Scribbles & Munch

      In the words of prize fishermen the world 'round: I have a nibble!
      One of the 44 agencies I queried has requested a synopsis and the first five chapters of my manuscript! To quote from their email, they are "very interested" in my novel. I would put in a smiley face emoticon here, but for it to accurately represent my feelings it would need to be about four feet wide, and most computer screens simply do not accommodate that sort of graphic.
      In my elation, I had to breathe for an hour and a half and go walk a mile before I could gather my thoughts enough to write this post. When I read the email I literally gasped and shouted incoherently--so loudly, in fact, my husband panicked that I had seen another "water bug"* in the kitchen. Then I jumped up and down like a manic five year-old and produced enthusiastic noises (not sure that completely removed his concern, but at least he wasn't looking for insects at that point). It's still several steps away from being published - heck, it's still several steps away from even signing an agent - but it's a START! It means there are POSSIBILITIES! And best of all, it means I'm not entirely delusional: I do, in fact, have the potential to write something that somebody, somewhere, wants to read. For lack of a better description, it feels like I have a half dozen leprechauns bouncing on pogosticks in a perfect spring meadow that seems to have spontaneously appeared somewhere in the region of my stomach. It's a wonderful feeling!
     Also, oddly enough, it makes me want to eat health food. Which is strange, I would have expected I would want to go out and celebrate with an enormous serving of Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream, but instead I feel like eating a crisp salad of farmer's market produce. I'll probably hedge my bets and do both.
     I am still waiting to hear back from 38 agencies. Not all of them will reply; many make it abundantly clear on their websites that they only contact writers if they're interested. I won't be certain of who's interested and who isn't until the end of August, which is the furthest out any of them say to expect a response. But in the meantime, I have an email to reply to--with very important attachments!
     Wish me luck!


*For those of you who are less learned in household pests, "water bug" refers to the American Cockroach, a large, brown, ugly f@*%3& who fortunately seems to travel solo, but likes to make an appearance in my tiny apartment once or twice a year. Midwesterners are used to this, apparently, but Pacific Northwesterners such as myself are gloriously ignorant of roaches, and whenever I see one I have the sort of meltdown one might expect in somebody who had just witnessed a horrific traffic accident occur a few feet away. My husband likes to remedy their appearance with a diabolic spray of "Raid." I, in my panic, generally go for the "rapid application of extreme pressure with the sole of your shoe" method of disposal.