Signing my Three-book Scholastic Contract!!!

At last - it's signed and in the mail and I'm getting around to posting pictures!

It's a strange and wonderful feeling after so many years and years and years . . . I still can't *quite* believe it.

Maybe when the check gets here and I make that trip to the bank, ha, ha!

First Page . . . I know, I'm such a tease on those Advance details on Item #2.


Don't forget to put your Jane Hancock on all 4 copies!!!


Don't look at the dying Valentin's Day roses . . . or the messy house background, ahem.


Feelin' the Contract Love, people.



My Purple Contract Signing Shoes! I've always wanted purple shoes - and I splurged.
Feels good, baby! But I can hardly walk in 'em. ;-D


If I had three thumbs I would have used them, hee, hee!




Look what I found underneath my pillow!

Dreams can come true . . .

I'm havin' LUNCH with Publisher's Marketplace!

Here is the official announcement!!! YAY!!!

CHILDREN'S: MIDDLE GRADE/YA

Kimberley Little's THE HEALING SPELL, a story of faith and redemption as a Cajun girl copes with secret guilt over her mother's coma, SECRET RITES OF THE GODDESS, pitched as the YA The Red Tent, a story of mysticism and the ancient desert, in which a girl's faith helps her stay alive, even as the world around her falls apart, and TRAITEUR, in which a new member of the popular clique at school discovers her friends are using voodoo to target her folk healer mother, and she must overcome her own desire for beauty and popularity to stop the black magic and save her mother, to Lisa Sandell at Scholastic, for publication in Summer 2010, Fall 2010 and Summer 2011, by Tracey Adams at Adams Literary (US).


My byline is actually Kimberley Griffiths Little - just in case anybody's wonderin' . . .

AND

They left out part of the title of the third book - it's THE TRAITEUR'S DAUGHTER

But titles often change . . .

It looks kind of odd and strange to see it though - MY ideas there on the page for the whole world to see. I'm just hoping they sound intriguing . . .

Hilarious Writer Jokes

These cracked me up! Stolen from Agent Rachel Gardner.

A writer died and was given the option of going to heaven or hell. She decided to check out each place first. As the writer descended into the fiery pits, she saw row upon row of writers chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they were repeatedly whipped with thorny lashes.

"Oh my," said the writer. "Let me see heaven now."

A few moments later, as she ascended into heaven, she saw rows of writers, chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they, too, were whipped with thorny lashes."Wait a minute," said the writer. "This is just as bad as hell!"

"Oh no, it's not," replied an unseen voice. "Here, your work gets published."


***
There was once a young man who, in his youth, professed his desire to become a great writer. When asked to define great, he said, "I want to write stuff that the whole world will read, stuff that people will react to on a truly emotional level, stuff that will make them scream, cry, howl in pain and anger!" He now works for Microsoft writing error messages.


***
A screenwriter comes home to a burned down house. His sobbing and slightly-singed wife is standing outside. “What happened, honey?” the man asks. “Oh, John, it was terrible,” she weeps. “I was cooking, the phone rang. It was your agent. Because I was on the phone, I didn’t notice the stove was on fire. It went up in second. Everything is gone. I nearly didn’t make it out of the house. Poor Fluffy is--”

“Wait, wait. Back up a minute,” The man says. “My agent called?”

Soul Sisters!

My agent called yesterday and the actual, real live CONTRACT arrived from Scholastic and is sitting on her desk!!!

It was delayed the past couple of months due to the publishing/economic shake-out and the Contracts Department is short-handed, but both my agent and editor kept assuring me ALL WAS FINE AND NOT TO WORRY. (I have a date with them for a *divine manicure* when we all get together in New York because my nails are bitten to the quick!)

What a great gift to arrive this weekend - AND THEN EVEN COOLER - in the course of our email conversation via Blackberry and IPhone, Tracey and I learned that we have birthdays on the VERY SAME DAY - TODAY!!! We're both Valentine baby's!

How cool is that?!?

I LOVE these sort of *coincidences*.

Stay tuned for CONTRACT SIGNING PICTURES next week!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, EVERYONE!!!

Friday What???

1. It's already Friday and tomorrow is a birthday I've been dreading my whole life. 'Nuf said. But a dozen gorgeous roses just got delivered! Although I better have my heart-shaped box of chocolates at the ready to drown my sorrows . . . no worries, my darling hubby never forgets.

2. HIGH CONCEPT BOOKS AND PLOTS - What is it, How do you get it, Write it, Sell it? Go here for some good discussion and explanations: Waxman Agent's Recipe for Success Post

3. Stacy Whitman just posted this: What a line-up of authors - and it's Freakin' FREE!!! I'm sending my son who is going to school there to listen to all the panels and take notes for me. I'll tell him its homework and he can't come home for spring break without it. I'm such a mean Mom.

4. I SPENT THE ENTIRE WEEK REVISING ONE STINKIN' CHAPTER OF MY EGYPT NOVEL!!!

This is not fun. I feel like I forgot how to write.

There are 34 more chapers to go.

I'm sweating.

At this rate I'll be done next Halloween.

But I'm supposed to write a screenplay and another book this year!!!

And go on a research trip in April.

And, And, And . . .

Brenda Bowen, Bowen Press, Harpercollins

Brenda Bowen's new imprint at Harpercollins, Bowen Press is GONE. Just like that. GONE. Brenda FIRED, before her first books are even published this spring. Brenda must be reeling in shock. She was one of the great editors of the last 15 years when her authors started winning BIG publishing awards like Newbery winner Karen Hesse for OUT OF THE DUST which Karen dedicated to Brenda. And now she's out of work? Yikes! (And she's probably only in her 40s).

I'm in shock and yet I never actually worked with her.

I met Brenda for the first time at SCBWI LA in 2007. I was very excited to actually meet her in person and see what she was like and chat because Brenda was the very first editor to write me a personal letter with a rejection way back in the Dark Ages (AKA - "Before computers, email, blogs, blue boards,") She was so sweet and encouraging and that letter helped keep me going in the face of hundreds of rejections which followed over the next decade. I told her that in person a year ago and it felt really good to convey that to her even though she couldn't remember me from Eve. I mean, it's been like 20 years. Okay, we are *not* going to think about THAT.

I also feel like a just dodged a publishing bullet. In November Brenda Bowen came very close to acquiring my novel THE HEALING SPELL when Scholastic came through with a three book deal and we went with them instead. How crazy is that?!

Just when we thought the layoffs and firings and closings were mostly over . . .

Don't Miss the Contest of the Month!!!

The prize packages are FANTASTIC!!! Cyn is one generous chick-a-dee, cutie-pie!

You only have until tomorrow at midnight (Monday) so hurry!!!

Eternal Grand Prize Giveaway Package: in celebration of the Feb. 10 release of Eternal (Candlewick), author Cynthia Leitich Smith is giving away several prize packages, some including signed copies of the novel, tie-in T-shirts, finger puppets, stickers, guardian-angel tokens, and more! See details here.

Deadline midnight CST Feb. 9! All Cynsational readers are eligible to win!

Don't you lurrrve this book? Don't you WANT it???

Wednesday Wanderings

It's an appropo Subject Title since my blog is called Kimberley's Wanderings - so I get to do just that - wander like crazy, ha!

My good friend Cynthia Leitich Smith's new book, ETERNAL is out in FIVE DAYS!!!! JUST FIVE DAYS!!!! I cannot wait to read it!

Here is the delicious and "tantalizing" trailer:



The book cover for EXPLORE WITHIN A MEDIEVAL CASTLE is fantastic. And it's just the kind of book my boys devoured when growing up. Heck, I still buy them all sorts of kid's books, even though they're much older now. Ahem. And even though they are not SUPPOSED to be much older!




Last but not least:

If you want to feel good about yourself as a writer, here is a tidbit from Rachel Gardner whose blog is always uplifting, fun and full of writing and publishing information.

Quote: "It's truly an embarrassment of riches. Every single query that gets to my inbox represents someone's passion, their heart and soul, their hard work, often years of their life. Each one could possibly change lives or inspire or entertain or teach... or all of the above. There is unlimited potential to change the world in my inbox everyday! I am humbled and awed at the privilege of being the recipient of such treasure.

Thank you to all of you writers who put yourselves out there, make the effort, follow your passion, and pursue that publishing dream. I admire and salute you."

Isn't she darling sweet? Go here to read the full post: Rachel Gardner, Rants and Ramblings of a Literary Agent