The Dark Carnival Anthology Blog Blitz Has Arrived!

The air has grown crisp - October is here. With October comes autumn leaves, apple cider, and the siren call of The Dark Carnival.

Will you answer its call? Will you heed the beckon?

The doors are opening.

Will you leave with your life?

Blurb: In this anthology, several authors and illustrators explore the dark and hidden dangers that lie within a carnival that has come to town. But it is no ordinary carnival. It's The Dark Carnival.

And when The Dark Carnival comes to town, there's no promise that anyone can leave...alive.

And since I couldn't just do one, I've decided (and I hope it's okay,) to do a teaser and an excerpt from two of the amazing stories in this anthology!!

At the bottom of this post you will find the other stops on this spooky blog blitz!

Teaser:

Excerpt:

And the Tunnel of Love loomed ahead of us.

I didn’t think they even made those things anymore. I hadn’t seen one at one of these fairs—well, my whole life. It was something you’d only see in a fifties movie, or some old black and white photo. And like anything classy, none of the loudmouth teenagers that frequented the fair were anywhere near it. The shadows around the Tunnel of Love were empty.

I wrapped my arms around her and headed towards the dark entryway.

The tunnel seemed even more like it was dropped out of another time as we got closer to it. Two giant cutout swans with chipping white paint formed a heart with their great necks, creating a doorway into the darkness where love was supposed to flourish. If not for the dark that invited one like me in, I would have seen the marred paint and carved in hearts with random initials on the pristine white of their feathers to be a bad sign, of something lost and something ruined.

I should have looked deeper.

Love Consumes Us by Julie Hutchings

Edited by: Jolene Haley, Kristen Jett, and Jessi Shakarian


Contributors include: Kat Daemon, Kristen Strassel, Julie Hutchings, C. Elizabeth Vescio, Mark Matthews, Brian W. Taylor, Kim Culpepper, Eli Constant, Mari Wells, J. Elizabeth Hill, Nicole R. Taylor, Ashly Nagrant, Kristin Hanson, Calyn Morgan, Tawney Bland, Roselle Kaes, Ken Mooney, Emily McKeon, Bobby Salomons, Ezekiel Conrad, Sheila Hall, Michelle Davis, Lucas Hargis, Vanessa Henderson, Ryan Bartlett, Debra Kristi, Jessi Esparza, T.A. Brock, Ruth Shedwick, Brian LeTendre, Amy Trueblood, Gregory Carrico, Jamie Corrigan, Kate Michael, Tyle Anne Snell, Alicia Audrey, Meghan Schuler, Jamie Adams, Wulf Francu Godgluck, J.C. Michael, Suzy G., Kristin Rivers, and Claire C. Riley.
*Final lineup subject to change

*************

Add it to Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20495362-the-dark-carnival


Want to show The Dark Carnival even more Goodreads love?
Add it to your shelves - horror, anthologies, and thriller are good places to start.


Did you say you have more love? Pin the shiny new cover to Pinterest, send out some tweets, and scribe it into Facebook. You never know - show The Dark Carnival enough love, and it might just let you leave.


About Pen & Muse Press

Need writing tips? Want to learn how to market yourself as an author? Pen & Muse Press was started to give you just the tips you need. No matter how long you’ve been writing - or haven’t been, embrace your craft.  Blog | Author Services | Twitter | Facebook


10/1

Ruth Shedwick

This Writer’s World & Plot Bunnies - YOU'RE HERE!

J. Elizabeth Hill

Severed Limb Movement

Michelle Cable

Deadly Ever After

Bran Writes

10/2

Fabulous and Fun

Fang Freakingtastic Reviews

Calyn Morgan 

Jessica Harvey Writes

Marlene Moss

Lucas Hargis

10/3

Wulf 

Twisted Book Junkie

Jennifer Brinkmeyer

10/4

Brewed Bohemian

Miss Riki

10/6

Debra Kristi

Shen Hart 

Brian LeTendre

10/7

Kate Michaels

Twinning for Twins

10/8

Absentee Blogger

Descent into Slushland

T.A. Brock Books

Mari Wells

Mark Matthews

Dark Carnival Anthology Cover Reveal!

So I'm part of a hauntingly awesome anthology along with some spooky fantastic authors. And today, well, it's the big cover reveal!!

October approaches. Autumn leaves are nearly falling. The Dark Carnival is calling, calling. Will you answer its call? Will you heed the beckon?

The doors are opening.

Will you leave with your life?




Blurb: In this anthology, several authors and illustrators explore the dark and hidden dangers that lie within a carnival that has come to town. But it is no ordinary carnival. It's The Dark Carnival.

And when The Dark Carnival comes to town, there's no promise that anyone can leave...alive.

Edited by: Jolene Haley, Kristen Jett, and Jessi Shakarian

Contributors include: Kat Daemon, Kristen Strassel, Julie Hutchings, C. Elizabeth Vescio, Mark Matthews, Brian W. Taylor, Kim Culpepper, Eli Constant, Mari Wells, J. Elizabeth Hill, Nicole R. Taylor, Ashly Nagrant, Kristin Hanson, Calyn Morgan, Tawney Bland, Roselle Kaes, Ken Mooney, Emily McKeon, Bobby Salomons, Ezekiel Conrad, Sheila Hall, Michelle Davis, Lucas Hargis, Vanessa Henderson, Ryan Bartlett, Debra Kristi, Jessi Esparza, T.A. Brock, Ruth Shedwick, Brian LeTendre, Amy Trueblood, Gregory Carrico, Jamie Corrigan, Kate Michael, Tyle Anne Snell, Alicia Audrey, Meghan Schuler, Jamie Adams, Wulf Francu Godgluck, J.C. Michael, Suzy G., Kristin Rivers, and Claire C. Riley.
*Final lineup subject to change

And now for the hauntingly awesome cover!!!

*************

Add it to Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20495362-the-dark-carnival

Want to show The Dark Carnival even more Goodreads love?

Add it to your shelves - horror, anthologies, and thriller are good places to start.


Did you say you have more love? Pin the shiny new cover to Pinterest, send out some tweets, and scribe it into Facebook. You never know - show The Dark Carnival enough love, and it might just let you leave.


Cover Design by the fabulous C. Elizabeth Vescio. Learn more about her and her incredible design skills here.


About Pen & Muse Press

Need writing tips? Want to learn how to market yourself as an author? Pen & Muse Press was started to give you just the tips you need. No matter how long you’ve been writing - or haven’t been, embrace your craft.  Blog | Author Services | Twitter | Facebook

I'm so proud to be part of this anthology. I had fun writing my story and am so happy it's being compiled with all of the other fantastic stories and illustrations so others may find them and enjoy them.

Are you excited for the Dark Carnival Anthology? Are you IN the anthology or know someone who is? Tell me your thoughts in the comments, I'd love to hear them!

Until next time, happy reading and writing everyone!

Pitch Slam! Are you ready to ROCK?!

Today's the big day! My fellow managers and I have sifted through the glorious mountain of slush and found our twelve band members! Some shook us with their killer drum solos. Some brought a tear to our eyes with a whaling guitar solo only 80's hair bands could touch. Then there were the ones with the voice of a rock angel. We heard you and KNEW you had to be ours.

We negotiated, cried, and even battled where YOU determined where certain entries would end up. And today you find out who made it on our teams!

Also, if you see something wrong with your entry (due to formatting,) please email the pitch slam email to let us know.

Now.... *cues drum roll*

*lights flash*

*clears throat*

Execs and authors! Are you ready to rock out with Team Magenta?!

*P!nk's Perfect blares in the air*

Check out the other teams at the links below! And remember, only agents can comment during 8am EDT - 4pm EDT!

Team Spyder - http://tangynt.wordpress.com

Team Stray Tats - http://lucashargis.com/

Team Sweeter - http://www.michelle4laughs.blogspot.com/

Team Electric - http://rahdieh.tumblr.com/

Congrats to everyone who made it on a team. Just know that there were so MANY amazing ones that it was tough to pick just 12 each. So keep going if you weren't picked. That yes will come your way if you do!

Good luck everyone!

Rockin' Honorable Mentions: I hated I couldn't have you all!

Confessions of a Schoolgirl: The 3:05 Goodbyes & The Discarded.

You were so close to making the final cut. I wanted to give you a shout out just because it was up to last minute before Brandi and I made our final picks and you were right there the entire time. We wish you much luck in the query trenches!

Pitch Slam Submission Window #1 is CLOSED!

PITCH SLAM SUBMISSION WINDOW IS NOW OPEN!

The Window is now CLOSED

It's here! Pitch Slam is here! Time to audition for the first round. Remember, it's open for a full 24 hours, so no need to rush. On the flip side of that coin, make sure you don't wait until it's too late. E-mails will be accepted from now until 11:59 PM EST. Anything sent after that will be deleted without being read.

ALSO remember, today you're ONLY entering your 35 word pitch. For the full story on submission details click here. Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease read all of the deets so you know what to do, when to do it, and how to avoid being bounced during any of the rounds. A rundown on how said rounds will go can be found here.

Any questions or concerns, hit me up in the comments or the #PitchSlam twitter tag, and read the comments on the posts to see if someone already asked what you were going to! Great minds think alike and all that.

Everyone at R&R Management is so stoked to read all of the awesome you guys plan to throw our way. Once you've entered, or even if you don't, come hang out with us over on twitter! We've got a party planned for every day of the contest. Anyone who can tell me which song lyrics are hidden in that last sentence is totally a rocker at heart.

Okay folks, single file, down this hall, round the corner, and first door on the left. Bive it all you've got!

Hasta~!

Pitch Slam Submission Details!

T-minus four days and counting until Auditions open for Pitch Slam. Who else is excited! I seriously cannot wait to get this party started, but we need to share a few more details beforehand so everything can run as smoothly as possible.

This contest is for COMPLETED and POLISHED manuscripts, not novellas, not poetry, not screenplays, not short story collections, not collections of any of the aforementioned nots. Pitch Slam is open to all Adult, New Adult, Young Adult, and Middle Grade stories of all genres.

You’ll need a 35 word pitch and the first 250 words of your manuscript to enter. The 35 word pitch is a hard number, meaning 35 is the number of the words thou shalt pitch. Any previous number is acceptable. 36 is right out. Pleeeeease don’t make us give you the X over something like that.

For the first 250, don’t stop in the middle of a sentence, but here’s the thing about that. If you have 247, 248, 249 words and the sentence stops, end it there. Don’t go to 250 and then up to 260 or something cause the first word was the 250th.

A couple of reminders about the rounds:

Auditions open 4/20 at 12:00 am EST and will stay open for a full 24 hours. During this time you submit your 35 word pitch ONLY. Feedback* will be given.

Call Backs open 4/23 at 12:00 am EST and will stay open for 24 hours as well. During this time you submit your first 250 words ONLY. Feedback* will be give.

VEGAS! opens 4/26 at 12:00 am EST and, yup, will stay open for 24 hours. During this time, submit your revised pitch and first 250 TOGETHER. This is the pool managers will pull from.

Managers will make their picks and those will go up 4/29 for the Execs to make requests. For a more in depth look at the rounds, go here.

Okay guys, pay attention to this part. Just as agents have submission guidelines, so do we at R&R Management. Again, please don’t give us a silly reason to discount your entries, cause we wanna read all of the awesomeness!

The format for each round is the same. Every time you submit, the entry needs to be single spaced with one line between paragraphs and NO indentations. This goes for pitches and first 250.

I understand sometimes email clients screw stuff up, but a way to avoid this is DON’T copy and paste directly from your document into the email message. Instead, paste it into a new document and clear all of the formatting, then apply the contest requirements. It’ll seriously take two minutes, if that long, and save everyone–yourself included–a lot of headache in the long run.

This is what your entry should look like:

Name: Real name (Writing as such-and-such if you’re using a pen name)

Genre: This includes both age category and genre. Fiction is not a genre. YA/MG etc on its own is not a genre. Please pick ONE genre and possibly a sub-genre. Adult Paranormal Romance is a proper genre. YA Sci-Fi Horror is a proper genre. MG Magical Realism Paranormal Romance Horror is not a genre. An easy way to do this is ask yourself, if my book was in a store, what would the sign on the shelf say?

Title: Your story

Word Count: xx,000. Round to the nearest thousandth.

Song: This isn’t gonna influence anything. It’s more for fun, so don’t stress about it. Tell us what song best exemplifies your story!

Pitch and/or 250: For the first round it’ll be pitch only, second round first 250 only, third round both together with pitch followed by 250.

Please type Pitch Slam: TITLE into the subject line for each round.

And that’s it! Simple right? Oh, you probably need the email address you’ll be submitting to, that’s kinda important. ALL entries are to be sent, during the appropriate submission window, to pitchslamcontest (at) gmail (dot) com. For anyone who may have skipped everything else to get to the email address, please read the entire post for info on how to avoid the boot.

NOW that’s it. Any questions, concerns, hit us up in the comments. I hope you guys are pumped, cause I’m pumped! And I can’t wait to hang out on the #PitchSlam hashtag with you all during the week. We have lots of fun events planned for Twitter, check out the rounds postfor details on those shenanigans. Now, I have just one more question to ask…

Dooooooom is reeeeaaadyyyyyyy!

***Feedback provided will be general but still helpful. In other words, no line-edits.

READ THIS! – Anything sent before or after the entry windows of the second and third rounds will be discarded. Any entrant who fails to supply their work for said subsequent rounds will be disqualified from the contest as a whole, and no submissions will be accepted for ANY round unless the entrant participated in the previous ones. What this means is, in order to make it to VEGAS, an entrant needs to have participated in both the Audition and Call Backs rounds. No trying to squeeze an entry in at the last minute. Also, no switching up manuscripts in the middle of the game. You pick a story, that’s the one you carry through with.

Pitch Slam: Introducing Team Spyder!

Here we are folks, the finale for the Managers at R&R. Last, but certainly not least, this pair draws their inspiration from the power chords and chiming riffs of alternative rock band Nickelback. Bringing it home is Team Spyder!

Manager L. L. McKinney, aka El, is all about the voice. A lover of sound over genre, she falls for the way a song hits the ear, not the category its placed in, and this goes doubly for what she reads. Though she electrifies the genres of YA urban fantasy and sci-fi (with a little cyberpunk thrown into the remix) she'll rock out to anything well written with engaging characters. From contemporary to space opera, all genres can strike the right chord. To check out what she's usually vibing to, follow her on twitter @Tangynt.

El's talent scout Kimberly Vanderhorst is excited to put her unique mix of Canadian charm and eclectic tastes to work. Though she writes MG/YA spec-fic, powerful, emotion-packed stories are what will get this talent scout grooving to your beat. Check out her twitter feed @Kymburleev for insights into what gets her toes tapping.


#TeamSpyder is ready to blow minds, and speakers, during the battle round! And they round off the awesome pairs here at R&R Management who'll be giving you feedback on your entries, but the fun is far from over.

This set might be finished, but we're just getting started. Ready to meet the Execs from Literary Records who'll be making requests for your stories? Stay tuned!

Pitch Slam: Introducing Team Electric!

Keeping the show going is another amazing R&R Management pair. These two draw their inspiration from the bass bumping, sizzling synths from electronica artist Calvin Harris. Presenting the amazing Team Electric!

Manager Renée Ahdieh is a lover of pretty words and a seeker of epic talent! She writes YA fantasy, and her novel The Wrath and the Dawn will be published by Penguin/Putnam in 2015. Her life goals include becoming Twitter-verifed and discovering what truly matters. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and their tiny overlord of a dog. You can find her managing all kinds of mischief on Twitter at @rahdieh.

Renée's talent scout Ricki Schultz is a grammar guru and a professional nerd. She has a keen eye for talent, and her sharp wit as an author of contemporary YA fiction makes her feedback just as entertaining as it is constructive. You can find her waxing poetic and making her followers cackle on Twitter at @RickiSchultz.

Both Ricki and Renée are represented by Barbara Poelle of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency. What can we say? Birds of a feather.
#TeamElectric is ready to bring the shock and awe to #PitchSlam! That's four of five, leaving our final team to be revealed soon. Stay tuned for our last manager scout duo!

Pitch Slam: Introducing Team Stray Tats!

It's time to get to know another R&R Management team. These cool cats draw their inspiration from the swingin' beats and slick sound of the rockabilly band The Stray Cats. Showing pride in their music and ink, here's Team Stray Tats!

An agented writer of YA fantasy with heart (and a touch of weirdness), Manager Lucas is on the prowl for unique acts with catchy vocals layered over a thrumming bassline. He’s keen on stories with a little edge and/or LGBT characters. If you own the stage with innovation, strut your stuff Lucas’s way. To check out more of Lucas’s sly-cat-class, shimmy over to Twitter @LucasMight.

Lucas' Talent Scout Natasha rocks the town with lyrics that stick around long after the song ends. Though she writes YA Contemporary fantasy and thrillers that promote diversity, gut-wrenching page-turners get this Talent Scout moving. If your sound will make this rock’n’roll queen want to dance, then shake this way. To check out more of Nat's slinky-cat-style, strut over to Twitter @agirlnamednat.

#TeamStrayTats is pair number three, leaving two more acts in this stellar host lineup. Stay tuned for the last couple of teams, as well as the Execs post where we highlight the agents who're helping make #PitchSlam possible. Got any questions for the teams, or in general? Hit us in the comment, and tag us on twitter. Until next time.

Pitch Slam Battle Blitzes!

We're going to change the rules a bit--we can totally do that--though not for everyone. This one goes out to all the hard working agents out there helping us writers come that much closer to our dreams, we're gonna spice things up for ya.

Okay, that's enough of my Casey Kasem impersonation.

Remember how we said the Execs of Literary Records will make requests based on the music recording sales thresholds? If you don't, here's a reminder of the system.

Demo Tape – Query and first 5 pages
Silver Record – Query and first 10 pages
Gold Record – Query and first 50 page
Platinum Record – Query and first 100 pages
Diamond Record- Query and full

Last time we said each Exec gets an infinite number of tapes to use, but certain records will be limited. We're changing that bit. Every agent can bid whatever they want on any entry they like, and instead of the Diamond Records being a first come first serve type deal we're gonna handle ties with what we're calling Battle Blitzes!

When the Band picks go up April 29th, the only ones who'll be able to comment are the Execs. They'll be able to dish out their requests from 8am EST on 4/29 through 3pm EST on 4/30. Starting at 3pm on 4/30 we'll have the Challenge Round on twitter under the tag #BattleBlitz, where all ties will be broken with either music trivia questions or bouts of "finish these lyrics."

For example How many Backstreet Boys are there? or Finish these lyrics "I Love Rock and Roll, so put another dime __ ___ ______, ____!"

Agents who are tied with the same request will be tagged with the blitz. Whomever answered the question or finishes the lyrics first will be declared winner! The other challenger will be bumped back to the previous level. Example, if the Blitz happens at Diamond level, the loser will drop down to Gold, Gold to Silver, so forth and so on.

That's it! Anyone have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to let us know. And get ready to meet another awesome Manager and Talent Scout team tomorrow!

Pitch Slam! Introducing Team Sweeter!

It's time to meet another of the awesome pairs here at R&R Management who'll be diving into the slush to find more rocking writers. They draw their inspiration from the smooth, some say soulful sound of Pop Rocker Gavin Degraw. Introducing Team Sweeter!

Manager Michelle Hauck has handled her share of talent in label performances such as Query Kombat, Nightmare on Query Street, and Sun versus Snow. She writes all types of speculative fiction from epic fantasy to dystopian, and knows her middle grade from her YA. You can find her latest spin, Kindar’s Cure, on all the big labels like Amazon and Barnes and Noble. She has fun on twitter under the handle @Michelle4Laughs and talks about industry stuff on her blog Michelle4Laughs.

Michelle's scout Carla Rehse has used her talent scout skills in places like AQC Speculative Fiction marathons. Though she tends to write NA spec fic, any story with interesting characters and amazing world building will be added to her playlist. Carla can be found on twitter @CRehse.

#TeamSweeter is sure to bring the heat during the blazing battle round, so keep an eye on their tastes and the #PitchSlam twitter tag. Stay tuned rockers, cause we have another awesome team lined up to take the limelight on Monday.

See! I told you there would be more great teams! And next week you'll meet more teams! Don't be afraid to tweet us if you have questions about our likes. We promise we won't bite you. 

Catch us on the #PitchSlam tag for new updates. We're always happy to hear from you!

Until next time, happy reading and writing everyone!

Pitch Slam! Introducing Team Magenta!

If you've been paying attention, you know the Pitch Slam hosts have each chosen one awesome individual to help them tackle the slush. Over the next handful of posts we'll be introducing those fabulous teams from R&R Management who'll be selecting their bands from the talented entrants!
This pair draws their inspiration from the Pop Rock powerhouse P!nk. Here's Team Magenta!

Manager Jamie Corrigan knows what she likes when she sees it. Be it MG to Adult, if it hits her right in the feels or has an edge that keeps her hanging on until the last page, you're playing her jam. She writes YA urban fantasy to contemporary filled with wit, action, grit, with a touch of her Southern roots. Hit her up at her twitter handle @saphirablue84 and her Tumblr to learn more about what this manger likes to rock out to. Now, are you ready to rock?

Jamie's scout Brandi M Lynch is ready to scope out the talent! While she leans toward fantasy and paranormal in her own writing, she’s got a taste for anything that rocks. She is eager to get her hands on something that hits her like a good bass line, something that lingers long after that last note. Check out her Twitter handle @branwrites to see what gets her dancing.
#TeamMagenta will be a tough act to follow, but best believe we've got more great pairs lined up. Stay tuned for the other great teams!

Be sure to stick around to meet the other teams and find out what they want. But honestly, #TeamMagenta's going to win this thing!

So, are you entering Pitch Slam? Are you excited and ready to rock? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! And as always, until next time, happy reading and writing everyone!

Pitch Slam! Round Rundown

It's not even April yet, but as everyone knows you can blink and the contest will be tomorrow. Plus we wanna give everyone a chance to familiarize themselves with how things are gonna work once the crazy fun begins in a few weeks. That and any questions or concerns folks might have can be addressed beforehand. There's a lot of info here, but it's pretty straightforward. Still, if there's anything you're not clear on or a detail you're wondering about that isn't mentioned, don't hesitate to let us know.

Everyone ready? I'm so excited!

4/20/2014: Auditions! - The submission round will open Sunday at 12:00 am EST and will stay open until 11:59 pm EST. Any entries sent before or after those indicated times will be deleted without being read. 30 seconds early or late is still early or late. The auditions are open for 24 hours, so no need to rush, but don't wait too late, y'dig? At this point only your 35 word pitch will be submitted. You read that right, and there's a good reason for it, just hang tight.

Once the Auditions are over, the Managers and their Talent Scouts (hosts and slush partner) will comb through the pitches offering feedback* on things like vagueness, no stakes, all of those things mentioned in Pitch Madness teaser tweets that had folks going "man, I wish I could revise and resubmit!" well, now you can! No fooling.

4/23/2014: Call Backs! - This is where you'll submit the first 250 words of your completed and polished manuscripts, without the pitch. Just like the audition round, it'll be open for 24 hours, from 12:00 am EST and will stay open until 11:59 pm EST. And like before, feedback* will be given on things like showing vs telling, info dumping (not the good kind), back story, etc.

4/26/2014: VEGAS! - You know how on SYTYCD or American Idol or whatever they tell people auditioning "YOU'RE GOING TO VEGAS!" and there's screaming and tears and such. That's what this is. Armed with feedback* that helped you craft a better pitch and stronger first page, it's time to send in those shiny new words. 12:00 am EST  until 11:59 pm EST on that day, the mail will be open again to take on your best! THIS is the pool the Managers and their Talent Scouts will be buildings their teams from.

4/29/2014: THE BATTLE! - This is it! The big show, where those chosen by the Managers will be posted to their blogs for the executives at Literary Records (the agents) will swoop in and make their requests. Each band will be comprised of TEN entries for a total of 50 finalists. The band with the most requests wins bragging rights and the coveted title of Rockingest! That's totally a word.

The Execs will make requests based on the music recording sales thresholds:

Demo Tape - Query and first 5 pages
Silver Record - Query and first 10 pages
Gold Record - Query and first 50 page
Platinum Record - Query and first 100 pages
Diamond Record- Query and full

Each Exec gets an infinite number of tapes to use, but certain records will be limited. And if we have more than one Exec toss out a Diamond Record, whomever tosses theirs first wins and the other Exec is bumped back to gold. We don't call this a Battle for nothing, heh.

That's the gist of it dudes and dudettes. A reminder post along with submission details and formatting, including what email address to submit to, will be posted closer to the 20th, so stay tuned.

Also, because we here at R&R Management are a group of fun loving people, we've also come up with a week's worth of awesome hashtag shenanigans to get up to on the #PitchSlam tag between rounds, to stay in your groove~. Check it:

Monday 4/21/2014 – #FirstLines. Where you post a first line from your book along with the tag. This can be for chapters, too.

Tuesday 4/23/2014 – #LastLines. Same rules from First Lines applies.

Wednesday 4/24/2014 – #ManuscriptMusic. Post your playlist for the manuscript on your blog and link it on Twitter so we can check out your jams! This playlist should include the music you listened to while writing.

Thursday 4/25/2014 – #ThemeSong. Songs for not only the book itself but characters, scenes, chapters, etc.

Friday 4/26/2014 – #CoolParts. You all know what this one's about, oh yeah.

Saturday 4/27/2014 – #PlaysMyMC. Tell us who would play your protagonist. Heck, go crazy, secondary characters, villains, comedic relief, give'em all!

Sunday 4/28/2014 – #CharacterMusic. Your protagonist have a favorite band or singer? How about a favorite song? Same with antagonist or secondary characters, the more the merrier.

Monday 4/29/2014 – #MyMusic. Who's your favorite singer or band?

Remember, these tags go along with the #PitchSlam one, otherwise we can't see what you're posting, and we wanna! So get ready for a week of awesome music, writing, and fun! While you're polishing up those pitches, be sure to check back for spotlight posts on the Managers and their Talent Scouts, as well as the ridicu-cool Execs who'll be waiting to get their hands on your work.

The season of Rock fast approaches, and we can't wait to get started. Questions? Concerns? That's what comments are for.

Hasta~!

***Feedback provided will be general but still helpful. In other words, no line-edits. 

READ THIS! - It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway. Anything sent before or after the entry windows of the second and third rounds will be discarded. Any entrant who fails to supply their work for said subsequent rounds will be disqualified from the contest as a whole, and no submissions will be accepted for ANY round unless the entrant participated in the previous ones. What this means is, in order to make it to VEGAS, an entrant needs to have participated in both the Audition and Call Backs rounds. No trying to squeeze an entry in at the last minute. Also, no switching up manuscripts in the middle of the game. You pick a story, that's the one you carry through with.

So there you have everybody! Tell me, are YOU ready to ROCK?! Let me know in the comments and feel free to ask questions or voice concerns.

Until next time, happy reading and writing everyone!