Secret Agent Contest and Life Writes On

The sun has set(a couple of weeks ago) on Miss Snark's First Victim's Secret Agent Contest. It was for all genres and it was a random bot pick. My first 250 words of my lower MG, fiction-adventure, The Firefly Field, was picked-#40 if you want to read it on her blog. This novel has been critiqued many times and revised, rewritten and edited many times more. Since my YA wasn't complete-first draft seems to be going against the current, I had to submit my MG because it's complete at 28,000 words. I was happy to see most of the critiques were positive. I even had a fellow writer invite me into her online writers group. This was an incredible experience.
I critiqued five works and the secret agent critiqued all 50! I truly appreciated the time she put into it! The secret agent, Danielle Burby of Hannigan, Salky Getzler Agency, didn't pick me, but that wasn't a surprise. Her passions:YA, women's fiction, and mysteries and my Younger MG: bugs, boys, adventure and relationships. Definitely not a fit. Submissions continue as Life Writes On.

Research, Reading and Magic

Normally, I like to only submit to agents and editors that I've seen and/or met at a SCBWI conferences, but now I'm branching out to ones listed on the Children's Book Insider monthly newsletter and writer's blogs. I'm a detective combing the internet for clues about these agents and listing those whom I connect with.
Yesterday, I finished reading "The Mark of the Dragonfly" by Jaleigh Johnson. The photo pays tribute to this incredible upper-middle grade novel. The cover grabbed me and the jacket flap sold me. I've been reading a lot of YA and this was the perfect book to change things up. A magical story with a steam-punk vibe and headstrong protagonist, Piper, who takes us on a nonstop adventure with an eclectic cast of characters with heart. The last sentence of every chapter is a cliffhanger, so it was hard to put down.
When I read the acknowledgements, I was surprised to see Jaleigh's agent was one I researched and put on my list. How magical is that? Speak of which, I finally got to the first "magical" part in my WIP, YA: magical realism. Whoo-Hoo! (Art piece above: courtesy of LGOCA)