahereh Mafi has a unique writing style that worked well for the story. Here's an example:

In 17 years I've never talked to a boy my own age. ~~Because I'm a monster~~.

There's lots of Juliette's internal thoughts with strikethroughs. What a creative and brave way of writing. And it worked fantastically with this story.

I want to share this with you so I'm giving away my copy of SHATTER ME.

All you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment by midnight on March 24th. I’ll announce the winner on March 26th. If your e-mail is not on Blogger, please list it in your comment. International entries are welcome.

Let me know in your comments what you think about Ellen's post if you've read it. Also I'd love to know what new YA books you're looking forward to in the the next few months.

If you mention this contest on your blog, Twitter, or Facebook, please let me know in the comments and I’ll give you an extra entry.

Here's what's coming up next. Next Monday I'm interviewing Jenny Lundquist and giving away an ARC of SEEING CINDERELLA, one of my favorite books this year. The following Monday I'm interviewing Anne Nesbit and giving away a copy THE CABINET OF EARTHS, another book I really enjoyed.

I also have a fantastic set of interviews coming up in April. But I'll share those with you later.

Hope to see you Monday!

Agent Spotlight: Michele Bartow

This week's Agent Spotlight features Michele Bartow of the Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency.

Status: Open to submissions, actively building her client list.

About: “Prior to joining JDLA as an Associate Agent, Michele worked for Running Press Book Publishers. She is pursuing a B.A. at Villanova as an English major and Business minor and works as a copy editor for the Villanovan. Since childhood, her love for reading and writing has provided her with enthusiasm for the world of publishing.” (Link)

About the Agency:

“The Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency is a New York City-based full-service literary agency founded in 2001 and named one of the top 25 literary agencies in the country by Writer’s Digest.

“The agency represents children’s literature for all ages – picture books and middle-grade and young adult novels – but also represents high-quality adult fiction and non-fiction in a wide range of genres. The categories we are most enthusiastic about agenting are literary and commercial fiction; mysteries, thrillers, celebrity biographies; humor; psychology and self-help; parenting; health and fitness; women’s issues; men’s issues; pop culture; film and television; social issues and contemporary affairs.

“JDLA is proud to be one of the few literary agencies to represent illustrators, as well as screenwriters for both television and film, including Emmy-winning writers and a Peabody Award-winning illustrator.” (Link)

Web Presence:

JD Lit Website.

LinkedIn.

QueryTracker.

What She's Looking For:

Genres/Specialties:

Young adult, general fiction, historical fiction, fantasy. (Link)

From the Website:

“I'd love to read Young Adult fiction, historical fiction (for any age), or adult fiction. I'm happy to read supernatural/fantasy fiction as well.” (Link)

What She Isn't Looking For:

Picture books, screenplays, poetry.

Editorial Agent?

Unknown.

Clients:

The agency represents over 200 clients, including a PEN Award-winner and a Newbery Honor Medal winner. A list of selected clients can be found on the site here.

Ms. Bartow’s clients include: Unknown.

Sales:

As of this posting, Ms. Bartow has not reported any deals to Publisher’s Marketplace. The agency is listed as having made 12 deals in the last 12 months, 1 six-figure+ deal, and 68 overall.

NOTE: PM is usually not a complete representation of sales.

Query Methods:

E-mail: Yes (only).

Snail-Mail: No.

Online-Form: No.

Submission Guidelines (always verify):

E-mail a query letter with the word “Query” in the subject line.

“For queries regarding children's and adult fiction, please send the first twenty pages in the body of your email, along with a one-paragraph bio and a one-paragraph synopsis.

“For queries regarding a non-fiction book, please attach the entire proposal as a Word document (the proposal should include a sample chapter), along with a one-paragraph bio and a one-paragraph synopsis of your book in the body of your email.” (Link)

Query only one agent at the agency at a time.

See the Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency website for complete, up-to-date submission guidelines.

Response Times:

The agency’s stated response time is 2 weeks for queries. Stats on the web show Ms. Bartow responding to most queries in or near this time frame. Data on requested material is limited but suggests a response time of a few months.

What's the Buzz?

Michele Bartow became an associate agent at JDLA late 2011 and is actively building her client list. There is very little information available on her, but she is very new to agenting. The Jennifer De Chiara Agency is recommended by P&E.

Worth Your Time:

Interviews:

None found.

Around the Web:

Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency thread on AbsoluteWrite.

Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency on P&E ($ Recommended).

Contact:

Please see the Jennifer DeChiara website for contact and query information.

Profile Details:

Last updated: 3/8/12.

Agent Contacted For Review? Yes.

Last Reviewed By Agent? N/A.