Action, Adventure, Chills, Romance – I am your mentor for all YA genre fiction. Send me your tropey goodness and I will help you shine your MS brighter than a freshly washed and waxed U.S.S. Enterprise. Can genres cross over and mix? You bet. Who doesn’t like a little kissing in their science fiction or some laughs in their horror?

I love all things science – one of my hobbies continues to be collecting science news articles for story ideas. But I also love gritty urban fantasy, a lá my favorite show, Supernatural, and magickal creatures. Adventure horror is another a favorite. [I play D&D and lately have been enjoying LitRPG’s as a guilty pleasure.] Send me your monsters. Bring on the mayhem. Fist fights, sword fights, laser battles? Yes! Explosions, plagues, disasters? I’m all in.* 

By day, I work in schools, so I have a strong interest in seeing all the students I teach represented in YA fiction. The cast of SpiderMan: Homecoming is a good example of what I mean, although, I also like to see characters specifically representing the LGBTQ+ community.

This is my second year as a Pitch Wars mentor, after many years of coaching teachers and mentoring new writers. Maybe it’s my work with middle school and high school students, but I most definitely understand that even the toughest outer shell protects a soft, gooey inside. I’m specific but constructive, intense but kind. I want you to develop and learn to trust your creative instincts. As your mentor, my focus will be both on you, the writer, and your book.

Thank you future/potential mentees for all your wishlist requests and thoughts on Twitter. I will take new adult genre fiction as well as YA. Romance in the MS is not a necessity. In response to questions about tropes, the only one I truly dislike is “love triangle.” As for subgenres I wouldn’t be the best mentor for, psychological horror – because I want monsters and/or action in my horror. And high fantasy, Game of Thrones-style isn’t a good fit for me either. I don’t want to hold dozens of families, clans, and regional history in my head while simultaneously memorizing the names and motivations of a massive cast. Not saying this isn’t good stuff. It’s just not the right match for me as a reader, writer, and mentor.

Please @ me on Twitter or use the comment page on this blog to send a question! I’m happy to clarify. Future/potential mentees have a lot of fabulous choices!

*Exclusions: narratives including rape, incest, or any type of sexual assault

2018 Young Adult Mentors