Announcement!

Well, I've been wanting to say these words for some time now: I HAVE AN AGENT!

And all last week, I've been absolutely desperate to add: AND IT'S JESSICA SINSHEIMER!!!!!!!!!

Time for the dance of joy!

This is how she makes me feel. 

When I began thinking about how I wanted to tell our agent story, I immediately got a little panicky.  We do not have a traditional courtship to share, and I didn't want Jessica to get flooded with unconventional emails and the like, so I asked her if she didn't mind if I shared exactly how we got together.

She, being the wonderful and awesome human she is, said of course.

Ok, how'd I find Jessica?  A contest.  Specifically, Cupid's Agent Invasion (AWESOME blog with AWESOME contests, btw.  www.cupidslitconnection.blogspot.com).  But that's not the unconventional part.

How'd I get her interest?  Tweeting about a WIP I hadn't even started.

Oh snap, you guys are thinking, that is really not smart of you, sword-bride-girl.

Oh, I know, I know.

Anyway, it went a little something like this.  Jessica had tweeted that once an agent and author corresponded enough, you may want to start talking about WIPs.  She had asked for my manuscript a month prior, and I tweeted back a little bit about my next project.

Jessica's a foodie-- I knew this.  I thought the tweet would make her smile and maybe she'd remember it.  I said, "My WIP is about a time-travelling food critic."

I expected a smiley-face at best.

I got a "tell me more".

Oh dear.  I hadn't started GASTROPHYSICS yet. I had an outline and a query.  Ok, ok, I'm a nerd who writes queries ahead of time. Sue me.

Anyway, I sent her the details (she knew I had zero word count) and she said she squealed out loud in her office when she read it.  Then five minutes later she clarified the squeal and bounce was a good thing and that her intern may be terrified of her.

So we begin corresponding about this WIP.  Then I wrote a little. 

THEN SHE ASKED TO READ THE LITTLE TINY SAMPLE.

Oh no you didn't! is what you're thinking, isn't it.  Why on earth would you share a rough, unfinished first draft, unbeta-ed, with your dream agent?!  ARE YOU CRAZY?!

She was very persuasive.  I sent it. She asked for more.  I wrote more.  This little dance continued and one day that email about "when's a good time to talk" showed up in my inbox and...

... The rest is history. 

Needless to say, I'm thrilled and truthfully a little smitten.  We've talked on the phone a few times and she makes me positively giddy. We're in sync in so many ways, it's actually baffling to me how I could find someone so perfect to represent me.  Plus, Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency is so amazing and prestigious!  Wow!

Ok, so there it is.  I have been smiling for a week straight thanks to this funny, professional, smart and charming agent.  My agent.  :D