Good News / Greater News

I am officially addicted to breakfast burritos...
No. That's not the good news....
It's quite bad, actually.

The good news is that the Storymaker's Conference went very well. I learned a lot from writer's boot camp, talked it up with talented authors, and overall had fun. None of my first chapters placed in the contest, but I received great feedback. I was very happy to see that my most recent works show a marked improvement from the ones I started back when I was 15. Also I went to the Whitney Awards dinner and watched two of my favorite new authors recieve awards, James Dashner for The 13th Reality, and Brandon Sandersen for The Hero of Ages. Good job, guys!

The greater news? (Drum Roll) My novel The Dragon's Heart is now in the hands of editor Lisa Mangum of Shadow Mountain Press. Our pitch session was wonderful and nothing like I expected. We just have to wait and see what the verdict will be. Hopefully all of the countless hours and the grimy sweat has made an improvement, so the novel will stand on its own. I did have a strange urge to get started on book 2 yesterday. Very Strange! Why now, the day after I gave her the manuscript? Anyway, Lisa is a really cool person, and she writes too! Her first book, The Hourglass Door, is coming out soon. Watch for it. From what I've read so far, I'm hooked!

This week's agenda: Get ready for a roadtrip to Chicago, meet some of my fans out there, mingle with the family, and see the lil babies! So excited. Until then, I'm thinking of rereading some of my epic, and then start chapter 4, and possibly a chapter 1 for the next installment. Busy, busy.

Thank you everyone for your prayers, wishes, chi, karma, persistant nagging for more chapters, and heartening encouragement. We have a small victory here. I never would've gotten this far without you. Give yourselves a huge pat on the back. You deserve it more than I do.