Well it's been quite the week. My toddler son was sick last week and got a trip to the pediatrician, only to find out it was a cold and nothing could be done. He bounced back within days. But of course I picked it up right after, and have been sick ever since. Earlier this week it blossomed into a double ear infection, and then yesterday--just for good measure--double pink eye and a migraine. I've been to the Minute Clinic twice this week and am on 2 different antibiotics, and as I write this, the hubs is paying yet another visit to our new best friend for his own blooming case of pink eye and cold. Meanwhile, the toddler remains healthy as a horse. I'd say I'm not jealous, but...let's be honest. I am. (But please stay well, and let the cycle end with us!)
After all the good news we've had recently, I guess we were bound for a taste of bad luck. It could definitely be far worse. We have a baby girl to complete our perfect family of 5 (7 including the dogs), due in just 9 days. She's so healthy that her size is nearly off the charts--and she should arrive just in time for me to (hopefully) fit into the bridesmaid dress for the destination wedding of one of my best friends (an event I've looked forward to for over a year). I have a book agent and new gigs as Editorial Assistant at Compose Literary Journal and reviewer at bookalicious.org. My son is a healthy and handsome little genius who will blow away his preschoolmates this fall. My husband is a healthy (well, usually) and handsome big genius who I grow more and more thankful for each day. Everyone who matters most to me is alive and well. What could be better than that?
Even though my throat burns, my head throbs, I still can't hear out of one ear, and my eyes look like a gradeschooler's...I've never been happier than I am right now. Things were going too well, and I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop--but if this (and the "broken rib") is the other shoe, then I'll take it with a grin. If baby girl can just hold off on arriving for a few days, her daddy and I should be well enough to welcome her without wearing face masks. And that will be perfect indeed.
If my life were a story, this would all be the conflict that would make the pages worth turning. How do you deliver a giant baby when you're told you have a broken rib? How do you deliver a healthy baby when you have a cold/ear infection/pink eye/migraine cocktail? How do you get a book published, much less write your next book, with a toddler and preggie-brain and illness and (eventually) a newborn draining all your brain power? Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Sometimes it's better. No matter the conflict in this story--MY story--as long as it ends in a healthy baby girl, I'll be happy.
If I disappear from the blog for a while after this post, keep your fingers crossed that it's because I'm in a creative coma, sneaking naps after an exhausting night with the baby, and not because I've permanently moved into the Minute Clinic (do they have WiFi...?)
TJ
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
And Now, in Other News...
...I've been selected for the staff of a new literary journal!
I'm super excited to be joining the team of Compose Literary Journal, a startup from established writing website WriteitSideways, whose first issue is slated to be released late this spring. Acting as an Editorial Assistant, I'll get to help select and proofread what goes in the journal, and will be working amongst a group of editors and writers whose resumes are so impressive that I can't believe I've been selected to collaborate with them. I'm so honored to have been chosen to join the ranks of such distinguished publishing professionals!
Check out the full lineup and first-issue details (and my official bio/headshot!) at Writeitsideways.com: Meet the New Editors of Compose Lit Journal. Sign up at Compose: A journal of simply good writing to be notified when the inaugural issue comes out.
Thank you in advance for your support of the journal, we look forward to bringing you quality literary fiction later this year!
TJ
I'm super excited to be joining the team of Compose Literary Journal, a startup from established writing website WriteitSideways, whose first issue is slated to be released late this spring. Acting as an Editorial Assistant, I'll get to help select and proofread what goes in the journal, and will be working amongst a group of editors and writers whose resumes are so impressive that I can't believe I've been selected to collaborate with them. I'm so honored to have been chosen to join the ranks of such distinguished publishing professionals!
Check out the full lineup and first-issue details (and my official bio/headshot!) at Writeitsideways.com: Meet the New Editors of Compose Lit Journal. Sign up at Compose: A journal of simply good writing to be notified when the inaugural issue comes out.
Thank you in advance for your support of the journal, we look forward to bringing you quality literary fiction later this year!
TJ
Monday, February 4, 2013
It's Finally Time...
...to announce my good news! Remember that teaser from a couple weeks ago? I can finally tell you what I was talking about!
Wait for it...
wait for it...
I'm proud and thrilled and tickled and ecstatic to announce that I will be represented by the fabulous Annie Bomke of Annie Bomke Literary Agency!!!!!!! I just don't think I could ever put enough exclamation points on that sentence. :) (And if you're an aspiring writer, find her on Twitter at @ABLiterary, where she regularly posts excellent publishing tips using the hashtag #pubtip, as well as query thoughts and other useful writerly tidbits.)
Although this won't guarantee traditional publication, it sure puts me a lot closer to it! My dream has always been to be published--to walk into a brick-and-mortar store and see my book on the shelves, on top of being able to order it through Amazon or wherever--and I fully believe that if this book truly is the right one like we both feel it is, Annie will get it into the right hands and on the shelves. I had a few agents reviewing the manuscript when her offer came in, but ultimately we had the same vision for the book, and she understood it exactly as I'd intended. The fact that she's so approachable, knowledgeable, and professional was just a bonus!
I know my non-writer peeps are thinking, Okay, so I guess this is a big deal...but when does your book come out again? It'll be a while--first it has to be edited, and approved, and sold, and edited again, etc.--but you can bet I'll keep you updated. It takes a lot of work and time and heartache and perching on pins n' needles just to get to this stage, so I'm proud to have gotten this far! (And soooooooo thankful to my wonderful husband, who listened to my annoying, abysmal agonizing for more than a week over each agent reviewing the manuscript, who should I pick, blah blah blah...)
So here's my goal: Baby's due in 3 weeks. I'd love for the manuscript to be out on submission while I'm in the new-mommy fog of maternity leave, which is a lofty goal--it's very difficult to get edits done right in so short a time. But I'm sure going to try! This is what I've waited for my whole life, and I can't wait to get started!
TJ
P.S. And another teaser... On top of this fantastic news, I'll have more excitement coming on Wednesday during the regular blog post. :)
Wait for it...
wait for it...
Today I officially signed with a fantastic agent for
the young adult novel I worked on all last year!
*Pause for celebration, dancing, pinching self, dancing some more...*
I'm proud and thrilled and tickled and ecstatic to announce that I will be represented by the fabulous Annie Bomke of Annie Bomke Literary Agency!!!!!!! I just don't think I could ever put enough exclamation points on that sentence. :) (And if you're an aspiring writer, find her on Twitter at @ABLiterary, where she regularly posts excellent publishing tips using the hashtag #pubtip, as well as query thoughts and other useful writerly tidbits.)
Although this won't guarantee traditional publication, it sure puts me a lot closer to it! My dream has always been to be published--to walk into a brick-and-mortar store and see my book on the shelves, on top of being able to order it through Amazon or wherever--and I fully believe that if this book truly is the right one like we both feel it is, Annie will get it into the right hands and on the shelves. I had a few agents reviewing the manuscript when her offer came in, but ultimately we had the same vision for the book, and she understood it exactly as I'd intended. The fact that she's so approachable, knowledgeable, and professional was just a bonus!
I know my non-writer peeps are thinking, Okay, so I guess this is a big deal...but when does your book come out again? It'll be a while--first it has to be edited, and approved, and sold, and edited again, etc.--but you can bet I'll keep you updated. It takes a lot of work and time and heartache and perching on pins n' needles just to get to this stage, so I'm proud to have gotten this far! (And soooooooo thankful to my wonderful husband, who listened to my annoying, abysmal agonizing for more than a week over each agent reviewing the manuscript, who should I pick, blah blah blah...)
So here's my goal: Baby's due in 3 weeks. I'd love for the manuscript to be out on submission while I'm in the new-mommy fog of maternity leave, which is a lofty goal--it's very difficult to get edits done right in so short a time. But I'm sure going to try! This is what I've waited for my whole life, and I can't wait to get started!
TJ
P.S. And another teaser... On top of this fantastic news, I'll have more excitement coming on Wednesday during the regular blog post. :)
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