Take the Reins was my first novel and it was a NaNoNovel, which makes me superproud to be part of the NaNo crowd. A lot of people don't like fast drafting and hey, whatever works, but it does for me and I love the spreadsheets and the thrill of getting the words down on the page to meet my (and my editor's!) deadlines.
I'll be working on CHOSEN--the Canterwood super special. It'll keep me from looking at my BlackBerry every 5 seconds to see if I've got a response to an exclusive that I sent to an agent. It's the first and only query then requested sub I've sent since Agent #1, so I'm anxious/excited/curious, etc., to be out in the field again. The type of novel I subbed is VERY different from Canterwood, so that's fun and challenging at the same time.
With Canterwood not on a bi-monthly schedule for the new set of books (after Chosen, anyway it'll leave me time to work on developing proposals for the YA ideas that I have. I still want to write tween books and will continue to do so if I'm lucky enough, but I also want to do YA.
Personally, things have been incredibly busy/stressful with life stuff, but I'm hopeful for a turn around for someone I love very soon. The events of the past few months have definitely put perspective and priorities in place for me and I never want to go back to the person I had been--the 24/7 workaholic. I *love* what I do, but personal issues have shed serious light on what's really important to me and I needed a better balance between work and doing things for/with people I care about.
ANYWAY . . . what's everyone reading? I just started ASH by Malindo Lo. Loving it so far! Share what you're reading!
PS: Team Canterwood, if you're reading this post, the e-mail address for Jess Ashley is for YA only related projects, so keep emailing me at jess_burkhart AT hotmail DOT com. Thanks! :)
