We have our second The Writer's Voice 2014 #TeamMonica FTW SUCCESS STORY!

Guess WHAT??? My Team has had a SECOND The Writer's Voice success story this year! I'm so excited to announce that Ashley Turcotte has signed with Lisa Jane Weller of Broadland Literary! :)

This is her story in her own words:

I think most writers have a rock bottom moment. A point when they’re sure that even though they’ve worked so hard and grown so much, no amount of work will ever be enough. No amount of growth will ever make them great.

That moment for me was a little under three months ago. There were actually three days in the beginning of April when I was convinced I’d never write anything again. (Silly, right? As if I could actually stop.)

But I believe I needed those three days. Because when “writer” was removed from my identity, I felt empty. Lost. Useless. I’d ripped a great big hole in myself. And it forced me to admit just how much writing means to me. So I left those three days more determined than I’d ever been in my life. I would succeed, no matter how long it took, no matter how much heartbreak I had to suffer through. I’d never let myself give up again.

Ten days later, I saw the announcement for The Writer’s Voice. I was an alternate in the contest last year (yay Team Krista!) and knew how awesome it would be. And my MG fantasy, Tearless, hadn’t been in any contests yet. So to prove to myself that I truly wasn’t giving up, exactly one month from the day I determined I was no longer a writer, I entered.

Thank goodness I did! When Mónica picked me, I felt this crazy rush of joy and adrenaline and validation, all rolled into one. If Mónica could be that excited and enthusiastic about my words, then I had to be doing something right after all. And working with her to make my entry as perfect as we could make it was so much fun. (Seriously, Mónica, you’re the best. <3)

By the end of the contest, I had two requests. I ecstatically sent them off and prepared myself for the long wait. (I once had a full request out for 10 days shy of a whole year. I know all about waiting.) But that wasn’t the case this time. Only six days after I’d sent her a partial, one of the agents upgraded to a full. All of a week later, I got my favorite email I’ve gotten in my life. She loved Tearless. She wanted to set up a Skype chat so we could discuss representation. 

Less than three months after I’d decided to give up forever, I signed with Lisa Jane Weller of Broadland Literary (one of the ninja agents in the contest). I’m so excited to be working with her! We have so many fantastic plans for my books, and I pretty much adore her.

Time elapsed: 4 years, 8 months, and 6 days. Manuscripts: 4. Rejections: 218. Identity crises: 1.

But I got there. And I’ve never been happier in my life.