The Details No One Wants

So, first off, I'm obviously thrilled. I had a lovely call with Sandy Lu at Book Wyrm Literary Agency and felt so seen, and so excited to work with her. When she ended the call with an offer, I was on cloud nine. I'm now officially signed, and that much closer to having THE FOX-FIRE WITCH published and in your hands.

But this journey took time. Here are some of the things that have happened since I started querying THE FOX-FIRE WITCH:

• I got engaged!

• My niece was born!

• My nephew was born!

• I got married!

• I quit my job.

• I went to Italy.

• I went to the Eras Tour.

• I was a bridesmaid in my best friend's wedding.

• My grandmother died.

• I took a 24 hour train ride from Minnesota to Montana.

• I got a new sewing machine.

• I've read 64 books.

• I wrote two more manuscripts.

• I made some friends.

• I've spent over 100 hours in both Horizon Forbidden West and Tears of the Kingdom.

This is not meant to be a drag or a brag. More just a comment on how long this industry can take, and how life doesn't stop while you're waiting. I write because the alternative is going insane. I write because I can't not write. But you can be the best writer in the world and not have luck on your side.

I'm really, really excited to take the next step in my career. But I was really excited about a lot of things in the past year and a half, and I'm sure I'm going to be excited about more things in the future. It's really hard to not measure my worth in my on paper achievements, really hard to not compare myself to others who are leagues ahead of me.

But they're not me. And they're not you. Only you can write the book you're writing, and with time, luck, and stubbornness, you might even finish it. I'm really grateful to everyone I've had along the way, and really hopeful for what comes next.

I started querying THE FOX-FIRE WITCH on April 5th, 2023. I queried 59 agents before deciding to shelve it, and work on something else. I got my offer of representation on September 2nd, 2024. THE FOX-FIRE WITCH is an 89k Adult Fantasy with horror and romance elements.

So, basically this whole blog post could be summed up in: I've got an agent and I'm really excited, but it took a long time, a lot of work, and a fair bit of luck. And you can only control one bit of that equation. So, keep writing and let what happens, happen. The rest is confetti.