Interview with Author Kristine Asselin

Kristine and I met when she was agent sisters with one of my CP's. She was so sweet offering to help with my query and first pages at WOC last year and then checking up on me on twitter. Since then we've kept in touch and both contribute to Sporty Girl Books. I'm thrilled she sold her own Sporty Girl Book, THE SWEET SPOT. 

Hi Kristine! *waves*

First, could you tell us about this amazing book you've sold--and I was lucky enough to beta?

Thank you so much, Robin, for having me! I’m still pinching myself that I’m talking about my sale! The PM announcement is:

Kristine Carlson Asselin's THE SWEET SPOT, in which it is hard enough being a sporty girl in a guy's world without having to figure out who wants to destroy her family business, especially when it could mean accusing her best friend… and secret crush, to Meredith Rich of Bloomsbury Spark by Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

It’s basically about a girl who is a talented golfer and who waffles about being one of the few girls playing competitively. She also waffles about what playing golf will do to her social status. Her family and her crush pull her in one direction and her BFF pulls her in another. Should I? or Shouldn’t I? sort of stuff. When someone vandalizes her family’s small golf course, things get real. She starts focusing on things that are more important than her vanity or her nerves or whether or not golf is cool or not. And her game gets better when she stops worrying about it. Of course then there are other things for her to worry about. :)

I understand it was through a pitch contest that you piqued the interest of your editor with this tweet: A near-miss kiss from Scott, Dad hires a hot new Brit & SOMEONE torches the 8th green. How can Kate focus on her golf game? #YA #pitmad
What was the first thing you did when you received your offer?

The very first thing I did was probably squeal. A lot. LOL. The next thing I did was call my friend Ansha Kotyk, followed quickly by a barrage of text messages to my CP Trisha Leaver, and then probably my husband. I was on my way to a family party and spent the whole time texting a couple of close friends and panicking because even though my query had a great request rate and I had a bunch of fulls out, I hadn’t signed with my agent yet.

Yes, that is slightly unconventional, you got an publishing deal offer before you signed with Kathleen Rushall. Could you tell us about your unique agent-seeking journey?

I had been querying agents since my previous agent left her agency to seek her fortune elsewhere. I didn’t intentionally queried Bloomsbury. Meredith Rich was interested in seeing my MS after the twitter pitch contest, where I had been focused on agents.

Once I got the offer from Meredith, I stepped up my agent search, knowing that I wanted an agent to work with me on the contract and help me with selling my other work.

Kathleen had seen my work previously and we had corresponded about both THE SWEET SPOT and my middle grade project. When I got the offer from Bloomsbury, I reached out to the team at Marsal Lyon, along with several other agents I knew and respected. Kat and I talked a bit about my other works-in-progress, and she offered.

I ended up having two other agent offers as well, so it was bittersweet to have to turn down fabulous people. I’m so happy with Kat and look forward to a long and successful relationship!

I LOVE seeing timelines of book to print. Could you tell us the process for THE SWEET SPOT?

You’re sure you want this? It’s a long one…

Writing: THE SWEET SPOT started as a short story I wrote in August 2007. It was about 2500 words, called THE KNIGHT IN TAN KHAKIS. It was published in (now defunct) Golfer Girl Magazine in December 2008.

Over the course of the next 3 years, the short story morphed into a novel, was critiqued, workshopped and rewritten multiple times.

Revising: I was a finalist for a pitch contest on QueryTracker in 2010. I revised a bit as a result of working with an agent involved in that contest, as well as through other professional critiques at conferences and crit partners until I felt like it was ready to query.

Querying: I officially started querying in spring 2010, and signed with my first agent in March 2011.

Submitting: It was submitted by my first agent in summer 2011 to a short list of editors and didn’t sell. I completely rewrote it in the first person POV in spring/summer 2012. My first agent left agenting in November 2012. Flash forward 6 months, Meredith saw my pitch in the #pitmad feed and Kathleen signed me soon after.

As an aside here, I’m a poster child for the concept of Do. Not. Give. Up. Persistence in the face of bumps in the road. Keep writing, keep learning your craft, write other things, but don’t give up.

Publication: Scheduled for publication in late spring 2014

You, like THE SWEET SPOT's Kate, are a golfer. If you were golfing together how do imagine the game would play out?

Kate would kick my butt. And then kick it some more. She’s a much better golfer than I ever was, though I can hold my own with a five iron.

a five iron, in case you're like me

What does your writing space look like?

I wish I had a “real” writing space. Insert frowny face here. J I write on my couch, on my dining room table, at the library, at the Barnes and Noble coffee shop. Wherever there’s space and where I think I can focus that particular day.

What project are you working on now?

I’ve got a couple of works-in-progress, including a MG fantasy and MG mystery as well as a YA supernatural, but as I dive into revisions with Meredith I’m actually contemplating a sequel for THE SWEET SPOT!

Thank you for being on Robin Hall Writes! 

Where you can find out more about Kris

Blog: Twitter: Sporty Girl Books

How to Date a Nerd Blog Hop and MORE

The nerdiest thing(s) about me?

Age 4: I made my mom put the alphabet up in our kitchen because I wanted to be in school.
1st grade: I took home so many bonus assignments that my teacher ran out of special packets half-way through the year.
3rd grade: A boy broke my arm because I wouldn't give a boy back a crayon he WAS NOT supposed to be using.
5th grade: My science project was SO good that my teacher "stole" my idea and used it on his daughter's project the next year.
****skipping awful, friendless, I had no idea how to be cool, middle school****
10th grade: I was the only sophomore in AP Biology
11th and 12th grade: I took all AP classes and spent my nights happily buried in homework.
College: Freshman year I skipped"open dorm" nights when the guys could visit and instead spent that time in the library. Most Saturday mornings at 8am you could find me studying there as well.

Add to your Goodreads

This week so many incredible books are releasing this week, I couldn't just mention Cassie Mae's. Below are a few of

the other books I'm salivating over.

I didn't realize until adding these covers to my blog, but they're all rather similar. Green is my favorite color, so I'm not complaining.

What books are you salivating over? 

Jumping in Shark Infested Waters or What's Up Wednesday

“What’s Up Wednesday” is a weekly meme started by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk. From Jaime: It’s similar in some respects to the Currently… post, but it’s been whittled down to only four headings to make it quicker and more manageable on a weekly basis. You’re invited to join us if you’re looking for something to blog about, a way to let your blog friends know what’s been going on with you. If you’re participating, make sure to link your What’s Up Wednesday posts to the list on Jaime’s blog each week. That way, others can visit your post and check out what you’ve been up to.

What I'm Reading:

Non-fiction:

 Cindi Lee is my yoga hero. Her books and videos-I've yet to meet her in person-taught me that laughter in yoga is good and that playing with poses is how we learn and grow. My first successful forearm stand was through a video of hers back in 2006. So...great yogini...this book is light, yet deep, just like the practice she leads.

Audio: 

Do you remember Kit Tyler from Barbados,  the shock of Puritan Connecticut, and the sweet Quaker woman living by Blackbird Pond, and Nat? 
My paperback copy is so worn the cover fell off, yet I'd forgotten most of the story. 
Also the reader Mary Beth Hurt is amazing. (Sometimes readers get in teh way of the story for me, not so with Mary. She's one of those gems who adds to it.)


Fiction: 

SURE SIGNS OF CRAZY is a MG novel about a girl whose mother tried to drown her and did succeed in drowning her brother. She was two and doesn't remember any of it, but is worried she'll turn out crazy like her mom, so she's watching for signs. It's told from her "real" journal she hides under the bathroom counter and her "fake journal" she keeps on her nightstand. I'm only nine chapters in, but I've fallen hard for SURE SIGNS OF CRAZY.




 What I'm Writing: 
I finished my latest rounds of revisions with GG. I cut 15 K, but added back 3k in new scenes. This story struggled to come out of me. It felt a bit like Harry Potter writing his name with his blood, but I trudged on, scars and all. I've kept GG to myself (besides sharing the 1st 10 pages) but I'm finally approaching that point where I'm  ready to share. I finished the revision Monday morning and don't know what to do with myself...hence WRITING this blog post:) 
*note: since writing this post I've returned to a MG rough draft I wrote last spring. Going from first person POV present to third person POV past is a challenge, but I'm in love with this story all over again. 

What Else I've Been Up To:

Jumping into Shark Infested Waters

Well almost. For now it's just the YMCA pool. But I'm working of my front crawl and remembering how to breathe and swim at the same time. But next summer it will be open water. Along with all the other unrealistic challenging goals I've set for myself, I've added one more. I'm going to do a triathlon next spring and I was planning on a 5K Cupcake Run last Saturday to get me back into racing-that is until I broke my toe two. *crossing my fingers it heals quickly*

What Inspires Me Right Now:

• Holding my husband's book
• Biking in the early morning and feeling the beginning of fall
• Knowing that the leaves will change soon and I'll have my first "real" fall in five years
• Farmer's Market Produce
• This CES devotional by David A. Bednar:  "That We May Not Shrink" (text, video)

What are you guys up to on this lovely Wednesday?

Ketchup

Hello, hello? Is anybody still reading my blog besides IWSG Wednesdays?

I know, I've been awful.  I can blame it on the move, on my kids, on my new yoga studio, or I can just suck it up and admit that I've been having a down time. Writing has been hard. Subs have been hard.

But, I couldn't leave the blogging world. I missed you guys, and I've missed blogging.

So today I'm back with a whole lot of random. Some books I can't get enough of and should have shouted to the rooftops ages ago, new excitement at the Hall house, and one of my All-Time-Favorite Read's (yes, I needed those CAPS) sequel is out today. We HAVE to celebrate that.


Cassie Mae's FRIDAY NIGHT ALIBI. I requested this one from NetGalley and read it in two days. Hilarious and hot. FRIDAY NIGHT ALIBI is a great read. I'm still smelling oranges and thinking about Chase. And man could I handle living in Kelli's house with a pool in the basement and a window hot guys could crawl through (but I want parents that stick around too). This one will be read again. Light, funny, and clean sexy is my kind of book.

SEAN GRISWOLD'S HEAD. I know, I'm the last person on the planet to read this book, but I still had to say how impressed I am with Lindsay Leavitt. Her characters walked off the pages and into my life. Each time I get on my road bike and train for my triathlon, I think about Payton training and how wonderful a surprise it was to me that biking was a part of this story. (Remember I'm one of those crazy people who doesn't read dust jackets.) I loved this book so much I read GOING VINTAGE, as well. I'm still crushing on Oliver and his yarn ring to remember to forget. And again-all the orange. Hmm...I'm seeing a theme with my book loves.


Hall house excitement. Some of you might remember my hubbie's non-fiction (is anyone still reading after that word?) book releases October first. This week we received a box full of all these pretties.

We sure would appreciate it if you'd go and add it to your Goodreads To-Read List and share with any military families you might know:)

Last, but certainly not least, is the sequel to IMPOSSIBLE, one of my favorite books of all time. Happy release day to the lovely Nancy Werlin and her new book UNTHINKABLE. Did you guys fall for IMPOSSIBLE as hard as I did? I'll be staring out the window waiting for the UPS truck today.

Happy Friday the 13th, guys. And please tell me what you've been up to (I'm slowly catching up on blogs, but I've missed so much) and any new reads I should add to my TBR list, because UNTHINKABLE will be read in a day. Two if I want to feed my children.

IWSG: Starting Something New

The first Wednesday of every month is IWSG, a bloghop hosted by the amazing Alex J. Cavenaugh to encourage and inspire each other and a safe place to admit our writing doubts. And if I understood it, this is the 200th IWSG, so a giant happy birthday to a wonderful group!

Today I'm not starting anything new in the writing world, but still, something I've never attempted before is happening. I'm opening doors to my own yoga studio. While I've taught for over ten years, I've never considered my own studio until a friend offered me some space free for a three-month trial period. And as crazy as my life is right now, I jumped at the chance to be my own boss, do it my own way, and get people moving and breathing-yoking the mind and the body.

I'm terrified, but excited, like that feeling when I open a brand new word document and only the curser blinks back at me.

In other news:
I have my interview up with Catherine Murdock on her new release (out yesterday) Heaven Is Paved with Oreos on Sporty Girl Books. I hope you'll check it out. When I grow up I hope to be like her.

Write On Con is back

The crit. forums are live and the 2-day conference starts tomorrow.
Every time I attend a conference two things happen.
1. I realize I have a ton to learn.
2. I'm on fire to write better: to know more, to deepen my characters, to cut out unnecessary plot points, and to write the best story ever.

Here's the perfect conference for me. I don't have to stress about my hair or clothes or my lack of a cool bag. I don't have to find babysitters, book a hotel, or spend a single dime. This is one time where the saying "You get what you pay for," does not apply. Last year on the forums I perfected my query and first 250 of LOVESENSE. So many new eyes helped make my query that much stronger for when I queried last fall.

 Have you seen the list of presenters? I'm putting stars by the ones I've met.

29 Authors: (including Natalie Whipple*, Caroline Star Rose, Liesl Shurtliff*, Peggy Eddleman*, Dan Krokos, Dianne Salerni*, Kimberley Griffiths Little* Mindy McGinnis, Ellen Oh)
20 awesome literary agents (including Peter Knapp-love his eyes, Victoria Marini, Sarah LaPolla, Suzie Townsend, and Kathleen Ortiz)
9 Editors: (including Sarah Dotts Barley and Patricia Riley)

hope you'll take some time this week to pop in. Even the live events can be viewed after the fact.
If you have material up in the forums, let me know in the comments and I'll check it out-in my pjs:)
What's your favorite reason for attending writing conferences?

IWSG-Better Late than Never

The first Wednesday of every month is IWSG, a bloghop hosted by the amazing Alex J. Cavenaugh. IWSG in a safe place to encourage, inspire, and admit our writing doubts to each other.










August!
I do really well at setting goals ... and then failing to reach them in my chosen timeframe. Life keeps coming-like this move that threw my writing and blogging for a serious loop.

Even so, I am determined to finish my current project NO MATTER WHAT. So I keep sludging forward.

What I thought was a puny hill

turns into a mountain

  and then a mountain range. I'm climbing the freaking Alps, but I keep going.

Even though it's hard, and the going is steep, I keep moving forward. My goal this past month: open my word document every day. That's it. It's not much progress forward, but it's one more step in the right direction. Hopefully one day I'll stand at the top and be able to say, "I made it."

If you have a chance, a little encouragement for my slow climbing would be appreciated. The Alps are looking rather tall this morning.

Thank you, IWSG!