Wednesday, April 20, 2011

I Signed!

And I believed writing a manuscript was the hardest part! Yep, that's pretty much what I thought. Boy was I naive!

Between synopsis hell--I mean writing, query letters, hooks, marketing, agents... it gives me a headache even thinking about it. Finishing the manuscript is only half the battle. What's your strategy? How are you going to sell it? Who's going to represent you? How are you going to market it? It is by no means easy. 

I finished Highland Savior. I completed the synopsis. I fine tuned the query letter. I polished my hooks. Now I have the most exciting news of all...

I just signed with Jill Marsal of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency!

Career. Onward. Now.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Old Family Photographs


Nothing makes you appreciate the past more than finding old family photographs, generations worlds apart. What were they thinking in this picture? Where were they? How old were they? The picture above is one of my favorites of my dh's grandmother and grandfather. She was so sassy! I love it! Look at her hand on her waist posing for the camera, the other draped over her man.  

I can't tell you the countless hours I have spent rummaging through old family albums. Amazed and awe-inspired, I gaze upon their faces, their untold stories calling out to me. They were so young, so full of life. The picture below is another one of my favorites. I remember when my dh's grandmother gave it to me. 

I was sitting on the floor in her living room and there it was. "This is a beautiful photograph of you," I exclaimed, pulling it out of its binder.

Sitting back in her chair, she sighed, her eyes drifting back to a far away place. "Walter and I were just dating. That was taken at the waterfall at my Uncle Jerry's... so long ago." 

Even though her husband had passed away several years earlier, I will never forget the look upon her face. The love they held for each other was evident, never fading.
Every time I gaze upon this lovely photo, I think back fondly of my dh's grandparents.

Of course there are other pictures that just down right make me laugh. When I view the one below, this is a picture of my grandmother on her horse. Growing up, we heard the same story countless times. She was in the barn and that darned horse kicked her in the arse, embedding two hoof prints in her hind quarters. Running out of the barn in tears, my great-grandfather chased the horse with a pitchfork.


Do you enjoy old family photographs? What do you do to preserve the past?