ABNA 2010: Past the pitch phase...

Yeah, it's a little fuzzy, but the message is clear...I made it past the pitch phase for ABNA cycle 3.

As I've been watching American Idol, I feel like those contestants who've tried out 3 or 5 or 7 times or made it past Hollywood week only to be cut before Top 24...anxious, hopeful, but not putting myself all out there...again.

Anywho, with a baby to cuddle and distract me, I won't be as vigorous this year with soliciting reviews.

To be honest, I won't be soliciting any reviews. The best approach to ABNA is to enter and forget about it until you get an email or call to fly to New York.

I am feeling pretty proud about my pitch and the changes I made to my manuscript, though, so maybe I do have a real chance this year...especially considering it's YA up against YA.

And, third time's a charm.

Here's my pitch, by the way...oh, and why does Amazon like my pitches so much, but I can't get a call back from an agent to save my life??

It’s hard for fourteen-year-old Varuna (Una) Kannon to say goodbye to ‘normal’. Days away from following in her parents’ footsteps as Guardians of the Elements, she can’t shake the feeling that when she and her best friend, Reed Yin, leave Seattle aboard a sea-ship full of ‘magical’ tree-hugging strangers, something more dangerous than magical will happen. On departure night, Una’s fears begin to manifest when a dreamt-of pirate queen materializes as a very real and mortal threat. Una escapes with Reed to their training ship, but leaves believing her parents are dead.

Thrust into her new life as a Novice Guardian trainee in the Earth’s Amaranthine plane – where the fastest ride is a carrier-cloud and nothing’s what it seems when light-masking’s involved – Una tries to balance the grief of loss with new friendships and her Elemental training. However, it’s not long before Una starts to wonder if she’s going crazy when she sees people who aren’t there, has visions of a pale stranger who offers the impossible, and swears that someone with flaming red-orange hair is always nearby when these things happen.

Crazy or not, the training year progresses for Una and the year-end Novice Challenge draws nearer. She and her group of friends prepare as best they can, but they know the reward for winning could mean death…unless one of them happens to be the forthcoming super Guardian known as the Paladin.

Fans of imaginative fantasy adventures featuring young heroines and heroes alike will enjoy Varuna Kannon and the Caluminar’s Cave (77,000 words), especially young female readers who love to escape into character-driven stories.

A diverse decade-plus career with children and a love for all things magical inspired me to write this novel and pursue a path as a YA author.

Peace

A Pink American