Is it possible? Several posts in a row where I’m not whining?

My manuscript, Seeking Zion (name likely to change before publication), has found itself a publishing contract. I am thrilled beyond expression. It’s a beautiful story. While going over the last edit for this book, I realized how much I loved it. I love the characters, the message, the story–all of it. And now I get it share it with everyone. Kirk at Covenant has been incredible to work with. It’s been so nice to have someone who communicates with me and gets excited about my projects with me. I look forward to a long relationship with Covenant. There isn’t a projected release date yet, but I am basking in the glow of author validation. I plan on doing a full on book tour through the western states with the release of Seeking Zion. It should be fun and I am thrilled!!!!!!!!! (as indicated by the inappropriate coupling of punctuation)

Much like Josi kilpack, I believe there are times to use multiple exclamation marks. Forget the fact that it is grossly negligible to couple punctuation together like that. Sometimes one simply won’t do.

 I entered a manuscript into the Amazon break through novel context. It’s my romantic comedy. I wrote it because I needed a mental break from all the serious writing I’d been doing. I found out it was chosen to be a semi-finalist!!!!!!! HOORAY! I’m excited about being at least culled from the rest. 

This next round’s winner is determined by the reader’s comments and “star” rating. You can download a free “short” of the book or have it sent to your email via Amazon. You’ll get the first sixteen pages that are free to download and read. If you want to go vote and help give me a shot at the brass ring, I would be ever so grateful

You can get it here: The Day My subconscious Betrayed Me. It’s a romantic comedy and a word of caution, for whatever reason, when they moved it to their PDF form, some of the code didn’t translate right so the chapters are shoved right against the last word of the previous chapter. Try not to let it bother you as much as it bothers me.

I’m excited to be chosen to be a finalist. I put the math to it and that means I beat out several hundred other manuscripts. I’m trying to focus on that and not think about how much crying I’ll do and how much chocolate and dr pepper I will consume should I not make it any further.

So . . . I got a rejection letter today. The rejection came, not from the literary agent I submitted to, but from her “assistant.” The person who sent the rejection letter is likely an unpaid intern trying to get college credit. This means I was rejected by a still pubescent girl who very likely got the office Starbuck’s order wrong, and was, therefore, in the throes of a bad day.

I’m not irritated by the rejection letter. Yawn. I have stacks of those things. I am constantly working towards new projects to keep myself from obsessing.  I have my contracts for manuscripts that I pull out when I worry if I’m publishable. They remind me that, yes, I am publishable. My reviews and fan mail remind me that I’m saleable too.

What I found humorous was that I snail-mailed the query along with the required SASE. But I didn’t receive my rejection by SASE. Nope. It came via e-mail.

So what the heck happened to my stamp?

The intern, or assistant, or whoever, has my stamp. But what did she do with it?  Is this some form of mild kleptomania? Is it a problem she’s dealing with, and someday will end up on some profilers list for grand theft auto? Or is it a form of embezzlement. Interns don’t make anything and assistants make very little. Maybe she really needs the stamp to subsidize her small pay check.

Maybe she needs it to mail her electricity bill. Maybe she needs a stamp to mail a late Christmas card to her ailing grandmother (who has already passed on, and the girl will mourn forever that she hadn’t thought to steal a stamp when there was still time). Maybe it’s so she can use it for a Post Secret post card confessing her addiction to re-runs of Gilligan’s island, and that she fantasizes herself to be Ginger, the svelte movie star, when really she’s just a MaryAnn personality. Maybe she’s a stamp collector and really liked that this one was  a Star Wars stamp.

Yep . . . I bet that’s it. She kept my Yoda.

It’s likely better this way. Nothing hurts more than having Yoda–master Jedi–say, “Your manuscript, they will accept not–hmm-mmm. ” ; )