Jennifer O’Connell | Marie Lamba, author

Dog with Birthday Hat and Balloons

Happy Agent Monday, everyone! It’s been a very busy time around here, and productive too.

I’m hoping to offer up some more regular Agent Monday columns soon, but in the meantime, I thought I’d just pop in here to quickly share some news bits about a few of our clients over at The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency.

So here goes:

Special MERMAID TALES Site

Simon & Schuster has launched a special online site for client Debbie Dadey’s wonderful chapter book series MERMAID TALES. The site features a host of fun mermaid activities kids will love. http://simonandschusterpublishing.com/mermaid-tales/

More Honors for THE JUMBIES

Kudos to Tracey Baptiste! Her middle-grade novel THE JUMBIES (Algonquin Books for Young Readers) is included on the 2015 New York Public Library Top 100 Notable Titles list, and also on the We Need Diverse Books 10 Must Reads list for 2015.

Scholastic Book Club Titles

Congratulations to clients Jennifer O’Connell (HARVEST PARTY!), Lee Harper (TURKEY TRICK OR TREAT), and Tracey Baptiste (THE JUMBIES), who each have just had their books featured in Scholastic Book Club fliers! Baptiste’s novel is part of Scholastic’s special We Need Diverse Books edition.

Harper’s Illustrations Acquired for Museum

The Mazza Museum in Ohio has purchased 6 original illustrations and 14 sketches by author/illustrator Lee Harper. Harper’s work will become part of the museum’s permanent collection, which highlights excellence in children’s illustration.

Verna’s Debut Already Catching Attention

Harmony Verna’s debut DAUGHTER OF AUSTRALIA (Kensington) comes out in March, and is already catching attention throughout the world. Foreign rights have been sold to publishers in Australia, Germany and France. Library Journal calls Verna’s novel “a poignant, beautifully told story of love and courage,” and says it evokes the sweeping scope of THE THORNBIRDS. For more info, click here.

Congrats to them all!

*Marie is an Associate Agent at The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency in New York City. To keep up with all her Agent Monday posts, subscribe to her site by clicking on the Follow link located on her page on the upper left margin.

Happy Agent Monday everyone! I know – it’s been a while… I’ve been traveling a ton for conferences and been on so many planes and through so many time zones it’s a wonder my eyesballs aren’t spinning in my head. Which leads me to today’s subject: HORROR! Hey, it’s Halloween week, right? And Halloween is one of my very favorite times of the year. I love a good fright. But I don’t represent horror, and yet…in some ways I do. Let me explain..

Here’s the thing – I LOVE a good ghost story. Truly. The kind that make you shiver and wonder or perhaps feel heartsick, the kind that are steeped in a sense of history or folklore. My own YA novel DRAWN taps into that, adding a dimension of timeless longing and injustice. I also adore well-drawn characters – so important to me.

What I don’t want to see? Gratuitous violence or gore. No thank you. Yeah, I love Halloween, but for me the shivers has nothing to do with psychos wielding chainsaws. God I hate when they wreck a good haunted house with blood-soaked rooms. #notforme

So that’s how I say “no horror” yet I represent awesome author Gregory Frost who is working on a novel about a haunted White House in the 1800s. Yup, there are some touches of horror in that novel for sure, but the book is all about the characters and the time, plus the writing is beyond gorgeous. And that’s how I represent Jim Kristofic, whose short story horror collection is beyond creepy, BUT is steeped in Native American lore and awesome writing and NOT all about blood and guts. There’s more of a psychological thing going on. And it’s how I fell for my client Tracey Baptiste’s THE JUMBIES, which is a middle grade horror set in the Caribbean, and features monsters that snatch children. That one is elegant and heartfelt and folkloric, and very much set in a time and place.

So bloody horror? Nope. If your book were made into a movie, would it be a slasher film? Then please don’t send it my way. But spooky and even terrifying lit that is elegantly written and has strong characterization? Yup. Ghosts. Meaning. Not just cheap scares. That’s the distinction. That will get me interested.

And now, for your Halloween reading pleasure, here are three client books now available that are perfect for a spooky evening read:

TURKEY TRICK OR TREAT, a fun new picture book written by Wendy Silvano and illustrated by Lee Harper (Two Lions). This one is hilarious and the illustrations will draw you in! Check it out by clicking here. (Also, a Scholastic Book Club title.)

THE JUMBIES, highly praised spooky middle grade novel by Tracey Baptiste (Algonquin Books for Young Readers). This creepy Caribbean tale will have you looking over your shoulder and snuggling deeper under the covers. Full of fun and feisty kids that best the beasts! Find out more here. (And available now through Scholastic Book Clubs.)

HARVEST PARTY! This fun picture book is written by Jennifer O’Connell and illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka (Scholastic Cartwheel). It’s a perfect fall read for the little ones in your family who love to laugh. (Can be purchased now through Scholastic Book Clubs.)