Jessie Mullins, YA Author

On the night of Pitch Wars announcements, I would like to announce that I wasn't chosen. This is coming on the heels of two rejection letters from literary agents too. Why am I telling you this? I think it's important to share the tough parts of every journey--not just the highlights. People need to see other people being people, and part of being people is rejection. Especially if you're in the arts because art is so subjective. So, I got rejected, and you got rejected, Nancy down the street got rejected, and the future NYT Bestseller got rejected. Now what? First: Feel. Let yourself feel how you feel without judgement. Are you disappointed? That's okay. Are you bummed? That's okay. Do you feel discouraged? That's okay. Did it light a fire under your bottom? Cool. Is this another Tuesday for you? All right. There's no wrong answer. No wrong way to feel. Everyone handles rejection differently, so just let it be.  Next: Celebrate! YOU DID A BIG THING.

Blueberry picking with my little family!  Scene Scone In the background, my toddler yells, "Welcome to the Music Show!" and slams his little toddler fingers on a keyboard we bought at a yard sale this morning. "They cannot find it anywhere!" he sings. He's probably singing about us because our home is such a mess, we can't find anything. I stopped cleaning a couple weeks ago because Pitch Wars is near and I'M NOT READY. But I will be. Oh. I. Will. Be. My husband is playing Madden on the PS4, and we keep sneaking each other these looks of, "Isn't our spawn so cute and amazing!?" Now the juicy stuff... Favorite Juice Just kidding. No one cares. Jokes! But it's grape and apricot made fresh in my juicer if you really want to know. I'm that health-oriented person who uses a juicer and eats organic bananas because GMO bananas technically aren't vegan, and if that doesn't weird you out...I don't know what w

I just had a conversation on Twitter with some other writers after someone told a writer she should write more nice girls instead of angry girls. My reply was, "As a recovering nice girl, there's no such thing as nice girls...only girls who learn to quiet the parts of themselves other people won't approve of." If you're a writer and thinking, "Yeah, but I have a character who is so nice, for real. She goes out of her way for other people. She's so noble and selfless and wouldn't hurt anyone blah blah blah..." Okay, I hear you. A girl or woman can be all of those things, but honestly, if everyone thinks she's "so nice," it's because she never stands up for herself. She has quieted herself and made herself smaller to fit inside this tiny box of other people's expectations. A girl or woman could volunteer at homeless shelters, be the safe place for all of her friend's woes, dress modestly, pray for world peace, ba