Behind Pitchapalooza

"Why *wouldn't* you?" asked my writing teacher, when I mentioned that I had an opportunity to submit a book pitch to be picked at random and critiqued as a part of NaNoWriMo.

Why indeed.
Only 250 words to sum up the 50k I wrote, plus a bit about myself as an author (Hah!).

Based on 10 tips, I started off with an excerpt and a synopsis of 464 words. Ready, Cut, Go! Get 214 words - almost 50% - out of your drafts.

It took time. It took effort. It felt impossible.
I got it done...with 45 minutes to spare!

So, in case you have any interest in a preview of my pitch, plus what I started from and where I got to, here it is.

Inner Editor Geekery Engage:

The Final Pitch:

Excerpt from The Joiner:

Janette wanted to join, not watch. Thousands of revelers moved as fast as their feet could carry them. Human chains moved through a darkened hall, hand-in-hand becoming one enormous spiral. Frustrated, fixed in place, Janette considered ignoring the witches’ caution: only Graces and Dragons may add to the dance.

Then, among hundreds of strange faces was one she knew: her Father’s. He blurred past, a pretty witch on either side…though he had been cremated six months before. Ten feet away it was unmistakably him curving out of sight. Janette’s heart raced. She knew why it had become so crowded.

The beloved dead were here.

About The Joiner:

After a year full of death, Janette was tired of grieving.

She needed closure. Or Fun. 

Or Both. 

So she tagged along with a pagan friend on Halloween. At a ritual for saying goodbye to the dead, Janette expected beautiful costumes, dancing, and a hot date. It was supposed to be an alternative to being alone, handing out (scarfing down) Halloween candy.

But Janette’s “beloved dead” were not ready to say farewell.

Now on the wrong side of the veils between the worlds, Janette must navigate the Isle of the Dead. If she can make peace with every dead person from her life - and FAST - she might get back to the world of the living in time for her date.

About The Author:

 Yvette decided to test the hypothesis that a B.A. in Literature must be good for something, right?

The Drafts:

Excerpt from The Joiner:

There were so many people, thought Janette. Each moment there seemed to be more and more and she could barely move. How had we all fit into this space sitting, lying down, sprawled out, she thought. The long lines of people holding hands moved first clockwise, and Janette watched lines begin to move, begin to coil in on itself. A second line moved in the opposite direction, so that the two lines faced each other. Janette could see the opposing lines full of people walking, skipping and chanting face to face, seeing each other in a moment of recognition, love or the simple acknowledgement in the beauty of a stranger’s face.

Soon Janette picked up the chant and started to sing. Singing felt great, but after all the sitting she wanted to MOVE too. She was standing in an awkward location however, near the fairy altar, and partly blocked by a beribboned tree.  A Grace and a Dragon stood near her, protecting the tree from any out of control dancing, but she couldn’t seem to get into the line, no one grabbed her hand and pulled her into the dancing. She watched as each line connected and began to move, until almost all the people were moving – she was the only one standing still. The head witches had cautioned that only graces and dragons could connect people to the circle, but she felt strange  - was she really the only non-moving person?

It was in that moment that she saw her father’s face moving past, one row away, and she knew why there were such multitudes within the hall. The beloved dead were HERE. This hall – this theater – THIS is where the dead had gone. THIS place she stood in is what was on the other side of that cave.

About The Joiner:

After a year full of the deaths of friends and family, Janette was tired, emotionally hollowed out, and in need of closure. 
Or Fun. 
Or Both. 
So when her pagan friend Allie invited her to a Wiccan "ritual" with costumes, dancing, and an introduction to a hot guy she wanted to meet, it seemed like a good alternative to a night alone handing out (scarfing down) Halloween candy. 
As it turned out, Janette's dead were not as ready as she was to say farewell.
Now on the wrong side of the veil between the worlds, Janette has to navigate across the Isle du Mort, making peace with "beloved dead" who want to weigh her down with rummicube rules, very odd favors, and midlife crisis advice. If she can make peace with every dead person she has ever known - and FAST - she might make it back to the world of the living in time for her date.