I’m Kathryn (@KatyLapierre on Twitter, come find me) and this is my #BoostMyBio page (why do I feel like I should be standing up in front of a group of strangers waving my hand sheepishly).

Anyways, I’m writing a young adult contemporary fantasy novel called, TRUTH BE TOLD, and, yup, you guessed it, I’m entering Pitch Wars to meet new writers and hopefully find my literary agent soulmate.

Pitch Wars is a contest in which writers submit their story to be selected by published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns. After selection, the generous mentors work with mentees to polish their submission materials and manuscripts. The writer’s pitch is then showcased to literary agents in the hopes of gaining representation and that elusive book deal. Not everyone is selected, but just being part of this community is enriching. Meeting all of you has been so valuable.

Now that the housekeeping is out of the way…

About TRUTH BE TOLD

(this little blurb was almost harder to write than the whole book)

Sixteen-year-old Verity Callahan has the ability to know the true answer to every question asked. But she can’t control it and fears the truths it reveals. Her younger, manipulative brother Lucas has the ability of an empath. He wields it like a weapon and uses it to gain power over others.

Just when Verity’s found some semblance of happiness in her new boyfriend, her ability reveals a series of truths that is hard to face and even harder to change. Lucas plots to eliminate her boyfriend from her life, in order to get her and her ability on his side.

Faced with this future, can Verity hone the ability she hates, defeat her brother, and save her boyfriend from a fate that will tear them apart?

Aesthetic for Verity:

Aesthetic for Lucas:

Plot in emojis:

By the Numbers: Number of…

… crazy people on a bus: 3

… people punched in the face: 4

… foods mentioned in the story: 32 

… explosions: 2

… dogs: 1 (sorry, I feel like there should be more)

… hypothetical people stranded on a dessert island: 28

… days served in detention: 5

… kisses in the rain: 2

… questions asked on a random day: 279

… times fate has been altered: ?

About Me

I was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts. I moved to New Hampshire after college to work and write for Yankee Magazine in 2004 and I’ve lived in the Granite State ever since. Although life and various types of transportation have brought me through six continents, including many of the destinations found in my first novel Searching for Saffron, I’ve always called New England home.

Things I love: the movie Clue, bagels, wine, coffee, cheese, Weezer, cheeseburgers, swimming, TV shows with awesome female leads (hello Veronica Mars), will-they-won’t-they plot lines when there are reasons that the couple should run away from each other but should clearly also be together forever, peanut butter, trains, The Beastie Boys, chocolate, striped neutral colored clothing, a pop of color on my nails, all things covered in frosting, all the Pitch Perfect movies, chipotle ranch rice bowls, donuts, The Three Amigos, Bob Dylan, long books, short books, hardcover books, paperback books, picture books, YA books, adult books. Okay, I just love books. Oooh and potatoes.

Things I hate: Cardio. Yeah, no, don’t put me down for cardio.

I grew up reading and writing, drawing and playing outside. Admittedly, there was television, too. I made friends, a few enemies. I’ve also loved: enter family, friends, husband, and three infuriable (infuriating + adorable) sons. It’s hard to work with them around, sometimes…

(I told you I liked Clue. You were warned). But I do the best I can.

Before the kiddos, when I had a more reliable brain, I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art with a concentration in photography from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. I received my Master of Arts in Liberal Studies in Creative Writing from Dartmouth College. I’ve also completed studies in the Creative Writing Summer Programme at the University of Oxford.

Putting my degrees and experiences to use, I’ve written news and travel features for publication since 2003, when I got my start writing a weekly column for the Nashua Telegraph. I currently work as an Associate Director of Communications at Dartmouth College.

Searching for Saffron is my first published work of fiction. I fervently hope that TRUTH BE TOLD will be my second published work of fiction. This story has grown with me and in me for many years now. I would love for it to live a life of its own, one that others can experience and enjoy.

In closing, I want to thank Pitch Wars and the founders of #PWPoePrompts for helping me to discover this amazing writing community. To my Tweeps out there, I’m new to Twitter (well, new to actually using it) and I’ve never participated in Pitch Wars before. Having a place to share experiences, stories, ideas, frustrations, and laughs has already been so rewarding, even if I don’t end up getting selected as part of the contest.

And to the people who invented Twitter (I googled it and I’m looking at you Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams) thanks for introducing me to the GIF. I knew what they were, but never understood the appeal until I only had 280 characters to communicate my thoughts.

And since I can’t wink in real life, I’m signing off with this: