Welcome to what will hopefully be the first of the Annual Authoress’s Success Story blog tours! Those of us who have owed our publishing successes, at least in part, to the Miss Snark’s First Victim contests and blog have decided to come together and help cross promote each other’s work.  Every day in the first two weeks of August, a different author will be posting an interview of one of our fellow Success Stories, so make sure to tune in to everyone’s blogs.

Yesterday, the lovely Kristi Helvig@KristiHelvig interviewed me on her blog, head on over there and leave a comment for your chance to win a copy of Fighting Gravity!

And now, I’ve got the great pleasure of interviewing Monica Bustamante Wagner, @Monica_BW!

Our lovely Monica has offered a PRIZE, a query critique, to one randomly chosen person who leaves a comment on this post. So what do you have to say?

But first, let’s learn a little bit about our guest. Who is she? Well, here’s what she’s got to say:

I’m a YA fiction writer! I was born in Peru and was raised in Chile. With my sister in Australia and my father living in Ethiopia, I’ve had no choice but to be a bilingual world traveler.  And I love it!  I travel around the globe with my husband and three kids, learning about different cultures and countries.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s degree in HR, I settled with my husband in a very small town in Chile, near the Pacific Ocean.

How did participating with MSFV blog get you where you are now?

I was the first Baker’s Dozen’s success story—back in 2010. And even though I’m with another agent now, Authoress and her blog have always inspired me. I’m so grateful and I’m sure that if it weren’t for Authoress, I wouldn’t be where I am now.

You clearly love Young Adult fiction, what subgenre(s) do you read most?

The YA books I love the most are the ones with a nice blend between literary and commercial, like the Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. But that’s if you really ask me to narrow down the types of YA/MG books I love to read—because as long as it’s kidlit and well written, I will probably like it! 🙂

What subgenres have you written in so far/do you plan to write in?

The manuscript that my agent, Lauren Macleod, signed me with is a YA fantasy. I have also written a YA paranormal thriller. And now I’m looking at the possibility of writing upper MG, too. It’s exciting!

Since landing your agent and starting this whole crazy process, what have you learned that you would pass on to aspiring writers?

I think I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again. When I started writing, I thought it would be easier. But then, after a couple of years, I realized that writing is like a profession. Doctors take years studying to be able to work. Lawyers and architects take years, too. So why on earth did I expect my writing would be good enough the year I started? I think that for the writing skills to flow naturally on the paper, it takes time and a lot of dedication. And I wish I would have known that when I started!

I know you’re still in the early stages, but can you give us a sneak peek at what you’re working on, or what we might see from you in the future?

Sure! I’m working on a prehistorical YA manuscript now, set in the Andes Mountains, and it’s a story about revenge and acceptance. It’s going slow, I can tell you that, haha!

Thanks so much, Leah, for having me here, on your blog today!! <3

Thanks, Monica!

Don’t miss it, tomorrow on her blog, Monica is interviewing Emily Kokie, @emkokie!

And the rest of the tour:

Twitter Posting Date
David Kazzie @davidkazzie 1-Aug
Leigh Talbert Moore @leightmoore 2-Aug
J.Anderson Coats @jandersoncoats 3-Aug
J.M. Frey @scifrey 4-Aug
Elissa Cruz @elissacruz 5-Aug
Amanda Sun @Amanda_Sun 6-Aug
Kristi Helvig @KristiHelvig 7-Aug
Leah Petersen @Leahpetersen 8-Aug
Monica Bustamante Wagner @Monica_BW 9-Aug
Emily Kokie @emkokie 10-Aug
Monica Goulet @MonicaGoulet 11-Aug
Peter Salomon @petersalomon 12-Aug
Sarah Brand @sarahbbrand 13-Aug
Angela Ackerman @angelaackerman & @writerthesaurus 14-Aug
Tara Dairman @TaraDairman 15-Aug