First, some of you may or may not know that THE YARD MAN won the Golden Heart RS category––but what you don’t know is the whirlwind of other things that happened last week, before and after the awards banquet.
All I can say is, when it happens, it happens fast and I don’t care how long you have waited, YOU ARE NOT PREPARED.
A little over ten days ago, I was sitting in the Dallas airport waiting for my connecting flight to Orlando. I was hoping to meet another GH finalist there, as we both were both on the same flight, so I checked my cell phone. There was a message with a 212 area code. NYC. My heart raced a little. I returned the call and to make a long story short, when I got off the phone I had an offer on my newest manuscript, a historical paranormal, THE SEDUCTION OF PHAETON BLACK. (Based on a contest final, for those of you who enter RWA chapter contests.)
Great. I had an offer and no agent.
When I arrived at the hotel my crit partner, a.c. Mason, was already in the room. I sat her down and told her what had happened. After the screaming died down, she and I set about e-mailing messages to every reputable agent we could think of (I had all their addresses stored in my iPhone as I had been querying for months) I sent a very brief message stating that I had received a three book offer and would they be interested in representing me? Well, you may or may not believe the response, but I was overwhelmed by sudden interest, and from HUGE agents.
Needless to say, the next events might read like a fairy story, but, let’s face it, we write them, why can’t they come true? While stalking Steven Axelrod around the Dolphin fountain in the lobby, I managed to run into another agent, Richard Curtis.
That afternoon Mr. Curtis bought me a diet coke and we talked. In the hotel bar, après the Golden Heart Rita Awards, Richard, my crit partner and I celebrated with a glass of champagne. Several days later, after reading both manuscripts, he proposed representation and I am thrilled to announce that I have signed with Richard Curtis Associates. Since the GH win, several publishers have also expressed interest in the THE YARD MAN. Last week, Richard and I worked on series proposals for both books and I hope to be able to report more good news in the weeks to come.
Here are my best insights for those of us who write and are as yet, unpublished (which still includes me). Never give up. Take BOLD RISKS with your writing and SHOOT HIGH, especially when it comes to agents and publishers.
So, what do you think? Was it the Tinkerbell pixie dust that did it?
G. Jillian Stone
There are fields in time that burn with desire. Meet me there.
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