A Whitney Award Nominee!

I'm thrilled to announce that THE MULTIPLYING MYSTERIES OF MOUNT TEN is a 2019 Whitney Award nominee. Thank you to everyone who read it, everyone who voted for it, and everyone who loves math and books as much as I do. Readers make this world go 'round:)

I Sold Another Book!

I'm thrilled to announce that I sold another book!

From Publishers Weekly: Alison Deering at Capstone has acquired Krista Van Dolzer’s middle grade novel Earth to Dad. The story follows an 11-year-old boy who spends his days waiting for transmissions from his Mars-colonizing dad until the daughter of a dead astronaut moves in across the street and he risks missing a transmission for a shot at real friendship, embarking on a journey exploring life, death, and wonder. Publication is planned for fall 2018; Brent Taylor at the TriadaUS Literary Agency sold world English rights.

I can tell I've been delinquent in my blogging of late because I don't think I've even mentioned this manuscript. Suffice it to say that the idea came to me during the excitement of NASA's Pluto flyby. Like the rest of the world, I was mesmerized by the images and the general thrill of space; this book was the result.

This was the first book I've ever tried to sell on proposal, which is to say we pitched roughly the first sixty pages and a detailed synopsis. But literary-minded science fiction isn't the easiest to sell, so when a couple of editors expressed interest in the full, I was more than happy to oblige. After jouncing over a few more bumps and divots, I learned that Ali loved the manuscript as much as Brent and I did, and I couldn't have been happier. Now I get to work with the brilliant team at Capstone, and the book's release is only a little more than a year away!

A huge thank-you to Brent for believing in this project as much as he believed in Clyde the Second, and a huge thank-you to YOU for sharing this journey with me. Once I've got revisions for these two under control, I plan to get more rounds of "An Agent's Inbox" scheduled!

SOLD

When you sell your first manuscript, you're ecstatic. Your lifelong dream is (finally, always finally) coming true. You did it. You really did it.

But you can't make a career out of selling your first manuscript (unless your name is J.K. Rowling or Stephenie Meyer). You've got to keep selling them, and as I mentioned in this post, that was the one thing I hadn't been able to do.

Until now.

From Publishers Weekly: Brett Wright at Bloomsbury has won at auction Krista Van Dolzer's Don't Solve the Puzzle, a middle-grade murder mystery set at a math camp, with built-in logic puzzles that readers can solve alongside the main character. Publication is scheduled for winter 2019; Brent Taylor at the TriadaUS Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.

If you've been a longtime reader, I can guess what you're thinking: What the heck is DON'T SOLVE THE PUZZLE? Only slightly better known as Clyde the Second, DON'T SOLVE THE PUZZLE is a companion novel to DON'T VOTE FOR ME, also known as Clyde, and features Esther Lambert, an art kid from DON'T VOTE FOR ME who ends up at a math camp by mistake.

When Bloomsbury showed up on Brent's submission list, I couldn't have been more excited. Some of my very favorite authors are published by Bloomsbury (hello, Shannon Hale and Lindsey Leavitt!), and when I was browsing my own bookshelves, I was surprised to see how many of my books had that funny-looking archer on their spines. But the first interest in the manuscript came from another press, and when it became clear that neither of these publishers was going anywhere, Brent set up an auction. I'm sure you can guess who won:)

For more information on DON'T SOLVE THE PUZZLE, feel free to check out the "Books" tab at the top of the screen. I hope you'll have as much fun reading it as I did writing it.

THE SOUND OF LIFE AND EVERYTHING Is an Association of Mormon Letters Awards Finalist!

The title pretty much says it all, but I don't always remember to celebrate the good news, so I wanted to make sure that I mentioned it here. Don't forget to check out the other finalists, including fellow Fearless Fifteeners Christine Hayes (MOTHMAN'S CURSE) and Jen White (SURVIVAL STRATEGIES OF THE ALMOST BRAVE). The YA finalists also include three Fearless Fifteeners--Courtney Alameda (SHUTTER), Valynne E. Maetani (INK AND ASHES), and Becky Wallace (THE STORYSPINNER)--so I think it's safe to say the debuts are representing!

Change

It's okay, you don't have to pay

I've got all the change

--Ben Folds, "Still Fighting It"

I don't do change well. I don't think many people do, but since it's becoming clear that change is going to be the theme of our 2016, I've decided to embrace it.

But it's still sort of terrifying.

It started at the end of last year, actually. I'd been feeling like I needed to blaze a new trail, but change is hard, so I resisted. Then, just before Christmas, I realized that the time was right. All of the little loose ends were (finally) getting tied up, so I did the thing I'd been dreading for a while: I parted ways with Kate and wrote a new query for the first time in four years.

I sent my first real batch of queries on the first Saturday in January. Seven minutes later, I had my first request. The next day, the agent e-mailed me with several questions about the manuscript, and the next day, I e-mailed him with my answers. I also told him about a proposal I'd been working on, and he asked to read that, too. Later that same day, he asked to set up a phone call, and during that phone call the next day, he offered to represent me.

I did my due diligence and had some great conversations with two other agents. They ended up offering, too, but I just couldn't get the first agent's enthusiasm out of my head. I was also impressed with his initiative and drive. He didn't have to tell me he'd get the job done because he'd already shown me (and we're all about showing, not telling, in this business).

So now I'm represented by Brent Taylor of Triada US Literary Agency. (If you want to see my query, check out this interview.) He is as fierce as Beyonce and as capable as any agent I've ever met or heard of, and I'm extremely grateful to have him in my corner. As the cogs of another big part of my life start to whir and buzz around me, I can honestly say that I hope these other changes go as smoothly as this one did. To new years and fresh starts!

THE SOUND OF LIFE AND EVERYTHING Is a Junior Library Guild Selection!

I'm so pleased to announce that THE SOUND OF LIFE AND EVERYTHING is a Junior Library Guild Selection. Now, if you're anything like me, you've heard of Junior Library Guild selections, but you don't really know what they are or what that means, so here's a brief explanation (insofar as I understand it):

The Junior Library Guild is essentially a book club for teachers and librarians, so members can order books, often at steep discounts, for their classrooms and libraries. But the Junior Library Guild is more than just a clearinghouse for cheap children's books. They pride themselves on their selection--"Bringing future award winning books to your library's shelves today" is their tagline--so their editors accept submissions from publishers around the country and cull out the ones they want to share. According to their website, they receive more than 3,000 submissions annually and select anywhere from 700 to 800 of those titles to add to their list.

In addition, because they're a book club, they have to license subsidiary rights from the publishers they choose to work with, which means they also have to pay royalties to those publishers (who in turn pay royalties to the authors). I'm not exactly sure how all that works, but it's cool to think that Steve will have another way to get into potential readers' hands.

Have you gotten any good news this week?

Great News for Great Friends

Liz and I have been friends since Kate signed us within a week or two of each other back in the spring of 2012, so when I found out that Albert Whitman wanted to buy Liz's latest sci-fi, I busted out my happy dance. The official announcement is over at Publishers Weekly, but if you don't feel like clicking, I've pasted it below:

"Wendy McClure of Albert Whitman has bought NA author Elizabeth Briggs's first YA project: a science-fiction novel called Future Shock plus a sequel. In the books, a Latina teenager raised in Los Angeles's foster care system with an eidetic memory is recruited by a tech company for a mission--a trip thirty years into the future. Publication is slated for March 2016; Kate Testerman of KT Literary brokered the deal for world English rights."

 CONGRATULATIONS, LIZ!

And in other awesome news, Amy's debut, RED BUTTERFLY, got its first review from Kirkus, and it happened to be starred. (I say "happened to be" like there was ever any doubt, but when I read RED BUTTERFLY many moons ago, it was already poignant and beautiful and everything you'd ever want from your award-winning MG. I'm sure it's only gotten better over time.) It's too long to paste below, but you should definitely check it out (and add it on Goodreads while you're at it!).

What about you? Any exciting news, writing or otherwise, that you'd like to share with us?

Clyde Sold! Want a Critique?

I apologize for the silence last week. I'm in the process of wrapping up Steve's latest round of revisions, and then Clyde's waiting in the wings. But I should have a few days between manuscripts next week, so it seems like the perfect time to offer some critiques!

There are three 30-page critiques up for grabs to celebrate Clyde's sale. If you're interested in entering, please follow these steps:

1. TWEET, BLOG, OR FACEBOOK ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY WITH A LINK BACK TO THIS POST. Please note that you only have to do one of these things, so don't feel like you have to bombard your friends and family with Krista spam.

2. LEAVE A LINK TO YOUR TWEET, POST, OR STATUS UPDATE IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.

3. In that same comment, INCLUDE YOUR MANUSCRIPT'S TITLE AND CATEGORY/GENRE as well as A BRIEF, NO-MORE-THAN-THREE-SENTENCE DESCRIPTION of your project.

Your manuscript doesn't have to be finished, and I'll read any category, any genre (provided the first thirty pages are no worse than PG-13-rated), so everyone is welcome to enter. But I do want everyone to have an equal shot at this, so PLEASE ONLY ENTER ONCE (even if you're working on more than one project).

I'll pick two winners based on their descriptions (totally subjective, I know, but if an entry catches my eye, I want to be able to read it!), then a third randomly from the remaining entries. The giveaway will remain open until next Monday, September 23, at 11:59 p.m. EDT (or 8:59 p.m. PDT). I'll announce the winners on the blog the following Tuesday.

Thanks for sharing my good news!

Clyde Sells to Sourcebooks!

It's been a while since I mentioned Clyde. I guess that's just what happens when a manuscript is on submission and you're waiting, waiting, waiting. Then this happened:

From Publishers Weekly: Steve Geck at Sourcebooks has acquired Krista Van Dolzer's contemporary MG novel Duel/Duet, a David and Goliath story set around a middle-school class election and a musical recital. Van Dolzer writes the Mother. Write. (Repeat.) blog, and is author of The Regenerated Man, which Putnam will publish in winter 2015. Publication of Duel/Duet is set for fall 2015; Kate Schafer Testerman of kt literary did the two-book deal for North American rights.

Actually, this started several months ago. At the beginning of June, Kate sent me an e-mail late on a Friday afternoon. She'd just spoken to Steve Geck at Sourcebooks. He loved DUEL/DUET (the manuscript also known as Clyde) and wanted to take it to acquisitions the following week.

Of course, few things rarely happen as quickly as you want them to in this business, especially in the summer, so it took a few more weeks for Steve's interest to turn into an offer. (Oh, I see you've noticed I now have an editor and a manuscript named Steve. This is going to be all kinds of exciting:) ) By the time Kate called that afternoon, I was convinced he'd turned it down.

Instead, he bought two books.

So that's how Clyde sold. In hindsight, this roller coaster ride wasn't nearly as wild as my last one, but it still felt like it. I think that's just how it goes.

If you'd like to learn more about Clyde, I've changed "My Book" to "My Books" and added an actual summary, so feel free to check that out. And while you're up there, don't forget about Steve. 2015 is shaping up to be one exciting year...

Amy's Book Sold!

When Amy and I connected on Kiersten White's blog a while back, I knew right away that she was going to be special. Her prose was smooth and lyrical, and she had a knack for writing characters I genuinely cared about.

Of course, just because I knew she was going to be special didn't mean she had an easy road; as I'm sure you're well aware, this industry isn't big on doling out warm-fuzzies. But when she signed with Kate at the end of last year, I started to hope, and now I'm thrilled to announce that her MG novel-in-verse, RED BUTTERFLY, sold to Christian Trimmer at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers!

For all the juicy details, check out Amy's announcement as well as last week's rights report on Publishers Weekly. I can't wait for you to meet--and fall in love with--Kara.

A Belated Book Deal Celebration + Giveaway!

First off, don't miss my guest post for Team Krista alum Mackenzi Lee! She asked me a few weeks ago to participate in "Four Book Friday," her newly minted blog series about four books that changed our lives, and I'd love to hear what you thought of the four books I chose. (If you've read them, of course--and if you haven't, what are you waiting for?)

Next up, the main event! If you were around the blog this April, you probably heard me shouting the news about Steve's book deal from the rafters. Thanks to "The Writer's Voice" (which was also a smashing success), I had to put off some of the celebration, and then I was too busy scrambling to finish Bonnie to blog, but now I'm fresh out of excuses:) To that end, I give you the "Krista Got a Book Deal!" giveaway, which features a few of my favorite series from G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.

Prize Pack #1

Hardcovers of Maureen Johnson's THE NAME OF THE STAR

and THE MADNESS UNDERNEATH

I like a lot of Ms. Johnson's books, but THE MADNESS UNDERNEATH solidified this series as my favorite. Plus, it's kind of cool to think I now have TWO things in common with the inimitable Maureen Johnson: an agent and a publisher:)

Prize Pack #2

Hardcovers of Marie Lu's LEGEND and PRODIGY

Here's another case in which I thought the second in the series was even better than the first. Ms. Lu kept me guessing right up until the end, and I'm very much looking forward to the third and final installment, which is slated to come out next winter.

Prize Pack #3

A critique of your query and the first ten pages of your manuscript

Okay, so this one's kind of lame, especially compared to the other two, but I don't think I'll have time to offer a more substantial edit. But hey, you can't just have two prizes in a giveaway; it's got to be one or three:)

To enter, I only ask that YOU BLOG, TWEET, OR FACEBOOK ABOUT THE CONTEST WITH A LINK BACK TO THIS POST. Once you've done one of those things, please LEAVE A LINK TO YOUR POST, TWEET, OR STATUS UPDATE IN THE COMMENTS BELOW and consider yourself entered! (Of course, you're welcome to blog AND tweet AND Facebook, but you'll still only get one entry. The economist in me knows this probably means you'll only do one of those things, but that's just as well. I don't want you to feel like you have to blast your friends and random Internet acquaintances with Krista spam to give yourself a better chance at winning.)

The contest will stay open until Thursday, June 27, at 11:59 p.m. EDT, and then I'll announce the three random winners sometime the following Friday, June 28. The first person selected will get to pick which prize pack he or she wants, the second will get to pick from the remaining two, and the third will just get whichever prize pack is left over. Anyone who lives in one of the countries The Book Depository ships to may enter, so this contest is open (mostly) internationally. Good luck!

This Is Not One of Those Overnight Success Stories

This is the post I've written a thousand times in my head but never needed to put down on paper. This is the post I've dreamed about but never dared to hope I'd write. But then, life has a way of surprising you, and as far as surprises go, this one is pretty good:

From Publishers Weekly: Author of the popular blog Mother.Write.(Repeat.) (www.motherwrite.blogspot.com), Krista Van Dolzer, sold her debut novel, The Regenerated Man, to Shauna Rossano at Putnam. Agent Kate Schafer Testerman at kt literary handled the North American rights deal, and the book is scheduled for winter 2015. The middle grade novel is set in postwar California and, Testerman said, has elements of science fiction, as it follows a young girl who becomes the sole defender of “a bio-engineered Japanese soldier.”

Steve, otherwise known as THE REGENERATED MAN for the uninitiated, has had a bumpy road. When they say publishing slows down (read: comes to a standstill) in the summer, they mean it, so by the time fall rolled around last year, I was already feeling down and out. We'd given Steve a college try (whatever that means). Maybe it was time to pack it in and concentrate on the next manuscript.

Thank goodness Kate doesn't move on as easily as I do.

Long story slightly shorter: Shauna read the manuscript in a few weeks last September, then took it to her ed meeting. They liked it but had some issues. A few weeks later, she sent some notes, and I revised, revised, revised. I loved this manuscript so much, so I was grateful for the opportunity to make it even better. By Christmas, I was spending almost as much time revising as I was sleeping. By the end of January, I was (finally) done.

After Kate read the revision, she used words like "wow" and "amazing" to describe it, but we still had to wait and see what Shauna thought. And wait we did. Shauna was already swamped, conference season was just beginning, and in the ensuing weeks, I convinced myself that she was going to say no, that she would like it but not love it, that we'd be right back where we'd started. Even when I heard she was thrilled with the revision and taking it back to ed meeting, I didn't allow myself to hope. And when things didn't immediately come together, I told myself I'd told me so.

Then one morning, Kate sent me an e-mail. It was Putnam's offer.

How did John Lennon put it? "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans"? I've certainly found that to be true, especially in this business. But maybe, just maybe, that's part of its charm. Having everything figured out is kind of overrated. I'd much rather make it up as I go along.

#

A huge thank-you to Shauna for loving Steve as much as I do and fighting for him as long and hard as I would have. Another huge thank-you to the amazing and insightful critique partners who read and commented on early drafts: Liesl Shurtliff, Myrna Foster, Amy Sonnichsen, Jenilyn Collings, Ben Spendlove, Kelly Bryson, Mónica Bustamante Wagner, and Tara Dairman. I also have to give a shout-out to the KT Lit Sub Club, whose cheerleading and encouragement kept me (mostly) sane: Elizabeth Briggs, Susan Adrian, Erin Danehy, Sara Beitia, and our newest addition, Amy Sonnichsen. Last but certainly not least, a tip of my hat and a heartfelt hug to the incomparable Kate, granter of wishes and weaver of dreams. I must say, there's something to be said for boundless optimism:)

Oh, and one last thank-you to Honey Bear, our kids, and the rest of our family, but mostly Honey Bear. I don't know how I always manage to leave you out of these. It must be because you're always there, my only constant, the one person in the world who feels so much a part of me that I sometimes forget you're not. Nothing would be quite as bright if I didn't have you to share it with.

Agent Sisters

Once upon a time, I sent Amy Sonnichsen an e-mail. We were unagented, and since we'd gotten requests from Kate Schafer Testerman in the past, I allowed myself to imagine that she offered to both of us. Our writing styles were similar, I thought; it didn't seem too far outside the realm of possibilities. So we'd become agent sisters, and Kate would sell both our books, and we'd go on book tours together and sit side-by-side at those little folding tables and foist each other's books on unsuspecting bystanders.

I'm absolutely THRILLED to report we're a third of the way there.

So hop over to Amy's post and congratulate her on signing with the indomitable Kate. I don't know if we'll ever go on book tours together or foist each other's books on unsuspecting bystanders, but hey, it's fun to dream. And as they say on South Pacific, "You've got to have a dream. If you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?"

(For the record, I loathe that movie and especially that song, but it does make a good point:) )

How I Got My Agent: Part Two

All right, so I left off at the e-mail. (Here’s the first half of the story, in case you missed it yesterday.) As I mentioned before, the e-mail went something like this:

“I’m leaving for Bologna in a few hours, but I don’t want to do this long distance, and I don’t want to wait.”

The Call There was more, of course, but that was about as much as I got on the first read-through:) I ran into the living room and did a little boogie, with much screaming and fanfare, at which point my two-year-old panicked and dissolved into horrified tears. (I guess I’m not very good at emoting excitement over terror.) Then I e-mailed Kate back and let her know I could talk whenever. (Happily, I’d just fed the baby, but even if I hadn’t, I probably would have said the same thing.) She called me not long afterward, and I did my best to act casual again.

At the end of our conversation, Kate assured me that the offer wasn’t going anywhere and that I could take whatever time I needed to make my decision. (Loved that.) We agreed to talk again the Monday after she got back from Bologna.

The Other Offer After I hung up (and after I fed I-gots and Lady, lest you think I’m a delinquent parent), I e-mailed the other agents who had outstanding manuscripts or queries. I’d gone on a query binge the week before, so there were a few more of these than there would have been. A lot of them e-mailed me back within a couple of hours to wish me well and step aside. But the next morning, another agent, who was also on her way to Bologna, got in touch. She was very interested in the manuscript and wanted to talk when she got back.

Frankly, I was shocked. I’d spent the last few weeks telling myself that Steve wasn’t going to be the One, either, so I had a hard time processing the idea that not one but two amazing agents were interested enough to offer. It definitely fell under the category of Too Good to Be True.

But it wasn’t. I talked to Agent Amazing the following Friday, and we had a lovely chat. To be honest, I hadn’t expected to like Agent Amazing as much as I did. And for about twenty-four hours, I was a basket case. I reviewed my notes from both conversations. I went back over the e-mails Kate’s and Agent Amazing’s clients had sent. (I firmly believe that every writer should get in touch with one or two of an offering agent’s clients. You need to know how the agent operates behind the scenes so you go in with your eyes wide open (or so you don’t go in at all).) Then I talked the whole thing over with Honey Bear. And in the end, I went with my gut.

I signed with Kate.

Things I Love About My Agent

1. She’s familiar with my other projects and likes the kinds of stories I write.

2. She sees this manuscript sitting in the same place on the shelf that I do.

3. She caught the FRANKENSTEIN allusions and connected with Ella Mae as a reader as much as I did as a writer.

4. She wanted Steve enough to forgo packing another pair of shoes and pick up the phone instead:)

If you’d told me a year ago it would take another year for me to finally land an agent, I probably would have screamed and thrown the keyboard across the room. But if you’d told me that agent would be Kate Schafer Testerman, I would have put the keyboard down and slowly backed away. Some things are worth the wait.

How I Got My Agent: Part One

I’ve written this post a hundred times over the last few years, but unfortunately for you, I never wrote anything down any of those other ninety-nine times, so if my inner content editor calls it quits and I ramble a lot, you’ll have to forgive me. (Holy run-on sentence, Batman!) I’ll do my best to stick to the most important details, but I make no promises.

As many of you know, I started querying Steve in mid-November, and my first query went to Kate. She’d been at the top of my to-query list for a long time--literally, in the top spot--since she’d requested so many of my previous manuscripts and I’d enjoyed working with her on blog stuff.

The Partial Request A week later, she requested the first five chapters. I sent them off and promptly forgot about it. I knew she generally took around two months to respond, so I wasn’t holding my breath.

I sent more queries, got more requests. Inevitably, those requests turned into rejections. (Once you’ve queried as many manuscripts as I have, you kind of expect it.) But the rejections were different this time. The feedback was all over the place. Some agents loved the character but not the concept. Some loved the concept but not the character. But they all said something like, “Your writing is spectacular” (that’s actually a direct quote from one of Steve's rejections), and with the exception of one or two of them, they all wanted to see my next project.

The Full Request Fast-forward to the end of January. It had now been a little more than two months since Kate had requested a partial, and since I knew that’s usually her self-imposed deadline for responding to requested manuscripts, I decided to check in. I didn’t hear from her for a few days, but then I did. She said she was loving Steve so far--well, she didn’t call him Steve, but I’m sure she would have if she’d known his nickname--and asked to read the rest.

This was epic. This was enormous. Kate had requested two partials from me in the past (well, three, if you count Bob’s original and his revision as separate partials), but they’d never turned into fulls. I sent it off and tried to forget about it. This time, it didn’t work so well.

The Follow Fast-forward to mid-March. I logged on to Twitter late one morning and noticed I had a new follower. It was Daphne Unfeasible. I almost fell out of my chair. Then I noticed she’d tweeted me about the manuscript. She’d just picked up on the FRANKENSTEIN allusions and thought they were pretty cool. I tweeted her back and tried to act casual, but on the inside, I was freaking out.

I was a bundle of nerves for the rest of the week. I knew she was getting ready for the book fair in Bologna, but during another Twitter exchange, she mentioned she’d have something to me before she left on Friday. I assumed she meant a kind rejection or maybe a revise-and-resubmit. That’s what I told myself over and over: “Kate’s not going to offer. She’s just going to tell you your writing’s good. Kate’s not going to offer. She’s just going to tell you your writing’s good.”

The E-mail First thing Friday morning, I checked my e-mail. Nothing. I decided to leave my inbox open so I could glance at it every time I wandered past (read: stalked by) the computer. Still nothing. Then, a little before noon, I noticed I had a new e-mail. It was from Kate.

I sat down in front of the computer. I repeated my mantra a few more times: “Kate’s not going to offer. She’s just going to tell you your writing’s good.” Then I opened the e-mail. It went something like this:

“I’m leaving for Bologna in a few hours, but I don’t want to do this long distance, and I don’t want to wait.”

But I guess I’m going to make you wait, because this post is already way too long:) Look for part two tomorrow! (And if you haven’t already entered my celebratory contest, don’t forget to check that out!)

I'm Back! With an Agent! And a Contest!

Well, it’s April, and I’m back! (You really didn’t expect me to stay away for long, did you?) And I come bearing news! A few weeks ago, I received an offer of representation, and now I’m thrilled to announce I’m represented by Kate Schafer Testerman of kt literary!

More on that later this week, but for now, a contest! To celebrate my news (and my overuse of exclamation points), I’m giving away a query critique from my new agent via the “Ask Daphne! About My Query” series on her blog as well as two query-and-first-ten-page critiques from me.

To enter, all you have to do is SHARE MY GOOD NEWS somehow, either by blog, Twitter, or Facebook, then hop back over here and TELL ME WHAT YOU DID* in the comments of this post. I’ll leave the contest open until noon EDT (or 9:00 a.m. PDT) on Monday, April 9, at which point I’ll pick three random winners and announce them on the blog.

Good luck!

*To be clear, your blog post, tweet, or status update must include a link back to this post, and your comment on this post must include a link back to your blog post, tweet, or status update. But I’m sure you already knew that… :)

I'm Gonna Be in an Acknowledgments Page!

So thrilled to announce that my friend and critique partner, Liesl Shurtliff, just sold her MG fantasy RUMP, a delightful retelling of Rumpelstiltskin from poor Rumpelstiltskin's perspective, to Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House!

Check out Liesl's announcement, and while you're over there, you'd better follow her blog. Not only is she a wonderful writer, but she has a good head on her shoulders and a lot of thoughtful insights to share. That was how I first discovered her--every comment she left on someone else's blog was interesting and spot-on, and I knew I wanted her to read my manuscripts someday. Turns out, I was right:)

Congratulations again, Liesl! Can't wait to hear more about how the story unfolds from here.

Good News

Lots of good news to share with you. To start, several frequent commenters have landed agents in the last month. Cambria Dillon signed with Vickie Motter of Andrea Hurst Literary Management. Here’s her announcement post.

Also, Chantele Sedgwick signed with Uwe Stender of TriadaUS Literary Agency. I especially loved Chantele’s story because her query to Mr. Stender was also her last. She was planning to shelve the project for a while and focus on other things, but she sent out one more query, anyway. Sometimes, the last query you send is the one that sticks.

Finally, Kristine Asselin also signed with Vickie Motter of Andrea Hurst Literary Management just yesterday. I like to butt my head into other people’s business, so I actually found out about Kris’s news last week. It's nice to have it out, since I don't like keeping secrets:) Keep an eye on her blog for more news about the offer and her path to representation.

Congratulations, ladies! That’s wonderful, wonderful news! (And especially encouraging for us, because it only goes to show this whole querying thing really does work out.)

Also, if you’re at all interested in March Madness, you might want to keep on eye on my alma mater. [Insert shameless plug for BYU Cougars here] While I’m a diehard BYU football fan (and I can say that, because I attended EVERY SINGLE HOME GAME during the abominable Gary Crowton era), I’m much more of a fair-weather BYU basketball fan. Fortunately for me, this has been a particularly fair-weather season. They’re currently ranked third in both of the major polls and poised to snatch a top seed in the NCAA tournament coming up later this month (so long as they win out, of course).

What’s made this team so great? For one, head coach Dave Rose has spent the last couple of years putting together an impressive roster. Every single one of these guys can shoot the ball from just about anywhere on the floor. Oh, and they have this guy:



No matter what your field is, you know you’ve arrived when they turn your name into a verb:)

Any other good news you’d like to share with the rest of us?