You can know anything. It's all there. You just have to find it.

-Neil Gaiman

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Monday, April 28, 2014

The Surreal Life

A few weeks ago (April 10) I was standing in my kitchen, in my pajamas, drinking weak lukewarm coffee and listening to my daughter laughing at an episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog (which I later find out is not really appropriate for a 4 year old to watch) when my phone buzzed.

It jittered on the counter.  An email.

And it wasn't Living Social ad or a Real Simple blurb.

It was from my agent.

I looked at it and instinctively said, "Shit."

Not because I don't like hearing from my agent.  She's great.  It's because lately, all I had been hearing was bad news.

But then I looked at the first few words that popped up.

"Mindy, I am very pleased..."

Then I said, "Oh, Shit!"



All right, I'll back up a bit.

About a month or so ago, my agent had told me that Simon Pulse was looking for a writer for a new survival series they were developing, and could I write about 30 pages and a synopsis about teenagers having to survive in a difficult situation, something like Vertical Limit or that story about the guy who gets stuck in a canyon and has to cut his own arm off.

I could make up whatever I wanted.

So I did.

And it was fun to write.  Really fun.  I immediately liked the characters.  I even let Matt read it.

Matt said, "Hey, it's good!"

That means it's good.

Then I sent it to my agent and she really liked it, too.  Then she sent it on to Simon & Schuster.

Then I didn't hear anything for a few weeks.

But it turns out they loved it.

And they are going to publish it.  Next fall.

And last week I got to speak on the phone with my new editor, Nicole, and she was absolutely nice and wonderful.

But I don't have it written yet.  I only had thirty pages.

No problem.

So now I have a book contract and a deadline and it is almost a weird anti-climatic feeling I have been walking around with.  I have a 2 book deal with a major publisher.

That is something I have been wanting to say for a very long time.

I've been thinking about it for years.

Planning.  Practicing.  Doing the things I needed to do.  Getting my hopes up.  Getting disappointed.  Going back and starting over.

I think that was the trick.

Just keep going.  Eventually, you'll get somewhere.

But then you find that it wasn't a destination, it was just another door, one I'm very happy to walk through.

And now I'm going to get back to work...


3 comments:

Tez Miller said...

So happy for you, lass! And for me, because I'll be able to buy and read ;-)

Mindy said...

I know! I'll send you a signed copy, Tez! All the way to Melbourne

Tez Miller said...

If it's World English Rights, chances are it may be published by S&S down here, too :-)