Axie Oh’s untitled companion to REBEL SEOUL, set in near-future Asia, in which a teenage telepath joins a group of rebels on a series of secret missions intended to stop a deadly war, but her resolve is shaken when she encounters a past love who’s turned to the other side, to Stacy Whitman at Tu Books, for publication in Fall 2019.

Elizabeth Heiter’s next romantic suspense, in which a woman ventures into the Alaskan wilderness in an attempt to rescue her kidnapped younger sister, but must enlist the help of a local ex-Marine and his combat tracker dog when she realizes that her own life may be in danger as well, to Denise Zaza at Harlequin Intrigue, for publication in Spring 2019.

Sandy Stark-McGinnis’s debut EXTRAORDINARY BIRDS, in which an eleven-year-old girl who has grown up in the foster system believes that one day she will transform into a bird and fly away, but when she’s placed with a foster mom who runs a wildlife rescue, she gains a new perspective on family and home, to Allison Moore at Bloomsbury Children’s, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in Spring 2019.

Kate Bateman’s A GOOD EARL IS HARD TO FIND, first in the Bow Street Bachelors series of Regency romances, in which a young heiress hatches a scheme to marry a condemned man in order to fend off fortune-hunting suitors, but the plan goes awry when she realizes the supposed convict she’s wed is actually a roguish nobleman in disguise — who is very much alive, to Jennie Conway at St. Martin’s, in a three-book deal, for publication in Fall 2019.

CHRISTMAS JOY author Nancy Naigle’s THE SECRET INGREDIENT, a romantic comedy pitched as Iron Chef meets Valentine’s Day, in which rivals in a four-day baking contest realize the sweetest thing in the competition–and the true prize–may be their rekindled romance, to Stacey Donovan at Hallmark.

Author of IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE and the forthcoming EVERYWHERE YOU WANT TO BE, Christina June’s NO PLACE LIKE HERE, pitched as a modern retelling of Hansel and Gretl, in which a teen girl reeling from her father’s arrest and her mother’s breakdown learns the true meaning of family and forgiveness when she is shipped off to work at a wilderness retreat for the summer, again to Jillian Manning at Blink.

Ellen Saltonstall’s Bodymind Ballwork: Empower Yourself to Relieve Chronic Pain and Tension presenting a method of self-massage using rubber balls which relieves both physical and psychological stress, providing a pathway toward improved body-mind health.

NYT bestselling author Jamie McGuire’s CRASH AND BURN series, featuring characters introduced in her Maddox Brothers series, following the Alpine Hotshots, a ragtag, diverse group of twenty elite firefighters who battle the elements, push beyond their limits, and find love in the most remote areas of the western wilderness, to Leah Hultenschmidt at Forever, in a major deal, in a three-book deal, for publication in Fall 2018.

Huge congratulations to our MLLA 2017 RITA Award winners!

• Jennifer L. Armentrout’s THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER was awarded the RITA for Best Young Adult novel.
• Weina Dai Randel’s THE MOON IN THE PALACE won the RITA for Best Mainstream Fiction with a Central Romance.

Margaret Dilloway’s SUMMER OF A THOUSAND PIES, in which a twelve-year-old Great British Baking Show superfan is sent to live with her aunt in the mountains of California, and over the course of one summer learns about friendship, family, and how to make the perfect pie crust, to Kristin Daly Rens at Balzer & Bray, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in Winter 2019.