Mystery Agent Revealed: Vickie Motter!

Folks, I give you April's Mystery Agent...

Vickie Motter from Andrea Hurst & Associates Literary!!

Vickie Motter, literary agent, has a BA in English Literature from Western Washington University.  She started as an intern fresh out of college and, with her deep-seeded love of books, quickly worked up to her dream of becoming an agent.  She enjoys the opportunity of working closely with her authors to help bring a book to life.

Vickie is looking for new and previously published authors dedicated to continuously developing their craft and writing poignant nonfiction or marketable fiction.  She loves all things weird, fantastical, morbid, and romantic.  She’s always reading and looking for books that transport her to new lands and allow the imagination to run rampant.  She has a special love of unique plots, dark themes, strong characters, an engaging voice, and witty humor.

Here's what Vickie had to say about her picks!

Thanks for letting me participate! The entries were all amazing. The winner was a surprise to even me. I didn't want to choose her as the winner because I normally cringe away from novels about evil technology, but it was so well delivered that I'm compelled to read. So the winner (of the FULL MANUSCRIPT REQUEST) is... 

Norma Johnson-MacGregor with VEX!!!

Pitch: Created to rebuild damaged and missing pathways in people with brain injuries, the virtual environment VEX carries heavy consequences for perfectly healthy sixteen-year-old Tana when she becomes addicted to it and discovers an entity living there is preparing to download itself into her weakening body, killing her and taking over her life.

I'd also like to see queries and twenty page partials from: 

Jenilyn Tolley: My Stepsister is a Succubus

When David chooses Olivia's stepsister over her, Olivia is heartbroken and makes a deal to become a succubus in order to steal him back.

Alex: Cry Havoc

On twin sky planets in the far future, young pilots known as Dogs of War are bred in facilities called Kennels to fight each time their planets swing into close orbit.

Hopejunkie: Playing God

In a dystopian future where humans are gods, a shy teenager exploited by the government discovers the awful charade by which writers seem to create portals to other worlds.

Jen: Boyfriends, Spies, and Lies

If Carissa’s oppressive parents weren’t paying her boyfriend to be her bodyguard, moving to New Orleans for art school would have been her perfect escape.

CONGRATS to the winners!! Please send your materials to vickie@andreahurst.com and include OPERATION AWESOME CONTEST WINNER in the subject line of your message. 

We asked Vickie a bit about herself, and here are her awesome answers!!

1)  Your blog, Navigating the Slush Pile, features so many helpful posts and reviews for writers! How did the decision of starting a book-and-writing related blog come about?

I started it while I was still an intern, and I wanted to share the new things I learned. It was also my experiment (I'm more technology stunted than you can imagine) to help me explore the online community; I joined Twitter at the same time to prove that it isn't that hard and so I could give advice from personal experience. The main goal of my blog is not about showing how intelligent I am, but rather how much we can all learn. I'll never be done learning about this business, and I hope the day never comes that I stopped learning something.

2)  You have a (fantastic) list of your favorite YA books on your blog, including The Hunger Games, Thirteen Reasons Why, and The Body Finder. Besides the writing, what about those books drew you in?

Two things: Voice and Uniqueness. The themes and subjects of these books really aren't all that new, but the way in which they are presented, are. For example, Thirteen Reasons Why is about a girl who commits suicide. There are plenty of books out there on that topic. But we're drawn into her story from another perspective and we get to know two very different, but equally engaging, voices.

3)  Any tips for writers struggling with their one-line pitches?

It's all about extracting the most interesting aspect of your ms--this can be a concept or the main action/struggle or unique character.  But try them out on others, speed pitch agents and other writers at conferences or in online communities, and gage their responses.

4)  Favorite movie/TV show?

That's a huge list. TV I enjoy American Idol, NCIS, and Off the Map. Movies are between Star Wars, Braveheart, and Stranger than Fiction. You'll notice that these aren't anything like my reading list.

5)  Chocolate or candy?

Fruit. Or saltine crackers. I'm actually allergic to cane sugar, so my drawer of guilty snacks looks a little different.

6)  Do you have any exciting agency/client news to share?

My clients are amazing! Is that really news? Probably not, but I feel compelled to share. The best thing about being an agent is the writers I get to work with. Check out their sites.

http://www.cambriadillon.com/

http://krisasselin.blogspot.com/

http://carol-in-print.blogspot.com/

Thank you SO MUCH to Vickie Motter for being our April Mystery Agent! And thanks to everyone who entered! Stay tuned for even more contests and giveaways!!

Other places you can find Vickie:

Her agency's website

Her blog

Twitter 

QueryTracker

Interview at Mother. Write. Repeat.

Have a great day, everybody! :)