A photo of me in Boone, NC, the town that inspired the fictional Falling Rock, NC, in The After Girls.
I’ve been meaning to announce this for awhile, but between being superstitious/paranoid about telling too early and the little matter of driving across the country, moving into a sublet, and setting to work finding a new apartment, I’ve been a little preoccupied.
That said, the contracts are signed, the revisions (which I completed–I kid you not–in the passenger seat of a 16-foot Budget truck) are in and accepted, and my first official novel, The After Girls, will be coming out from Adams Media/Merit Press Books in hardcover in spring 2013!
Even after getting and accepting the offer, talking to my editor, the talented Jacquelyn Mitchard (of The Deep End of the Ocean fame–good book, if you haven’t read it already), and embarking on a light revision, I don’t think the news really hit me until I saw the cover, which was the exact thing I never knew I wanted, and I will share it here as soon as it’s ready and I’m allowed to. As my editor said, seeing the cover of your book for the first time is like meeting a child–you feel like you’ve known them forever even though you’re seeing them for the first time.
Well, all I can say was that she was right. I’m thrilled that this thing I’ve created is going to be real and on paper, but mostly I’m just thrilled that so many people decided to take a chance on my story, from my amazing agent, Danielle Chiotti, to my friends, family, and boyfriend who supported me the whole time I was writing it, to my Mediabistro writing group who gave me amazing notes, to the editor and publishing team who are putting it on the shelves.
More than that, I’m blessed to be embarking on this new phase of my writing life in a beautiful new city with my wonderful boyfriend, and in a new apartment (we sign a lease next week)–I only have to figure out the little matter of finding a new job.
It’s weird how the good and the bad always seem to come together. My boyfriend and I moved out of NYC literally two days before Hurricane Sandy hit. And even though the coverage has waned in the wake of the election, there are still so many without power, without homes, mourning loved ones, eager to get back to work, having two-hour commutes each morning. I’ve been hesitant to talk about all the good things happening to me during this time, but all I can say is, I’m incredibly blessed–and incredibly grateful–and I’m thinking of the brave people of New York every day.
