Hi Pitch Wars Participants!
My name is Tomi Adeyemi and I can't wait to enter this year's #PitchWars!
(I'll use this moment to upload one of the few headshots that doesn't embarrass me and makes me look like I have an interesting secret which you can learn if you keep reading)
How I Became Obsessed With Pitch Wars
I was extremely late to the Twitter game and started interacting with the writing community around September, 2015. Instantly I noticed everyone talking about #PitchWars and when I found out what it was it sounded like a dream come true - the chance to be mentored by a talented and knowledgeable author dedicating all their valuable time and energy to helping me write a kick-ass book? I felt like I won the writing lottery!
Then I went to enter and found out the deadline had passed and I had a full year before I could take a chance.
At first that year couldn't pass quickly enough but now, only a month away, I'm clamoring for more time! I whipped out my second book (a YA Fantasy set in ancient Africa) in May, so I've been in the revising trenches to create a polished entry for August!
Here's hoping the odds are "ever" in my favor and there's a beautiful mentor-mentee match in the future!
Why I Write
I wrote a full blog post about when I realized the importance of #ownvoices and diverse books during the South Carolina massacre last year, but in-short I write because I want a little black girl to pick up my book one day and see herself as the star. I want her to know that she's beautiful and she matters and she can have a crazy, magical adventure even if an ignorant part of the world tells her she can never be Hermione Granger.
I want to give something to the world that I feel I missed out on as a child, and I want to help people of all races, ethnicities, and orientations understand that no matter what differences we may think we have, everyone is a human and everyone deserves to be respected and valued.
(I also write because I refuse to believe I will never have any magical powers and if I keep writing YA Fantasy I can keep that delusion up)
A Few Of My Favorite Things
- Avatar: The Last Airbender (just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes)
- Dominoes Pizza
- Enough physical exertion to avoid health complications from Dominoes Pizza
Thanks so much for taking the time to get to know me!
If there's any more curiosity you can visit my about page or learn more about this website, where I try and pass on every valuable insight I learn about writing!
Excited to apply (and if picked excited to work my butt off),
Tomi