Submissions & Queries

(Also posted on Bark) It’s summer, I don’t have to go back to full time teaching until the fall and in between the projects on my to do list for this time off (garden work that will never happen, filling out the paperwork for becoming an American citizen, brushing the dog, planning for lessons, watching bad TV) I thought I would do some writing. However, my motivation to put words on paper plummeted to the lowest low when Monday’s mail brought  two rejection letters. Scott, Shira, and Sam have already “barked” on the subject and I don’t have anything to …

When I read Rita Golden Gelman’s Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World in 2005, I immediately wanted to know more about the fascinating author. Actually, what I really wanted to do right after reading the book was to sell all my stuff, pack a backpack and start living a nomadic life like hers. I had travelled around in South East Asia and Europe for most of 2002 and was very keen on adapting that lifestyle full time. After I calmed down a bit, I logged on to Rita’s website instead of listing all my possessions …

Just heard from the editor at Bylines that the new calendar is out, including my contribution to the writer’s insights on the writing life that appear on each weekly page. I’m not sure which page my contribution is on, but here’s what I wrote:           Clark Kent and Me While his alter-ego used super powers to fight super villains and keep Metropolis safe, Clark Kent wrote for the Daily Planet. My life is the exact opposite of his, well kind of. I’m not a super-hero during the day–I’m a science teacher–but my alter-ego is a writer. It is now said …

Haven’t been posting for a while, but that’s because I’ve been busy with new and wonderful things. My friend Jere and I traveled to the beautiful Whidbey Island for their writers’ association’s annual conference—and what a great conference it was. The fantastic nature, the excellent volunteers, and the intimate and casual atmosphere made this my favorite conference ever. One of the reasons I’m so partial to it is because while pitching for an agent, I got my first FULL MANUSCRIPT REQUEST ever for Paved Paradise. So, that’s what I’ve been working on. Even though the manuscript was completed and reviewed …

I am officially a writer! I have received no less than two rejection letters, both from agents, and both very nice. Considering that I have submitted my manuscript–each on the receiving person’s invitation–to three agents and one editor, I think two personal responses is a pretty good result. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m of course bummed that these are rejections, but if you talk to any published writer, they’ll tell you about the massive amounts of rejections they got before publishing. I’m very proud of my two. One is from a senior agent at a big name house in …