I'm not a baseball fan. Did I get that right? Is the bull pen where the pitcher warms up?
Because I, having recently read 's post on pitching to editors, have been practicing my pitches.
Practice Pitch for Harp & Gyre
My novel, Harp & Gyre is a completed high fantasy Juvenile of about 50 000 words, told in tight 3rd person from the viewpoint of the protagonist. Allma, apprentice bard, was convinced that his future as a keeper of history and advisor to kings was assured, but his unwary tongue and his mischievous pranks have finally become too much for his master, Lord Bectus. Bectus has been called away to try stop an impending war, and he regretfully decides to leave Allma behind. Allma can't bear to lose the respect and good will of his teacher, so he steals away after him, determined to prove himself worthy of song and story. His self-assigned diplomatic mission to find allies for the shortly to be besieged city of Ilam is less than successful, and in the end Allma finds that his only option is to speak to the invaders in person. But will his youthful earnestness and silver tongue be enough to save an entire kingdom from destruction? Maybe not. Fortunately along the way he's made friends with a young elf enchantress, some telepathic unicorns, acquired a pair of magical dice, and learned that sometimes you just have to do what needs to be done.
My name is Michelle Bottorff, and I wrote this book because it was the type of book I loved reading as a child and, well, I still love reading this kind of book. I think its cool when a total underdog, like a little kid, manages to plausibly accomplish something that all the big important people can't manage to do, and I love going somewhere that doesn't exist and seeing things that could never be. I have six kids and they all love fantasy, and after I practically forced them to read this book they confessed that they wouldn't be ashamed to admit in public that they were related to its author. I have sold a children's short story and a rpg article at professional rates, and I also write fantasy and science fiction for older readers. If this book is of any interest to you I have a sequel practically finished. As for my expectation for a writing career, well, I have written stories since I was twelve and I will continue to write until the day I die, and I figure if I'm going to do all that work anyway, I might as well get paid. I'm hoping my training in drama and public speaking will serve me well when the time comes to do marketing and promotion.
Practice Pitch for Cantata in Coral and Ivory
My novel Cantata in Coral and Ivory, is a completed fantasy comedy of manners of about 126 000 words. It is narrated in first person by the personal scribe of the protagonist. This scribe is in some ways an unreliable narrator, because, although he desperately wants to tell the true story of what happened, it is forbidden for him to say anything that might be considered derogatory about his master… and his master is a gruff sea-captain, with the build of a professional wrestler and a sailors' vocabulary who has just unexpectedly come into the family title and is now required to take up residence at court. Lord Ikhsior wants nothing better than to get out of there, but the longer he stays at court, the more he becomes entangled in its affairs. A lady-in-waiting offers him a gift he cannot refuse, but will he need to pay a price he cannot afford? Can he face down the snide and sophisticated Lord Lare, explain the meaning behind the mysterious disappearing rock man, orchestrate a court sight-seeing expedition, manage his estates, maintain his family honor, and find true love, all while conjuring up songs appropriate to every occasion at the drop of a lady's hairpin? Well, he can, but will the court ever recover from the resulting havoc? And can he survive the Emperor's resulting wrath?
My name is Michelle Bottorff, and I wrote this book to combine three of my greatest loves in literature. The first is my obsession with romance, the second is the invention/discovery of a strange and exotic new places and cultures, and the third is the wry, tongue-in-cheek sort of humor found in Jane Austin, Oscar Wilde and Georgette Heyer. I have written stories since I was twelve and have sold a children's short story and a rpg article at professional rates, as well as winning a few negligible writing contests and challenges. I have many stories to tell and I'm more interested in building a long term career than I am in making a splash, but I understand the need for promotion, so I've taken a course in internet marketing, and hopefully my training in drama and public speaking will also prove useful when the time comes.
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