MORE ABOUT WHAT I LIKE, WANT, and SAY
MY WISH LIST:
Bottom Line: I’m looking for a fantastic idea (the kind where you go “Oh My Goodness, what a GREAT premise!) and the voice, character, story, and world-building to back it up.
A fantastic idea and premise will usually get my interest and the writing & the voice will keep me going. Some of my favorite books that I have not represented are LOOKING FOR ALASKA, THE TESTAMENT OF GIDEON MACK, NIGHT CIRCUS, BEFORE I FALL, A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD, IF I STAY, THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, SANDMAN SLIM, MR G, THEN YOU WERE GONE and so so so many more. I tweet and blog about such books often, though not as often as I'd like.
In Adult fiction, my tastes run from up market literary and high concept, to paranormal romances. thrillers, urban fantasy, and edgy mysteries. I always like an interesting hook, a romantic element, mayhem & mystery. I would love to get a literary thriller or mystery like Gillian Flynn's GONE GIRL, Tana French's IN THE WOODS and THE LIKENESS or Diane Setterfield's THE 13th TALE. Some of my favorite authors in adult fiction works by Jeanine Frost, Tana French, Richard Russo, Julianna Baggott, and Cara Hoffman, John Irving and Laura Lippman.
In Young Adult fiction, I’m always on the lookout for Contemporary YA with a great commercial hook, though I tend to go for the dark/edgy and commercial YA. I've been working on some contemporary classic YA - which I love - and might be more in the mood for a big splashy commercial sci-fi like LEGEND by Marie Lu or CREWEL by Gennifer Albin. I'm also dying for YA thrillers and mysteries like TEN by Gretchen McNeil, WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND by Tracy Bilen, CIRCLE OF SILENCE by Carol Tanzmen and THEN YOU WERE GONE by Lauren Strasnick with whom I am now totally obsessed. Anything from Kekla Magoon to Lauren Oliver to Beth Revis to Ally Carter to Elizabeth Wein. If someone could send me an amazing YA heist novel like The Italian Job or Heist Society that would be great! I also want a classic YA horror in the vein of Lois Duncan and Christopher Pike.
I love Middle Grade with an element of magic, like Coraline, Juniper Berry, Savvy and Zombie Tag, as well as traditional MG with fantastic characters and voice, and an original concept, like Fetching and A Dog's Way Home. And I want to be frightened. I want a Gothic tale. I’d love a YA mystery like Veronica Mars. I want a tricky game of cat and mouse, tension (of all varieties), a truly original re-imagined tale, myth or legend a la Graceling.
I’m interested in: clockwork, cyberpunks, streampunk, time-travel and the intricacies of the space-time continuum, love, forensics, mythology, covert operations, medicine, engineering, stars, nanotechnology, mysterious disappearances, weird science, awesome sidekicks, hackers, math geeks, spies, nerds, disguises, sexual tension, and all sorts of bits and bobs. I tweet about aforementioned bits and bobs, too.
In Adult fiction, my tastes run from up market literary and high concept, to paranormal romances, thrillers, urban fantasy, and edgy mysteries. I always like an interesting hook, a romantic element, mayhem & mystery. Some of my favorite authors in adult fiction works by Jeaniene Frost, Tana French, Richard Russo, John Irving, Julianna Baggott, and Cara Hoffman.
Please note, that while I have my wish list, some of my favorites have been the ones that came by surprise.
CLIENTS and RECENT ACTIVITY
I represent such authors as Jenn Crowell (ETCHED ON ME, Atria 2014) Laura Woollett (THE WOOD OF SUICIDES, permanent press 2014) Karen Akins (LOOP St. Martin's 9/2013) Anna Myers (TUMBLEWEED BABY, Abrams 2014) Eliza Crewe (CRACKED, strange chemistry 2013) Corey Haydu (OCD LOVE STORY, Simon Pulse 2013), Andrea Hannah, Jill Mackenzie, Hannah Sternberg (QUEENS OF ALL THE EARTH, Bancroft press, 10/2011) Steven Parlato (THE NAMESAKE Merit Press, 1/2013) J.B. Lynn (FURTHER CONFESSIONS OF A SLIGHTLY NEUROTIC HITWOMAN Avon 10/ 2012) Meredith Zeitlin (FRESHMAN YEAR AND OTHER UNNATURAL DISASTERS penguin putnam 3/2012) and Lucas Mann ( CLASS A, Knopf spring 2013).
FIND ME ONLINE:
There's always Twitter and boy-howdy do I tweet.
Here are some interviews I've done but keep in mind they are not always up-to-date:
Mother. Write. Repeat Agent Author Chat with Karen Akins (LOOP):
Literary Rambles: AGENT SPOTLIGHT fall 2010
YAtopia
GuideToLiteraryAgents: NEW AGENT ALERT
Interactive Interview with MOTHER I WRITE.
I'm also listed on QueryTracker
If all else fails, GOOGLE ME.
