Pitch Wars Mentee Contender Bio: Pick Me!

Hello Pitch Wars mentors and friends! Thank you for all the time and effort you’re putting in! You guys are the best!

I’m Caitlyn. I started writing about four years ago and got really serious about it after I went to my first writing conference in March 2012. Since then I’ve written four manuscripts, and I finally feel like one is good enough to share.

I have three daughters aged six, three, and eighteen months, which is crazy but awesome. I also have a BA in linguistics from Brigham Young University (fun at the time but now mostly useless). I love to read, of course. I stick mostly with YA, NA, and Adult, but I have a few MG favorites, as well. Fantasy is my genre, but I also love historical, sci fi, mysteries, thrillers, contemporary, and non-fiction. I’ll pretty much read anything that captures me.

Pick me because:

1. I’m flexible (not physically).  I’ve been a member of a critique group for almost two years, so I know how to listen to and apply critiques. Even better, I enjoy feedback!  I want to know what doesn’t work so I can make it awesome. If you ask, I will kill darlings for you.

2. I win things. Okay, so I’ve only entered one thing: the LDStorymakers First Chapter Contest at their annual conference in May 2013. I took first place in the Adult Speculative Fiction genre with the first chapter of my novel Traveler (which is currently awaiting its next draft).

3. Fuzzy baby wants you to.

I don’t have a puppy, but my baby is also squishy and fluffy and has an adorable gap between her baby teeth! It’s the next best thing, right?

4. I can and will do the work. I’ve won NaNoWriMo both times I’ve entered and written 75,000 and 80,000 word manuscripts outside of NaNo in a month each. I have experience doing rewrites. Best of all, my husband (a construction worker) is off work ALL WINTER, so I’ll have all the time I need! It will be good for him to spend time with the kids. Help me help him!

5.  I believe in the potential of NA. I’ve never been able to understand why there aren’t more books about people in their early 20’s. It’s the best age! Old enough to be adults, young enough to be free. The category deserves to be as rich and diverse as MG, YA, and Adult. A big, romantic, adventurous fantasy about dragons and girls who rock climb and choice versus destiny is just what it needs!

See other Pitch Wars mentee contender bios here!