Dear writers: Please be aware of ongoing scams by agent impersonators. Use extra caution with any unsolicited offers from agents. Reputable agents will not ask for upfront fees of any kind. For more information, look at sites such as Writer Beware (https://writerbeware.blog/). Please always check email addresses/spellings. All official emails from Donald Maass Literary Agency will come from an address that ends in @maassagency.com (2 A's, 2 S's in MAASS).

Horror Hotel by Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren

Feb 012022
 

This addictive YA horror about a group of teen ghost hunters who spend the night in a haunted LA hotel is The Blair Witch Project for the TikTok generation.

Enjoy your stay…

When the YouTube-famous Ghost Gang—Chrissy, Chase, Emma, and Kiki—visit a haunted LA hotel notorious for tragedy to secretly film after dark, they expect it to be just like their previous paranormal huntings. Spooky enough to attract subscribers—and ultimately harmless.

But when they stumble upon something unexpected in the former room of a gruesome serial killer, they quickly realize that they’re in over their heads.

Sometimes, it’s the dead who need our help—and the living we should fear.

The Secrets of Cedar Farm by Carissa Ann Lynch

Jan 292022
 

Behind every family is a story.
But some stories are darker than others. 

Norah Campbell was an addict. The loss of her fiancé drove her to despair; she lost custody of her daughter, Gemma, and control of her life.

Now Norah is in recovery and she wants Gemma back. But to do so she must move in with her eccentric aunt and uncle, and they refuse to give up control without a fight. When strange occurrences keep happening at the farm and Norah makes a gruesome discovery, she soon realises she’s living with a monster.

As her mental health spirals out of control and she is tempted to relapse, she begins to wonder if she is also a monster.

This is a novel about addiction and recovery, and the strength of a mother who must fight in order to save herself and her child.

The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

Jan 252022
 

They were cowriting literary darlings until they hit a plot hole that turned their lives upside down.

Three years ago, Katrina Freeling and Nathan Van Huysen were the brightest literary stars on the horizon, their cowritten book topping bestseller lists. But on the heels of their greatest success, they ended their partnership on bad terms, for reasons neither would divulge to the public. They haven’t spoken since, and never planned to, except they have one final book due on contract.

Facing crossroads in their personal and professional lives, they’re forced to reunite. The last thing they ever thought they’d do again is hole up in the tiny Florida town where they wrote their previous book, trying to finish a new manuscript quickly and painlessly. Working through the reasons they’ve hated each other for the past three years isn’t easy, especially not while writing a romantic novel.

While passion and prose push them closer together in the Florida heat, Katrina and Nathan will learn that relationships, like writing, sometimes take a few rough drafts before they get it right.

Starred Review: Howl by Shaun David Hutchinson

Jan 062022
 

Booklist: Shortly after moving from Seattle to his father’s hometown of Merritt, Florida, Virgil Knox, 15, is attacked by a monster. Barely clinging to his sanity and bleeding copiously from his injuries, he makes his way to a parking lot and collapses. In spite of his wounds, however, people either don’t believe him, laugh at him, or say he asked for it by walking alone in a deserted area at night, and when he starts school, the pranks and teasing are nonstop. Virgil relives the attack at the slightest trigger, but all anyone tells him is to get over it. Virgil has more to worry about, however; he wonders whether he will become a monster as well. Hutchinson is known for offbeat, edgy books, and this is no exception. Convincing, well-rounded characters come to life in Hutchinson’s lyrical, punchy writing, and his skills for maintaining suspense and intrigue mean the story never drags. There are echoes of a werewolf story here, but Virgil’s experiences after the monster attack mirror the treatment of victims of sexual assault, which adds a dynamic level to the story. As Virgil starts to make connections in his new home, from irrepressible classmate Tripp to his seemingly dour grandmother, he realizes that he has more choices than he thought. Hutchinson never misses a beat in this gripping, dynamic novel.

Review: Horror Hotel by Faith McClaren and Victoria Fulton

Nov 232021
 

Kirkus: Creepy hotel managers, jump scares, and an overall eerie atmosphere are entertaining, and the plot moves swiftly…. A brief, engaging, and at times grisly mystery that will keep readers guessing.

 

October Subsidiary Rights Deals

Oct 312021
 

a pair of black ear budsAudio rights to Becker Gray’s HELLFIRE CLUB SERIES, to Kim Budnick at Tantor Media, in a five-book deal, at auction, to Katie Shea Boutillier.

Audio rights to New York Times bestselling author Monica Murphy’s THE RELUCTANT BRIDE, THE RUTHLESS GROOM and THE ARRANGED MARRIAGE, to Kim Budnick at Tantor Media, in a three-book deal, at auction, to Katie Shea Boutillier.

Audio rights to USA Today bestselling author K Webster’s CINDERELLA TRILOGY, TRIPLE THREAT and DEATH WISH, to Kate Runde at Podium Audio, at auction, in a five-book deal, by Katie Shea Boutillier.

Audio rights to USA Today bestselling author Amelia Wilde’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST TRILOGY, DARK REIGN, SWEET MERCY and LAST RESORT to Kate Runde at Podium Audio, at auction, in a six-book deal, by Katie Shea Boutillier.

Audio rights to USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Giana Darling’s DANGEROUS TEMPTATION and BEAUTIFUL NIGHTMARE,  to Kate Runde at Podium Audio, at auction, in a two-book deal, by Katie Shea Boutillier.

Audio rights to New York Times bestselling author Skye Warren’s ONE FOR THE MONEY, TWO FOR THE SHOW and THREE PIECE SUIT, to Kate Runde at Podium Audio, at auction, in a three-book deal, by Katie Shea Boutillier.

Audio rights to New York Times bestselling author Pam Godwin’s LESSONS IN SIN, to Kate Runde at Podium Audio, at auction, by Katie Shea Boutillier.

Review: Before We Disappear by Shaun David Hutchinson

Oct 072021
 

NPR: Shaun David Hutchinson’s Before We Disappear begins with a lighter premise: Jack is a pickpocket and magician’s assistant. He works for The Enchantress, a stage magician who has stunned audience across Europe with her illusions — while robbing them blind with her scam artist schemes. When they have to flee Paris after unwisely stealing another magician’s trick, she announces that their next stop is America, where she has been engaged to headline at Seattle’s Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. When they arrive in Seattle, it feels like a place Jack might actually want to stay a while. But then a mysterious new magician turns up and begins stealing their audience with an impossible trick — one that even Jack can’t seem to figure out.

And even more mysterious is this new magician’s assistant, a boy called Wilhelm. The more Jack finds out about him, the clearer it becomes that maybe the reason he can’t figure out the trick is because it isn’t really a trick at all, and Wilhelm is somehow performing actual magic. And even worse, perhaps he isn’t a magician’s assistant by choice, but is being held captive by a con artist far, far more malicious than Jack can even imagine. But when everyone is running a con, who can you really trust?

September Subsidiary Rights Deals

Sep 302021
 

a pair of black ear budsAudio rights to Alex Bledsoe’s DANDELION, to Addi Black at Blackstone, at auction, by Katie Shea Boutillier on behalf of Paul E. Stevens.

Audio rights to Lindsay Portnoy’s GAME ON? BRAIN ON!: The Surprising Relationship between Play and Gray, to Kim Budnick at Tantor Media by Katie Shea Boutillier.

Before We Disappear by Shaun David Hutchinson

Sep 282021
 

Jack Nevin’s clever trickery and moral flexibility make him the perfect assistant to the Enchantress, one of the most well-known stage magicians in turn-of-the-nineteenth-century Europe. Without Jack’s steady supply of stolen tricks, the Enchantress’s fame would have burned out long ago.

But when Jack’s thievery catches up to them, they’re forced to flee to America to find their fortune. Luckily, the Enchantress is able to arrange a set of sold-out shows at Seattle’s Alaska–Yukon–Pacific World’s Fair Exposition. She’s convinced they’re going to rich and famous until a new magician arrives on the scene. Performing tricks that defy the imagination, Laszlo’s show overshadows the Enchantress, leaving Jack no choice but to hunt for the secrets to his otherworldly illusions. But what Jack uncovers isn’t at all what he expected.

Behind Laszlo’s tricks is Wilhelm—a boy that can seemingly perform real magic. Jack and Wilhelm have an instant connection, and as the rivalry between the Enchantress and Laszlo grows, so too does Jack and Wilhelm’s affection. But can Jack choose between the woman who gave him a life and the boy who is offering him everything?

It’s a stirring tale about the magic of love from award-winning author Shaun David Hutchinson.

Review: Before We Disappear by Shaun David Hutchinson

Sep 162021
 

Booklist: Hutchinson’s engaging historical fantasy suffers from the occasional implausibility and loose end, but its strength lies in the captivating relationship between Jack and Wil. Now there’s real magic.

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