Took the Leap!!!!!! AAAAHHHHH!!!!!

We call it The OMG Call, those of us who experienced that phone conversation on both ends of the line and now had only half of our hearing left. A friend had called to tell me she had just discovered the sister of a friend was a literary agent in NYC. "ISN'T FANTASTIC!!!??? ", she screamed at me. Because of the overwhelming ringing in my ear it took a few seconds to let her words register. "YOU KNOW I AM GOING INTO THE CITY IN TWO WEEKS SO I CAN TAKE SOMETHING TO HER. PROMISE ME YOU WILL GIVE ME SOMETHING!!!! YOU HEAR ME??"(no, I can't hear a darned thing right now) I figured what the heck. I will send this person a sampling of what I had to see if I could get some kind of response. Sort of a barometer reading on my stuff. So I printed off some chapters and sent them along.

Didn't hear for almost three months. I had the stomach butterflies for the first couple weeks wondering if the agent had actually read it (or tossed it in the can); what impression she had(loved it? hated it?) ; did she share it with her buddies (and they all had a good laugh?). As weeks gradually flowed into months I eventually forgot about it. Then what do you know I received an email from her. I waited a day to open it -- guess I wasn't prepared to read a 'don't-give-up-your-day-job' letter. To my pleasant (and relieved) surprise she said that I had a smooth, readable style and should keep on writing and submit something later. Wow. And the kicker? I looked this professional up on the internet and the agency she works for is one of the biggest, handling huge contracts with all kinds of best-selling authors. Glad I didn't know that before....

I haven't finished that novel yet. The plot continues to expand, dialogues stream with all sorts of voices, characters keep on developing. My dream of publication burns bright. I'm having the best time challenging myself to draw the storyline out of my head and craft the written word to precisely reflect the lively, multi-layered tale that demands my attention day and night. My biggest desire is that when I've finished and the reader begins the first page of the first chapter they will be pulled into a world (my world!) which commands their complete and utter attention...makes them forget meals and miss appointments and lose a little sleep...that kind of stuff. Big dreams, I know. We shall see. Wish me luck!