I know you’ll want to get to know the mentors who will be helping the finalists perfect their query letter and first 250 words. But first a few dates for Nightmare on Query Street:
Half of the list of amazing mentors is here. To see the other half of the list, visit Michelle’s blog. Some of the mentors have been helping our contests for ages and some are brand new. Please give all of them a big welcome!
Richard Taylor Pearson’s debut novel THE ROLE was published by Lethe Press on May 4, 2016. Richard is a triple threat: author, actor, and attorney.
He grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he appeared in many plays and musicals. After graduating from Rhodes College, Richard went on to obtain a law degree from Rutgers School of Law. While he works as an attorney by day, his nights and weekends are spent writing novels and performing in theatrical events all over New York City. Richard lives in Jersey City with his husband, Brian, and their amazing daughter, Natalie.
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| MARTY MAYBERRY |
Marty Mayberry writes adult and young adult fiction. When she’s not dreaming up ways to mess
with her character’s lives, she works as an RN/Clinical Documentation Specialist. She has a BA
in International Affairs in German and an Associate’s Degree in Nursing. She lives in New
England with her retired Seabee Chief husband, children, and three (make that four) neurotic
cats. She’s a member of SCBWI, YARWA, and a PRO member of RWA. Her young adult sci-fi thriller, PHOENIX RISING, won the ‘15 YARWA’s Rosemary Award for
speculative fiction. She’s represented by Jessica Watterson of the Dijkstra Agency.
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| CM MCCOY |
Colleen Oefelein (aka CM McCoy) is the PR Manager for Inklings Literary Agency. She leads conference workshops on pitching, query writing, and book promotion. Her paranormal debut, EERIE, released last year and was featured in an April issue of PEOPLE Magazine. Colleen loves to Irish dance, drink whiskey, and sing WAY too loud. Thankfully, her Last Frontier neighbors (the moose) don’t seem to mind. Though she holds a B.S. in chemical engineering and one in German from Penn State, she’s happiest writing the stories of monsters in Alaska (with an awkward kiss in the mix.) While working 911 dispatch for State Troopers, she learned to speak in 10-codes, which she still does…but only to annoy her family.
Author Links:
Book links for EERIE:
Buy Links:
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| MICHELE HAZEN |
Michelle Hazen is a nomad with a writing problem. She can most often be found climbing rocks, riding horses, or figuring out creative ways for fictional people to maim each other. She also works as a Book Coach for Author Accelerator, and a freelance editor, and delights in helping people fall madly in lust with their own manuscripts. Her own manuscripts tend to be about love and fight scenes, as she writes NA contemporary romance, and adult romantic suspense. She is represented by Naomi Davis of Inklings Literary, and is
the Amazon-bestselling author of eight paranormal suspense titles.
https://www.facebook.com/MichelleHazenAuthor/
J.C. Lane is the author of
TAG, YOU’RE DEAD, a thriller for YA and adults. She also writes mysteries as Judy Clemens, including the Anthony- and Agatha-nominated Stella Crown series, the Grim Reaper mysteries, and the stand-alone LOST
SONS. She is a former president of Sisters in Crime, and is represented by Dr. Uwe Stender of TriadaUS Literary Agency. jclanebooks.com
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| Sarah Janian |
Sarah Janian is a elementary school teacher-turned MG and YA author. She attended Swarthmore College (’05) and earned her master’s in literacy education (’09) from Bank Street in NYC. After being selected for Laura Heffernan’s Query Kombat team in the spring, she recently signed with Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger for her MG contemporary SPLIT. In between working on her next projects and taking care of her two-year-old daughter, Sarah has also given away dozens of query critiques through Twitter contests. She is thrilled to be an MG mentor for this year’s NoQS.
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| MELINDA O’NEILL |
As the owner of a boutique chocolate factory in Atlanta, Melinda O’Neill loves to write adult and YA stories with a sweet twist, including her debut mystery, THE CORPSE WORE STILETTOS, due out in fall of 2017. When she’s not spinning a sweet yarn or creating delicious confections, she spends time with her husband, Brian, their kids who range in age from 24 to 7, a hyperactive cocker spaniel named Divo (after the band), a princess tabby cat named Twilight (before the book stole her name) and a collection of stray fish. She is represented by Priya Doraswami of Lotus Lane Literary. Check out her blog at
melindajoneill.blogspot.com and follow on
twitter. Or if you’re an author in need of a chocolate fix, claim your author’s discount at
http://www.chamberlainschocolate.com/
Aimee Hyndman has been writing since she could hold a pencil. She is a senior in college, double majoring in Creative writing and English. She has interned remotely for Kimberley Cameron & Associates, and in Spring of 2016, interned for McIntosh and Otis and Defiore and co while in New York for a semester.
She is repped by the wonderful Laura Zats of Red Sofa literary, and her first novel,
HOUR OF MISCHIEF, is published through Curiosity Quills Press. The other three books in the series are soon to come. When not writing, she binge watches anime, plays Zelda, and blogs.
You can also find her on twitter ( @AimeeHyndman ) , Pinterest (Aimee Hyndman) and youtube (Kallypso8).
Jamie Zakian is the author of the NA criminal suspense series
Ashby Holler (Limitless Publishing) and the YA sci-fi thriller Emergence, forthcoming from Month9Books 3/7/17. On the rare occasion when not writing, she enjoys blazing new trails on her 4wd quad or honing her archery skills.
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15152930.Jamie_Zakian
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| Amy Trueblood |
A devotee of reading and writing from a very young age, Amy Trueblood grew up surrounded by
books. After stints working in entertainment and advertising, she began writing her first
manuscript and has never looked back. Her published work has appeared in The Fall and
Summer’s Edge short story collections as well as Pen & Muses’ first Dark Carnival collection.
Roseanne Wells of the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency. To learn more about Amy, check out
her blog, Chasing The Crazies or follow her on Twitter or Tumblr.
Heather Van Fleet is stay-at-home-mom turned book boyfriend
connoisseur. She’s the wife of her high school sweetheart and the mother of
three little girls. In her spare time, she can be found with her head buried in
her Kindle, guzzling down copious amounts of coffee.
Currently, Heather works as an agency intern and is a former
content editor for BookFish Books. Her contemporary romance, Reckless Hearts,
releases February 7th, 2017 from Sourcebooks Casablanca.
Links:
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| Kim Long |
Kim Long is an attorney in the Chicagoland area, where she spends her days expressing her clients’ (always true) stories to judges and juries. She writes MG contemporary fantasy that contain a sprinkle of science and is represented by Sara Crowe at Pippin Properties. When not managing her fantasy baseball and football teams, she can be found biking, watching Star Wars for the zillionth time, or teaching her nieces about the importance of choosing the correct racer (Toad) and vehicle (standard bike) to win in Mario Kart.
@theSol23
J.C. Lane is the author of TAG, YOU’RE DEAD, a thriller for YA and adults. She also writes mysteries as Judy Clemens, including the Anthony- and Agatha-nominated Stella Crown series, the Grim Reaper mysteries, and the stand-alone LOST 
Aimee Hyndman has been writing since she could hold a pencil. She is a senior in college, double majoring in Creative writing and English. She has interned remotely for Kimberley Cameron & Associates, and in Spring of 2016, interned for McIntosh and Otis and Defiore and co while in New York for a semester. 
Heather Van Fleet is stay-at-home-mom turned book boyfriend
Max Wirestone is the author of the geek-themed Dahlia Moss mystery series, the second of which— THE ASTONISHING MISTAKES OF DAHLIA MOSS – will hit stores in March of 2017. Max is a Query Kombat alum with a penchant for zippy query letters, expansive JRPGs, and overcommitting his schedule. Check out his website at maxwirestone.com or follow him on twitter at @maxwires.