Episode 14: JC Peterson & Carrie S. Allen
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JC PETERSON
Photo © Josie V Photography
I grew up in Michigan, playing on railroad tracks and swimming all summer. After college (hey, MSU!) I moved to Oklahoma City and worked for several years as a journalist. I continued my slow migration west with a move to Denver, where I live today with my husband, two young boys, and senior tabby. I might miss the lakes in Michigan, but those mountain views are hard to beat.
In 2019, I was chosen as a mentee for Pitch Wars, and my spectacular mentors Carrie S. Allen and Sabrina Lotfi helped me edit and polish my novel BEING MARY BENNET. (Was it stressful? Oh my god, yes. But so worth it.)
Today, I’m represented by Amy Bishop of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. BEING MARY BENNET is my debut novel and released March 15, 2022 with HarperTeen.
CARRIE S. ALLEN
I grew up in the Colorado ski town of Breckenridge, which means I have excellent ice-scraping, snow-shoveling, woodstove-lighting skills. Like all Breck kids, I spent my free time on the ski slopes and frozen pond. And shoveling more snow.
My undergrad degree is in Biology and my masters is in Sport Science (clearly setting me up for a career in fiction writing.) I’ve held every position on a hockey bench: player, coach, referee, athletic trainer… yes, even Zamboni driver. I worked as a Certified Athletic Trainer, first at the high school level and then at my alma mater, Colorado College. Eventually, I semi-retired from sports medicine to become a fully-tired mom.
I live in Colorado Springs with my husband, two kids, two dogs, and four chickens. Hobbies include books, dogs, dessert, and anything outdoors on a gorgeous Colorado day. Combine all four and you’ll never get rid of me.
Photo © Kate Testerman
In this episode:
PitchWars, where Carrie and I were co-mentors and Jenny was our 2019 mentee
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Gilbert Blythe
The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Divergent by Veronica Roth
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton
Song of the Lioness quartet & The Immortals quartet by Tamora Pierce
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
My Lady Jane & My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand
Belittled Women by Amanda Sellet
Seven Percent of Ro Devereux by Ellen O’ Clover
Well, That Was Unexpected; Dial A for Auntie's; The New Girl by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Drizzle Dreams and Love Struck Things by Maya Prasad
Dahlia Adler (and if you haven’t yet, be sure to check out my LitTea interview with Dahlia HERE)
JENNY’S BOOKS
lola at last
Lola Barnes's summer is not off to the best start.
Fresh off a scandal that tanked her social status, Lola has somehow managed to alienate her twin sister, lose the friends she thought she had, and put a ... fiery end to the first part of the summer.
(The boat was barely on fire, for the record—and all the partygoers were just fine.)
Lola is given an ultimatum: jail time, or spend the summer with the nonprofit Hike Like a Girl.
Everyone seems to expect Lola to fail. But even as Lola encounters bugs, blisters, and bears (oh my!), she finds something greater that she'd been missing all along: unexpected friends, a sweet romance, strength she didn't know she had—and herself, Lola, at last.
-harperteen-
being MARY BENNET
Marnie Barnes is convinced she is the long-suffering protagonist of her life, just like the characters in all her favorite books.
But a main character isn’t the forgotten middle child of their family, nor does their love interest see them as only a friend. A series of Marnie-induced disasters forces her to confront the devastating truth: Marnie has more in common with Mary Bennet—the utterly forgettable middle sister of Pride and Prejudice—then effervescent Elizabeth Bennet.
Determined to reinvent herself, Marnie enlists the help of her bubbly roommate and opens herself up to the world—leading lady style. Between new friends, a very cute boy, and a rescue pup named Sir Pat, Marnie realizes that being the main character doesn’t mean rewriting your life entirely, just finding the right cast of characters, the love interest of your dreams, and most important, embracing your story. Flaws and all.
-HARPERTEEN-
Carrie’s Books
MICHIGAN VS. THE BOYS
*Releasing in paperback September 5, 2023*
When a determined girl is confronted with the culture of toxic masculinity, it’s time to even the score.
Michigan Manning lives for hockey, and this is her year to shine. That is, until she gets some crushing news: budget cuts will keep the girls’ hockey team off the ice this year.
If she wants colleges to notice her, Michigan has to find a way to play. Luckily, there’s still one team left in town …
The boys’ team isn't exactly welcoming, but Michigan’s prepared to prove herself. She plays some of the best hockey of her life, in fact, all while putting up with changing in the broom closet, constant trash talk and “harmless” pranks that always seem to target her.
But once hazing crosses the line into assault, Michigan must weigh the consequences of speaking up — even if it means putting her future on the line.
-KCP LOFT-
OUT OF OUR LEAGUE
A sports anthology edited by Jennifer Iacopelli and Dahlia Adler, releasing January 23, 2024