Wifely Perks
Say what you will about that Christopher Rowe, but he makes some excellent soup.
New Year Agent News
Wow, so this post is going to be kind of insane and nutty happy–sort of like my week. I can't imagine how this year could have gotten off to a better start, and if I don't post this here immediately, I might die!
Late yesterday/early today, I gleefully accepted an offer of representation from Jennifer Laughran of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
Jenn is a brilliant force of nature and I couldn't be more thrilled, thrilled, thrilled. There were many excellent agents on my list of possibilities, but I just knew Jenn was the right one as soon as we talked.
I'm sure there are probably writers who enjoy the uncertainty and excitement of agent searching, but it made me feel like throwing up–for three days. Christopher and I went out to the grocery store last night after I'd talked to Jenn and I was all whining about how I just wanted to go ahead and say yes, and not wait for anyone else, and that doing otherwise made me feel like my hair would fall out. He told me to go for it. By the time we got home, one of Jenn's clients (one who I'm an insanely huge fan of) had sent a charming, hilarious, glowing recommendation for her. I said, Screw waiting, and called the Melissas over to celebrate. Just before bed, another glowing recommendation came in from a different client, and a follow-up with yet more glow from the first one. I woke up in the middle of the night knowing exactly what changes I wanted to make to the manuscript before it goes out, and e-mailed Jenn (who had already sent me notes! because she is that awesome!).
This morning, I e-mailed the other agents I needed to and let them know I'd made a decision. I should also give a shout out of thanks to one of the best friends (and best writer friends) a girl could ever have, Justine Larbalestier, who has gone above and beyond this week, offering advice and endless support of the moral variety. And the rest of you who kept me from levitating and answered my plaintive e-mails–Kate, Micol, Kelly. Christopher, of course. And I could probably go on. But I won't.
Yes, I realize I don't get to whine about the stress of this too much. Starting an agent search on Tuesday and finishing it in the Best Possible Way by the end of the week OVER A HOLIDAY is a blessing. What can I say? I'm insanely lucky, and beyond insanely happy.
And now I should really go work on revisions For My Agent. Such beautiful words. This is going to be a very fine year.
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Happy New Year
As I once again fail to have an interesting sentence for the first post of the year (future self will be amused by this when compiling that entry next year):
Cybils finalists have been announced. Go check them out.
Bring It On
And I leave the old year with an emerging cold (zicam, zicam, zicam), and happy thoughts for 2009.
This was a good year, but it was a busy year, a weird year, as perhaps all election years must be. So much time expended thinking about polar bear hunts and writing critical stuff. But everything has come out fine, and I have the best sort of feelings about what the new year will bring. Keep your fingers crossed until midnight.
Monday Hangovers
- Having survived the holidaze, I am now slowly but surely playing catch-up. If you get a desperate e-mail, please to come to my aid.
- Children's books ready for the e-world. (Via Colleen Lindsay.)
- The fabulous Carolyn Kellogg has been leading a roundtable about "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," the Fitzgerald story and the film version. Meanwhile, Andy Duncan gives the movie two thumbs down. I have absolutely no yen to see this one, not after the ruination of Death Takes a Holiday that Brad "Death Loves Peanut Butter, It's So Nuanced" Pitt starred in. Please, for the love of movies, stick with action adventures, capers, and the occasional romantic comedy opposite your wife in the future, Mr. Pitt.
- I am all about Kentucky joining the EU but would Texas really want all those other states in its Republic? (Via Ed.)
- Cynthia interviews Kelley Armstrong about The Summoning, the first of her new YA series. I read it over the weekend and LOVED. A proper discussion coming soon.
- Another reason to love YouTube: Eleanor Powell and Buddy Rich.
- Marjorie Liu on the dangers of writing while sleepy.
- The nebulous moral universe of buying books online.
- Sara Ryan talks about writing and risk.
- The inevitable article about whether Anne should have been included in The Modern Library series. Um, YES. (Via Sarah.)
- Maureen and 10,000 hours.
- And, finally, what Chris said.
- Updated to add: My first post at The Nervous Breakdown. Hobbits and booze. That's what I'm talking about.
Prepared Poets
The NYT looks at inaugurals and poets, and the work Elizabeth Alexander has cut out for herself:
She is going about making a poem for Mr. Obama, she said, by casting an eye back. “I have read the previous inaugural poems, as well as many others,” she said. “The ones that appeal to me have a sense of focus and a kind of gravitas, an ability to appeal to larger issues without getting corny.” One thing Ms. Alexander wants to do, she said, is speak clearly but artfully. “I don’t want the poem to talk down to some imagined audience,” she said. Among the poets she has been reading for guidance are Virgil, W. H. Auden, Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney and Gwendolyn Brooks.
Is she prepared, I asked, for a Robert Frost moment? What if her manuscript catches fire or blows away? “I am going to have many copies of the poem tucked away,” she replied, laughing. “I really am. In a boot. I’m serious. I will have backups. I’m a mom.”
I'd never heard the Frost anecdote, but, boy, those few lines they quote from "Dedication" are stinkers.
Merry Eve
Due to inconvenient and dastardly rain that fell from the sky and promptly froze all surfaces last night, no shopping was done. So it must be done this morning instead!
I feel today will be busy. And tomorrow. But sweet potato pie from excellent neighbors for breakfast is a good omen, right?
Anyway, don't forget to mosey over to Mr. Rowe's place (Typepad, LJ, Facebook or Twitterville) and wish him a Happy Birthday tomorrow!
Tuesday-Feels-Like-Friday Hangovers
- I guess we actually do have to break down and buy some presents today, huh? Morris Book Shop, ahoy.
- Kelly Fineman gives high praise to Carrie Jones' Feed, which I read awhile back and enjoyed very much.
- Twilight art at Etsy, for when you care enough to give a teenage girl something truly creepy. (Spoilery, according to Siobhan at the Longstockings, where I snatched this link.)
- Haddayr recommends stuff she liked this year.
- Uberlibrarian Nancy Pearl gives some below the radar recommendations, and I really hope it makes our liberry buy these immediately. (Well, a few they had and I put holds on, and a few I've already read (Firmin!). But I want Borges and the Eternal Orangutans because a) bookish mystery and b) best title ever.)
- Various KGB attendees answer Liz Gorinsky's ridiculous survey on which book they'd bring to a snowbound cabin to read and which to burn for warmth.
- Eye Candy for Bibliophiles. (Via the newly-returned to the tubes Jeff VanderMeer.)
- I want this book. Added to Wiscon dealer's room list.
- Finally: Jessica Cutler experimenting with the sci-fi? Spaceships?
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What She Said
Erica Perl writes a spirited defense of the Newbery's track record for Slate, which has lately been under attack all over the place:
Is a Newbery winner right for every kid? No—but what book is? Some kids will give the tougher tomes a try and come away with a richer vocabulary and a deeper appreciation of a world beyond their experience. Other kids will ditch them and dig right back into R.L. Stine (which, after all, is reading, too).
It's a good piece and I couldn't agree with her more. But I must admit that it also pleases me greatly that people in the children's literature field are invested enough to fight about this kind of thing. That in of itself speaks volumes about the Newbery's historic (and I'd argue continued) importance — and also about the general passion of the readers, writers, librarians and others who keep an eyeball on the latest kerfluffles and goings on. (Link via tweety Sarah.)
Have I Been Asleep?
So I'm breezing through the Book Bloggers Top 10 of 2008 in various categories over at Literary Escapism and the top children's book and one of the top vote-getters overall is The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum
.
Okay, so the title alone would be enough to grab my interest, but it's also by Kate Bernheimer (with illustrations by Nicoletta Ceccoli). Why did I not know about this book? Which, I might add, got a starred review from PW.
What else have I missed this year? Please, let me know!
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