YA biology-themed high fantasy -- looking for fellow mom writers!
Hi! I’m a writer of YA/NA crossover sci-fi/fantasy, currently working on my 10th manuscript. I’m also a nature nut and science nerd with two field guides published through Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. You’ll find that comes through a lot in my writing!
I’m a 39-year-old stay-at-home mom of two kids under 5 and do most of my work in the evenings after everyone’s gone to bed. I’d love to connect with other writer moms – we all have similar time availability and understand the unique challenges that come with kids.
I’m also Director of WriteOnCon 🙂 and have another field guide under contract, so I can sometimes be a little slow to read manuscripts, depending on what’s on my plate. (Does anyone have a spare time-turner I could borrow?) But I do try to respond same-day on shorter stuff, and I’m always just a text-message away when you need emergency reassurance, brainstorming, or celebration! 😀
If you’re in eastern Ontario, I’d love to connect! It’s hard to find writers of YA around here.
I don’t mind frank constructive criticism, but I definitely need a good dose of praise in your critiques, too. I’m always sure to offer the same. 🙂
For more examples of my writing, check out my Twitter-poll choose-your-own-adventure story pinned to my @SeabrookeN Twitter account or search for #TheWhisperingWoods.
Fast pacing, strong emotions. Rich worldbuilding in fantasies or sci-fi. Romance sub-plots a must or I’ll start shipping your characters for you. Badasses, especially badass women (does not mean they have to be sarcastic and hard). Fight scenes and chases. Heists and gray morality. Gentle, compassionate guys. Wit and banter.
Favourite authors include Leigh Bardugo’s YA, Susan Dennard, Kiersten White, Ryan Graudin, Ashley Poston, Francesca Zappia
Favourite books and series not by the above authors include THE SCORPIO RACES; CINDER; GRACELING; GRAVE MERCY; WHITE CAT; Robin McKinley’s SUNSHINE; FANGIRL; A COURT OF MIST AND FURY; THE CONSPIRACY OF US
Favourite movies: EVER AFTER; THE PRINCESS BRIDE; James Cameron’s AVATAR (the worldbuilding!!); THE INCREDIBLES 1 & 2; BIG HERO 6; STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS; BBC SHERLOCK seasons 1-3 (let’s not talk about season 4)
Favourite games: ASSASSIN’S CREED (the Ezio trilogy); PORTAL (the game); MASS EFFECT series
I’m not a suitable CP for MG or Adult – just don’t have the reading experience to critique well.
Anything involving royalty, world wars, or royalty involved in world wars needs to have a really unique spin on it. Same with Chosen One narratives. A little fatigued with fairies/fae, half-dragons, and evil aliens (I like friendly aliens, though!). Not really into villain origin stories.
I’m not the best CP for heavily character-driven stories. No horror (I get nightmares!) or literary (I get bored) or verse (my brain hurts). Also looking to avoid anything really gritty or dark. Since having kids I find it hard to read.
After her father is injured, 18-year-old Indika turns to the cliff dragons who nest near her family’s farm to provide a source of additional income. She plans to lead ecotourism hikes to see the colony. But when she discovers someone is poaching the dragons, her priority becomes simply to save the animals – there can be no tours if there are no dragons. She hires a wealthy boy with magic training to use his magic to help her set up protections around the colony. But before they even reach the dragons, they’re abducted and dumped on a remote beach with no supplies, no boat, no way to contact anyone. They’ll have to work together to get home and figure out what’s going on.
(Okay, that blurb needs a LOT of work, haha.)
The dragons were breathtaking. Indika had almost forgotten how much watching them made her heart swell. The colony was scattered across rocky ledges up the side of the cliff; at least twenty of them, each dragon little bigger than a grown human. They perched on the ledges and preened, or hung from the rock by their sturdy wing-thumbs and squabbled. Half a dozen swooped through the air in front of the cliff, the golden light of the setting sun glinting off their bronzed skin.
How could anyone see these creatures and not be completely in awe? Indika crept quietly from the cover of the trees to settle on a rocky outcrop jutting over the forest. The trees rolled out beneath her, an undulating sea of green peppered with the pinks and yellows of flowers and epiphytes. A flock of birds flushed out from one and careened away with raucous laughter. Song bounced across the emerald waves and off the cliffs, birds beginning the evening chorus to the percussive clicks and buzzes of insects. The sweet scent of nearby flowers mingled with the faintly fishy, though not unpleasant, odor of the colony.
It had been a few weeks since Indika had last been able to make the climb up here. She and Mami had been putting in longer days at the market stall to make up for the reduced income after Papu’s injury. By the time she got home from ten hours of standing on the market’s hard paving stones, her feet were too sore to think about making the climb. They were sore today, too, but it had been too long and her heart ached to spend some time with the dragons. Besides, she had ulterior motives today.
As if sensing her wistfulness, one of the dragons swept in to land on the narrow ledge a few person-lengths away. Its wings swept up a flurry of twigs and rock dust and Indika squeezed her eyes shut till the air cleared. When she opened them again, the dragon was watching her. Her heart skipped a beat.
A SEA SO GREEN is my tenth manuscript. I’m currently drafting for NaNoWriMo, with the goal of finishing by Christmas. I plan to dabble in this world for a little while/few projects at least.
My ninth manuscript is out in the query trenches. Everything I’ve written before and likely will in future is SF/F.
Here are some best practices for reaching out to a potential CP:
- Include the link to your own CP Match profile! You can find it on your Dashboard. Don't have one yet? What are you waiting for? Anyone with a WriteOnCon.org account can make one!
- Introduce yourself a little, and say what appealed to you about their listing.
- Respect what's listed here in their profile. They took the time to fill it out, and they've included this information for a reason. Don't send a message about a book they specifically say is a Hard No, for example.
- Offer to swap a small sample of your works, so you can see if you're really compatible. First chapters are a good starting place.
- If one party no longer wants to continue the interaction, it's nobody's fault. Sometimes finding the right CP takes time.
Happy writing and CPing!
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