Judith Engracia Stops In For A Chat

(Judith and her gorgeous Siberian Husky.)

I must say it has been a delight doing this contest with Judith.  I was so pleased when she picked an extra winner.  One day I'll write a big girl book and be able to submit it to her.  (wink)  But for now, this interview might give all you YA, MG, and other novel writers some insight to Judith's likes and dislikes.  :)

ME: Judith, what made you decide to become a literary agent?


JUDITH: I always knew I wanted to work with books, so I decided to try out an intership with a literary agency. I was just a sophomore in college and didn't really know what the job entailed, but after the literary agent described the job during my first interview, I fell in love immediately. I remember squealing, "I can't believe a job like this exists!"

ME: How important were reading and writing to you as a child? Did you have a favorite author growing up?

JUDITH: When I think about my childhood, the most prominent memory is reading on the living room couch with books stacked up next to me. I didn't really go out much--in fact, I think there's a permanent imprint of my body on the couch. I grew up with Francine Pascal's Sweet Valley books (Sweet Valley Kids, Twins, High, etc) and later her gritty Fearless series, so I guess you could say she was my favorite author. But I also read a lot of Lois Duncan and Gail Carson Levine. And since my mom was an English teacher who tuned me into the classics, I read and cried over The Iliad and The Phantom of the Opera (why, Christine, why?!) many times. As for writing, I scribbled in my journal a lot and wrote haikus to my Siberian Husky, but I'm not sure if that counts.

ME: Who are some of your favorite contemporary authors? What are your favorite genres?

JUDITH: Let's see...I have to read every thriller by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (who knew an albino detective could be so hot?), and I'm dying to read the next installment in Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series and Kelly Gay's Charlie Madigan series. There's Orson Scott Card, too, for creating my loves, Ender and Bean. And somebody please tell me when the next book by Chuck Palahniuk, Jeffrey Eugenides, or Jonathan Safran Foer is coming out! As for genres, I like literary fiction, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, thrillers, mysteries, YA, and MG.

ME: When people query you, do you like amusing queries or do you prefer more professional letters?

JUDITH: Professional, definitely, but one that captures the tone or voice of the work. In other words, just because it's professional doesn't mean it has to be boring.

ME: Now for more personal questions...What do you do for fun?

JUDITH: Keysi Fighting Method! KFM is a method of self-defense that's meant to prepare you for multiple opponents in real-life situations on the street. It's really cool because we'll practice outside at night on the cement and have special days where we'll train in winter jackets or in shorts and flipflops, to try and make things as realistic as possible. I'm one test away from reaching the orange grade, so when I'm not reading, I'm shadowboxing.

ME: One last question... What advice would you give querying writers?

JUDITH: The query itself is a writing sample, so it should be tightly written. The manuscript could have a great plot, but if the query letter doesn't convince agents that it's well written, then it probably won't receive many requests.

*********

Again, I'd like to thank Judith for judging my critique contest.  If you haven't checked out her blog, you should!  You can also visit Liza Dawson Associates Literary Agency's website to find out about all the agents listed.  Judith will let us know when she is officially ready for queries.  :-)

Happy querying everyone!

Judith Engracia Picks....Three Winners!

Judith and I would like to thank everyone who entered our critiquing contest. A special thanks to those of you who took the time to give each other feedback. 

Judith said choosing the winners was difficult...She ended up deciding on three winners instead of two!  I'll be passing the three winners names and emails along to Judith and then she'll get in touch with you.

DRUM ROLL.....(Please)

The winners were:

Entry number 2 by Kathryn Kupanoff,

   Entry number 4 by Amy Sonnichsen and

 Entry number 19 by Carole Anne Carr.

I hope everyone enjoyed themselves and got some good feedback.  I'll be posting an interview with Judith later this week and so you can learn a little more about her.  Don't forget you can check out the books that Judith is reading on her blog....

Do you have any plans for this week?  I'm hoping to see some signs of spring, of course I know I'm not in control of that.  LOL!

Critique Contest with Guest Judge Judith Engracia! Let the Critiquing begin...and Entry Number 1

I'd like to thank Judith Engracia for being so gracious and offering to judge my critique contest.  Judith has a great book blog, if you don't already know about it and she works as a literary assistant at the Liza Dawson Associates Literary Agency.  Judith is currently building her client list.  

Judith's Bio....
Judith is a literary assistant at Liza Dawson Associates, handling audio rights and digital publishing. She graduated summa cum laude from Fordham University with a B.A. in English and History on a full presidential scholarship. Prior to joining Liza Dawson Associates in 2010, she interned at Random House and a number of literary agencies, including FinePrint Literary and Nancy Coffey Literary Management. She is currently building her client list and looking for all types of fiction, especially middle grade, young adult, urban fantasy, steampunk, and paranormal romance. When she's not reading, she is either training for her next martial arts test or causing mischief with her Siberian Husky, Grendel.


If you will remember, I asked that each of you critique at least ten entries if you entered this contest.  Hopefully this will give everyone some constructive feedback that they can work with.  Judith will be reading all the entries and choosing two winners by Saturday.  I will announce the winners on Sunday.  She will be emailing those two winners and requesting the first ten pages of their ms and she will be critiquing them.  Now if Judith happens to fall in love with a piece, I'm sure no one will mind if she asks me for an extra email address so she can contact you.  Right?

(If you are looking for my Show Me the Voice entry click here.)

Entry Number 1
 Title: The Blinded Gardener

Genre: Y/A contemporary

Meeting Danny changed the only life I knew: a breathing punching bag.

Once again, I found myself at a new school. My third in the past two years. It sucked having a dad in the military.

The final bell rang. As I wandered in the hall, I saw only one other guy besides me.

Maybe he can tell me how to get to my classroom?

He seemed unaware of me. Long bangs fell over his eyes as he loped passed me with a kind of natural ease.

“Hey, dude. Could you tell me how to get to room 305?”

Entry Number 2

Name: The Travelers
Genre: Fantasy

I don’t remember the first time I died, but Sophie does. She says I was a scared, old man, as I always am, lying in a pile of old, threadbare blankets in a thatched-roof cottage in Central England. Third century B.C., if memory serves.

I was terrified, she said, but she held my hand and told me it’d get easier after a handful of lifetimes. One day, it’d be as simple as taking a long, slow breath, then exhaling completely.

She was right, now that I think about it. That’s usually how dying feels, if you’re lucky.
I sigh.

Entry Number 3

Title: The Mist Chasers

Genre: YA Fantasy

Walmart was the first to disappear.

That night, my best friend, Adam and I did homework in my living room as usual. I know, our names are cliché, but I couldn’t not be friends with him just because our elementary classmates sang, “Adam and Eve, sitting in an apple tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g.” I sat with my knees folded on the rickety olive recliner, with him sprawled at the foot of it. We were supposed to be finishing a boring book for 11th-grade English by reading alternating chapters and sharing what we’d learned.

Entry Number 4

Title: SEAGULL RISING
Genre: YA Contemporary

Give me a well-sharpened knife. I can devein a shrimp in less than five minutes, and fly through a stalk of jiucai, piling it in a mound of green shards, as if it’s gone through a food processor. But when I drop the knife and face my life, I wish I were as good with a needle: as good at repairing as I am at cutting apart.

Ayi and I stand elbow-to-elbow at the kitchen counter making dumplings, jiaozi in Chinese. Looking at us, anyone would think this was a normal day, because every week day since I was seven years old we’ve made dinner together.

Entry Number 5

Title: Banshee's Daughter
Genre: Urban Fantasy

A hydra? Why couldn’t it ever be something normal, like a Doberman or Rottweiler? No sooner than the thoughts had crossed Iliana’s mind than the three-headed monster of myths reared back, inhaling deeply as it prepared to breath fire and acid down upon her.

Rolling her shoulders, Iliana danced back a few steps as she raised her arms, wrists crossed and palms out as she muttered the words to a spell.

The fire and ice feel of magic flowed through Iliana’s veins and burst from her palms, streaking across the short distance to the hydra. Before the monster could release an attack, it vanished, revealing a very irritated dragon.

Entry Number 6

Title: No Child Left Behind
Genre: YA/Slice of L

“It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

It was my father’s favorite saying- for a lot of reasons, both personal and professional. In fact, we heard a lot more of it around the house, for mundane things, after his book was published, after he had applied his trademarked axiom to wars, genocide, environmental rape and bad movies (I won’t throw the usual suspects like Glitter and Ishtar to the wolves, those poor films have suffered enough on the altar of our scorn).

You see, Patrick Dolan, my father- he’s the real writer in the family.

Entry Number 7

Title: Rock 'n' Roll Princesses Wear Black
Genre: Humorous realistic middle grade

“Yes, I’m back in black!” blasted from the family room speakers. My little brother cried like a baby in his bedroom, because, well, he’s a baby. I stepped into my room and shut the door for some peace and quiet. My dad usually listens to his AC/DC playlist on the iPod speakers while he pays bills. AC/DC is a “classic” rock band. Which means they’re old. I like music and all, but there’s a time for rocking out and there’s time to get things done. I needed to find something to wear to Brooke’s birthday party right now. If only my brother would go back to sleep.

Entry Number 8

Title:The Destinies of Mirnth
        Book One: Prophecies
Genre: YA Fantasy

Long Ago…

I can hardly bear this.

Appearing before my Queen knowing she will instantly be unnerved by my presence.

In truth, I dread visiting at all, as her fear is justified -- many times over. I have come with
news, hard news for anyone to hear. It seems that is all I carry any longer.

As I step over the threshold of the queens hall, the vast space around me illuminates in soft
golden light. A warm entrance for any audience. I avert my eyes as she enters, where I see my
niece thrill at my rare visit. The pain that stabs me is crippling.

Entry Number 9

Title: THE PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY FRIENDSHIP
Genre: MG Contemporary

When they'd first started the cemetery, Annie always hoped for rain.She thought it was more dramatic. But common sense won out. Rain turned the holes into mud baths.

Fortunately, today was perfect, clear-sky burial weather. If she had to wait any longer, it would be too late.

 Annie eavesdropped from the top of the stairs. Matt and a friend droned on about healing plants for boyscouts. That'd keep him out of her hair.

She tip-toed down the hall and peeked in her mom's room. Busy with bills. And Kate was out of the house. Perfect.

Entry Number 10

Title: SEEING
Genre: YA Paranormal

I didn’t know who she was, or what the fuck she was doing in my room, but she was naked. The shirt I was holding slipped from my hand and I stopped short.

She was in front of the window with her head cocked to the side, looking right at me, like she had been waiting for me. White-blonde hair, parted in the middle, fell to her waist. Her left breast was covered, but the other one, I could see. My eyes drifted lower. She was shaved. No hair. None.

“Who”—I took a breath and began again—“who are you?”

Entry Number 11

Title: Edmund the Clumsy Knight
Genre: MG fantasy

Edmund’s first mistake was when he tripped over the dog and dropped the bowl of hot stew into the knight’s lap.

It was a busy day in his parents’ inn, and the idea of serving a knight had sent his clumsy feet in all directions.

He dreamed of becoming a great knight doing great deeds. His father had grumbled at the idea and his mother hid behind her aprons, but his mind was set on it.

But now, he had spilled steaming stew in the lap of the first royal knight he’d ever seen so close.

Entry Number 12

Title: THE FREAK EMPORIUM
Genre: YA PARANORMAL

I heard Mom’s voice in my head. I’ll always be with you, Jilly. But that was impossible. I stiffened in the mourner’s chair. Chills rippled across my skin. Pain knifed through my brain. My heart beat so fast it threatened to explode. At first, I thought grief played some trick on me. Of course, I wanted Mom to be alive. But that distinctly was her voice. This was beyond strange.

“What are you staring at?” asked my best friend, Rella, seated beside me.

Mom’s photo in the gilded frame was bigger than the mahogany box that held her ashes.

Entry Number 13

Tile: Steamed Up
Genre: YA Steampunk

Nico ducked behind the rubbish in the alley and closed his eyes for precious seconds. Lower the heart speed. Slow the breathing. He peeked at his wrist chrono. Not enough. If they had an identifier, they’d find him.

He closed his eyes again to concentrate. He barely noticed the rat scurry across his foot as he imagined melting into the bricks and empty tins. When he opened his eyes, he belonged to the alley. His temperature matched the foggy London night, his breath left no telltale mist.

Footsteps pounded on the cobblestones, nearing the alley. Two sets slowed. Nico’s amplified hearing caught the whisper.

Entry Number 15

Title: The Story of Two
Genre: Women's Fiction

I wanted nothing more than to buy Kate a dress. Of course, she was
disinterested. She stared out the tall windows of the boutique
instead. A red balloon dangled from the tree, its long string swaying
back and forth.

“It’s just a balloon,” I said, remembering a short film about a boy
who paraded around Paris with a gigantic red balloon. The way he ran
around the city to retrieve it after it blew away. His little legs,
socks pulled up to his knees, racing through the cobblestone streets
of Paris.

But Kate did not run. She did not follow.

Entry number 14

Title: Jedda Hitler, Traitor to the Party
Genre: YA-historical fiction

Grandfather would have never allowed such incompetence in his army.

Sagging belly and paunchy eyes, my jailer the Brown Shirt leans almost casually against the tiled, bathroom walls. Where discipline was once religion, conviction is replaced by indolence.

He would not be so at ease if he knew how loose his men tied my bonds.

I could kill him now if I wished.

Except I want information.

“Give me your name.” His voice echoes. We are underground, in a tunnel. He believes he is the one interrogating, with me slumped on the bathroom floor before him.

Entry Number 16

Title: BEAUTIFUL THINGS NEVER LAST
Genre: Contemporary YA

My mother is totally nuts. I say this with complete certainty, and with the backing of fourteen medical professionals’ opinions. They have filled her head- and our medicine cabinet, with enough bottles to make a CVS jealous. Lithium, Darvocet, Prozac, Xanax- they are all present and accounted for- happy little tablets to curb her unruly moods. So, what did come first, the meds, or her major personality defect? If you ask me, I don't think she started off certifiably emo. I think she was just unhappy and my dad knew it’d be easier to partially sedate her and keep her quiet than attempt to make her life better.

Entry Number 17

Title: Cursed
Genre: MG Fantasy

Samuel was already running when the miller’s shed exploded. The wind whistled behind him and he closed his eyes as it overtook him, lifting him off his feet. For a brief moment, he soared. Then he tucked his elbows in and landed with a thud, rolling several times before he came to a stop, lying on his back. Samuel’s experience with explosions had honed his technique for landing. If you are ever in a similar situation, you will find that keeping your elbows tucked in is vital upon making contact with the ground.

He opened his eyes and watched the white cloud drift down towards him.

Entry Number 18

Title: Cat’s Eye
Genre: Upper YA/Cross

It was a Tuesday when it happened, many years after many cat’s eyes. The sun was shining. The sky a crisp blue. A day my mother would have danced herself out into taking me along so I could see the world through her eyes, as if my own weren’t quite enough. I needed a guide, an interpreter, or so she had me believe.

She saw brilliance. I saw reality. The touch of greys tugging at the edges of her brighter than bright day, and that one Tuesday was no different to the many other days, except for the briefest of moments, I was seeing things through her eyes alone.