Today, I have the honor of having Jennifer Novotney, author of the award-winning
Winter in the Soul series on my blog to celebrate her latest release, Infinite Spring. She was kind enough to write a guest post on her experience finding an agent.
Jennifer Novotney
Author of the Winter in the Soul Series
I had been looking for an agent throughout my entire writing career. As most writers know, signing with a literary agent is really a dream come true. After I finished my first book, Winter in the Soul, I began my search. I followed the usual process of sending query letters, but that was a difficult road filled with rejection. That’s when I turned to Twitter. Nowadays, writers have more options than ever to get recognized. There are several Twitter pitch parties where writers can query a vast amount of agents, editors, and publishers in a short amount of time. This is how I found my current publisher, Anaiah Press.
It was only after the completion of my second book, Infinite Spring, that I garnered the attention of literary agents. Winter in the Soul won a Children’s Moonbeam Book Award and Infinite Spring was set to release in a few months. I found myself in the perfect situation to attract the perfect agent. I was pitching a children’s book during a Twitter pitch party when I came across an agent I have never seen before. When an agent is interested in finding out more about a manuscript during one of these parties, that agent normally favorites the tweet with the writer’s pitch. This agent did not favorite one of my tweets, however, I did not let that stop me from querying her the traditional way.
I decided to formally query her about my current project and found her to be very responsive. We wrote back-and-forth for a little over a week and realized that we worked quite well together. I am not the typical author and she is not the typical literary agent. We formed a solid friendship and have been working together ever since.
I wanted to share my experience in finding my literary agent to show that there are more ways than one to find representation. I hope this will inspire other writers to look outside the box and keep their hopes up. Success doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen for those who persevere.
Blurb:
As the Black Kingdom spreads,
Lilika attempts to save the land from destruction. But is it too late?
With the golden forsythia in hand,
Lilika and Talon must work together to plant it before powerful Cyperus and his
mallow close in on Summer Harvest and Spring Bloom. Transformed by her recent
discoveries, Lilika puts her own safety at risk in hopes of taking down the
Black Kingdom. She is their only hope at redemption and the only one with the
knowledge to defeat them.
In this breathtaking fantasy sequel
to Winter in the Soul, Lilika finds herself trapped in the grip of the Black
Kingdom where one mistake could cost her everything, but the right move just
might save everyone she loves.
Release Date:
July 7th, 2015
Book Links:
Goodreads:
Anaiah Press:
Amazon:
B&N:
Excerpt:
© 2015 Jennifer
Novotney
CHAPTER ONE
Winter
in the Soul
Lilika stood in
the upstairs guest room of her cousin Malachite’s house, looking out the
window. The house was old and creaky, but she loved it all the same. The snow
drifted down from the sky like tiny pieces of paper. Her gaze followed one
snowflake to the next, wishing she could catch each and every one of them to
save in her pocket. She’d put everything about Wits in her pocket if she could.
It was so beautiful here, but so cold. Even standing by the window gave her the
chills. She pressed her palm against the glass. It was cold as ice. She quickly
pulled it away and crossed her arms.
They’d only been
in Wits a short time, but she was beginning to get used to having family
around. She still had a mission. She needed to plant the forsythia around the
land as soon as possible to stop the Black Kingdom from spreading. It was a big
task, and Cyperus was no joke. She could definitely wait to come face to face
with him again. She had to admit she was partially glad her father suggested
they go back and rest up for the long journey back home.
“You know, I’m
really going to miss you, Lilika.”
She turned around,
and Malachite stood in the doorway.
“I know. I’m going
to miss you, too. It seems like we just found each other and now we have to
leave.” Lilika sighed.
“Will you come
back to visit? I know my mother would love that. We don’t see much family.”
Malachite leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms.
“Sure, if I can
convince my dad.”
“Malachite?” a
woman called from down the hallway.
“Who’s that?”
Lilika narrowed her eyes.
“Is she down here?”
the woman called again.
“It’s my
grandmother.” Malachite turned toward the hallway and called over his shoulder,
“Yes, Grandma Poppy! We’re in here!”
“Oh good!” Poppy
appeared next to him and tried to push him out of the way. “Well, come on now
and move over. I can’t very well get in past you like this.”
“Oh sorry.”
Malachite chuckled and backed up to let her through. Poppy was a small woman
who looked to be in her eighties, but she had a big personality. Lilika could
already tell that just by her entrance. She didn’t seem like one to let anybody
push
her
around. She was wearing a long, cream-colored dress that peeked out under a
grey, floor length sweater over it. She gripped the collar of the sweater
closed tight around her neck. Her lips were a soft pink color, and her barely
wrinkled skin looked smooth for her age. Her crystal blue eyes zeroed in on
Lilika.
“So, this is your
cousin, huh?” Poppy came very close to inspect Lilika. “You’ll have to excuse
me. My vision isn’t what it used to be.”
“That’s okay. It’s
nice to meet you.” Lilika smiled and held out her hand.
“You can call me
Poppy. That’s what all the kids use.” Was she another long lost family member?
Was this her father’s mother? Lilika’s stomach danced, and she widened her
smile. “So are you my grandmother, too?”
“Oh, no dear.
Sorry. I’m from Malachite’s father’s side.”
“Oh.” Come to
think of it, she’d never heard Malachite mention his father. Her gaze moved to
him. “Your father? Is he here?”
Malachite shook
his head. “No, he’s out on an expedition. He won’t be back for another week or
so.”
Her smile dropped
along with her hopes of meeting him. “Well, that’s too bad.”
“Another time
maybe.” Poppy’s gaze drifted down to Lilika’s locket, and she pointed to it.
“Oh, I see you’ve got one, too.” She looked at Malachite over her shoulder.
“Did you take her to see it yet?”
“Yes, Poppy, I
did.” He nodded. “And? What did you think, Lilika? That magical golden
forsythia is something, isn’t it?”
“Oh, yes. It sure
is.” Somehow, that came out more sarcastic than she’d anticipated. Her cheeks
got hot, and she laughed nervously. “I mean, it is quite beautiful, all those
bright flowers together like that. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s… it’s
magnificent is what it is.”
Poppy glared at
Lilika for a little too long. Her sweet expression seemed to turn in an instant,
and her gaze stayed glued on Lilika. “Malachite, why don’t you give me a few
minutes alone with Lilika.”
Malachite stood up
straighter and furrowed his brows as if he was put off by her request. “Okay.
We’ll talk more later, then, Lilika.”
“Sure. I’ll see
you downstairs.” She waved to Malachite. Well, this couldn’t be good.
He left and shut
the door behind him. Lilika stood as still as a statue. The room was so quiet
she could only focus on her pounding heartbeat.
Poppy came closer
and whispered, “What do you know, dear?”
“Me?” She put her
hand to her chest and shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Oh, don’t you
play dumb with me. I can see it in your eyes. You know more than the others.
There’s something different about you.” Poppy tilted her head and examined
Lilika’s face.
“I… I don’t know
what you mean.” Lilika’s stomach filled with a thousand butterflies. Suddenly,
the golden forsythia burned a hole in her pocket. She seriously
thought
it would catch flame. “Did you see one?” Poppy craned her neck forward, her
eyes wide.
“See one what?”
“A Welkin.”
“A what?” Lilika
crinkled her nose. It sounded like something horrible.
“So, you don’t
know about the Welkins then, huh? I was sure you had met one by the look on
your face.”
“The Welkins? I’ve
never heard of them.” Lilika narrowed her eyes.
“Oh yes. The
Welkins were a mighty force when they were around.”
“Where are they
now?”
“They took to the
waters when the blackness was prophesized.”
“The blackness,”
Lilika said flatly. That she knew about. It was the Black Kingdom led by the
worst one of all, Cyperus. It was the exact reason she’d taken a golden
forsythia plant from the dome in Winter in the Soul in the first place. She
thought disbursing it around the land would’ve destroyed the Black Kingdom. She’d
only planted one forsythia so far, so she really couldn’t be sure that was the
answer.
“Have you seen
it?” Poppy put her warm hand on top of Lilika’s.
She hesitated.
“Seen it?”
“Yes, dear. The
blackness. The Black Kingdom. Have you seen it?”
She had, but she
wasn’t sure if she wanted to divulge that to Poppy. “I…”
“Come on dear, you
can tell me.” Poppy’s expression softened.
Lilika exhaled
softly. “I have. I went through it on the way here.”
Poppy’s eyes
widened, and she leaned back. “Did you? My, I’ve never seen it. Only heard
about it. What’s it like?”
“Well, consider
yourself lucky. It’s not a place I recommend visiting. It’s dark and
frightening. Not a really welcoming place at all. There are creatures there I
wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.”
Poppy’s wrinkled
lips curved into a smile, and she patted Lilika’s hand. “You know what, dear? I
like you.”
“Thanks, I guess.”
Lilika shrugged.
“Oh no, that’s a
compliment. I don’t normally like many people like this, and that’s why I’m
going to give you some advice.”
“Okay.”
Poppy leaned in
close and whispered, “Stay as far away from here as possible.”
“What?”
“Just trust me,
dear, and never come back. Take an old woman’s word for it.”
“But why?”
“It’s for your own
good. You seem like such a sweet girl. You don’t want to get wrapped up with
what’s going on around here.” She pointed to the window.
“What
is going on here?” She desperately wanted to know more about all of it and
something told her Poppy was just the one to inform her.
“Oh, I don’t know
if we have time to get into all of that.” Poppy leaned back and pursed her
lips.
Lilika had pushed
too much. She wasn’t here to make enemies. She just might need Poppy’s wisdom
in the future. “Of course. I understand. Well, do you think you can tell me
more about the Welkins? Surely we have time for that.” Lilika stared hopefully
at Poppy.
“What do you want
to know?”
“This is the first
I’ve ever heard of them. You said they live in the water?”
Poppy nodded.
“Yes, they are the oldest, wisest living beings across our lands. They used to
live all around us, but then they predicted a blackness would overtake our
lands. So, they moved underwater to avoid it.”
“Underwater? But
how do they survive?”
Poppy shrugged.
“They have their ways.”
“And did it work?
Are they safe from the Black Kingdom?”
“For now.”
“So they predicted
that the Black Kingdom would spread before it ever even happened?”
“They did.” Poppy
nodded.
“Wow. Do you think
they know how to stop it?”
Poppy arched her
brow. “Stop it?”
“Yes, the Black
Kingdom. I mean, is there a way to stop it?”
Poppy threw her
hands up, her palms facing upwards. “Who knows? They are quite elusive and
would be hard to find anyway. Even if you did find them, you might not
understand their wisdom.”
“Have you seen
them before?”
Poppy’s gaze
caught Lilika’s. “Yes.”
“Where? When?”
Lilika leaned toward her.
“When it was only
us in Winter in the Soul. When we were all together as one. There was no Summer
Harvest or Spring Bloom. It was just us. Things were simpler then, you know.”
A knock at the
door broke Lilika’s concentration. “Come in,” Poppy called out. Lilika’s father
opened the door and poked his head in. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“No, it’s fine,
Sage. I was just getting to know your wonderful daughter here.” Poppy tapped
Lilika’s knee.
“Well, we are
leaving soon, Lilika. So get your things together.”
“Okay
Dad.” That was the last thing she wanted to do. She’d rather stay there and
talk to Poppy all day, picking her brain. She knew so much about how things had
progressed to their current situation.
Poppy rose from
the bed. “Remember what I told you, Lilika. It’s for your own good.” She slowly
made her way out of the room past Lilika’s father.
“What was that
about?” He looked over at her.
Lilika shrugged
and shook her head. “Nothing.”
* * * *
“Do you have all
your things?” Lilika’s Aunt Holly cleared the plates from the table after their
breakfast. “Yes, I think so. Thanks for the meal. It was delicious.” Lilika
hadn’t brought much, so it wasn’t hard to put her stuff together.
“Yes, thank you,
Holly.” Sage wiped his face clean with a napkin.
“Here, let me help
you with those.” Talon rose from his chair at the table and grabbed a few
dishes. He carried them to sink with Holly.
“So, do you feel
ready to go?” Lilika’s father turned to her and rubbed her back.
“I guess so. I’m
really going to miss my family though. Can’t we stay a little longer? The
weather’s been so bad, I still have so much to see here.”
“Lilika, you know
we can’t. Your mother and brother miss us too much. They need us back home as
soon as possible. We were only supposed to be gone for a few nights. This trip
has dragged on much longer than expected.”
“I know. Did your
letters get to Mama?”
“Yes, I just heard
back from her. She is anxiously awaiting our return.”
Lilika missed her
mother and brother, Jet, too, but she had to admit some great things happened
on this trip. Her gaze landed on Talon’s and when he smiled at her, she felt
warm inside. She would miss him most of all and had to figure out a way to see
him again as soon as she could. “Okay, I think you’re all set.” Malachite
descended the stairs. “The weather looks to have calmed, so I think this is a
good time to travel back to Summer Harvest.”
Lilika was happy
the weather had turned worse over the last week since it gave her more time in
Wits. She secretly wished for more wind and snow to extend their visit.
“Well, I’m sorry
to see you go, but hopefully we can visit again soon.” Holly came over and
hugged Lilika. “Yeah, that would be great.” She forced a smile. Sage came over
to Lilika and whispered in her ear, “Why don’t you and Talon go check on the
forsythia you planted before the storm. Make sure it looks okay, and I’ll be
out in a few minutes.”
“Okay,” Lilika
whispered back. She rose from her seat and walked over to Malachite. “Thanks
for everything. It was great meeting you and getting to know you better.
Hopefully, we’ll see each other soon.”
“It was pretty
fun. Until next time.” Malachite smiled and hugged her.
“Yeah, thanks for
everything.” Talon shook Malachite’s hand.
“Any
time. I hope you have safe travels back home.” Malachite patted Talon on the
back. After a few more hugs and goodbyes from Aunt Holly, Lilika and Talon left
the house. Walking away, a pit formed at the bottom of Lilika’s stomach. She’d
miss them, but she’d miss Talon even more than she could fathom. “Are you
excited to get home soon?” Lilika glanced at Talon as they walked through the
snow.
“Yeah, I guess I
am. It will be good to be back home and see my mom, but I’ll miss you.” His
chocolate brown eyes landed on her. Lilika’s cheeks warmed. “I’ll miss you too,
but we’re not leaving right away. We have to plant the forsythia first in
Summer Harvest.”
“Well, that’s
true, but I’ll still miss you.” Talon reached out and grabbed her hand. He
helped Lilika through the line of trees leaving Wits. As they got closer to the
spot, the golden forsythia sparkled bright even though there was no sun.
“There!” She
pointed. “There they are!”
“Yeah, I see them.
They look like they’re doing pretty well to me.”
Lilika nodded.
“They do.”
They hurried to
the plants. Lilika took one in her hand, careful not to break it off. “They’re
amazing, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, they really
are. Do you think this will work? Do you think it will stop the Black Kingdom?”
Lilika shrugged.
“I’m not sure, but it’s worth a try, right? At this point, only time will tell,
but we’ve got a few more plants still. We’ve got to spread as much as we can as
quickly as we can.”
“I know.”
“Lilika! Talon!”
Sage called from behind them.
Lilika glanced
over her shoulder, and he waved her over.
“Come on, we’d
better go. We’ve got a long walk ahead of us.” Talon took her hand and started
off toward Sage.
Lilika followed,
but reluctantly. Poppy’s words rolled around in her mind. The Welkins. She’d
never heard of them before, but their story made her curious. She stared off to
her right. Something about that direction pulled her eye there. A thick fog
encompassed the area, and she couldn’t see much. The only body of water she’d
ever known was the river at the edge of Spring Bloom. If Poppy was right, there
must be an even larger body of water out past Wits. What did the Welkins know
about the Black Kingdom that she didn’t? How did they thrive under the water?
Curiosity consumed her, and she just had to find out more.
“Come on, Lilika.”
Her father waved her on. “We’re going this way.” Her gaze followed where he
pointed, and she hoped it wasn’t through the Black Kingdom.
Book Trailer:
Author Bio:
Jennifer Novotney is the author of
the Winter in the Soul series. She was a 2014 recipient of the Moonbeam
Children’s Book Award. Jennifer grew up in Los Angeles, California and attended
Northern Arizona University, graduating with highest honors in English. She
lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and daughter.
Website: http://www.jennifernovotney.com/
Twitter: @jennovotney
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7866732.Jennifer_Novotney?from_search=true&search_version=service
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/jen.novotney
