How I Got my Agent: Dee Garretson PLUS #GIVEAWAY!!

STATION FOSAAN

Dee Garretson

February 14, 2017

Month9Books

Paperback, eBook

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Scientists and their families stationed on the remote planet of Fosaan were promised a tropical vacation-like experience. But Fosaan, devastated from an apocalyptic event nearly three-hundred years ago, is full of lethal predators and dangerous terrain.

Earthers are forbidden to go beyond the safety zone of their settlement and must not engage the remaining reclusive Fosaanians, native to the planet. Sixteen-year-old Quinn Neen is about to do both of those things.

During an unsanctioned exploration of the planet, Quinn discovers a beautiful Fosaanian girl named Mira stealing food from his family’s living unit. But before he can convince her to show him around, scientists are taken captive, leaving Quinn and the other young Earthers at the mercy of space raiders.

Quinn must go from renegade to leader and convince Mira to become an ally in a fight against an enemy whose very existence threatens their lives and the future of Earthers stuck on Fosaan and at home.

STATION FOSAAN is THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND meets STAR TREK: THE WRATH OF KHAN.

How I got my publishing deal...

Hi Melanie,

Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog.

The agent question is always a hard one for me to answer because as in all things publishing, it’s complicated!

I got my first agent in a very traditional way, a cold query after many years of writing and querying, and with a manuscript that was not my first book. I’m a slow learner. It took me a long time to learn to write well enough to have something good enough to put out there. That agent sold my first two books. I wanted to write a science fiction story next, the one that eventually became STATION FOSAAN. The agent wasn’t interested in representing science fiction at the time, and because of that and some additional factors, we decided it was best to ‘part ways’ in publishing speak.  I went ahead and wrote an early version of the story as a middle grade.

I signed with my next agent because another writer who was repped by her recommended me. She submitted the middle grade version of STATION FOSAAN to a few places, but the editors’ comments were that it was bordering on YA, and some aspects were too violent for middle grade. Before I could rewrite it, the agent left the business. I did rewrite it as YA and ended up submitting it myself to Month9 before I found my current agent. To find her, I cold queried with another middle grade manuscript which is now under submission. So I guess if there is a moral of my story it is to be flexible, and as many people say, remember publishing is a marathon, not a sprint! STATION FOSAAN is being published seven years after I started the first chapter.

Dee Garretson writes for many different age groups, from chapter books to middle grade to young adult to adult fiction. She lives in Ohio with her family, and in true writer fashion, has cat companions who oversee her daily word count. When she’s not writing, she loves to travel, watch old movies, and attempt various kinds of drawing, painting and other artistic pursuits.

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Giveaway Details:

(1) winner will receive a Perfectly Posh, Posh To Meet You Set ($20 value), US Only.

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Tour Schedule:

Week One:

2/13/2017- S.E. Muir- Excerpt

2/13/2017- Book Review Becca- Spotlight

2/14/2017- Bibliobibuli YA- Interview

2/15/2017- LILbooKlovers- Interview

2/16/2017- Lisa's Loves(Books of Course)- Guest Post

2/16/2017- Omg Books and More Books- Review

2/17/2017- So Few Books- Interview

2/17/2017- Month9Books- Excerpt

Week Two:

2/20/2017- Two Chicks on Books- Interview

2/20/2017- Don't Judge, Read- Review

2/21/2017- Susan Heim on Writing- Excerpt

2/21/2017- Book-Keeping- Review

2/22/2017- Wishful Endings- Interview

2/22/2017-Hidden Worlds Books- Guest Post

2/23/2017- Always & Forever Fangirling- Excerpt

2/23/2017- the Blacksheep Reader- Review

2/24/2017- I am not a bookworm!- Review

Rock stars are just something out of a romance novel, right?

Gabby knew Nate was hiding something- 

she just never expected it to be that he was a rock star...

Gabby Denis, a struggling fashion designer, is not stupid. There is something off about Nate Cooper. She just doesn’t know what it is. Not many men are willing to take a girl out shopping and pay for her new clothes. She’s also never been out with a man who seems to have women recognize him. Or one with friends that need a formal dress made. Of course, she doesn’t turn down the chance to make it!

Gabby likes Nate for who he is, not because he lends her a car and pays for some of her things. For the first time in ages, she meets someone who supports her, and she genuinely enjoys his company. But he never tells her what he does for a living...until she sees him on the front page of the news.

Although, for Gabby, rock stars are a trope from movies and romance novels, she's going to have to decide if she's willing to give a real life one a shot at loving.

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“How’s work?” she asked, trying not to give away that she was prying. 

“It’s been slow, but that’s not always a bad thing.” He eyed her carefully. 

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. Both Gabby and Nate stepped off the elevator and fell into pace together, but she made sure that he was leading the way because she had not fucking clue where she was going. 

It didn’t take long to get to a door that Nate unlocked and opened. He set Gabby’s suitcase down by the window. 

“Wow.” 

Gabby stared out the window, her eyes widening at the scene in front of her. The lights lit up enough for her to see almost everything, but the dark made it prettier. I can’t believe I’m in England. 

“Why did you do this?”

“What?”

“Why did you do this for me?” Gabby turned to look at him, waiting for an answer.

“I didn’t do it for you.” 

Her heart dropped. Gabby stared at him, trying not to show her hurt. 

“The truth is I missed you. I wanted to see you. I wanted to make an impression and give you a reason to want to see me again.”

Gabby was left speechless for a couple of seconds. “You really think I don’t have my own reasons for wanting to see you again? I promise you. Me wanting to see you again has nothing to do with you flying me here, as much as it means to me. I want to see you again because I miss you.” 

He stared at her, slightly taken aback based on the look that crossed his face. He looked away quickly. 

“Thank you.”

He said it so softly she hardly heard it. Gabby crossed over to him and touched his back softly. He stepped toward her, still facing away from her. Gabby didn’t say anything. She just stood there, her hand against his back. She tried to figure out if she should say something or not, but she couldn’t think of anything worth saying, so she just kept her trap shut. A few seconds passed but not long until Nate turned and gave her a smile. 

“I’ve got to admit I don’t have a lot of time to hang out with you, but I figured I could at least bring you out here, and we could spend some time together, and then Paige and Kenda would love to hang out, I’m sure. If you don’t mind hanging out with them.”

“No, not at all.” It wasn’t quite a lie. She wanted to hang out with Paige and Kenda. She was just nervous to do it. From what she could tell, Paige and Kenda were best friends. Although Paige had been really nice to her when it was just the two of them, she wasn’t sure she would be with a friend around. 

Don’t worry so much. Paige doesn’t seem like that kinda girl. 

Trying to shove the thought out of her mind she padded over to the bed and sat. 

“Does that mean I won’t get to spend much time with you?”

“Sorry, but no. I’ve got a lot of work to get done.” 

Gabby bit her lower lip. She nodded, not liking his answer but understanding it. 

“I’d try to get out of it, but I know I can’t.”

“No, I don’t want you to put off work because of me. I don’t want to be that kind of girl.”

A smirk spread over his lips. “See this is one of the reasons I love you.”

His words shocked her. Gabby snapped her head up, and she stared at him with wide eyes. Had she just heard that right? 

Nate’s eyes were wide as he stared at her. “I mean…” He struggled to find words, looking scared.

“I know. I mean you don’t mean you love me.” She cut him off. Of course he didn’t love her. “That’s way too soon.”

“Yes. Yes, right. Still too early for love. I just meant—” 

“I know.”

“Yes. Good.” 

Nate ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh. He refused to meet her gaze. She wasn’t sure what to say next. Just play it cool. Pretend it didn’t even happen. She cleared her throat. 

“So, you’re not going to take me sightseeing.”

“Sorry, no. I can get the girls to, though, if you’d like.”

“I’d love that.” Maybe a little girl time would be good for her.

Kelly D. Smith is a 21 year old romance writer from Canada. After being homeschooled all her life she got her GED and has been pursuing her passion- writing- with the hopes of turning it into a full time career.

Smith is a personal improvement junky and loves excelling at challenges. She is a country girl at heart and loves spending the day outside with her 3 dogs and the cat!

How I Got my Agent: Brenda Drake PLUS Giveaway

Guardian of Secrets (Library Jumpers #2)

by Brenda Drake

Publication Date: February 7, 2017

Publisher:  Entangled Teen

 

Being a Sentinel isn’t all fairytales and secret gardens.

Sure, jumping through books into the world’s most beautiful libraries to protect humans from mystical creatures is awesome. No one knows that better than Gia Kearns, but she could do without the part where people are always trying to kill her. Oh, and the fact that Pop and her had to move away from her friends and life as she knew it.

And if that isn’t enough, her boyfriend, Arik, is acting strangely. Like, maybe she should be calling him “ex,” since he’s so into another girl. But she doesn’t have time to be mad or even jealous, because someone has to save the world from the upcoming apocalypse, and it looks like that’s going to be Gia.

Maybe. If she survives.

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OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES:

Goodreads

Gia Kearns would rather fight with boys than kiss them. That is, until Arik, a leather clad hottie in the Boston Athenaeum, suddenly disappears. While examining the book of world libraries he abandoned, Gia unwittingly speaks the key that sucks her and her friends into a photograph and transports them into a Paris library, where Arik and his Sentinels—magical knights charged with protecting humans from the creatures traveling across the gateway books—rescue them from a demonic hound.

Jumping into some of the world's most beautiful libraries would be a dream come true for Gia, if she weren’t busy resisting her heart or dodging an exiled wizard seeking revenge on both the Mystik and human worlds. Add a French flirt obsessed with Arik and a fling with a young wizard, and Gia must choose between her heart and her head, between Arik's world and her own, before both are destroyed.

How I Got My Agent

The journey that led me to my current agent was filled with missteps, heartbreaks, and frustrations. Before signing with the fabulous Peter Knapp of the Park Literary Group, I’d had another agent. My relationship with my previous agent had soured. Mistakes were made and the confidence in her ability to represent me waned. She’d convinced me into signing a book deal that wasn’t in my best interest. Thankfully, her agent contract had an end date. So when it expired, I took the opportunity and didn’t resign with her. Many of her clients left her at the same time. They all had similar issues as I had had with her, so I felt confident in my decision. 

I hold writer contests on my blog and host the quarterly Twitter pitch parties on the hashtag #PitMad. Just a few weeks after I’d left my agent, there was a #PitMad. I’d spotted Pete on hashtag favoriting tweets, which is a request to read more by agents. He’d been starring middle grade books, and I had one I was about to query. I invited him to be an agent in one of my contests and warned him I’d be sending him a query. He said he looked forward to seeing it. Since I’d already been agented before, I made a narrow list of six to seven agents that I would want to work with and sent them all queries. 

The next day, along with three other agents, Pete asked to read the full manuscript. Thirteen days later, he said he enjoyed reading it and wanted to talk to me on the phone. After an awkward phone call on my part, he’d offered representation. It took all my control not to scream in his ear. I had to notify the other agents of the offer and then wait for their responses. In the end, I chose Pete. I knew he was the agent for me on that first call. It was refreshing to have some who was calm and professional in my corner. 

With Pete’s help and support, I was able to get out that publishing deal. It was tough and I was scared, but I had to jump. And I’m so glad I did. Because a few months later we inked the deal with Entangled Teen for the Library Jumpers series. Though I’d had a year of disappointments, it all worked out in the end … with a slight detour. 

Brenda Drake is a New York Times bestselling author of Thief of Lies (Library Jumpers #1), Guardian of Secrets (Library Jumpers #2), Touching Fate (Fated Series #1), and Cursing Fate (Fated Series #2). She grew up the youngest of three children, an Air Force brat, and the continual new kid at school. She hosts workshops and contests for writers such as Pitch Wars and Pitch Madness on her blog, and holds Twitter pitch parties on the hashtag, #PitMad. When she’s not writing or hanging out with her family, she haunts libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops, or reads someplace quiet and not at all exotic (much to her disappointment).

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Giveaway Information: 

·        $50 Amazon Gift Card with Guardian of Secrets swag pack  *International winners will only get $50 GC*

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For the Love of Books Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the

Love of Books Giveaway Hop

February 4th-14th

A Big THANK YOU to all of the bloggers that participate in these hops!   There are many blogs participating in this hop, so be sure to stop by each and enter to win!  Each has their own entry rules and geographic limits, so be sure to read the rules for each one.

This hop is hosted by STUCK IN BOOKS!

HERE IS WHAT I HAVE FOR ONE LUCKY WINNER:

(1) Paperback Copy of ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins  from The Book Depository 

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