15 manuscripts and counting…

Thanks to Beth Phelan and her #DVpit initiative, I’ve got a new agent! I’m happy to be represented by Jennifer Laughran of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency who impressed me with her honesty about the industry’s problems and its potential. Next week we’ll be developing a strategy for my many unpublished manuscripts (I’ve got 11 picture books stories and 4 novels in progress). Then there are the projects I haven’t started yet that keep tugging at my brain: Dragons in a Bag is about a Brooklyn witch who carries four miniature dragons in her purse (like I do!), and All I Have is a picture book story that might end up being a short poem. And I spent a whole day last week dreaming about my Black girl shieldmaiden/Viking from The Ring (I’ve even designed the cover of that book). I find that when I have a project to finish—this month it’s The Ghosts in the Castle—then I start coming up with new ideas as a way to procrastinate. I got 2000 words written on Tuesday but then found out that my uncle passed away in the Caribbean; yesterday morning I got up early for a school visit and found an email from my mother letting me know my aunt in British Columbia had passed away, too. I’m not able to be with my family as they grieve, but this morning I went for a run and then came home and threw out the gummies I’ve been snacking on all week. We’ve lost so many people this year and it’s made me think about my own mortality (and the contents of Prince’s vault). What would be left unfinished if I died tomorrow? Would I have any regrets? Have I said all that I need to say? I intend to continue self-publishing; even with an agent, I won’t be able to get all of my stories out into the world unless I publish some of them myself. Some are more urgent than others, and some won’t appeal to a mainstream press. It’s good to have options and self-publishing will always be there if doors continue to close (I’m cautiously optimistic but agents can only sell what editors are willing to buy). Tomorrow isn’t promised, so give the stories inside of you a chance to live in the world…