A Bit of News!

Hi all! I don’t know where the past few months went. My kids have grown inches since I last updated my blog. INCHES! OK, so I’m being dramatic. The slippery slope toward summer and then the summer months themselves can be somewhat busier for a SAHM/writer with two young boys, so I had to shuffle some priorities. Unfortunately, this yummy blog took a backseat. Now, it’s going back into the driver’s seat for a while, as I have a couple of reviews and tasty recipes to post. Be on the lookout!

In the meantime, I have some writerly news. I am now represented by Stephanie Fretwell-Hill of Red Fox Literary. Cue the fireworks, the sparklers, and even the whoopie cushions! I am a thrilled, thrilled lady, and am about to burst with smiles and exclamation points!

I began focusing on kid’s literature in early 2015, but have been a writer all of my life. Think diaries, journals, school newspapers, journalism major, public relations executive, etc. Always writing. I took a break from writing to launch and run a pie company for a couple of years, and when that didn’t go gangbusters like Starbucks (I jest), I had to go back to the drawing board and figure out: what am I going to be when I grow up? The dreaded question. The answer popped in my head after making up the bajillionth bedtime story for my sons. Why not mesh together two of my passions — writing and children? Yes. Yes! I can do this! So, off I went taking in all the information and research I could find about children’s literature.

My path to this point has been filled with lots and lots of learning via SCBWI (the Austin chapter), 12X12, Picture Book Summit, The Writing Barn, and Writer’s Digest webinars, among so many other resources I’ve culled through along the way. I joined fantastic critique groups and have writing partners I meet with on a weekly basis, if not more. I’ve had loads of fun with online contests (#PBParty, #PitchMAS) and Twitter hashtag events (#PitMad, #PBPitch) to push myself and my manuscripts out into the ether. I’ve queried. And queried. And queried. I’ve received my fair share of rejections, which I call badges of honor, because, heck, I’m putting myself out there. And then one day I didn’t get rejected. Really, I didn’t know what to do with that information. I didn’t go all Sally Fields or anything, but my back straightened a little bit. My shoulders pulled back. My head tilted a little higher. It feels good. But now the real, real, FOR REAL work starts. So, my learning of this fantastic craft will continue as I move forward with my kid lit career. Thank goodness, because I adore it. Every. Last. Bit.