Finding a new best friend

the first meager, but tasty, harvest

In spring, a young woman's thoughts turn to fancy...or strawberries...no, wait, it's fancies, though, in my case, it wasn't a romantic sort of fancy. 

There are many similarities between looking for a literary agent and looking for a spouse/life-partner. You want someone who not only complements you (not compliments you, though that is nice too) - whose strengths help to support you in areas where you're weak, and who gently, though firmly, guides you away from metaphoric rocky shores where you might make a terrible wreck of yourself - but also whose presence brightens your day and who gets you, maybe not all the time, but overall and in general.

For my spouse, I also wanted someone who can cook, but that wasn't applicable to my agent search. ;)

In all honesty, while there were a few agents whose personalities seemed interesting and endearing enough, from what I could gather online, I never really had a dream agent, or agents, like other writers I know. Just like when I was in the market for a significant other, I trusted that I would know when I met The Right One. My gut instincts have rarely steered me wrong (though I admit to having been fooled by some highly skilled sociopaths). I suspect my not having had a "dream agent" previously was because, at that point, Ella was not yet an agent, but an editor.

Like a dutiful writer, I submitted regularly, albeit not profusely, to agents and editors. Joining Julie Hedlund's 12x12 Challenge was an excellent investment that forced me to submit since I paid for a gold membership that comes with access to agents who agreed to give 12x12 members a fair reading.

12x12 also proved fateful because that's where I first met [insert superlatives...yes, I'm making you work] Ella Kennen. I gave the nitty gritty fun and exciting details of how I came to be signed by Ella at the blog of my dear friend, and partner in the Penguin Posse critique group, Sylvia.

For this post, I'm going to sing praises of Ella. If only I had taken music lessons for longer than one year of piano and two years of ukelele (don't laugh) - 12 years of choral singing didn't teach me too much about music - I would compose a song and literally be able to sing her praises.

Ella's effervescence, wittiness, and easy going demeanor belie her deep insightfulness and thoughtfulness. Besides being a brilliant editor, she is also knowledgeable on a variety of topics, and is a staunch champion of ideals I hold dear, such as human rights and homeschooling.

I already knew, from myriad of emails, PMs, and DMs I had exchanged with Ella, that she and I got along well (see the second paragraph about complements). When we had our first Google Hangout, we spent a good bit of time giggling while taking care of the more serious business side of things. That was when I knew that Ella, even if she never became my agent, was someone that I'd let into my small circle of trusted and best friends.

It's a thrill to get an agent, for sure, but it's a much, much bigger thrill when the agent is as honorable, caring, and intelligent a person as Ella is. Tangentially, Chinese and Klingons both like to talk honor; I'm still waiting on the genetic results to tell me if I'm part Klingon.

So, dear Ella, here's a toast to a beautiful friendship and an agent-client relationship! xo

Sparkling wine courtesy of the Penguins who gave me this delectable gift basket:

And, a shout-out to sweet Catherine who made a congratulatory video for me. :)

I hope May has been as rewarding a month for you as it has been for me!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Confessions of an insomniac

I found this in my Draft Posts folder. It dated back to 2009 but still seemed relevant, so thought I'd publish it. :)
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I don't know which precipitated what (is that grammatically correct?), I have too many rambling thoughts in my head and therefore I can't sleep, or I can't sleep and therefore engage in too many rambling thoughts. Chicken or egg? It's the ouroboros (the vicious circle definition) of my life. It's the curse of being introspective.

So what sorts of thoughts go through my head?

- the nature of friendship (dh tells me to write a book about it; I think that's going to be his standard response now because I have too many things to prattle on to him about)

- the myopicness of human perception

- why chickens are so strange

- I know exactly when I'm being snubbed

- knee-jerk reactions that make no sense

- designs for various things: cards, jewelry, soaps, hydraulic systems (just kidding!)

Amended to add: These days, I also have story lines running through my head, or I'm trying to work through a particular sticky plot problem. It must have taken me over an hour to fall asleep last night. On the bright side, once I'm asleep, I pretty much stay asleep.

What about you? Do you have trouble falling asleep due to too many thoughts in your head? What do you think about when you're thinking too much? ;)

"Happiness depends upon ourselves." ~ Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

I wasn't going to blog today

...but a couple of things are worth mentioning.

Firstly, of course, is the historical and momentous occasion of the day. Either result from the election would have been historical - either first African-American president or first woman vice-president. I don't usually discuss politics or religion, so this will be short.

As a minority, I am happy to see Obama get elected because it sends a wonderful message to my children and others like them that they, too, can grow up to be president (although I'm really encouraging them to be farmers, carpenters, or brain surgeons...LOL!). I'm also grateful that he appears to be a genuinely nice person, as I'm generally not fond of politicians. Since various world leaders appear to like and respect him, I am hopeful that we will now be able to repair some of our heavily damaged relations with other countries. I sincerely wish him luck in solving all the pressing problems currently in our country.

Secondly, and, in my own life, no less important, is a lovely friendship award from Trisha of Suds to Love. As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm so truly fortunate to have found a community of generous and caring folks in the blogging community. I am supposed to pass this along to 8 others I feel deserving of this award, but I adore more than 8 of you, and you know that! So, I just want to thank Trisha from the bottom of my heart (you should go check out her blog and her very adorable chocolate labs)! And now, I have to get back to soaping and writing NaNoWriMo.

Happy Wednesday to all!

"The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet." ~ James Oppenheim