Where do you write?

This is very cool, from the New York Times.

The Writer's Room

I write mostly in coffee shops, and do very little at home. Something about packing-up my laptop and heading out makes me feel like I'm going to work, without the distractions of the household: the lure of the couch, the urge to rearrange your bookshelves, the "I-should-be-writing-but-let-me-watch this-documentary-about-crows-on-Netflix-first" syndrome."

So, where do you write?

What's up Wednesday

Hey folks, it's time for another edition of What's up Wednesday.

 So I ask you, What's up people?

I'm on a train right now headed to New York for some work stuff. Train travel is nice. So less stressful than airports. 

Well, as you can see from the post below this one, I will soon be a published author. It's all very exciting. Yes. Yes. It all went down rather smoothly so I consider myself quite fortunate.

What I'm reading
I'm reading a book called Tides by another Clarion/HMH author, Betsy Cornwell. It's quite lovely. Wonderful language and voice. The story centers around those elusive creatures from Irish myth, the selkie. The book has a very literary feel, one of the reasons I was drawn to Clarion.

What else am I reading? Very soon, I'll be reading my contract!


What I'm writing
I'll be tackling revisions for HOODOO as soon as I get my editorial letter! It will be interesting to start this next step of the publishing journey. I've read so many posts and articles about editorial revisions that I can't wait to get started. I think I even have some bookmarked so I can learn from other writers' experiences.

What inspires me right now
Looking at my deal announcement.
:)
Knowing that I achieved one of my life goals. Also, telling people to not give up on their dreams.

What else I've been up to 
I've been watching True Detective on HBO. Fantastic show. Well-written and very deep. Not your typical TV detective trope.  Waiting for Game of Thrones to come back on!

What's up with ya'll?

What's up Wednesday is the brainchild of Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk.

Want to participate? Go here.

My Agent Sold My Book

I'm still a little numb. My agent Adriann Ranta sold my MG novel, HOODOO, to Lynne Polvino at Clarion/HMH!

How exciting.

Here's my agent, Adriann "Khaleesi" Ranta making the deal.

I'll be back with details. Well, some of them.

-->

Ronald Smith's HOODOO, a Southern Gothic set in rural 1930s Alabama, about a boy from a long line of folk magic conjurers who must unravel a web of family secrets and overcome his inability to cast a simple spell in order to defeat a stranger who wants to use the darker powers of hoodoo for evil, to Lynne Polvino at Clarion in a good deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, by Adriann Ranta at Wolf Literary Services (World).

 

Mmmmmm

The best coffee and croissant in Chicago. Intelligentsia.

God, I miss this place. It's where I used to do all my writing.

That is all.