No shoes, no news

Visitors to the paradise on earth that is the Maldives will recognise the title above. Sadly, I'm not currently diving with manta rays, but it did seem an appropriate phrase for my state at the moment; I twisted my ankle this weekend and so am confined to my fake Uggs for the next week or so. Definitely no shoes.

And the no news part?

Ok, time to break my silence about this agent thing. And a bit more.

So there was an agent who was interested in my children's book. She emailed me, said she'd like to meet to discuss ways of developing my ideas. Hurrah! I couldn't meet her immediately because I was out of town, so put her off for a week. Then when I returned, she couldn't meet me for a couple of weeks because she was out of the country. Fine, no harm done. Then she gets back to the UK and asks if there have been any developments with anyone else (she knows that a couple of other interested parties have the manuscript). Nothing significant, I say, and does she want to make a date to meet now?

Silence.

For over a week now.

The sensible part of me says that she's been away so has no doubt a lot to catch up on. So I'm probably at the bottom of her list - that's understandable. However, there's another part of me that thinks maybe she's just not that keen. I need someone to be keen. I'll consider all manner of changes, I'll rewrite like a madwoman, but GOD I need someone to be keen. Enthusiasm is so important, don't you think?

Here's something else to thicken the plot:

I've been keeping a little secret from you all in bloggerland. I had some interest from a publisher - a big publisher - back in October. I didn't want to blog about it at the time because it seemed so huge and exciting that I thought I might jinx it. Basically, an editor rang me up and told me how much they liked my book. The stuff of dreams, seriously. This was followed by a couple of brief but friendly emails and the promise to be in touch shortly. I hadn't heard anything by early December, so I gently enquired to see what was going on. I got another friendly reply - the editor said they were so sorry to keep me hanging and were discussing my book with collegues and that they hoped to be in touch shortly. They asked if I'd had any interest from other publishers? Nothing significant, I replied.

Silence.

For 2 months.

So the sensible part of me knows that things move slowly on Planet Publisher. I've read oh so many tales of editors sitting on a book - for 6 months, a year, whatever - then suddenly leaping into action. The other part of me is thinking it's all over.

Life has been incredibly frantic the last 4 months, so I haven't exactly had enough time to pimp my wares to my best advantage. What both agent and publisher have in common is that it seems that they're not going to bite until someone else does. (Should I have told a few porky pies about how in demand the book is? Not my style.) What we all have in common is that we are all going to be in the same room next week at the launch of the anthology that my story is featured in. I know.

How do I handle this? Do I prompt them both before the event and give them a chance to put me out of my misery in private?

Or do I wait til the big night and let them dump me over Champagne and nibbles?

Shag, Marry or Chuck off a cliff?

I have been busy recreating that bit out of Close Encounters when Richard Dreyfuss builds a big hill out of clay in his front room . Except with clothes.

Deciding which clothes to take to the US is unbearable. I love my clothes. I'm no fashionista - in fact, recent viewing of old Spice Girl videos has reaffirmed my belief that my fashion development stopped circa 1998 - but I have a lot of stuff. I'm your basic jeans and t-shirt kind of girl; there's a part of me that will be Forever Student, mixed with a fair old dash of theatricality and a slight hint of Rock Chick. I mainly do High Street, with the occasional well chosen label and a lot of Vintage - dammit, I was into Vintage before it got a capital V! I adore cashmere, have more boots than shoes and own a vast collection of Fat Face chenille socks (an invaluable writing tool). I have a thing about oversized pajama bottoms. I wear a different hat almost everyday and I can never have too many wrap dresses, long coats, scarves and denim.

I'm a sentimental horder. I have a pair of Converse from 1991 that I bought in Australia when I was backpacking and simply cannot get rid of because they have been through so much with me. I have a skirt from when I was 10 - it's been altered, but I STILL wore it up till about 5 years ago because it reminds me of being 10. I have a couple of my Dad's shirts (he died 7 years ago) that make me smile when I wear them to paint the flat or clean the kitchen floor.

I cannot throw anything out. The thought of storing these things for 2 years and them not seeing the light of day makes me feel a bit glum and pointless. The thought of taking them to the States makes me feel ridiculous.

There's such a skill in being able to pack a capsule wardrobe. One of my oldest friends recently went to Dubai for a week. She was unsure of what to take and showed me her suitcase. The case was large, and rattling around in the bottom somewhere were 3 casual dresses, a skirt, 2 tops and a swimming costume. I was gobsmacked. Where were all the clothes? She turned her back for a few minutes and I chucked in some more items, so panicked was I on her behalf. When I went on honeymoon in 2006, I took 14 bikinis. Yes, 14. And a swimming costume. And 2 tankinis. 3 sarongs. 4 coverups. And that's only the swimwear. We were only away for 2 weeks; some days I changed 4 times. It was fabulous.

Yet, recently I've been stuck in a sartorial rut. A combination of stress, no time and weight gain has left me wearing the same pair of jeans and uber-comfy wooly pullys. I'm at a place in my life where it's hard to imagine when I'll be slipping out in my amazing platform-stripper-boots and that suede mini skirt. Am I {gasp} now too old to wear such items? Should I store 'em or ship 'em...or chuck 'em?

Friends say I'll buy lots of new exciting stuff while I'm out there. So in every drawer there are a million decisions to be made. When I said I was creating a hill of clothes, actually it's more acurate to say there are 3 hills: US-bound, storage and charity shop. Shag, Marry or Chuck off a Cliff. Currently, it's safe to say I'm doing a lot of shagging.

Brain Too Full

The thing is, when I haven't written for a little while I forget that I can do it. I haven't written for about 2 months now and that part of my brain is only just beginning to kick back into action. There's only so much that I can hold in my head at one time. Running my business, preparing to sell my business, the move to the States and all that's associated with it...that's enough for now. I cannot wait until I have the time and head-space to start writing again! I'm fair aching to write, but there are not enough hours in the day and I just have to jolly well wait, like the patient girl I'm not.

So the proposed meeting with the Agent Who Quite Likes My Book hasn't happened yet. It was supposed to be this week, but for reasons I'm not at liberty to explain here it has been postponed. Nothing I can do about that; it's frustrating but there's no way round it. Nuff said.

On the America move, I'm busy stuffing myself with Britishness while I still can. I'm stockpiling Marmite, Tetley's tea and Dairy Milk chocolate to take, and packing my Spaced, Blackadder and Monty Python box sets for when I want a bit of home. I love the States and am so grateful for the opportunity to live there for a while, but I get the feeling that I will really miss the BBC, British accents and Balti. Still, I'm not going to fret about it. 2 years without hearing a Cor Blimey or Why Aye Man isn't going to kill me, and I'm sure Boston has a curry house.

So much to do! Must get packing them boxes!

Still here...just!

A belated Happy Christmas and Happy New Year!

Oh lordy, I can't believe that I haven't blogged for a month...well, actually I can as it's been a crazy time. It actually feels weird to be sitting here typing again; I haven't written anything in the last 6 or 7 weeks and my fingers have forgotten how to do it.

Anyway, the news in brief:

1 Work has been insane. I've been producing a pantomime for my theatre company and the hours have been really, really long. I've felt exhausted since mid-November and have had quite a lot of travelling and mucho stress. I've even had to go on stage as an understudy for one of my actors who was rushed to hospital. It was a terrifying 48 hours of worry over my actress and being utterly freaked out over having to act again after several years of working behind the scenes. Anyway, good news is she's ok again and I'm back behind the scenes again! I actually enjoyed being on stage once I was in the middle of it, but I will never forget the fear I felt beforehand! I used to take this in my stride, god how things have changed!

2 I've been really quite poorly. Not anything major, but enough to make me take to my bed - tonsillitis, cold-turning-into-flu. I'm still not completely over it, it's been over 3 weeks now and I feel utterly SHENT and a bit old.

3 BIG NEWS!! The Agent Who Might Be Interested (see previous posts) is still interested and wants to meet me! Aaargh! Very exciting.
I wouldn't say she's been particularly effusive about my book, but she has said that she feels it has potential. She thinks some of it needs work, so I guess she's going to suggest a bit of a rewrite, which I suppose is all part of the normal way of things. Will keep you posted.

4 Just to redress the balance, I had another rejection from another agent!

5 BIG NEWS AGAIN!! I'm moving. To the USA. In about 7 weeks.
My husband has been offered a job for 2 years in Boston; it's been a possibility for a few months now but we only got final confirmation just before Christmas. I'm hugely excited, not least because it means I'll be able to WRITE FULL TIME! But it does only give me 7 weeks to sell my business (impossible, but I need to get the wheels in motion), pack up our lives and ship/store/sell our belongings, rent out our flat in London whilst working at the day job and trying to keep my writing up! (How the hell I'm going to manage to do rewrites for the agent in the midst of all of this - heaven knows - but I guess you find a way, huh?) I'm so nervous about getting everything done, and I'm really unsure as to how this might affect my chances of signing with an agent in the UK. More about all of that in another post...

So that's the catch up! I'll post more on each soon, but now I MUST do my bloody tax return before my accountant has a coronary.

Putting It About A Bit

Earlier this week I printed out my manuscript of my children's book, planted a kiss on the coversheet (don't worry, not a lipsticky one) and sent it on its merry way to The Agent Who is Interested and Wants to See More.

Fly, fly, fly, my pretty one!

Call it denial or pessimism or preoccupation with various other mad and crazy things that are going on in my life, but I have a feeling that this will come to nought. I'm normally generally optimistic, but I just have a nagging doubt that this will turn out to be THE ONE. Can't be more specific - and it's certainly nothing to do with the agent involved - it's just something in my gut that is telling me not to get my hopes up. So with that in mind, I'm going to submit to another couple of agents. Everyone knows/will know that they're not the only ones looking at my book, so hopefully no one will be too put out.

Got to give myself a fighting chance, gotta spread the love!

Rejection 3

Just so I don't get too big for my boots...! The postman brought me another response from the original batch of agents I had targeted for my children's book.

Quite funny actually, as this one arrived hot on the heels of the email from The Glorious Agent Who is Interested and Wanted to See More. The fact that someone out there thinks I'm worth a second look really did take the edge off this new rejection!

So, it was a form letter. In fact, it wasn't even a letter, it was a slip! And they sent my manuscript back too, in spite of the fact I'd asked them to recycle it. I have to say it was pristine. I don't believe for a moment that it has been read, or if so, then only the first page.

None of this bothers me. The reason? I was at a writers' conference a couple of weeks ago and spoke to some people in the know who told me that this particular agent has very recently left their agency (I got the impression it wasn't amicable) and will be setting up a new agency in the New Year. The people I spoke to told me not to submit yet. Ah. Already had submitted. Oops.

So, I'd already written that one off in my head, with a view to finding the agent's new contact details and re-submitting to them in 2008. Which to be honest, I probably still will! I honestly don't think that they've seen my ms...and if I'm wrong, well, no doubt I'll get another slip!

Third Time Lucky...

I haven't blogged or written anything for a while as I've been working crazy hours, seven days a week for the last couple of weeks. I'm sooo tired. The finger is better though - thanks for your concern about it!

I'll post more detail later, but in the meantime, a bit of news...

...an agent wants to read my kids' book!!

I got an email yesterday. She'd read my first 3 chapters and synopsis and wants me to send the rest! Yay!

Am thrilled. Knackered, but thrilled. Even if it comes to nought I'm hugely encouraged. Third time lucky indeed.