Gae Polisner's Blog, page 23

Still So Far.

I'm not a religious person, or a person who stands much on ceremony.

I'm not much for churches or temples, or funeral parlors or cemeteries, but rather believe we can fully worship and mourn where we stand, because what matters most is what we feel and radiate and practice on a day to day basis, what lives and breathes in our hearts and our minds.

I abhor labels, and I believe in substance over form.

As a young child, my mother made us very aware of right and wrong. Her right and wrong wasn't religious or political, and it didn't disparage the needs or beliefs of others. The right and wrong she taught us was simple: we are all created equal, and we should respect one another regardless of outer trappings.

As I was born in 1964, a big part of how she shared this message was through the teachings and life of Martin Luther King, Jr.


I remember her reading his biography to us more than once, and I remember wearing black armbands the days after he died, and on MLK days thereafter.

When my own children were too little to understand, we watched this speech on MLK day year after year and talked about what he stood for. And for years, we wrote bits and pieces of his words on the front windows of our home in glass paint.

I still listen to this speech each year, and it still brings tears of hope and sorrow to my eyes.

This year, I have a new favorite MLK day video, this beautiful song written by Billy Walsh and sung by the 6th graders at teachsmalltruths, and shown to me by my beautiful sister.*



I have listened to it over and over in the past few days. The lyrics and message are SO VERY simple. Not just simple to hear, but so very simple to do.

"Lovingkindness, radiate."

Two little words to teach and pass on. And put into action in our lives.

Easy, right?

And, yet, just last night, the local news was filled with swastikas, and bullying, and racist attacks.

Just yesterday, the news was still full of wars, and poverty and hate.

So, I can't help worry about tomorrow,
and wonder where the lovingkindness is,

and how are we still so far.

- gae

* p.s. if you'd like to make a donation in honor of peace this MLK day, please consider making a donation to my sister's Peace Temple Fund in NYC.

Proyeto Sobrecarga

[image error] What? I studied Spanish. I can speak Spanish if I want to.

It's my damned blog.

Me muerde.

(hahahahaha!) It seems like that says I'm dead in Spanish, but it doesn't. Whatever.

So, it's a new year and, yes, I am still &^$%#!!&!?ing upside down for those of you who know what that means -- for those that don't, sorry, you'll have to follow me a bit more closely... ;) and I am seriously on project overload (yes, yes, people, that is what the title says, Project Overload. And, no, I didn't remember how to say "overload" in Spanish even though I took it right through college (maybe I never knew), I just googled the translation. I did remember how to say "project" though, so, yeah. *curtseys*)

Anyway, some of the project overload is self-induced. For example after failed physical therapy on my blasted old-lady hip for the past six weeks, I've decided to add hot yoga back into my routine (yep, just in time for that stupid New York Times article telling us that yoga is going to kill us all... for a great retort, check out my friend Lori's blog post, Does Yoga Hurt More Than it Heals on technorati.) Anyway, the yoga is another big time investment, but my body seems mostly happy to be back to it. And, add to that to my usual swim routine, and I'm already in the  hole.

As for swimming news (see, I should switch back to Spanish, because this blog post suddenly sounds like one of those chain Christmas letters), I think our open water season is finally (heartbreakingly) over, but what a freaking hugely fantastic exhilarating magnificent season it was. End o' May to January 7th. [image error] Here's my friend Annmarie and I right before we swam on
January 7, 2012. I believe we may have set a Pod record.
And, yes, I added the snow. The air was actually unseasonably warm
but the water was $*&%&$^% cold (maybe 36 degrees).So, it's back to the pool with me until, hmmm, late? April?

Plus, there's the usual mom/taxi stuff, and trying to get my sixteen year old to do all the things he's supposed to be doing (like getting his permit, and studying for the SAT's), and running from my almost 14-yr olds basketball game to basketball game (both school and travel teams).

Plus, there's my writer stuff: promoting The Pull of Gravity (did you hear it's going to Paperback?), e.g. getting in contact with the several schools that are about to launch into their units that teach it (!) to set up dates to either Skype or make an in-person visit, doing guest blog posts (I'm here on Nerdy Book Club today talking about the books that shaped me as a kid and will be on TeachingBooks.net on January 24, to name just a few) and just keep trying to get the word out there -- seriously, it's a full time job.

And, then, there's my mediation practice. A new client this week, plus a six-way on one of my bigger cases (not as sexy as it sounds, means the clients' separate counsel comes into things to try to resolve some sticky issues), plus a separation agreement that has been taking me days to draft...

Finally, I have my first book club appearance ever tonight with some somewhat local book club, not even a friend's book club that felt sorry for me and invited me in. These are a bunch of twenty-somethings I don't know. At all. I hope they liked it and don't throw tomatoes at me. [image error] The moderator apparently chose my book because several places have compared it to John Green's Paper Towns and he's a fan (honestly, I read that book and other than the road trip don't really see it, but still, I'm flattered. And, btw, how weird is it that I get compared to John Green and his new book, out today, is called The Fault of Our Stars, when the manuscript I'm working on right this second is called In Sight of Stars. Wonder if I'll have to change it... hmmm... he's way more famous than I am).

And, the last thing (I know, I know, I said finally, then tricked you and slipped in another last thing), next week I'm flying to Tacoma, WA for my friend Megan's book launch. Here's Megan, being totally adorable as she talks about jealousy for the YA Rebels, and how she handles it,
and here's the link to her shiny debut, Never Eighteen. http://www.amazon.com/Never-Eighteen-Megan-Bostic/dp/0547550766. You should totally buy it and read it, and tell your local library to order it in (I even helped her to revise an early draft. I've not read the final version yet, but I'm excited to).

I'm not that thrilled about the flying part (and the leaving my hubby and kids part) but I am totally excited that my friend Annmarie is coming with me (thanks, sweetie!) and excited that I'm going to finally meet a bunch of friends I only know through facebook and email! That means you, Katie and Brent, and you, Peachy, and, and, and...! I wonder what I should wear... maybe the companion piece I have to this shirt I wore on New Year's Eve? Come on! That's one fun shirt!
So, that's it. You're all caught up. Both in Spanish and in English.I'm not spellchecking this puppy or reading it over for nice order or proper grammar. I'm so freaking busy, I shouldn't have been writing it in the first place.

But I love you, dear readers, for coming here to check on new posts, so I didn't want to leave you hanging.

If I haven't said it before, Happy New Year! If I did, well, I wish you one again.

*blows kisses, throws leftover, slightly walked-on confetti*

Now, get on it. Already January 10! And miles to go before we sleep.

- gae

Favorites

Robert Whipple once said,

" Playing favorites is one of the most damaging problems in any group of people."

Meh. What does Robert Whipple know? ;)

Isn't he the guy who squeezed the toilet paper ? *

At any rate.

It's the end of the year, and, as so many people are wont to do, book bloggers love end of the year Best Of lists. As a new author, it's a scary proposition. No one wants to be left out.

So, you cross your fingers and hope you were somebody's favorite.

And if it turns out you're more than one person's favorite, well. . .



So, with great gratitude, I present a few wonderful places THE PULL OF GRAVITY SHOWED UP as a favorite this year: 

First, there is my shiny new  Nerdy Award from the Nerdy Book Club (!!!);

and my YALSA Readers' Choice Nomination,

and my 2011 CYBILs nomination.

Each of those nods is like a succulant, juicy pomegranate seed, just bursting with flavor and goodness (I love pomegranates, people, so just go with me here).


Then there are the year-end Best-Of lists, like that of:

Paul Hankins, high school teacher extraordinaire and founder of Raw Ink Online (are you a member?);

"Mr. Schu" -- an award-winning, nationally-known K-5 librarian who runs a blog called Watch. Connect. Read. He is one of the first librarians to read and love TPoG, and to work to connect the book with readers, like Paul Hankins, who could help spread the word, and, thus, my book's wings. Here's TPoG on his list of 100 most memorable (including picture books, he has read over 2,000 books this year!);

YA Librarian Tales (run by a fab youth librarian in Minnesota) (not only on her best list, but also on her "most recommended;"

KellyVision (run by an avid reader in Baltimore who may be one of TPoG's biggest fans). It shows up on her end of the year book survey HERE, her best-of-2011 list HERE, and in the Sammies Awards voted on by her readers, HERE;

Bookfaces from l - r, me, Christopher Grant, Lena Roy, Nova Ren Suma,
Michael Northrop, Arlaina Tibensky and Matt Blackstone at the Dolphin for
an amazing event this past October.The Dolphin Bookshop in Pt. Washington, NY. The fabulous women of the beautiful Dolphin Bookshop have included The Pull of Gravity in their Favorites of the year;

and last, but so not least,
Cari Soto of Cari's Book Blog has been such a tremendous supporter of the Class of 2K11, and I know she loves us all equally and would have just put ALL our books there if it wouldn't have undermined her credibility ;).

And, because it's my blog and I can, here are a few more scattered favorites:

There are few higher compliments than an author you love, loving you back. I just happened across this the other day, thus continuing the year-long mutual admiration love affair between Geoff Herbach (STUPID FAST) and me as he shares his favorite fictional character of the year. I feel the same way about Felton, so if you haven't read Stupid Fast yet, GO! Now! Do it!;

and, this one: THIS LINK naming TPoG as a favorite book showed up in my Google alerts one day this summer, and whenever I see one of these -- namely, a teenaged boy loving the book -- it moves me the most, because I wrote this book hoping and praying I could connect with that very elusive creature known as the male adolescent who has so often lost interest in reading.  So, thanks, Francisco! You may never read this, but I won't forget you. :)

And there you have it. If you've read and enjoyed The Pull of Gravity, hooray! And thank you. It means everything to be read and to forge that connection through our books.

Happy New Year.

- gae


*according to Wikipedia, Robert Whipple is the author of several books on leadership. Whatevs. ;)

Swimming, Winning, Whining, and New Beginnings.

Considering this is me (photo left, with my sister),
terrified by a 5 degree angle,
I'd say I'm doing pretty winning at life these days. ;)In an oh-too-predictible microcosm of that old macrocosm of Time, 2011 flew by in a blink of an eye.

Damn you, Time. I wish the days would slow down.

I did my best to seize them, to make the most of the hours, some days more successfully than others.

In this, my 47th year, it seems essential to seize every moment, or at least to try, as they blur past me, out the windows.

Here are some of the highlights, the good, and the whiny:
That's me in the middle, finding my religion. . . and, yes, we swam on Christmas Eve day,
me sans Santa hat, but I did don my monkey hat after.
Swimming . My family fills me, my writing sustains me, but my swimming? My swimming saves me.

As I get older, the water keeps me young, keeps me pushing to achieve new goals. Frustratingly, I did not accomplish last year's resolution to complete a five-mile swim this summer (mostly due to logistics), but I am signed up for one this coming summer. Luckily, I did push myself in new ways, including by swimming faster, harder, in more challenging conditions, and through December. Good enough. I'll take it.

I am endlessly blessed to have found The West Neck Pod (here's the official blog of the Pod, if you are interested).

And here I am swimming today, on 2/24/11 with the other amazing nutjobs of the West Neck Polar Pod ;))   Winning . I've had some winning experiences this year, both family and book-related. My kids don't love it when I blog about them, so suffice it to say, both my boys are wonderful kids who are having some awesome and hard-fought-for successes, and I'm proud of them. This is my younger son, having one such moment (yes, that is his name they are chanting ;)).  They say you're only as happy as your most unhappy child, and I can tell you that this is true.
As for winning book news, some of the many highlights were:

the Dolphin Bookshop reading in October 
the high schools that have picked up The Pull of Gravity into their curriculum (!), my Skype visits with Mr. Hankins' class and especially the boys of Room 407, and with the 9th graders of Clio High School thanks to Mrs. Sarah Andersen,
and, the winning-most things of all: the confirmation that I will be going to PAPERBACK (!!! Winter 2013) and my shiny, wonderful, and oh-so-geekily meaningful 2011 Nerdies Award in Young Adult fiction bestowed by the amazing teachers and educators who run the Nerdy Book Club. (Thanks again to all who voted in the final phase!)
Whining . I am out on SUBMISSION. Need I say more? (If I do, you can read this blog post, or this one to learn more). Also, my old lady, bum hip still hurts despite months of Physical Therapy, and then there was the night I passed out and broke my nose on the bathroom floor. Also, my freaking house is a mess and I have zero desire to clean it. There. That should do it. That wasn't too bad, was it?
New Beginnings .
So, there you have it. And, now, here it is, a New Year.
I have a fresh slate and a chance to do better. To be a better friend, to be a more patient parent, to let go of old wounds and find a way to embrace the unknown without so much angst and distraction. And to spend less time wasting time, and more time writing and doing.
This is what I've learned: the more I do, the less I long for all the things I didn't do. Simple, right?
I have books to write, friends to spend time with, a family that I love, and that deserves to have me not just there for them, but fully present.
I am grateful for all the good that has come to me in 2011, and I hope you know how much your readership, and friendship, mean to me.
Especially to those who inspire me, who swim with me, and to my classmates in the Class of 2K11 who got me through this first author year, a very heartfelt thank you.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
- gae

The Pull of Gravity is Going to Paperback!

You heard me.

So, yeah,

no,

I can't help myself.

We're going to dance like idiots whether you like it or not.

Click on the arrow, and get off your duff and get dancing. I'm right there with you.

Ready?

Set,

Go!









The Pull of Gravity. In paperback. Winter, 2013.

- gae

Got superhero?

me, in my first wetsuit, 2008Those who've known me for a while, know a few things about me:

1. I want to be a superhero, and I think my wetsuit will turn me into one. Given that I've swum more than a 5K (at once, mind you) since this photo, and this year I've swum in the open waters of the Long Island Sound well into December, it may just be (slowly, but surely) working; and

2. My life hasn't been the same since I entered the first ever Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award* contest in 2007- 2008, not just because, from there, I took my writing seriously, got agented (and reagented, and then re-re-agented, oy), and got a book deal, but also because I made some of the best friends of my life through that contest, and met some amazing writers, many of whom have gone on to some pretty cool success.

So, what's my point? Um. If you combine those two things, superhero'ing (yeah, sue me, I made up that word) and ABNA friends, you get that I'm happy to be congratulating one such dude today, and introducing Ian Thomas Healy, a/k/a He, of the Hair.

This is Ian (and his hair):
And this is his brand spankin' new Superhero book, Just Cause:



Isn't it cool looking!? Ian says, "Just Cause is available directly from the publisher, New Babel Books (http://newbabelbooks.com) in both ebook and print editions, and to shop small businesses!" And I agree!

I asked Ian to describe Just Cause in a single sentence, so here you go: "a rookie superhero races to earn her place on the world's greatest team, but first she'll have to confront the villain who killed her father."

Of course, she will, Ian. Of course she will. :)

I also asked him to describe a bit about his book's genre: "If New Adult was a real genre, Just Cause would fit. The main character is 18, just graduated high school, so it fits into the upper edges of YA. But Superhero fiction is its own subgenre, straddling the line between science fiction and fantasy, with its own set of recognizable tropes and conventions. It is a growing genre, the way cyberpunk took off in the early '80s, with authors including Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge, Carrie Vaughn, Austin Grossman, Rob Rogers, Van Allen Plexico, and oh yes, George R. R. Martin.

 And, finally, I was curious how he got into writing Superhero fiction: "I'm a longtime comic book geek. The moment I realized I could write superheroes in prose instead of graphic form was when I read the first Wild Cards book, written by numerous authors and edited by George R. R. Martin."

 Of course, me and my sound-bite love wanted to know just a few other tidbits.
First, Ian's favorite Just Cause scene: "My favorite scene takes place at the climax, in a huge battle in Guatemala, when Sally finally faces down the villain who killed her father and ends up fighting him while he rockets off into the stratosphere (did I mention she can't fly?)."
Second, the hardest part about writing Just Cause: ". . . was realizing that it required massive changes. I wound up cutting 40Kwords entirely and writing 20K new words to transform it from the mess it was before into the tale it is now."Yeah, yeah, tell me something I don't know (and live... ;))

And last, of course, I wanted to know what kind of superhero Ian is, himself, in real life. Okay, fine, would want to be, if he weren't one Of the Hair already:  "For me, trying to pigeonhole a single superpower I'd want to have is like asking a food critic what his one favorite dish is. I've always kind of liked the idea of a non-powered superhero like Batman, so maybe I'd be this guy, Black Dog: I like that Black Dog seems to be in some sort of water universe... ;)Black Dog has no powers, just pure badassery, like a mixture of Chuck Norris, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Bill Gates."

Badassery, hmmm. I guess if I couldn't breathe underwater, some plain old badassery would be nice.

So, there you have it: Ian, Hair, Badassery, and an intro to Just Cause. So, what are you waiting for, peeps?! Go and get your copy. Or, one for your favorite superhero lover. Wait, not superhero lover. Superhero lover! Oh, geez, never mind, I don't care. Just check it out, and get one for someone you love.

*stretches on wetsuit and leaves.*

- gae

*This year's Amazon Contest starts 1/23. Check it out if you're itching to be a published writer!

Snail Race

So, for the past month or so, I've been on a kick of comparing my publishing journey to classic board games.

I can't help it.
It's just how it feels like it is.

For example, there is the constant Chutes & Ladders nature of things.

And, (thank god), there are the sweet and delicious Candy Land moments.

But for the most part, it's way more simple than that.

I think I finally got it right. My journey in publishing? It's like playing the Snail's Pace Race game.

Have you ever?

Here, it looks like this, and is just as exciting as it appears:


I played this with my nephew years ago, when he was a babe, and I was a patient, first-time aunt. And,  quite frankly, even then, it made me want to poke my own eyes out with a stick.

You see, publishing is like that, people. It often makes you want to poke your own eyes out.

You spend half your life waiting, and the other three-quarters waiting. And, yes, my math is bad, but, no, it isn't that bad. It's true. You wait so long, you start to gain extra helpings.

So, this is me, waiting. This is me, fully engaged in the Snail's Pace Race, and I'm having a barrel of fun.

I have a book out on submission. If you want to read about it, you can here on my agent's newsletter, third listing down. He's pretty enthusiastic about its chances.

But, in the meantime, I'm waiting.

And, if you want to know what that's like, buy yourself that game up there, and just try to enlist a friend.

Oh, and have I mentioned there are no winners?

Or, if you have no friends, or would rather experience it now, without the hassle, watch the video below. It's really quite adorable.

But grab a stick. I'm telling you. You'll probably need it well before you make it through all eight minutes.


- gae

Swimming Thru Angstarctica

I love my Psycho gloves so much that, yes, I want to marry them.I've been saying for a long time -- before I'd even discovered the bliss and exhilaration of the open water -- that I was hoping one day my wetsuit would turn me into a super hero.

Today, I got one step closer.

Thanks to my dear friend (and lovely, adorable, fellow-lunatic), Annmarie, who delivered an early Christmas present, I am now the proud owner of new, improved swim booties, and, more importantly, a pair of 5mm Psycho gloves.

The name says it all. They're the ones in the photo that look like they belong to Iron Man. And they are the Swim God's gift to womankind.

Despite 47- 49 degree temps in the Sound today, we swam 40+ minutes and, even then, I wasn't ready to get out.

It was crazy!

It was delirium!

It was likely this winter's salvation.

Because December is here. The crush of the holidays (I'm a Jew, you know, we just don't get all that excited). The cold, dark days. The oppressive weight of Seasonal Affective Disorder.

For the past few winters, I've barely made it through.

But, now I've got a plan. And my plan now seems attainable. Thanks to an early Christmas present, from a dear friend who seems to need the bliss of the open water just as badly as I do.

Thanksgiving Day. That's me in the center. Losing my religion. (Annmarie, photo left).
Together, with Psycho gloves, we're gonna swim right on through it. We're swimming through Angstarctica. We're swimming till we meet the shores of spring.

So, don't worry about me. Because the water will buoy me, and my fingers won't feel a thing. <3

- gae

p.s. This just in:
Me, with my PSYCHO GLOVES today!

My Writing Life: Candy Land

Okay, fine, no, I'm not really going to do another nostalgic board game comparison. But last night was an "author happy night" so I was thinking that the writing life isn't always a game of Chutes & (Chutes and Chutes and Chutes and SEEMINGLY ENDLESS CHUTES FOR GOD'S SAKE!) Ladders, but sometimes, it's actually more a game of Ice Cream Floats, Gum Drop Mountains, and Lolly Pop Woods, and I get to be Queen Frostine for the evening. 

The window of the Huntington Public LibraryTake last night, for example.

First of all, there is nothing better about being a YA writer than the people I get to hang out with.

At 6:10 pm I anxiously picked up Nova Ren Suma ( Imaginary Girls ) and Christopher Grant ( Teenie ) from the Huntington train station. I cannot tell you how happy I was to see them! There is this really amazing bond that seems to exists between writers who admire each other.

Secondly, there are few things more Queen Frostine than walking up to the venue to find yourself announced on a movie-esque poster in the window! -------------------------------->

I mean, seriously? That does not get old.

At 7 pm, in front of an audience of about thirty, including a surprising amount of tween and teen boys -- which always thrills me since The Pull of Gravity  is narrated by a teenage boy --  Nova, Chris and I joined up with our other dynamic YA writer pal, the totally HI-LARIOUS Matt Blackstone ( A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie ),  and newcomer to our group, Selene Castrovilla (The Girl Next Door) and I got ready to to moderate another one of our 90-second-sampler hours.

I love moderating, though it's pressure-filled too, especially with the 90-second format which requires me not only to read and moderate, but also to time all the readings and be ready to "ding out" any overly-verbose author if the strict limit is exceeded.

So imagine how Mr. Mint it was to see an enthusiastic hand shoot up in the front row belonging to a bold kid named Richie who wanted to know if he might be the evening's official Keeper of the Bell.

Richie got to advance five spaces!

Of course, once that bell reaches your fingers, well, let's just say that Richie was just itching to ring that bell.

He mostly showed great restraint. And most the authors timed their readings well within the limit. In fact, only one of us (I won't name names  *coughs* ) went over and had to invoke the "I'm allowed to finish the sentence I'm reading," rule.

Hint: it wasn't Matt Blackstone, who shows here why he's one of my favorite authors to listen to read aloud:


Afterwards, we took some great questions from the audience, including from my writer pal Mike Sullivan (Necessary Heartbreak) who was there with his lovely daughter and wanted to know how and where we each get our best writer mojo juices flowing. Here's a snippet of Chris and me answering that question (I love how Chris describes his "manna from heaven):



 Afterwards, books were sold and signed, and cupcakes were eaten, as we shared in the giddiness that made us all feel like we'd made it to the palace of King Kandy.

from l - r: matt blackstone, christopher grant, nova ren suma, me and selene castrovilla.
  - gae

My Writing Life: Chutes and Ladders

I've been thinking lately how much the whole 'publishing thing' is like a game of Chutes and Ladders.

I mean,
maybe all of life is like a game of Chutes & Ladders and that's why it's remained such a classic (or maybe it's just that it's so dang fun to slide the little colorful pegs up and down the curly slides), but, certainly, my publishing journey has felt a lot like playing this game.

Here, I'll show you what I mean.

Imagine my first attempt at writing a manuscript in 1998 as Space #1, and the completion of the first rough draft of THE JETTY as Space #4.

Up, I go to Space #14 where there's a yummy cake waiting for me. Yay, cake! You know how I love a good cake.

Perhaps at space #15, I submit to my first round of agents, which all come back rejections. Space #16, down I go! But at Space #9, I get a bite, my first agent request for a look at a partial or full.

Woohoo, I'm off and running on Space #31!

At Space #36, THE JETTY makes it to the Semi-finals of the first-ever Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest, but at Space #47, I'm eliminated (luckily, I land in water).

Space #28 is totally elusive for most of us -- there's a forcefield around it or something -- but it's back to Space #36 again, where I get my first real NYC literary agent who loves THE JETTY and my writing and is convinced we will get a six-figure deal.

Up to Space #44. Look how tall I feel now!

At Space #51, I finish the revisions she's asked for and we begin to send the manuscript out to publishers. At Spaces #53 - 63, the, "we love this, but. . ." rejections from said publishers start to roll in.

At Space #64, while at work on a new middle grade manuscript, I fall and break my arm.

No, really. I fell and broke my arm. Totally lost all mojo on that manuscript. It still sits half-finished somewhere.

Instead, on Spaces #61 - 79, I begin work on my second to-be-completed women's fiction manuscript, SWIM BACK TO ME and, at Space #80, it's ready to be submitted.
I land on Space #87. What more can I say?

For a while, I see stars (no, really, I'm telling you, I'm pretty sure I saw stars), but by Space #31 I'm off and running again. This time, it's a young adult manuscript, THE PULL OF GRAVITY.

At Space #36, I get an amazing editor at fsg interested, and at Space #51 she loves it!
Look at me just sweeping up over there.

But at Space #56, another in-house editor says, "Not so much," and sends me sneezing back to Space #53.

I engage in rewrites, my agent newly-confident in the manuscript and on space #71, the editor calls us back to say she misses the manuscript and, voila! I have a book deal.

It's a book deal, peeps. I eat an entire ice cream sundae!!! (Though I am careful to put my bib on.)

After 18 months of Space #91 glee and nerves and joy and revisions and line edits, the book comes out to very good reviews.

Woo hoo!

Good reviews!!!

*looks for ladder space*

Er. Um.

WE COULD USE A LADDER HERE, PEOPLE!!!

What? You say there there are no ladders here? Only more potential chutes? Ah, my TPoG cover hasn't made the Macmillan catalogue (most bookstores buy on cover appeal), and I receive only mininum, bare-bones marketing support from my publisher.

At Space #93, I scribble profanities all over the walls of facebook and start to slide down.
Days and nights turn into endless self-marketing ventures instead of writing ones, trying to get word of my title out there. I also work on what I think will be my "option" book -- an upper YA called JACK KEROUAC IS DEAD TO ME, which I finish in rough draft and my new agent loves.

Oops, might have left out some chutes and ladders, didn't I? As a result of a layoff at an inopportune time, I split with my first agent and am quickly taken on by a new one who is ready to pitch SWIM again after deep revisions. She also loves JACK KEROUAC, but I've started a second "option" effort, called FRANKIE SKY, which she loves too, and we agree to submit that for my option.

At Space #93 (what is it with that space, I ask you?) my editor rejects FRANKIE SKY as too commercial, but loves a new manuscript I've also started called IN SIGHT OF STARS. At Space 94 she's taking it up to the exec board, but unforseen objects sometimes have a trajectory of their own, and, at Space #95 she rejects it. At the same time, new shiny agent #2 -- not so new or shiny anymore -- loses steam with everything, becomes unresponsive to anything to do with my career, and we part ways somewhat less than amicably.

What day is it?

What year is it?

WHAT SPACE AM I ON?!?

At Space #80 -- aw, come on, you didn't really think I would land on Space #80...

At Space #79, I get a shiny, new agent -- one who comes highly recommended by a writer-friend, and in whom I have lots of faith. He takes me on for FRANKIE SKY but asks for revisions which are (gratefully) made. At Space #96 I kick ass (avoiding that damned broken window) and my revisions get approved.
There are just three spaces left that stand between me and a second book deal.

Three.

Little.

Spaces.

And,

one chute.

*stares at dice in hand, and tries not to pull any cat tails.*

- gae