Celebrating BIG Things: I have an Agent!

Yes, you read it right:

I have an agent!

 *wild leaps of joy while a chorus of angels 
sings "Halleluiah" in the background*

I'm delighted to announce I've signed with Michelle L. Johnson of Inklings Literary Agency, whose kindness,  professionalism and enthusiasm made choosing her an easy decision.  I'm confident she's going to guide my future writing career with skill and competence, and I'm really looking forward to working with her!

Huge thanks to you -- without the support and help of online writing communities, I'd never have come this far.  People offered great advice, personal experiences and anecdotes that boosted my morale many times.  A heartfelt "Thank you" to fellow bloggers and friends!  :-D
 
*whispering* Hopefully, I'll have some more good news to report next week if all goes well.  *crosses fingers*

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is follow the link and put your name on the Mr.Linky list, and then be sure to post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week.  It can be about writing or family or school or general life.  This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever!

King Tut

I'm not an official A-Z blog hopper -- I'm a stowaway!

Facts you didn't know about King Tut (Tutankhamun).

Tutankhamun mask from de.wikipedia

King Tut is so famous because his tomb was one of the few found with all its treasures intact.  

Pyramids held other Pharaohs' tombs, but when you build a giant pyramid, it's like putting up a big sign saying, "Graverobbers -- Here's the treasure!"  All their tombs were looted, but Tut's tomb was hidden in the Valley of the Kings.

Two of Tut's gold sarcophagi, from Wiki - Nerve Net

The "Boy-King" was only 10 when he ascended the throne of Egypt and 19 when he died in 1323 B.C.  It's believed that infection from a broken leg or malaria killed him. 

Tut was buried in three coffins nested inside each other.  The outer two were plated in gold, but the innermost sarcophagus was solid gold.  The sarcophagi are on display in the Cairo Museum while the mummy is in a glass, temperature-controlled case in his original tomb at the Valley of the Kings, Luxor.

King Tut and his wife, from Wiki - Pataki Marta

Tut's parents were brother and sister, and he was born with a club foot and cleft palate.  He married his half sister, and she gave birth to two girls, both stillborn.


How did I do? Were you surprised by some of the facts here? 


This week, I'm celebrating the fascinating and imaginative blog posts I've been reading from the official  A-Z Challengers.  You guys rock!
 

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is follow the link and put your name on the Mr.Linky list, and then be sure to post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week.  It can be about writing or family or school or general life.  This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever!

"E" is for Egypt

I'm not an official A - Zer, but I couldn't resist Celebrating "E" for Egypt!

Egypt was ruled by Pharaohs from about 3000 B.C. to 350 B.C.  After that, Egypt was occupied by a succession of conquerors:  Persians, Greeks, Byzantines, Romans, Mamluks, Napoleonic French, Ottoman Turks, and finally in 1882 by the British.  Egypt became independent in 1952.  As of 2013, the county's population is 85 million (compared to: US = 312 million, Britain = 63 million).

There are over 100 pyramids in Egypt, built between 2700 - 1500 B.C.  (Later, pharaohs were buried in secret underground tombs to foil grave-robbers.)  The largest of the three pyramids of Giza is one of the “Seven Wonders of the World” and was built in 2550 B.C.

From a distance, it’s hard to grasp its true size.  But when you're close, it's mind-boggling!

The Great Sphinx is the oldest and largest statue in the world.  Built around 2550 B.C., it lost its nose in 1348 A.D. when a Muhammad Sa'im al-Dahr hammered rods into it and broke it off.  The man was hanged for vandalism.

Over the centuries, the Sphinx was buried in sand almost to its neck until fully excavated around 1925.

No one knows who ordered it to be constructed or what it was called because no mention of it occurs in any ancient documents of the time.  That’s the mystery of the Sphinx.



I love where I live.  <3  What's your favorite thing about where you live?

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is follow the link and put your name on the Mr.Linky list, and then be sure to post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week.  It can be about writing or family or school or general life.  This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever!

IWSG: Bravery

I started querying in Aug '12 and requests came in from August through November.  A bunch of them!   That was good ... but now it's April and more than half of those who received fulls or partials haven't gotten back to me.  

So ... do I nudge?

Isn't nudging an agent rather like poking a bear with a stick?  They can't be happy about getting poked.  Do you really want to take a chance on annoying the person who holds your future in their hands?

And technically, a request that's still out isn't a rejection -- there's still hope, and that hope helps me sleep at night.

I'll never know if it's a "yes" 

--or perhaps a lost submission--

unless I ask...

 But it's SCARY!!

How many months would you wait before you'd poke the bear?

This is a post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It exists so the community of blogging writers can share and support each other, blog-hopping to cheerlead and commiserate. To find out more, visit: Insecure Writer's Support Group.