Query Kombat 2018!

Hello to all you future Query Kombat hopefuls! I'm Kara Reynolds, and for the last two years I've helped QK host Laura Heffernan as a slush reader. This year, Laura has to sit out from QK (for happy reasons!), so I'm filling in for her!

Hi! This is me!

I write Young Adult novels with light speculative elements. My work is represented by Silvia Arienti and Jill Corcoran of Jill Corcoran Literary Agency. I'm part of Operation Awesome, a great group blog with resources for writers at any stage of the publication journey. I'm also a huge proponent of National Novel Writing Month, and have been both a participant and a Municipal Liaison. Writing is what occupies my brain when it's not paying attention to my husband or three kids. I love reading books, thinking about the craft of writing, and oh yeah, doing the actual writing part!

Before signing with my agents, I loved entering writing and querying contests. Now I enjoy working behind-the-scenes to help other writers achieve their dreams! When it comes to building a QK team, my philosophy is to put together a balanced and diverse slate of entries that will appeal to agents and judges alike. I'm looking for entries with a compelling and unique premise, combined with strong writing. I want all the entries that give me a bad case of the grabby hands. But Kara, everyone says that! What's my particular brand of catnip? Ghosts, time travel, settings outside the US, and unreliable narrators. Anything that can be legitimately comped to Ocean's Eleven. Also... I love being surprised by something I never knew I wanted. So polish up those entries and surprise me!