When I shared my labor story the other day (or rather my false alarms story), what I didn't mention was receiving an email is what convinced me to go to the hospital.

No, I'm not crazy. Yes, I'm completely totally almost serious.

Let me explain.

My CP and BFF Nikki said she was certain that once I went into labor, I would get an offer from a literary agent. And when my contractions were still going, I got an email from Jessica S. of Golden Wheat Literary asking me a lot of questions about my manuscript (BROKEN BEYOND THE MEADOW) and asked if I had any other projects.

Jessica had favorited a pitch of mine during #PitMad in March, and by the end of the month had requested my full. Although she had technically found me, I had been planning on querying her if she didn't find my tweets/pitches during #PitMad. While I was in pain, I had a momentary, "THIS IS IT!" moment.

Once Levi was born, Jessica tweeted me and told me not to worry about the email. But, I mean, I was way too excited to listen to her.

Never mind that I just gave birth, I had an agent asking some very intriguing questions! So, after coming home from the hospital, I emailed her almost immediately.

Ok, ok... it was something like 72 hours after or something like that.

Annnnnyyyyyyway. It wasn't that long at all before she emailed me back and told me she was interested in representing me.

I. Flipped. Out.


As did my husband, my mom (who was in town), Nikki (over the phone), and just about everyone else that I told. I was over the moon. But, of course, I had to go through a phone call first.

I have to admit, talking to Jessica was the best part. We really seemed to click. Even though she kept telling me she was rambling, it made me even more excited because I could tell she was just as enthusiastic about my book as I was. We talked for over an hour, and when it was done I wanted to accept her on the spot.

But I had other agents to notify. So I asked for a week to decide, and then I got to work. The time seemed to drag as I waited to hear from other agents and talked to other clients of Jessica's. All her clients sang praises, but still I waited. After praying about it, talking about it with my husband/CP/family/close friends, and going through one other call, a few rejections, and an email offer...I was even more sure in my initial decision.


It's very surreal to realize that all this actually happened. As an author, I have definitely dreamed of the day I would get to accept representation. And now that day has come! All I can say is I am truly humbled and feel so blessed by this opportunity.

So here's the official announcement:

I am now represented by Jessica Shmeidler of Golden Wheat Literary.

I am super excited to be on Whiskey, Wine, & Writing tonight. When my friend Nikki asked me to be a guest, there was no way I could say no. I have to admit, though, I'm incredibly nervous.

As all moms know, when it comes to explaining how we get everything done... it isn't easy. One day I'll be super productive and feel like I've got the world on a string. The next day, I'll be walking around like a chicken with her head cut off and not know where to begin or end my day.

Just to say a little something, and hopefully you'll follow this link to tune in tonight to hear the rest of my rambling, but there is no REAL way to balance mom life with author life (or photographer life, or school life, or entrepreneur life, or volunteer life, or whatever other half of your life may seem like your purpose beyond motherhood).

When it comes down to it for me, it's just about finding time each day to give myself a break and allow myself to do something (beyond making meals, having scoot races, learning the ABC's, and reading The Monster At the End of This Book for the millionth time) that makes me happy. I'm allowed many little moments during the day, whether it's my devotional in the morning or getting to nap with Michael (because, man, the third trimester of this second pregnancy is kicking my butt). But when I get ten minutes, or maybe even an hour, that little man is playing independently so beautifully that I get to sit down at the computer and work on my book(s)-- those are the moments I revel in, and the moments that I make a priority.

I have to make time to sit down at the computer and write. If I didn't, I'd never get anything done. In September I put my mind to writing my first YA Historical Fiction-- what I've been dying to write since I was probably ten years old. And I did it. I made time every day to work on my book, no matter what else was going on. I wouldn't have been able to do it without a very understanding husband, who knows I need time to get the creativity flowing even when he's only home for four days at a time. I also wouldn't have been able to do it without a very happy son, who realizes that mommy is in a slightly better mood when she gets a little time to write. And I definitely wouldn't have been able to do it without patience, prayer, and discipline.

I've heard from multiple people, "I wish I had time to write," or "I want to write a book, I just don't have the time yet." I have to bite my tongue, to be honest, because who has the time? I freelance from home for work, take care of my three-year-old and our house, and we have another baby on the way. My husband is gone ten days, home four days-- and his schedule just settled down to that. I'm not putting myself on a pedestal for getting things done, I'm just pointing out that no one has time, but if you want to be a writer, you have to make it.

I hope you'll tune in to hear more tonight at 8 p.m. EST!

Follow Whiskey, Wine, & Writing on Twitter and check out their fantastic site!

I was tagged by the best CP a gal could ask for, Nikki Miller, for the Liebster Award. I have to answer her ten questions about my work-in-progress and then tag some more people and give them my own questions. Since MISSING is out into the world and waiting with queries and requests, I thought I'd take this time to introduce my new WIP, BEYOND THE MEADOW. My new young adult historical fiction.

1) How did you come up with your WIP’s title?

I didn't, Nikki did! For real. She and I were texting back and forth consistently as I started writing BEYOND THE MEADOW because it had no title and I was so frustrated. Never before did I have a problem coming up with a title, but with this one I was really stuck. I knew the title had to have a strong meaning, and also focus on the central event of the book without giving too much away. Yeah... a lot to expect from a title. But one day after Nikki read my latest chapter, she texted me the now title and I was just blown away. She's the book whisperer, I tell you.


2) What motivates you to write?

This is a tough one. Really, I just get into a mood. Sometimes I'll lie awake at night WISHING to think of what I want to write next in the ms, other times I just sit down at the computer and my fingers take on a life of their own. Typically what pushes me is when someone who is reading it or who I tell about it gets excited. I know that if they're excited, I need to finish! I know, I know-- I should self-motivate. But, really, what's more encouraging then someone telling you they would totally read what you're writing?


3) Do you find yourself putting past experiences in your book? Give an example!

Yes and no. In this one, it's a little tough. Since it's a historical fiction, my character has faced many more challenges than I ever have in my life. However, the loss that she's experienced-- I can pull emotions for that one. But actual experiences? Not in this one.


4) What is your main character’s biggest obstacle?

Moving 'beyond the meadow'... that's where the title came from. My character survives something that she's not supposed to, and has to figure out how to move forward with her life after literally losing everything she loved and held most dear.


5) What is your crutch word that you always have to go back and delete because you use it too many times?

Well, I think one of my words is 'just'. Perhaps because I use it when I talk so much. I also use 'seemed' an awful lot, which is JUST as annoying because it makes things passive and then I'm like...oops. I didn't want that to 'seem' depressing, it IS depressing. Get it together!


6) Who is your author role model and why?

I love so many authors it's hard to choose, but when it comes to contemporary historical fiction I absolutely love Ann Rinaldi. I admire her so much for her multitude of historical fiction works and how diverse they can be. She's the author that made me fall in love with historical fiction and inspired me to want to write it.


7) What happens in your favorite scene from your WIP?

This is REALLY hard, because there are multiple scenes I absolutely love. One in particular is my favorite because it's the first kiss between my main character and her love interest (go figure). The second is my favorite because, honestly, I know it's going to break readers' hearts. Does that make me awful? I don't want to give it away, but I guess if you know the history you can probably guess what I'm talking about.


8) Please share a favorite line from your manuscript!

"From the beauty of the bushes came demonic cries that rattled me down to my bones. Bare-breasted men with painted faces carrying guns, tomahawks, and arrows appeared from their cover, already shooting and firing into our sea of travelers."


9) Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year?

No, I'm not. I was knee-deep in BEYOND THE MEADOW and knew I had less that 50,000 words to go, so I'm sticking it out. I'm honestly not a huge NaNoWriMo person. I admire those who can do it, but I'm not sure it's my cup of tea.


10) What advice do you have for other authors?

Keep at it. It took me a while before I dug my heels in and decided, once and for all, that this was what I wanted to do. I was really afraid after finishing MISSING that it was going to be my 'one hit wonder' of a book. I had always wanted to write historical fiction, but was really scared to do it-- the research was intimidating. But I sat down one day and just started looking things up for an idea I had, and before I knew it I had started writing BEYOND THE MEADOW. As much research as I did BEFORE I started it, I tried not to overwhelm myself and leave some to do while still writing it. If I focused too much on all the research being done and having an outline, I would've talked myself out of writing it-- because int he end, that's not how I work.

So, to sum that up: Keep At It, and Work The Way That's Best For You.

WHO IS NEXT?

I'd like to tag the lovely ladies of the Kick-AZ group! I haven't met you yet (and have been awful about touching base about making that happen), but I know you're a talented group and would love to read about your process! So, here are your 10 Questions:

1. How did you come up with your current WIP?
2. How do you balance your day job (if you have one) and your writing?
3. What's your favorite time of day to write?
4. Do you have any special snacks you eat for writing/ editing days?
5. Who do you go to when you're struggling with a part of your story-- from a word to a scene to a character?
6. Do you share your WIP with CP's while you're writing, or do you wait until it's completed?
7. What's the thing you DISLIKE the most about your WIP?
8. What's the thing you LOVE the most about your WIP?
9. How do you get through difficult sprints of writing? (Do you dance it out, bake, talk to someone?)
10. If you could cast your MC in a movie, who would play him/her?

Well, here goes.

I've been struggling with writing this bio for the past couple of days. This is partially due to family being in town, and partially because I was overwhelmed by everyone else's awesome-ness that I was swept away! If you don't know what #PitchWars is-- please read about it here. It's an amazing opportunity/contest where you get to pitch your book to mentors, and if you're selected you get to work with someone awesome that will help you whip your manuscript into shape for the agent round.

This is my first time entering the contest, and I know it's just as tough on the mentors as it is on everyone entering the contest. I mean, there are 75 mentors and hundreds of authors. So, guys, just remember....


I'm hoping that my manuscript, MISSING, a YA Contemporary with suspense will speak to you so you don't feel like doing this to me after that (possibly embarrassing) moment.


So. For real. This is me.


And here are some things about me.

1. I'm a SAHM, Writer, and Editor.

I am a blessed twenty-something who gets to stay home and take care of my just about three-year-old son. My husband climbs towers for a living (I don't envy him, but he loves it), and I work weekly for Engagement 101 Magazine. You can follow the link to check out some cool posts if you're in the market for getting engaged/married. I also blog on her and share tons of things from recipes to stories about my life.

2. My life changed in inexplicable ways at the ages of 15 and 18.

When I was 15 years old, my best friend went missing. This is the basis for my manuscript. I feel like there are very few stories that deal with this topic, and it's one that-- sadly-- is very real to many people. I was shoved into the adult world much earlier than I wanted to be, though I don't pretend that I simply became an adult because I went through the process of being part of a missing person's case-- nor do I claim I'm the only one at the time who felt the way I did. But, this is part of what made me start thinking of my book, although ten years ago I never would have imagined it would bring me to where I am.

My friend and me about a month before she went missing.

When I was 18 years old I was dating my high school sweetheart and we were already engaged just a couple weeks into college away from home. My parents had moved to Germany with the Army and I was looking forward to so many things-- as most 18 year olds do. Then I got a late-night phone call : my friend's remains had been found. Three years of no clues and no trace, and a random search on a somewhat deserted road lead to her discovery. When that happened, my now-husband and I decided we weren't going to wait until others would approve of us getting married, because we knew what we wanted and we had a first-hand experience of how little time one can be allotted. We walked down to the courthouse one week later and told our parents via email that we were married.

Yeah. We did.

My hubby and I the day we got married. Our seven-year anniversary is coming up! I am also working on another project MARRIED IN COLLEGE. Can't imagine where I got the inspiration, can you?


3. I've always been a writer.

While I have my "officials" ranging from having the most-read column for REALITY Check Girl Magazine and writing for Engagement 101, my writing started in about fourth grade. My teacher told me that she'd give me an extra day to get my homework in, which had been left at home, if I wrote her a story. I don't even remember what the story was about-- I think it had something to do with Sir Francis Drake and a sea monster-- but needless to say she wasn't disappointed. I was told from then on that I had to dedicate my first book to her. I still intend to keep that promise.

My writer's blood comes honestly. My grandfather was an English teacher and my mother was a Creative Writing major that has had a ridiculous amount of experience. When I got to college, I had two choices-- be responsible and major in English Education, or major in Creative Writing. Guess which I chose?

For a very long time, I knew what I wanted to write but I was still "too close" to many of the subjects. Turning my own missing-person's experience into a novel seemed like a wonderful idea... but actually making it fiction meant that I had to give it as much time as needed. If you ask my editor from Stark Contrast Editing or my wonderful CP Nikki -- they'll tell you that even in the beginning it was a little hard to give me feedback or ideas because I'd get defensive. BUT please don't let that scare you off! I promise that I have now acquired an amazingly tough skin and I'm open to suggestions and edits (as long as you're the kind of mentor that will talk it out with me-- and I don't mean you have to be nice about it, either).



Random Facts About Me

- I will read just about everything. Truly. When I was younger I had that "too cool for school" attitude and wanted to read all the classics before I read contemporaries. I am now catching up with contemporaries, putting the classics on hold. My favorite books are still Jane Eyre, Captain From Castille, The Harry Potter books, and THE FACE ON THE MILK CARTON series.

- My favorite "inspiration" movies are: Under the Tuscan Sun, Julie & Julia, Finding Forrester, Miss Potter, and The Help. (The only one I'm uncertain of being a book is Finding Forrester-- all others I've also read or researched.)

- I play two instruments. I started playing piano when I was seven and started playing flute when I was nine. In high school I was all-county/district and my senior year I was lead-marching-band-dork, otherwise known as drum major. Despite my desires and attempts to get just as involved in theatre as I could, I was essentially shunned by the teacher (though not by the peers) because of my band loyalties. I still pick them up so my three-year-old will dance, or we'll have jam-sessions with my husband on the guitar. We are a very musically-focused family in our spare time, and it makes for wonderful memories.


Please excuse me if I'm using too many GIFs-- I might have just learned how to use them and it's super exciting.

- My father is a minister and former Army Chaplain. I spent my childhood moving from place to place and was the only one of my sisters (I have two) who got to go to the same high school for four straight years. My older sister went to three, and my younger sister has the record of four. I absolutely loved military life, though now that I'm older I'm not so sure I want to spend our time moving around. My husband also grew up in a military family (Marines), and is a Marine Reservist himself.

- We just moved from NC to AZ... and I'm not exactly lovin' it. I spent most of my time in the Midwest and on the East Coast, though I was born in Idaho. This is my first experience with the South West and while I love getting to tell my friends it's sunny and 75 when it's 30 and snowing where they are-- really I miss the snow. This will be my first fall without the leaves and the cooler weather and I have to admit I might already be slightly bitter. However, I'm super excited about the adventure, and know that it's just another step in the right direction for our family.

- My husband and I have a bucket list that mostly involves traveling. Ever since we were first married and got to visit Germany and Paris, we've been aching to go more places. Things from "Rent a cabin in Scotland so Emily can write" to "Hike in New Zealand" to "Climb Mount Everest" are on there. (OK... Clark wants to climb Mount Everest, but I will cheer him on from the base camp if I can!) This bucket list only grows as our family does, because obviously "Take our kids to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" is on there.


So, that's me. Regardless of if you select me or not, it's been awesome browsing the mentors and mentees pieces and getting to know everyone. Thanks for considering me, and I hope you enjoy my YA Contemp, MISSING.

PSSST-- pick me.


Check out other mentees bios by going here!

I'm (once again) trying to catch up on things and figured I should do this one first. I've been tagged by the lovely Mrs. Healthy Ever After, aka Nikki Roberti Miller, for this blog hop.


WHAT AM I WORKING ON?

Right now I have two work-in-progresses. I’ve been editing my YA Contemporary MISSING with Katelyn Stark of Stark Contrast Editing for the past six months or so, chapter by chapter, line by line. It's been an incredible process because somehow I never realized just how much WORK it is to edit and revise, or "re-envision". Katelyn is so wonderful and patient to work with. I definitely start out with the dry bones when I'm writing. I get all on paper that I want to get there, I've just never really combed back through it before. This time around, adding so much more to it with guidance has been a real treat almost. I mean, it's really hard, but it's a lot of fun, too. I can see such a difference with my writing. Annnnyway, this piece is about 16-year-old Annie who finds out her best friend has gone missing. Then, years later, her friend's remains are found. We grow with Annie through the process of trying to move on from this defining moment in her life, and go with her as she tries to uncover the truth of what happened.

My other work-in-progress is a NA piece. I haven't quite figured out if I should call it a collection of short stories or if it's just broken up chapters. It's called Married in College-- a fictionalized account of when my husband and I were first married. We eloped when we were 18, so you can imagine there's a lot to share in there!

HOW DOES MY WORK DIFFER FROM OTHERS IN ITS GENRE?

MISSING is different to me because I don't think I've really found something quite like it. I've read a few YA that deal with missing friends or losing friends to drunk driving, but never one that goes down deep to the bones of the issue. My best friend went missing when I was 16, so I drew from that to write this book. It wasn't an easy process at all, but I think my experience of going through having a missing friend myself really brings this story to life in a new way. In the end, it's not necessarily figuring out what happened to the friend, but how to live with it.

WHY DO I WRITE WHAT I DO?

I started writing YA and NA because when I was younger I actually disliked reading contemporary writing. You'd find me reading Jane Austen and Shakespeare over books like Where the Red Fern Grows. I think the first contemporary story I started getting into was Harry Potter (go figure). One of the only reasons it was actually exciting was because my parents weren't too keen on me reading it, and then my best friend in fifth grade bought me the first two for my birthday.


HOW DOES MY WRITING PROCESS WORK?

I work differently with every project. No lie. I started working on MISSING in college, and then had to take quite a break from it because I was writing it too close to home. When I got the motivation to start working on it again, I actually wrote a chapter that's in the middle of the book now. I just needed to get something on paper. THEN I made an outline of chapters, which was very vague. It basically just had a thing or two written down that I knew what I wanted to happen. Even now I've gone back and changed it so much from what it was originally thought out to be like, but that makes me so happy because I think it's better than I first imagined. I really think I have Nikki and Katelyn to thank for that. I work best bouncing ideas off of people and I'm really open to feedback/suggestions (after a few nudges, that is).

With Married in College, it started as a column for REALITY Check Girl Magazine, an online magazine I worked for in college. Now, with Nikki insisting it must be a book, I just sat down one day with the motivation and wrote out the first chapter. Now I'm combing over the chapter again and again until it's where I want it to be, which is so different than MISSING.

When it comes to plotter vs. pantser, I'm definitely a combination. I like to get something down on paper, writing until I know I've really got something in the making. Then I go back and start listing everything I want to happen-- stories I know I want to share, characters I want to introduce, drama I want to unfold, etc; however, that doesn't mean it will all happen. MISSING was initially going to be written from two characters' point-of-views, and then I changed my mind because I loved my MC too much.

Basically I'm all over the place and, really, I don't have a concise writing process.



And that’s me! Thank you for tagging me, Nikki. If anyone else would like to join, please comment below and then tag me when you share your writing process!

If you don't follow me on Twitter or don't pay attention to my tweets on the right hand side of the site, let me start this off by informing you that I skipped my cake decorating class Monday night.

Yes. The third class out of six total and I played hooky.

I just didn't feel like going. After a week with a friend staying with us, an exhausting Father's Day, and a house that looked like a tornado went through it-- I skipped. I stayed home, cleaned, cooked, and spent time with Michael and Clark.

I was responsible. I e-mailed the teacher, told her I wasn't going to be there, and asked for a list of what we did in class so I could practice before next week. Even in a class that I am clearly wasting money on by not going to, I wanted to be courteous and let the teacher know.

So today when Michael was taking a nap that I was hoping would be two hours long like the past two days, I ate my lunch and then set up my royal icing and prepared to learn from our book how to make primroses and daffodils.

Yeah, right.

My icing was so hard (which tends to be the way with royal icing) that my hand felt like it was going to fall off simply trying to squeeze the icing through the tip at the end of the bag. It also didn't help that I didn't start practicing until minute 45 of what I thought would be two hours of free time, but Michael decided to wake up at 60 minutes precisely.

Anyway.

Here I am with a flower tip trying to be extra careful to make my first primrose, but the stupid frosting won't even come out of the tip. So, either I had to add water to make the frosting a little less stiff, or just had to wait for it to warm up a bit and therefore it would make it easier.

Right then my bag sprung a hole because I was trying to use my fingers, rather than my palm, to push the frosting to where I needed it.

As I was moving the frosting from the one bag to another, I looked up and saw the book Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier sitting on my bookshelf (very small bookshelf). I thought, I really need to reread that. It is such a good book.

Then it hit me.

Cake decorating was stressing me out. Learning how to make flowers wasn't exciting, really. I thought it would be. But it wasn't. It was stressful. I had to tell myself to relax my shoulders, to not worry about anything else, to just focus on the frosting.

And no matter how many times I told myself, my shoulders would tense back up and I'd be thinking about the laundry, or a new recipe, or a book I wanted to read, or a post to put up.

I realized that I just don't like cake decorating.

I realized I don't have the patience for cake decorating.

I realized I don't have the "flare" for cake decorating.

I am a different sort of artist. As much as I want to be, I've never been good at using pencils, pens, paints, and so forth. I suppose I can now add frosting to that list.

I am grateful I figured it out. I honestly haven't decided if I'm going back to class or not. I'm not sure I want to continue to invest time, energy, and money into something I already know I'm probably not going to continue doing.

Don't get me wrong. I've learned some valuable stuff in the class already. But the thing is, I just don't see myself spending an entire day decorating a cake for someone's birthday or special occasion. I'd much rather pay someone who enjoys doing it to do it for me. Is that awful?

Within this small epiphany, I've been making my way through the movie Sylvia about Sylvia Plath. It came out in 2003 and as depressing as it is, it's a beautiful film. And there are parts of it that I've completely connected with.

For example it shows Sylvia (Gwyneth Paltrow) baking when she can't think of anything to write.

That is totally me.

It made me think that I've been throwing myself into my cooking so much lately because I just don't have the creative outlet in my writing at the moment. That doesn't mean I've lost it... it just means that I'm taking turns and I'll get back to writing when I really find a "subject", as she puts it in the movie. I don't seem to have a subject I'm truly passionate about.

When I do, I know I'll return to my writing with full force.

So, although in Practice Makes "Perfect" I seemed to think that spending time with cake decorating would make me love it, I've discovered that's just not how I work. Either I love something or I don't. And Cake Decorating seems to fall in the "don't" category. That may change in years to come... but for now... I'll stick to not knowing how to precisely make a rose or write correctly on a cake.