Well, I was hoping for something exciting to happen, right?

This post is super-duper-friends locked! There is one agent in particular whom I decided not to query with my newest manuscript. (I'm not naming names, although some of you will know whom this is regarding.) It isn't that I think s/he wouldn't like it or couldn't sell it (although that might be true, too), but mostly I didn't think we would work well together.

In a complicated and bizarre series of events, this agent now has my full manuscript. You see, someone put in a good word for me (which is AWESOME!). But, yeah, the result is that my work now is with someone whom I never intended or expected to have it.

This is one of the few times in my agent search that I'm pretty much hoping for a rejection. Then I can happily continue on my way without offending anyone or looking in any gift-horse mouths.

Querying thus far.

So far, my querying process hasn't been a roller coaster. It's mostly been flat ground with a few potholes along the way. Rejection, rejection, rejection. All of these on the query only. Oh, and there was that one rejection of the full where the agent said he didn't "buy the voice." What I wouldn't give for a querying high right now! Just one request! That's all I'm asking!

Okay, that's a lie. I want a bunch of requests. But any would do right now.

Meanwhile, my favorite (and only) editor pal is being awesome and kind and good to me. I heart her so much. And my writing friends are being so supportive and swell, too. So, that's cool stuff.

But, ho hum. I'm just waiting around here for something exciting to report, I guess.

Chris Crutcher.

Has anyone read any YA novels by Chris Crutcher? Even though I'm not writing a boy anymore, I kind of want to read one of his to see what his writing is like. None of the descriptions I just read of his books sound overly appealing to me. Any recommendations?

New story!

I've been debating all month over which story I want to start writing next. I have four ideas for protags, and was leaning heavily toward one in particular. But last night, one of the others started running through my mind. I still don't have a journey quite mapped out, but I have a better inkling of what it might be. What I do have are ideas for the first several scenes and how they might unfold. Hooray! It would have been nice if this hadn't all come to me at 11:30pm. on the night before I had to get up at 5am. to head out of town. But maybe I can now spend some time jotting notes on the plane.

Have a great week, everyone!

Going on a trip.

Monday morning my husband and I are flying out of SeaTac for a short trip to NYC. We're going to see one of our favorite bands (Ash) that night. Then we'll have Tuesday, Wednesday, and part of Thursday for various sightseeing. We'll fly home Thursday night. We don't have anything elaborate planned for our trip. Just expectations of doing the Times Square/Central Park/Ground Zero/Ellis Island visiting. We are also going to spend some time at the Museum of Modern Art because I want to see the real Starry Night.

I'll also be meeting Liesa (my former online writing instructor) for coffee on Tuesday afternoon. Not for any type of business talk; just to chat. (We've kept in touch via e-mail since the class ended.) I'm looking forward to meeting her.

So, that's the stuff. It should be fun. I can hardly wait for the morning!

On another note, thank you to everyone who weighed in on my query-etiquette conundrum. I appreciate it.

Query Stats Rejection of full: 1 Agents currently reading full: 1 Agents queried: 13 Rejections from query only: 4 (one with a suggestion to try a collegue instead)

I haven't had any requests from my query yet, but it has only been four days since I e-mailed the first four. And the last five were sent out just this morning. I'm still hopeful.

Have a great week, everyone!