THE REARRANGED LIFE- Review

Genre: Interracial, contemporary-romance

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Date of Release­­: May 15, 2015

Cover Artist: Eugene Teplitsky

Find Online: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads

Description:

Nithya, a vivacious, intelligent and driven college senior has always known what she has wanted: a successful career in medicine and the love of her family. She’s even come to terms with the idea of an arranged marriage, a tradition her conservative Indian family has held up for thousands of years.

When a night of partying puts her on a collision course with danger, Nithya’s entire life changes.

Enter James St. Clair, the smart, challenging and heartbreakingly handsome American. As Nithya and James fall in love, she questions the future she and her parents have always planned.

Now, Nithya has a choice to make: become a doctor and a good Indian bride, or step away from her family and centuries of culture to forge her own path. The decision she comes to takes her on a journey that transforms how she sees her future, her relationships with loved ones, and how she learns to put herself back together when even her best-laid plans fall apart.

Review:

The Rearranged Life is about a Nithya, a driven college senior of Indian born parents. Nithya has her life all planned out: graduate college, get accepted to medical school, take the arranged marriage partner her parents pick out, and become a doctor. She’s focused exclusively on her schoolwork and has never had a boyfriend. While not wholly embracing her culture of arranged marriages, she accepts it.

Enter James St. Claire. James saves her from a dangerous situation at a party. He shares his homework with her when she forgets her own. In fact, he forges an instant connection with Nithya. Suddenly, her whole life plan trembles like a house of cards.

Go with the plans of the past and her parents’ wishes or venture into unknown territory?

If you’re looking for a book heavy on the romance with lots of passionate make out scenes, this is the wrong book. And I couldn’t have been happier about that. This is a thoughtful book with a reasoning main character who weighs her choices. It’s sweet, and beautiful, and oh so real. Nithya is a real life person, not a heroine who jumps into things and thinks only of boys. Nithya truly cares about her family and her culture is a crucial part of her decision making.

This book is about how family remains so important to new adults. I really liked how family was a big part of Nithya’s life. She wasn’t looking to move to the ‘big city’ and leave her past behind. When a giant setback occurs to her collegiate career, it hurts her to disappoint her parents and the Indian-American community almost as much as the loss hurts herself.

I love that it’s her father who she leans on during this tough period of refiguring her life. Nithya is such a well-rounded and full character that I can’t help thinking I’ll meet her someday. Reading about her was like reading about a friend.

And in no way was this story cliché. The choice was truly a tough one for Nithya. Especially when a perfectly matched Indian boy appears. Nishanth is smart, capable, driven, and handsome, everything she thought she wanted in a husband and his parents are close friends with her parents. Now her choice is twice as hard.  

The twist of the setback to her career path gets a full measure of attention and made the story that much deeper and richer.  I hope there is a sequel to The Prearrange Life so I can spend more time with these characters! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Annika Sharma was born in India and moved to the United States (Pennsylvania!) when she was a baby. Annika was a daydreamer from day one, always coming up with stories and games of pretend that seemed real. She was a serious journal-writer from fifth grade to college and wrote dramatic scenes for stories often, inspired by soap operas she watched in summers off from school.

Eventually, when the time for college came around, Annika’s parents encouraged her to pursue journalism. Convinced she couldn’t make a living from writing, Annika disagreed. After five years, two degrees, two minors, working with children, being a dancer teacher, and creating a two-and-a-half page resume in college that had interests so all-over-the-place that even she couldn’t make sense of it, Annika finally decided her parents were right. Writing was where her heart was, all along.

In the month before graduate school, the idea Annika had in mind for years finally poured out in the form of the novel, The Rearranged Life. Annika began editing in earnest after she finished her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education, landing Stacey Donaghy of Donaghy Literary Group as an agent. Three months later, she had a book deal with Curiosity Quills.

In her spare time, Annika loves spending time with her family and friends, often indulging in the three S’s: Starbucks, shopping and superhero movies. As a chocolate lover and general all-around vegetarian foodie, Annika also adores cooking.

Find Annika Sharma Online:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Query Kombat 2015 Judges

Time for our HUGE lineup of awesome judges for the Query Kombat tournament this year. Many of them were contestants in last year's contest. We believe they offer the most diverse group of opinions, talents, and specialties from all genres.

That being said, Query Kombat would not be possible without the wonderful people who donate their time to help others. In this month-long contest, we have managed to gather thirty-four industry professionals to judge and critique entries. Each and every one of these judges are participating out of the kindness of their hearts, so please join the QK Crew in thanking them for volunteering.

THANK YOU!

Today, so that the judges and you all can celebrate a little bit more, we're having a Twitter party under the hashtag #QKJudges. Judges, entrants, we hosts, other writers, etc. will be chatting it up at that hashtag, so join in and be sure to thank the judges!!!


We have so many judges that we've decided to break down the post into thirds. There will a different lists of judges at all the hosts blogs. Go here to see them all: SC, Mike, and Michelle. And go here to see all the rules.

Now, without further ado, we'd like to introduce one set of judges for Query Kombat 2015.

Kristin Wright

I live in Virginia with my family, our stinky beagle, and our elderly guinea pig. I'm an attorney now, but I've been a Civil War reenactor, an ice cream scooper, a telemarketer, and a U.S. Senate intern. I'm a veteran of both Query Kombat and PitchWars, both in 2014, and will tell anyone who asks that contests are absolutely worth it because that's how you meet your critique partners. I write women's fiction and romance, mostly during my kids’ soccer practices and various lessons.  My fantastic agent is Sarah E. Younger at the Nancy Yost Literary Agency in New York. My website is www.kristinbwright.com. And on twitter @kbuttonw.

Kathleen Allen

Kathleen has been writing since she could hold a pen. She published her first book of poetry at the age of eight—okay it was a bunch of notebook paper tied together with a red ribbon and had an orange construction paper book jacket, but that counts, right? Her first poem published in a more traditional way was in a cat magazine (of course) at the age of fifteen. Since then she has published novels, short stories, flash fiction, poetry and self-published novellas and novels.

She has published two murder mysteries If It’s Monday, It Must be Murder and If It’s Tuesday, It Must be Trouble, along with a YA contemporary, How To Be Almost Famous in Ten Days with Gypsy Shadow Publishing and two YA fantasy novels, Lore of Fei and War of Fei with Muse It Up Publishing. She has a Master’s in Children’s Literature with an emphasis in creative writing for YA. She is a literary assistant to the Seymour Agency.

Twitter: @kathleea
Tumblr:  kathleea.tumblr.com
Pinterest: pinterest.com/kathleea
Website: http://www.kathleensallen.weebly.com

Rena Olsen

Daughter of a wandering pastor, Rena Olsen never knew the answer to the question, “Where are you from?” While attending her third school by fourth grade, she found familiarity and comfort in reading, and when she figured out she could create her own stories, that was it. She hasn’t stopped writing since her first story, about an anthropomorphic tooth going on an adventure through a school, won the state of Iowa contest for her age group.

Now Rena is a writer of YA and adult fiction who believes in healthy amounts of pizza and sarcasm. When she’s not saving the lives of children as a school therapist, she’s exploring alternate realities on the page, filling the cheering section for friends, and pretending to be an adult. Rena is represented by Sharon Pelletier of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. Her debut novel, THE GIRL BEFORE, will be released by Putnam in 2016.

Twitter: @originallyrena
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RenaOlsenWriter
Website: renaolsen.com

Kim Long

Kim Long is an attorney in the Chicagoland area, where she spends her days expressing her clients’ (always true) stories to judges and juries. She writes MG and YA contemporary fantasy that contain a sprinkle of science and is represented by Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger. When not managing her fantasy baseball and football teams, she can be found biking, watching Star Wars for the zillionth time, or teaching her nieces about the importance of choosing the correct racer (Toad) and vehicle (standard bike) to obtain success in Mario Kart.

twitter: @theSol23

website: KimLongWritesHere.blogspot.com

Amy Trueblood

A devotee of reading and writing from a very young age, Amy Trueblood grew up surrounded by books. After stints working in entertainment and advertising, she began writing her first manuscript and has never looked back. Her work is part of The Fall and Summer's Edge short story collections. Her recent short story, "A Seat For Every Soul" appears in Pen & Muses' Dark Carnival collection. She is represented by Roseanne Wells of the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency. To learn more about Amy, check out her blog or follow her on Twitter or Tumblr.

Blog link: www.chasingthecrazies.wordpress.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/atrueblood5

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/atruebloodwrites

Max Wirestone

 Max Wirestone is a librarian in a small New Hampshire town.  His first book, the geek-themed mystery THE UNFORTUNATE DECISIONS OF DAHLIA MOSS will be published in hardcover  (and audio) in October.  He is a currently at work on his second Dahlia book, a fantasy inspired by IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD, a "parenting noir" novella, and a machine that will somehow create more hours in his day.

He can be found at @maxwires on twitter, or at maxwirestone.com

Jamie Howard

Jamie Howard is a writer, legal and compliance specialist for a worldwide brokerage firm, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art. When she’s not tapping away at the keyboard or capturing the world through her trusty Canon, you can find her binge-watching TV shows, devouring books, and perfecting her gaming skills. She lives with her husband, son, and three dogs in New Jersey, and is almost always awake early enough to see the sun rise, even on the weekends. Jamie is represented by Jessica Watterson of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, and her debut novel is forthcoming from St. Martin’s Press in Fall of 2015.

Twitter: @JRHoward9
Website: https://jamiehowardauthor.wordpress.com/

Carrie Ann

Carrie Ann is a grad student in Southwestern PA. Her top interests include creative writing, social media marketing, music and trying to entertain her fickle cat. She writes YA contemporary but enjoys almost any genre. Additionally, she's the long-suffering diary-translator of the twitter account @BroodingYaHero.  She's repped by Melissa Edwards of the Aaron ​M. Priest Literary Agency. 

Links:

www.creativelycarrie.com

@Writer_carrie and @broodingYAhero

Tatum Flynn

Tatum Flynn lives by the sea in England with a cat called Friday and too many hats. She has a soft spot for the word ‘ramshackle’, and a vagabond past which involves piloting lifeboats in Venezuela, playing poker in Las Vegas, shooting rapids in the Grand Canyon and almost falling out of a plane over Scotland. Her debut, THE D’EVIL DIARIES, is out now from Orchard/Hachette, with a sequel, Hell's Belles, to follow January 2016. Find her on Tumblr (sometimes) and Twitter (far too often).

Mary Ann Marlowe

Mary Ann Marlowe is a central Virginia-based contemporary romance writer. She's a contest veteran, having entered nearly every contest available in 2014, including Query Kombat. When not writing, Mary Ann loves to do karate with her kids and read her friends' unpublished novels in Word docs. Theoretically, she loves to travel, but until she finds a patron to fund her trip around the world, she placates her wanderlust by letting her characters hop on a plane and hang out in Paris. She's represented by Rachel Stout at Dystel & Goderich.

Follow her at @maryannmarlowe

Website: http://www.maryannmarlowe.com

JC Davis

As a child, JC Davis spent her days inventing secret worlds and finding forgotten places. Busy reading her way through the local library, she never imagined writing books of her own until one day, all grown up, she fell in love with a children's book and decided to rediscover a few of those secret worlds she'd invented. 

Ms. Davis's first book is locked in a drawer guarded by attack trolls. Her second, however, turned out much better and after a long time in the query trenches finally found an agent. Ms. Davis is represented by the fabulously amazing Mandy Hubbard, with the D4EO agency, who occasionally sends her animated gif filled emails.

A programmer by day, Ms. Davis lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband, two kids and a pair of hedgehogs with nerdy names. Ms. Davis is an amateur photographer, creates lots of crafty things and is an unrepentant book addict. 

Twitter: @JCDavisAuthor

Blog: http://www.jcdavis-author.com

Tracy Townsend

Tracy Townsend lives in Bolingbrook, Illinois and teaches English at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy.  She has studied at DePauw University, the National University of Ireland (Galway), and DePaul University, where she obtained degrees in English, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric.  She is a member of the Science Fiction Research Association and other academic organizations, which allows her to write very long things and read them aloud to people who are obliged to behave politely.  Her sf/f writing draws on her experience as a lapsed Catholic, an assistant martial arts instructor, a comic book fangirl (Make Mine Marvel!), a tabletop role-player, and an obsessive hound for obscure mythology.  Inexplicably, other uses for that resume have yet to present themselves.  She is represented by the strikingly elegant and classy Bridget Smith of Dunham Lit.

Tracy devotes time she doesn’t have to cooking, gardening, writing, and seriously pondering the treadmill in her basement.  She is married to her high school sweetheart, with whom she shares two remarkable children.  They are – naturally – named after characters from books.

You can find Tracy on Twitter (@TheStorymatic) more often than she really ought to be.

Give them all a big shout out on twitter and make the judges feel welcome under #QKJudges hashtag! Don't forget to follow them. 

Embrace Diversity

Annika Sharma is here to tell us a little about her book, growing up Indian-American, and how diversity in writing effects her. THE REARRANGED LIFE releases May 15th from Curiosity Quills Press. 

Note: you’re going to have to excuse this debut’s seemingly epiphanic ramblings. And the fact that I’m starting this story off with two negative experiences—I promise, as an eternal optimist, I will turn it around quickly.

            A former co-worker (#1) used to make racial comments on a fairly regular basis to a Hispanic colleague and myself (an Indian-American). During my farewell dinner when I left the job, another colleague (#2) asked if I wanted to invite #1 along. I said they were welcome to, however her racial comments made us feel uncomfortable and sometimes that was tough to be around. #2 quit speaking to me after that dinner. Recently, I found out it was because I “was mad at white people and had turned dinner into a race issue,” when I spoke up. Unrelated to the first incident, I later heard someone say my upcoming book should have been more original because I was Indian, so a guy and girl meeting in a college setting was a bit boring. While I understand the well-meaning intention behind that statement—that coming from a colorful culture should bring an equally entertaining story—a piece of me thought, “but I’m Indian and I am boring enough to meet people like everyone else…”

            Okay, negativity over. Admittedly, my identity crisis issues are on par with everyone else. 99% of the time, I am comfortable in my brown skin. I love the fact that I was blessed with two cultures—a fun American one and a rich Indian one. Doubly lucky! They rarely pose problems for me unless I’m blatantly faced with them, like above. But with the rare experiences like the ones I just described, I’m sure you can see that sometimes, expectations are set: it’s okay to be a different skin color and stand out until you bring it up as the reason why you’re standing out, and simultaneously if you’re from an “exotic” place, you’re supposed to live life like a magical unicorn. It sets the bar quite high. It often blurs a line between acceptable and not. It’s no surprise that my two biggest fears in releasing this story were that, one, my story would be seen as weird because it had some cultural differences, and two, that no one would be able to relate because it was Indian…Yet through it all, I’ve always read one piece of advice: write what you know.

            It’s an age-old concept. A writer can put themselves into a character’s shoes if they’ve been there before, right? My debut novel, The Rearranged Life, is coming out on May 15^th. Let’s talk about what I know.

·       Nithya, the protagonist, is an Indian-American—born of immigrant parents and raised in the United States. I was born in India and brought to the United States at the ripe old age of 16 months.

·       Nithya wants to be a doctor. So did I (then a nurse practitioner, teacher, and I’m still holding out hope on being an astronaut…but I digress).

·       She falls in love with an American. I grew up in central Pennsylvania where the ratio is approximately ten cows to a human, and diversity is not exactly...wide. If this hadn’t happened to me at least once, it would be a miracle.

·       She goes to Penn State. I am the holder of two degrees, two minors and a Master’s from the same school. The fact that it is in the middle of nowhere provided a fantastic bubble to lay down a story that has so many outside influences.

·       Her entire life is rearranged and transformed by one unexpected event. Did I mention that time I went to nursing school for a semester, hated it, and came home before deciding that now that everything had hit rock bottom, I had nothing to lose and I was going to fulfill my lifelong dream of being a writer? No? Well…let’s say I have a little experience in throwing caution to the wind when life has kicked my butt twelve ways to Sunday.

           

            I’m sure most of you have had similar moments in your life: rebuilding yourself, falling in love, being challenged…they’re universal. But the context might be different in each of our stories. Underneath it all, we have very individual tales that similarities weave through. The context of my novel is at a major university in the United States, where a first-generation Indian girl deals with her family’s past and future crashing together. However, figuring yourself out and deciding what you want your future to look like? I’d venture most college students (or even most people!) feel the same way regardless of background. My goal was to bring two separate issues together…as most writers are apt to do.

            I like to think I succeeded, at least in part (let’s face it, I probably made some mistakes, which I humbly apologize for now). I asked my friends in my writer group which scenes spoke to them most. Ara Grigorian (Game of Love) and Meredith Tate (Missing Pieces) said it was the wedding scene where Nithya describes each ritual to an American friend. Amanda Heger (Without Borders) mentioned a scene where Nithya flashes back to trips to India, because it was a location she had always wanted to visit. Laura Salters (Run Away) explained that she loved Nithya and James’ first date where they realize their families are similar and relatable, despite the fact that their backgrounds and traditions were very different.

            My brain practically exploded into a thousand sari-colored pieces. The very cultural elements I was anxious about bringing to the page were the ones they loved the most. People were valuing the difference that had previously set me apart. It left me with my final epiphany: that even though being Indian has, in the past, made me feel a little out of place sometimes, at the end of the day, it is exactly what ties me to the world.

            And that got me thinking…if writers write what they know, and what they know is they might be a little “weird” in the eyes of the world for whatever reason—gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious sect, clothing choices, political views, neurodiversity or a myriad of other things—then it must be tough for them to come forward. They have, either through personal experience or out of wanting to understand, pulled the skin off a burn in a very public way. I’ve seen so much talk of diversity in literature. I won’t pretend that answers are clear, or that I know any of them—I’m still learning everything I can. But the push to accept those who seem different to us is contingent upon one thing: people aren’t so different at all. And if they are, it’s okay to love them anyway. It’s okay to tell their stories and give them life. It means we’ve accepted them into our fold for their differences, not despite them. For someone who has struggled, the warmth of a hearty welcome can be a balm to that burn…one that might still be raw from confronting sensitive issues head-on.

            When I wrote this story, a small piece of me thought, “People are going to see brown girl meets white guy, interracial romance, arranged marriage, and think she’s about to meet her husband on the altar and it’s going to feed so many misperceptions…” Putting the rare but real clash between my two cultures on the page was scary. There was a lot of room for the Indian side, the part of me that has been criticized already, to be judged hard. There was a lot of space for “us” and “them” conversations instead of, “We can be different and the same.” I was terrified people would think I was swinging the race card around. My burn was oozing with insecurity.

             Instead, I heard something else. Something that transformed all of that fear and made me realize that while there are miles to go, we are on the right track and should continually improve.

            “Hey! Nithya is. Just. Like. Me!”

            And that, to this debut author, has made all the difference.

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Annika Sharma was born in New Delhi and brought up in the United States, where she moved with her parents as a baby. A proud alum, she graduated from Penn State University with dual degrees in Biobehavioral Health and Neuro-Psychology, and minors in Biology and Human Development and Family Studies. She received her Master's degree in Early Childhood Special Education before pursuing her dreams of becoming a writer, landing her agent Stacey Donaghy of Donaghy Literary Group while daylighting as a preschool teacher. The Rearranged Life, her first novel, was written in the month before graduate school.

Annika, a Gryffindor and Scorpio, spends much of her time dreaming of adventure, working on her next book, going on Starbucks runs with family and friends, shopping online and watching superhero movies.

The Rearranged Life, will be hitting shelves on May 15th, 2015, published by Curiosity Quills Press.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/annikasharmawrites

Website: www.annikasharma.com

Twitter: @annikasharma

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/The-Rearranged-Life-Annika-Sharma/dp/1620078775/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

Getting the Call with Kristi Wientge

Wise words today from Kristi Wientge. It's very easy to get down after a contest. But contests are just one step. Play the game to win and don't give up until you've tried everything. You deserve the best!

Congrats Kristi on being the second from Sun versus Snow to land an agent!

The following phrase and many similar stare you in the face before, during and throughout a contest: (I borrowed this particular one from Michelle’s SVS page.)

 

 

“Remember again that contests are subjective. What tickles one person’s fancy,

may do nothing for another. No matter what, keep querying!”

 

 

Deep in the query and contest trenches, this statement rings about as sincere as a form rejection.

 

Okay, maybe we’ve all succumbed to the fact that every aspect of publishing is subjective. BUT “keep querying!”???

 

It’s so easy to lose heart and question everything about your work if you weren’t chosen, or you were chosen and didn’t get any requests, or you got requests, but they all turned into passes. 

 

Well, if you see yourself in any of the above situations, join the club. We’ve all been there. Even if “keep querying” (or in my case, “keep entering contests”) doesn’t ring true, maybe you’ll change your mind by the end of this post.

 

When I entered Karma Khullar’s Mustache in Sun Vs. Snow I didn’t really have any expectations. Yes, I wanted to strengthen my query. Yes, I hoped a couple agents would request. Ultimately though, I expected all my requests to turn into passes. Which, eventually, for SVS they did. BUT here is where the seemingly insincere statement from above comes into play.

 

Right after SVS, Pitch Madness started. Again, I entered without expecting to make the cut. Several agents from SVS were also participating in Pitch Madness and I feared they’d all roll their eyes at seeing my entry and I’d end up with zero requests.

 

Then enters agent extraordinaire, Patricia Nelson. She actually saw my entry in SVS, but skipped over it because my comp title didn’t resonate with her. Then, seeing it again in Pitch Madness (without the comp title and query), she requested the full. Two days after reading, she set up a phone call and is now my number one champion of Karma.

 

So, maybe your pitch/query/1^st 250 words/whatever doesn’t work the first time around, or even the 100^th time, but continue to send it out there because if Patricia hadn’t seen Karma twice, she might not be my agent right now and that’d be terrible for Karma and for me! xoxo

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Kristi lives and writes in Singapore with her family. She is represented by Patricia Nelson at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. You can find her on twitter at: @kwientge or on her blog: moments-n-between.blogspot.sg. If you can’t find her at either of those places, she’s probably buried in revisions or yarn from her latest crochet endeavor.

Help Out a Writing Contest Veteran: THE UNFORTUNATE DECISIONS OF DAHLIA MOSS

I'm starting a new series of posts as we wait for Query Kombat time to arrive. They are called Help Out a Veteran, because all the authors will be veterans of one of my contests!

I think everyone who enters Query Kombat or any contest becomes part of the writing community, almost like a giant family. And we should support each other. Do what we can for each other. It's what families do! Thus this series.

If you have participated in one of my contests and have a book coming out or already published, please get in contact. I'd love to host you for one of these posts! You don't need a cover yet, or any links to Amazon. All you need is a Goodreads page for your upcoming book. 

The first victim is Max Wirestone, who was the NA Grand Champion from last year's Query Kombat! 

THE UNFORTUNATE DECISIONS OF DAHLIA MOSS

For fans of The Guild, New Girl, Scott Pilgrim, Big Bang Theory, Veronica Mars, or anyone who has ever geeked out about something.


The odds of Dahlia successfully navigating adulthood are 3,720 to 1. But never tell her the odds.

Meet Dahlia Moss, the reigning queen of unfortunate decision-making in the St. Louis area. Unemployed broke, and on her last bowl of ramen, she's not living her best life. But that's all about to change.

Before Dahlia can make her life any messier on her own she's offered a job. A job that she's woefully under-qualified for. A job that will lead her to a murder, an MMORPG, and possibly a fella (or two?).

Turns out unfortunate decisions abound, and she's just the girl to deal with them.

October 20, 2015 from Redhook.

Goodreads page

Now it's time for your part. Head over to Goodreads and add this to your want to read list. Follow Max on twitter. 

Support a contest veteran and writer like yourself! Someday it could be you in this spot.

----------------------------

Max Wirestone is a librarian in a small New Hampshire town.  His first book, the geek-themed mystery THE UNFORTUNATE DECISIONS OF DAHLIA MOSS will be published in hardcover  (and audio) in October.  He is a currently at work on his second Dahlia book, a fantasy inspired by IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD, a "parenting noir" novella, and a machine that will somehow create more hours in his day.

He can be found at @maxwires on twitter, or at maxwirestone.com

Free Pass into Query Kombat 2015

And it's over! After nearly 1700 entries. One is chosen--(randomly by rafflecopter). 

The winner of the free pass into the first round of Query Kombat is Leslie Miller! Congrats! You are the very first Kombatant of 2015! 

Talk to me about how to claim your prize.


It's back! A chance to bypass the slush and go straight into the contest where you will receive judge feedback and a chance of making the agent round.

With 64 Kombatants, we get to make 21 picks each! (Mike as creator of the contest gets 22.) My generous spirit want to make it easy for our contestants. What better way than to spare someone from the slush pile?

This may be the only Free Pass this year. I don't believe Mike or SC are doing one. My Free Pass contest will be open until May 15th, when I'll draw one lucky winner. That will be a random draw.

Now what to do? What to do?


My favorite part of Query Kombat is the nicknames for each entry. How fun to create and even more fun to read them. But....

I don't necessarily want to know the nickname you're using for this year's contest. No. I want to mix this up more.  The new Avenger's movie starts this weekend and I have superhero's on the brain. So...

I want to know a SUPERHERO nickname for your manuscript. I don't mean you name it Batman or Ultron. But something more creative. For instance, my YA fantasy features a main character who was magicked from a rabbit. It's set in a time where the sun has gone haywire with radiation. I might pick a nickname of Bunny Girl versus The Mad, Mad Sun or some such nonsense. 

Make it fun. Make it inventive. Even though the rafflecopter will pick the winner. 

Use of this nickname does not mean you're tied to it for Query Kombat. This is just for fun and you can use this or pick something else on May 22nd. 

Besides the nickname, there are also other chances for more entries if you want to add my social media contacts.

Make sure you use the Rafflecopter and don't just leave a comment. The Rafflecopter is choosing the winner, so you must get your name in it. 

To learn more about Query Kombat go here. There will be a twitter party starting just before the submission date of May 22nd. Watch for more details.

Good luck with the free pass! Let the superhero crazy loose!


    a Rafflecopter giveaway