O Frabjous Day! Callooh! Callay!

Yesterday I finally got to announce some great news! I've known for several months, but we were waiting for Amulet to put out a press release. So here it is, along with the Publishers Marketplace announcement (click on pictures to enlarge):

And this is me (that's my hubbie against the tree; it's part of his cool act, to dress Robin Hoodish and be all brooding and stuff...*swoons*)

Best day ever! :) 

Book Deal! Overwhelmed, Ever-grateful, Blessed, and...

I feel like Charlotte's been spinning lovely webs around my Splintered manuscript to make it more attractive to those who can give it a home, and I'm as grateful as that little pig who grew up big yet never became bacon on someone's breakfast plate.

After seven years of querying and writing books (follow this link for a detailed look at my timeline), I finally got my YES! Last week, Agent Goddess and I were in the midst of a best bids auction, in which the interested publishers threw their "highest we can go" offers into the hat. I ended up having a few phone calls so I could get a feel for personalities and editing ideas. Now the decision has been made and I finally get to share it. :)

Splintered has a FANTASTIC place to call home: Abram's Amulet imprint. SQUEEEE!! I'm following in some very big footsteps: Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Shine, just to name a couple. The publisher offered a two-book deal, so I get to hang my hat there for awhile, and I couldn't be more thrilled!

For the record, it took revising my MS one final time before I tasted success. It made all the difference, because that's when things started rolling. 

I'm grateful to my wonderful agent Jenny and my new editor Maggie (who is a DELIGHT!), for loving my story and believing in it. And I'm blessed to have had each and every one of you rooting for me along the way. Lastly, I'm overwhelmed and humbled by this feeling of complete and utter happiness.

What I want more than anything now, is for all of you to experience this, too. So DON'T give up. No matter what.

I'm ashamed to say I almost did a few times. Several of you know this because you were my lifelines. (HUGE THANKS and cyber hugs for that, I would never have buoyed without you).

But then the sun slipped out from the clouds and illuminated that sparkling silver web ... you know, the one that said "she might not look like much yet, but give her a chance. She could grow up to be some pig ... er, writer ... one day."  

So THANK YOU for that chance, Amulet. I'll do my very best to earn it.

Splintered is due out in hardback, Spring of 2013. The PublishersMarketplace announcement will be posted next month. I'll display it here once it's up. (I've always dreamt of getting to do that.) *happy sigh* I'm planning a series of detailed posts about being on the submission trail along with stats and will start them up when the book comes out, to help promote its debut.

There are a few more things I'd like to share pertaining to some foreign interest, but I'm keeping them on the DL just a bit longer.  Gotta give you some kind of reason to keep visiting me here. ;)

By the way, you guys are the best support group on the WORLD WIDE NET. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Special thanks to my beta readers and crit gals, #goatposse, fellow bloggers, tweeps, and a hearty shout out to the QTers out there. That's where I got my start, too. I'm sorry I haven't been in the threads for a while, but things got crazy for a bit. Still, my heart smiles each time I think of you, and I have the highest expectations for you all! I know I'll be seeing spectacular news from you VERY soon. <3

Oh, and one last thing...