Assisted Lovin’ by Lorinda McKinnon

Janice, an aging female journalist, lands in an assisted living facility, bitterly determined to remain aloof and detached, only to discover that intrigue and romance aren’t just for the young. She is swept up in the drama of a corrupt facility administrator, the hilarious attempts at friendship by the oversexed ladies across the hall, and in the attention of the dignified gentleman in the unit next door.

When a newspaper prints an exposé of romantic activities in the retirement community, it attracts the attention of the townspeople and alarms the residents’ families, who are worried by the possibility that it could be their loved ones who are involved in this risqué scandal. The residents find the notoriety thrilling, and go to great lengths to spy on one another―and to be featured in the next newspaper article.

Janice teams up with the newspaper reporter and her new friends to reveal a plot to force the facility to close, and discovers she has found a new―if slightly dysfunctional―family.

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The Whiskey Code by Mally Becker 

Set during the darkest days of the American Revolution, THE WHISKEY CODE tells the story of General Washington’s most reluctant spy, a fiercely independent young woman who races time and Turncoats to uncover, then thwart, a plot that threatens Washington’s life.

Recently widowed Rebecca Parcell is too busy struggling to maintain her Morristown farm to give a fig about the Revolution. While the village gossips whisper that she betrayed her cheating late husband by turning him over to the British, George Washington has proof that he was in fact a Loyalist spy. Washington swears he’ll help Becca preserve her farm if she can uncover her late husband’s secrets.

Her search for the truth pairs her with an escaped British prisoner, Daniel Alloway —the last person to see her husband alive—as they embark on an espionage mission through British-occupied New York City. Moving from glittering balls to an underworld of brothels and prisons, Becca and Daniel uncover a plot that threatens the General’s life and the new country’s future. Will they move quickly enough to prevent Washington’s death? Will Becca learn who betrayed her husband? And as she grows more confident in her own independence, will she continue to cling to the farm and her past?

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Wind Dancer by Erin Roll 

A race and an air show for up-and-coming young aerialists and airship builders. It was just the sort of news that sixteen-year-old aspiring pilot Emily Halloran had been waiting all her life for.

Growing up in early twentieth-century Belfast – a city that prides itself on building ships of the air as well as ships of the sea – Emily longs to join the ranks of the world’s greatest pilots and airship designers. She has already designed and built her first aircraft, a small two-seater called Wind Dancer.

When Emily sees the notice in the newspaper about the competition in England, she knows that she has to enter. It would mean a chance to make a name for herself; besides, with Belfast increasingly threatened by civil unrest, lost jobs and war in Europe, Emily’s family needs something to hope for.

So Emily and her sister (and co-pilot), Katie, take Wind Dancer and join the other boys and girls flying their way to a chance at glory.

As they make their way through the semi-finals, Emily and Katie see first-hand that the competition is fierce, and that the odds are decidedly against them. What good can a homemade, built-from-spare-parts airship like Wind Dancer be against the professionally-built airships that some of the other contestants are flying?

It also becomes clear that someone is playing a dangerous game with the contestants’ lives.

Will Emily, Katie and Wind Dancer triumph?

Set in an alternate-history Ireland and England, Wind Dancer is a high-flying, thrilling steampunk adventure.

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The Surrogate by Lynn Katz

The Surrogate is a 78,000 word psychological thriller.

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Noon Skate by Carol Mackela

Monica Jones stared with horror at the smoldering ruins of the apartment building that had been her home.  She and her teen daughter had lost everything in the blaze and must now rebuild their lives.

Monica’s parents had disowned her after she became pregnant in high school, and she had struggled to provide for her daughter for years.  Now a 37-year-old paralegal in Michigan, Monica races to the ice rink every day during her lunch hour for exercise, lessons and camaraderie.  She dreams of a gold medal in ice dance (akin to a black belt in martial arts), an accomplishment that would represent years of hard work and considerable investment in coaching, ice time, and expensive skates.  When Monica’s friendship with skating partner Brad Peltonen takes a romantic turn, Monica wonders if she and Brad have enough in common off the ice to make their relationship work.  Will the apartment fire and its aftermath draw them closer or hasten the end of their romance?

When Brad suffers a medical emergency, Monica prays that he will survive to be her partner on and off the ice.  She continues to work on the last dance she needs to complete her gold medal.  Will she pass the test and become a gold medalist?

Monica was introduced in my first novel, On Your Feet! (Indie Excellence Award winner, 2009) (about ballroom dancing).  As a gold medalist in ice dance, I have drawn on my 20 years of skating experience in writing Noon Skate.

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Meteor Showers by Crystal Chilcott 

Moving every year or two is hard on teenagers under normal circumstances, but doubly so when each move means adjusting to a new culture and country. For a figure skating Olympic hopeful, getting the proper training is nearly impossible.  When Santiago moves to train full-time at an Olympic Training Center site, he knows his life will change drastically.  No longer will he live as a global nomad with his mom and an ever-growing number of half-siblings. For the first time, he will seek companionship beyond his family.  What he isn’t prepared for is a tragedy that challenges everything he thinks he knows about his family, faith, sport, and his place in the world.

His grief sends him on a quest to find the father he never met, a search for existential meaning in his life, and a relentless pursuit of a spot on the Olympic team. As he uncovers his mother’s secrets, he is aided by Athena, the world champion who lives next door and Shae-Lynn, his young secondary coach with a toddler and a big secret of her own.

A comparable title is I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. The novel would appeal to teenagers with goals of their own, an interest in travel, or who are struggling to find their place in the world.

Thank you for your consideration.

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The Sky Shatters by Jennifer Mannering

I am seeking representation for THE SKY SHATTERS, an LGBT Young Adult romance novel, complete at 77,000 words. Award-winning author, Tim O’Brien called my novel “suspenseful and vividly written” and internationally bestselling author, Amy Stuart “loved the diversity of characters and the quick witted words and dialogue”. My novel will appeal to fans of Adam Silvera’s More Happy Than Not and Tommy Wallach’s We All Looked Up.

When the rain starts, it’s simply an annoyance. But then it doesn’t stop.

Seventeen-year-old sci-fi geek Simon Myers doesn’t know if the rumours of a global flood are true, but he does know that he’s not gay. He just happens to spend a lot of time studying the muscles of his childhood friend, star quarterback Jay Griffon. Unfortunately, things have been weird with his friend ever since Simon stumbled upon Jay’s heartbreaking secret. Now Simon is forced to grapple with his new feelings for Jay and watch from the sidelines as Jay starts dating the sharp-tongued beauty, Trish O’Brian.

The daughter of a heroin addict, Trish has never had an easy life. With her mother practically comatose and her father never home, Trish is the sole caregiver for her baby sister and often must resort to stealing to keep them fed. But Trish has a plan. She’s shimmied her way into Jay’s life in her tightest jeans and skimpiest top, and come hell or high water she’s going to use him and his rich-kid privilege to escape her chaotic home life and circling social worker.

As tensions between Trish, Simon and Jay escalate, so does the persistent ferocity of the rain. The complaints and jokes about the weather begin to morph into whispers of fear and acts of violence. Schools are closed. Shops are broken into. The electricity goes out. The water gets higher.

And a kiss changes everything.

I am an Event Coordinator at the Lavin Agency in Toronto, where I spend my days surrounded by books and interesting people. On rainy days you can find me reading under a blanket, drinking copious amounts of Earl Grey tea. My blanket fort is also located in Toronto.

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