Would You Read It Wednesday #162 - Barebones The Skeleton (PB) PLUS Straight From The Editor

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

It's time for another round of every writer's favorite game, Would You Read It?!!!

But first, I have to tell you about the Christmas present my brother gave me - a one year subscription to Audible!  (You have my permission to skim this bit if you're in a hurry :) - I just wanted to share because it's awesome.)

One of the best presents EVER!  And I'm telling you this in case you need a gift for a writer, or even a normal person :) in your life, because I know how hard finding a perfect gift can be.  (It's also a great answer to the question, "What do you want for your birthday?"! :))  This present is great for the car, yes, but also great for listening to while exercising, whatever your punishment of choice happens to be - unless it's swimming - not sure how your iPod or MB3 player would work with that... :)

The only hard part is making the monthly pick.  I have to read through many possibilities, and read and compare the ratings, and listen to a few moments of the narrator, and evaluate, and weigh, and finally, FINALLY, make a careful choice.  Because I only get ONE!  And it has to be GOOD!

For January I had The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy, read by Elisabeth Rodgers and it was fabulous!  For February, I have Saving Ceecee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman, read by Jenna Lamia.  After The Baker's Daughter, I thought, there's no way it could be as good.  But it IS!  Different kind of story, but such a great listen!

I am totally hooked.  But that's part of what makes the selection process so hard.  Now that I've had two that are so good, I don't want to accidentally get one that is a disappointment and waste my precious pick!  It's a teensy bit paralyzing!

Current titles in the running for March are All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr... but I might not get that on Audible because my daughter has the book and I could technically borrow it... if I ever have time to read.  Also in the running is The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins which looks really good and Kristen Larson said it was even better than Gone Girl.  But it's way too early for a decision yet!  So if anyone has any stellar recommendations, feel free to share!

Now that I've given you completely free and fantastic advice on what to get everyone you need a present for this whole entire year I'm hoping you're still awake :)

*** Those of you who were skimming - stop and pay attention now! :) ***

Because it's time for Straight From The Editor for the December/January pitch winner.

You will recall Michele's winning pitch: Hoot And Holly (PB ages 4-8)

When Holly finds the orphaned owlet Hoot in a windswept field near home, she knows he won’t survive without her help. With clues from Hoot and a bit of creativity, Holly teaches Hoot to hunt and fly. And when he is ready, they say goodbye.    

Editor Erin Molta says:

Hoot & Holly is a great title, BTW! And the pitch seems intriguing but I think it might be more successful if you reworked the bit about the clues. That connotes a mystery and that’s not really what this story is about, right?

The highlighted section could be more like a question: But how will Holly teach an owl how to hunt and fly? With research and some imagination, the young girl teaches the little orphan owl how to find it’s food and soar high in the air. When he is ready, they say goodbye.

When Holly finds the orphaned owlet Hoot in a windswept field near home, she knows he won’t survive without her help. With clues from Hoot and a bit of creativity, Holly teaches Hoot to hunt and fly. And when he is ready, they say goodbye.    

As always, I find Erin's thoughts so insightful!  I hope they're helpful to you too!

Now then, dearies, lest you grow faint, let's have a little second breakfast, shall we?

Our Something Chocolate today has been provided by our pitcher, and I must say, she has EXCELLENT taste!

Recipe for this delicious beauty at the Stay At Home Mom HERE

All that luscious chocolate would go perfectly with a cup of coffee, don't you think?  And that way we'll get twice the veggies out of this healthful breakfast - cocoa BEANS in the cake, and coffee BEANS in the coffee.  Truly, it's a win-win! :)

Now, if you can just stave off that chocolate coma for a moment or two, today's pitch comes to us from the one and only Robyn - she of the luscious chocolate cake - who says, "I write stories for children making them giggle, making them think."

You can visit her at:

linkage: Blog http://robyn-campbell.blogspot.com/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorswrite  

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Barebones The Skeleton
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8)
The Pitch: BAREBONES THE SKELETON looses his click-clack, and it’s Halloween. He has to find it before the sun goes down, or he’ll lose his Halloween job. With a little help from his friend, Barebones searches high and low and where he finds it is truly a musical surprise in this Jack Skellington meets Fred Astaire story.

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Robyn improve her pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above.  There are openings in July so you've got a little time to polish up your pitches and send yours for your chance to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Robyn is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to poring over my Audible choices!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!!!