Agents Share How to Stay Motivated + News ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­
Agents Share How to Stay Motivated + News
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NEWS

WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING by Alyssa Cole won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Paperback Original. The book was also nominated for the Bouchercon 2021 Anthony Awards.

Reese’s Book Club posted the cover reveal for Emma Lord’s upcoming novel WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE.

Gena Showalter’s THE WARLORD made the USA Today and Wall Street Journal best-selling book lists.

N.K. Jemisin did an interview with Entertainment Weekly, where she discussed her MasterClass course and gave an update on the sequel to THE CITY WE BECAME.

New York Times Book Review called DEAD DEAD GIRLS by Nekesa Afia a “terrific series opener.”

THE QUEER PRINCIPLES OF KIT WEBB by Cat Sebastian was selected as a June LibraryReads pick.

Indigo named Emma Lord’s YOU HAVE A MATCH one of their Best Teen Books of 2021 So Far.

TJ Klune’s FLASH FIRE was featured in Publishers Weekly’s Children's Bookshelf as part of this LGTBQ+ Round-up.

N.K. Jemisin’s THE OBELISK GATE is a Premio Italia finalist, while THE FIFTH SEASON is a finalist in the 2021 Seiun Awards (the Japanese equivalent of the Hugo).

NOT OUR SUMMER by Casie Bazay made #1 on the Oklahoma Best-Sellers list.

Rebecca Hunter’s PURE SATISFACTION is up for Best Erotic Romance in this year’s Vivian Awards.

THE EXTRAORDINARIES by TJ Klune was selected as a finalist for the 2020 Green Mountain Book Award.

STOP THE KILLING author Katherine Schweit discussed the intersection of domestic terrorism and mass shootings on Talking Feds.

The “Most Anticipated Historical Fiction of Summer 2021” according to She Reads included RADAR GIRLS by Sara Ackerman.

TOR.com’s Witches and Warfare: New Young Adult SFF for May and June 2021 included BLOOD LIKE MAGIC by Liselle Sambury. The book also made Shondaland’s Summer 2021 Reading List and Netgalley’s Most-Anticipated Books of June.

Karen Aronian did interviews with FOX5 DC, FOX5 Atlanta, and CBS News.

Jase Peeples won "Best Celebrity Feature" at the 2020 LA Press Club's A&E Journalism Awards for a piece he wrote for Healthline.

Book Riot's Swords & Spaceships newsletter featured THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA by TJ Klune in a round-up about cats in Science Fiction and Fantasy novels.

ROUND TABLE

What is one quote or message that you like to share with clients or aspiring writers when they need motivation?

pamela

Pamela Harty

Sometimes I feel like a broken record because I have said this so many times to so many clients over the years. Authors need to remember how subjective the submission process can be and that it only takes one editor to make an offer to get the book published. It can be very difficult to see rejection after rejection and to lose focus and hope. What’s a pass to one editor may be seen as a golden opportunity for another. 

LucienneDiver

Lucienne Diver

Some of the most successful books are a struggle to sell at first because there’s nothing quite like them. There are no easy comps, because they’re entirely new and different. They’re a breath of fresh air. This can make them difficult to convince a publisher to take on. How will I market it? Where will I place it? But when you hit on the team with that vision—and again, it may be frustrating, it may be a struggle, but what worthwhile isn’t?—your book will stand out because it’s not something readers have been able to pluck off the shelves before. It doesn’t sound like everything else.

It’s new. It’s intriguing. It’s exciting. It’s special.

And that is everything. Find a person who believes in you even when you don’t believe in yourself and you stick with them. Together you’re golden.

travis-11

Travis Pennington

You may believe that successful writers have “made it,” and have no problem staying motivated because they’ve “arrived.” But any of them will tell you this isn't true. Everyone has days they lack motivation. So don't wait for inspiration or motivation to write. Just sit down and do it, no matter what. Some days, you may end up deleting everything you put on paper. And that's okay. It's part of the process. And that's because many of your best writing days will also come when you weren't inspired at first. Yet you sat down and did it anyway. Quite often, it's just a matter of writing that first sentence, and the rest of the writing day comes easier than you expected.

NEW CLIENTS ON THE BLOCK

LydiaMcLaughlin186

Lydia McLaughlin
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Lydia McLaughlin is an on-air personality, published author, and magazine editor, but most proud of her role as a wife and mother of three boys. Lydia has been a Christian for over 25 years and put her faith on display as a cast member of Bravo's hit series, The Real Housewives of Orange County. Lydia has been leading women’s Bible studies for over two decades. She loves to encourage woman to read the Bible and step into a life of freedom.

Eveleigh 2

Mark Eveleigh
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Six nerve-wracking hours dangling from a frayed cable in a Venezuelan cable-car sent Mark Eveleigh into free-fall on a career as travel writer. Born in England, he grew up in Ghana and Nigeria and has spent more years based in Spain and Indonesia than he ever did in the UK. As a National Geographic author and freelance writer (and photographer), he’s traveled on assignment for more than 100 international publications, including BBC Wildlife, BBC Travel, CNN Travel, Conde Nast Traveller, The Telegraph, Esquire, Sports Illustrated, and National Geographic Traveller. He spends much of his time writing from homes in South Africa and Bali.

jamielilac

Jamie Lilac
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Jamie Lilac is a YA author from Georgia currently working in environmental education at The Pettit Preserve, a non-profit creating an outdoor teaching laboratory and a safe haven for native species. She has an affinity for stories of love, magic, mystery, and all of the wild & weird things in between. When she isn't writing, you can find her playing with her two dogs, Banks & Reese, and exploring nature.

RECENT DEALS

- Genevieve Cogman's SCARLET, ELUSIVE, and DAMNED, pitched as a new trilogy that reinvents the tale of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL with the addition of magic and even more mayhem, on an exclusive submission to Bella Pagan at Pan Macmillan in a good three-book deal for publication to begin in fall 2022, by Lucienne Diver

- Erin Bartels's DEEP CUT, in which a down-on-his-luck musician connects with a young woman he does not expect, and THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE DISTANCE, a dual-timeline narrative that follows a once-obscure Impressionist-era artist and the modern-day museum employee determined to acquire one of the paintings she believes is rightfully hers, to Kelsey Bowen at Revell in a nice two-book deal, by Nephele Tempest

- Cait Nary's SEASON'S CHANGE, about a hockey player whose career is on the brink and who desperately needs a fresh start with his new team, only to fall for his mindfulness-practicing, kale-smoothie-drinking new teammate and roommate, to Kerri Buckley at Carina Press in a two-book deal, by Deidre Knight

- Lucy Parker's ACT LIKE IT, to Jota (Czech Republic), by Kristin Olson at Kristin Olson Literary Agency on behalf of Elaine Spencer

- Jonathan Gelber's THE IDEALIST, a biography of football legend Jack Trice, the grandson of slaves and the first Black athlete at Iowa State University (whose football stadium now bears his name), to Josh Williams at Triumph for publication in 2022 to coincide with the centenary of Trice's untimely death, by Elaine Spencer

- Lisa King's BLUE HAVEN, exploring what innovation can achieve—and destroy—despite the best intentions, again to Lou Aronica at The Story Plant in a nice deal, by Travis Pennington

- Deborah Blake's THE MODERN ECLECTIC WITCH'S COVEN, a guide for those looking for an alternative to the more conventional approach to group practice with suggestions for how to best practice magic with others in today's world, to Elysia Gallo at Llewellyn, by Elaine Spencer

- Faith Hunter's JUNKYARD WAR, the conclusion to a series including JUNKYARD CATS and JUNKYARD BARGAIN, featuring a woman who's been in hiding but has now been found out and must fight once more—this time not alone—in a nice deal to Jo Ann Peritz at Audible Originals, with Steve Feldberg editing, by Lucienne Diver

- Rachel Caine's INK AND BONE and PAPER AND FIRE, to Eksmo (Russian Federation), in a nice two-book deal, by Sergei Cheredov and Konstantin Palchikov at Nova Littera on behalf of Lucienne Diver

- Christina Henry's THE GIRL IN RED, to Metropolis (Hungary) in a nice deal for publication in October 2021, by Peter Bolza at Katai & Bolza on behalf of Lucienne Diver

- Hailey Edwards's THE REDEMPTION OF BOAZ PRITCHARD, to Kim Budnick at Tantor Media in a nice deal, by Lucienne Diver


NEW RELEASES

How to Find a Princess: Runaway Royals

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Makeda Hicks has lost her job and her girlfriend in one fell swoop. The last thing she’s in the mood for is to rehash the story of her grandmother’s infamous summer fling with a runaway prince from Ibarania, or the investigator from the World Federation of Monarchies tasked with searching for Ibarania’s missing heir.

Yet when Beznaria Chetchevaliere crashes into her life, the sleek and sexy investigator exudes exactly the kind of chaos that organized and efficient Makeda finds irresistible, even if Bez is determined to drag her into a world of royal duty Makeda wants nothing to do with.

Shadowed Steel (An Heirs of Chicagoland Novel Book 3)

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In the third installment in the USA Today bestselling Heirs of Chicagoland series, the vampires in Elisa Sullivan's world are out for blood.

Elisa Sullivan is the only vampire ever born, and she bears a heavy legacy. After a sojourn with the North American Central Pack of shifters in the wilderness—where she turned a young woman into a vampire to save her life—Elisa returns to Chicago.

Blue Collar Billionaire: A pretend boyfriend romance (Texas Cattleman's Club: Heir Apparent Book 3)

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Uptown girls who think they have the upper hand?

They don’t know Jack!

Jack Bowden has met enough rich women to know that Lone Star socialite Lexi Alderidge doesn’t take him seriously, even though their connection is instant. Still, the rugged contractor built his fortune from the ground up—surely he can build real rapport with Lexi the same way? But when “getting along” becomes “getting into bed,” will his brand of rough-and-tumble success ever truly fit into her high-class world?

Not Our Summer

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Two estranged cousins struggle to overcome a family feud as they travel together on five vacation trips that will change their lives forever.

It's bad enough that estranged cousins Becka and KJ see each other at their grandfather's funeral, but when he leaves them a bucket list of places to visit together over the summer, so they can earn their inheritance, it seems like things are about to get much worse.

All Fired Up: A Suspensful Paranormal Romance (Ashes and Dust Book 1)

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Paranormals are dying. All over the city, with no explanation and only one thing in common: their magic is missing.

Vampire and private investigator Evan Fournier isn’t supposed to be taking on paranormal cases, but when the murderer hits close to home, he agrees to look into it. The last thing he expects is to become a target himself—and then to become irrevocably bonded to the man who just tried to kill him.

Shadows Over London

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Justice Kasric’s world is turned upside down when her father forcibly bundles the entire family into carriages in the middle of the night and carts them off to a strange mansion on the outskirts of London. The Faerie are invading—and the Kasric siblings don’t even have a chance to stay neutral, because different members of their family are working for opposite sides.

Disaster Girl

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The only thing she knows better than walking into a disaster is digging herself out of one.

Tess Greene knows disaster—dating disasters, computer disasters, family disasters, you name it. But just when her life is finally almost perfect, she’s targeted by an internet celebrity who runs a revenge porn site admired by douchebags across the country. She has one month before the entire world will have an up-close-and-personal view of her sexual history. Tess has always handled everything on her own, but for this disaster, she needs backup.

A Family for the Firefighter: A Clean Romance (Polk Island, 1)

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He’s a courageous man…But can he rescue himself?

Firefighter Leon Rothchild had endured his share of grief. Still, honor compelled him to look after his late friend’s ex-wife and daughter. Though it was obvious the lovely Misty Brightwater could take care of herself, she welcomed Leon into her three-year-old’s life. Their family was a marvelous glimpse into the warmth of the one he’d lost and desperately missed. And perhaps it was the push he needed to risk everything again…

The Bachelor Bargain (Secrets, Scandals, and Spies Book 1)

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Bachelors, beware. For those who keep secrets and prey on the innocent, you will be exposed, with all your dirty little secrets laid bare to one and all. You have been warned…

Lady Olivia Haliford has had enough. Tired of seeing women lose their reputations, futures, and sometimes even their lives to scandal while the men walk free, she is ready to take back power and stand up for women everywhere. Along with her two closest friends, she plans to start an anonymous publication dedicated to dishing the dirt and exposing the secrets of society’s most eligible bachelors. But in order to do so, she will have to make a deal with the devil…

Evidence of Innocence (Love Inspired Suspense)

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She was wrongly accused…and now she’s searching for the dangerous truth.

Finally exonerated after fifteen years in prison, Kinsley Garrett’s determined to find her father’s true killer—even if it makes her a target. Staying alive means relying on police chief Marcus Bayne’s protection, but she won’t trust him…or anyone. Not after the way everyone turned on her following her arrest. But as Marcus risks everything to shield her, can Kinsley keep him from burrowing into her heart?

Hold Me: A Sexy Billionaire Romance

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With ten jobs and six addresses in four years, Peony Harding might as well change her name to Ms. Anticommitment. But before she can initiate Peony 2.0 (the responsible, career-minded, settled-down version of herself), she meets Jax Valentine—at a sex party. Jax is over six feet of dark, brooding, dirty fun…with a 100 percent chance of trouble. Like a sexy little game of “pretend marriage” that ends with a wickedly real wedding night!

Wilderness Defender (Alaska K-9 Unit Book 2)

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Innocent lives are on the line… Can an officer and her K-9 partner save them?

With murderous poachers targeting rare blue bear cubs, Alaska trooper Poppy Walsh and her K-9 partner, Stormy, will do whatever it takes to stop them. But having to team up with her ex-fiancé, park ranger Lex Fielding, will be Poppy’s biggest test. When the poachers go after Lex’s young son, can Poppy and Lex overcome their unresolved past…and survive a killer’s sights?

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