Debut Author Jitters and Agent Support by Debut Author Maria José Fitzgerald and Turtles of the Midnight Moon and Sara Crowe Query Critique Giveaway

Happy Monday Everyone! Today I’m excited to have debut author Maria José Fitzgerald here to share about her MG contemporary mystery Turtles of the Midnight Moon and her agent Sara Crowe. I’m super excited to read Maria’s book because I’m really into reading mysteries these days, and this one is set in Honduras.

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

TURTLES OF THE MIDNIGHT MOON, by Honduran American debut author Maria Jose Fitzgerald, is a middle-grade eco-mystery with magical elements set in Honduras. The story follows Barana and Abby, who reluctantly come together to solve a sea turtle egg poaching mystery plaguing Barana's coastal village, and learn the true meaning of friendship, courage, and community along the way. Publication is set for the Spring of 2023 by Knopf Books for Young Readers.

When poachers threaten the island they love, two girls team up to save the turtles—and each other. An eco-mystery with an unforgettable friendship story at its heart from a fresh new voice in middle grade.

Twelve-year-old Barana lives in a coastal village in Honduras, where she spends every spare minute visiting the sea turtles that nest on the beach.

Abby is feeling adrift in sixth grade, trying to figure out who she is and where she belongs after her best friend moved away from New Jersey.

Follower News

Before I get to Maria’s guest post, I have Follower News to share.

Sandra Cox recently released Return to Silverhills. Here’s a blurb: The Wade saga continues with: A trail boss with a fast gun. A damaged woman. A cattle drive fraught with danger. And a combustible attraction.

Available for pre-order at: https://www.amazon.com/Return-Silverhills-Sandra-Cox-ebook/dp/B0BS77JXFV

Shannon Lawrence has a new release, Happy Ghouidays II. Here's a blurb: The holidays elicit a mixture of emotions, from joy and revelry to despair and rage. In these stories, we examine the dark side of the holidays with a twisted Easter egg hunt, a desperate St. Patrick's Day curse, a monster that's only visible in the light of fireworks, a mother's guilt on Halloween, and more in this follow up to Happy Ghoulidays that embraces the underlying shadows of our favorite holidays.

And here are a few buy links: Available for pre-order on Kindle, Nook, Apple, Scribd, and Smashwords. E-book pre-order link (universal): https://books2read.com/u/bzKnrq

Dancing Lemur Press recently published an awesome book, Tales From the Valley by WATCH Youth

Here's a blurb: The Ohio Valley’s rich stories and fables…join us on our travels! WATCH Youth Writers is a creative writing group open to all youth in the Ohio Valley. And here are some links: 

iTunes - https://books.apple.com/us/book/x/id6445685444

Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTV1MJ1J

Barnes & Nobel - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/2940166012302

And here's a resource for writers that you might find helpful by Dr. Diana Stout. Here's a description: Interested in top-notch, how-to advice from experts in the field? Whether your writing long or short, fiction or nonfiction, playwriting, screenwriting, need information about the business of writing, academic writing, writing for contests and more, check out  Sharpened Pencils Productions' Recommended Reading page. A relatively new page to the website, resources are added by writer and former professor of writing, Dr. Diana Stout as she makes new discoveries or is posting old favorites, most of which are still available.

Agent-Author Spotlight: Maria José Fitzgerald and Sara Crowe

Thank you, Natalie, for spotlighting me and my wonderful agent, Sara Crowe. Let’s start with a little bit about Sara: Sara is a Senior Agent at Pippin Properties, where she represents books for children and adults. She began her career at The Wylie Agency, where she worked in foreign rights for 8 years. Her clients include debut authors like me, Newbery and Printz winners, and New York Times Bestselling authors. I can say from my lived experience with Sara that she champions debut authors and is a master at nurturing and developing careers. She is warm, approachable, and has a keen eye for stories and characters that will win your heart. She’s also smart and knows the industry well.

My path to signing with Sara was somewhat unusual. While I’d been querying agents the traditional way for about six months, it wasn’t until I was selected for Pitch Wars (class of 2020) that things started to seem hopeful for me and my novel. For readers who are not familiar with Pitch Wars, it was a long-standing, volunteer-run mentorship program for aspiring authors. After a rigorous application process, Pitch Wars mentors selected one writer to work with. I was selected by a dynamic duo mentorship team: Jessica Vitalis and Julie Artz. I worked with them for several months rewriting and polishing up my manuscript. Pitch Wars culminated with an “Agent Showcase,” where agents were able to read our pitches and the first page of our novel “live” on the Pitch Wars website. From there, agents requested full or partial manuscripts from authors whose books they were interested in, so rather than authors going to agents, the agents came to the authors via the showcase.

 

It turns out, I had already heard about Sara from my mentor, Jessica, who is also one of Sara’s clients. After the showcase was live, Jessica and I weren’t sure if Sara was going to request my manuscript, but we were hopeful! When she did request it, I think both Jessica and I did a little happy dance! The rest, is, of course, history. Sara read my full manuscript, and we had the much anticipated “call.” Sara made me feel instantly supported and comfortable as a debut author. I wanted someone with experience in the industry who also “got” my voice, my story, and my career goals. Sara is kind and fierce, sweet, and professional. Whenever there has been an urgent matter, she’s quick to call me, text, or email. She’s my advocate and voice in an industry that can be very challenging, especially for underrepresented voices. 

As a debut author in 2023, jitters, imposter syndrome, deadlines, and a whole bunch of other stressors can sometimes get the best of you. Having Sara in my corner has been a constant reminder that I am in good hands. She’s helped me navigate publishing questions, book 2 concerns, and rejections; through it all, she’s been a light in my author-ring corner. The publishing industry is definitely not for the faint of heart. Things can move slowly, and our creativity can sometimes lose its spark because of the externals we have no control over. I have learned, with Sara’s help, to let go, trust the process, and go inward. I’m excited to keep working with Sara on my second novel, and beyond!

 

How to connect with Sara:

https://www.saracrowe.com/

https://www.instagram.com/saraagent/

https://twitter.com/saraagent

 

More about Maria and how to connect:

Maria José is a writer of children’s books. Her favorite stories usually include animals, friendships, family, and magic. She grew up snorkeling and hiking in her homeland of Honduras, where nature and culture nourished her soul. Her debut novel, Turtles of the Midnight Moon, will be published by Knopf Books for Young Readers on March 14^th, 2023. When she’s not writing, you can find Maria reading, walking her dogs, teaching, or maybe out on a bike ride with her husband and two daughters.

You can visit Maria’s website and socials at:

www.mariajosefitzgerald.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariajosewrites/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MariaJoseFitzg2

Giveaway Details

Maria is generously offering a hardback of Turtles of the Midnight Moon and Sara is generously offering a query critique for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by March 25th. If you do not want to be included in the critique giveaway, please let me know in the comments.  If your email is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog and/or follow me on Twitter or Maria on her social media sites, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is U.S. and Canada.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog.

Upcoming Interviews and Guest Posts

Thursday, March 16, I’m participating in the Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop

Monday, March 20 I have an agent spotlight interview with Kristen Terrette and a query critique giveaway

Monday, March 27 I’m doing a post about a scam authors need to watch out for

Saturday, April 1 I’m participating in the Honey Bunny Giveaway Hop

Wednesday, April 5 I have an interview with debut author Lauren Thoman with a giveaway of her YA mystery I’ll Stop the World and my IWSG post

Thursday, April 6 I’m participating in the Dancing in the Rain Giveaway Hop

Monday, April 10 I have an interview with debut author Meg Eden Kuyatt and a giveaway of her MG contemporary Good Different

Hope to see you on Monday!