Most of you know that I write novels. Well, these holidays I decided I would try and find an agent. One of my novelist friends, David Kernot, recommended I try an agent called Robert Stephenson. So, I did, thinking that maybe he’d read my manuscript, give me a few pointers, and gracefully tell me “no way”.
So… I was really surprised when he asked to meet with me! I couldn’t believe it, it was a huge shock and I was so excited. I met with him on Saturday… he is very very weird… Very weird… but I guess they’re all likek that. We got along really well, and he gave me some great pointers. He is also actually going to read my manuscript. I don’t know how much you guys know about the publishing business, but that is a HUGE step.
He is a good agent too. He mostly represents international authors, from Canada, the U.S., that type of place. He was also really good friends with science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke. AND he’s the only Australian agent to have contacts with New York… apparently… anyway, he sold himself really well.
So… I’m waiting to hear what he says about my work. He said the opening paragraph was really good and caught his attention. BUT he also picked out a mistake on the first page… a big adjective mistake… well… you wouldn’t think it was big, but I did. Anyway! He said that if he represents me it will be a long process, and it might take as long as five years to get published.
So all I can do is wait. I don’t have any expectations. I could be turned down, or he could choose to represent me. Either way, I’ve still got a lot of work in front of me. Even if he doesn’t choose to represent me it is a definite and positive step towards publication. :-)
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Christmas and New Years 2007
Christmas was like every other Christmas. Spent with my family. Christmas is always good, it’s a good time to realise what we’ve been given and what we should cherish. I love Christmas because it is our family day. I cook breakfast for everyone, we go to church together, we give each other presents to show how much we care for each other, we have a big lunch together, and spend the afternoon talking or playing games or just relaxing.
This year was a little different as I was house sitting. So Christmas night I had my good friends over for a mini party. It was good. Nice and casual.
New Years was a very interesting day. I organised a BIG party! (Don’t worry, my friend knew all about it!) It was a good turn out, and we all had lots of fun with the music and dancing and games and stuff. We also made a couple of huge sparkler bombs, which were pretty impressive when they went off. Of course, we also did the count down with sparklers and party poppers. We were up most of the night and slept most of new years day. :-P
This year was a little different as I was house sitting. So Christmas night I had my good friends over for a mini party. It was good. Nice and casual.
New Years was a very interesting day. I organised a BIG party! (Don’t worry, my friend knew all about it!) It was a good turn out, and we all had lots of fun with the music and dancing and games and stuff. We also made a couple of huge sparkler bombs, which were pretty impressive when they went off. Of course, we also did the count down with sparklers and party poppers. We were up most of the night and slept most of new years day. :-P
Melbourne December 2007
Late last year my friends and I went on holiday to Melbourne. My friends are an assortment of school friends, church friends, childhood friends and friends of friends that I’ve become really close with. As a group we do everything together and it was our second interstate trip, our first being Sydney early this year. Just for convenience sake there names are Sophia (my best friend ever!), Elycia, Andrew, Mark, Luke and Phil.
We drove to Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road, which we did over two nights. The first day we didn’t get very far, it was more of a push start. The second day we did all our sight-seeing; the Twelve Apostles, The London Bridge, and many other beautiful sights along the beach. At one stop we dug a big hole and they buried my shoes. I was not impressed. At another we all wrote, in huge letters, ‘Hi Sophia!’ in the sand. That was the same beach where Sophia’s Dad had written ‘I Love You’ to Sophia’s Mum. Very sweet.
The third day we went shopping at all the surf stores before driving, finally, into Melbourne. We booked into our hostel, did a bit of shopping and then got ready to go out. That night we saw Spamalot, which was Monty Python’s broadway production. I was expecting it to be amazing but it just blew me away. It was SO funny! I was laughing the whole time, in stitches, and nearly crying. It was basically Monty Python’s Holy Grail with extra songs and adapted for the stage. I highly recommend it to anyone who can make it, it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
The next day we went shopping. Everywhere! Bourke St, the factory outlets, and some other places Sophia said were really good… I got so sick of shopping, and let me tell you that is STRANGE! I love shopping! Maybe I wasn’t in the mood… the Myers there is enormous! It has a huge basement that stretches forever and then there’s the upper levels. I could of gone crazy.
That night we got really spruced up for our second theatre outing – Phantom of the Opera. For those who don’t know, I LOVE Phantom of the Opera! I can play all the songs on piano, I know the music and lyrics off by heart and am a huge fan of both Andrew Lloyd Webber and Anthoy Warlow. I wore a really pretty blue dress and some silver jewellery. Us girls had great fun dressing up and the guys looked pretty nifty in their suits. They clean up well.
The actual show left me breathless and covered in goose bumps. At the very beginning, during the auction, I couldn’t believe that I was there. As soon as the chandelier went up I realised I was really there and my heart felt like it stopped beating. It was fantastic!! I couldn’t list a favourite bit. Anthony Warlow’s voice is so emotive and beautiful and when I heard it I just felt like closing my eyes and drifting away. I think the best part of the theatre was when the Phantom rose up from behind a cherub hanging mid-air and sang about how he’d been betrayed by Christine and about how he loves her. It was such a strong scene.
After the show I bought so much memorabilia… I went a little nuts… it was so good though! And now I have a phantom mask on my bookshelf :-P
The next day we did the touristy stuff. We went to the old gaol, which was pretty interesting. We went on a tour. The guides acted like guards taking prisoners through the jail. They gave us all identities and locked us up in a cell with the lights out for like five minutes. We weren’t expecting it, we just thought it was a normal tour, and when they yelled at us we got a bit offended. We laughed about it later though. It was the jail where Ned Kelly was hung.
After that we went to the museum, which is pretty cool. I love the dinosaur bones and stuffed animals. There was also lots of cool space stuff, and the usual science and history stuff. Then we went to the biggest cinema in the world, eight stories high, at imax, and saw Beowulf in 3D. It was a really bad movie, but the 3D was awesome. That night we went out to a nice place for dinner, and then went to a dance club at the casino. It was fun, but the men were a little too… confident. :-P
The next day we went shopping AGAIN! (Sigh) and then that night we went to Mt Dandenong (I think that’s what it’s called) and looked out at all the pretty city lights. It was a nice quiet day.
Our last day in Melbourne we spent the morning getting packed, buying Krispy Kreme doughnuts and had lunch with Phil’s sister (who lives in Melbourne). Then we started the long drive home. I think I ended up getting home at midnight after dropping everyone off at their prospective houses.
Anyway! It was a great trip, although that was a brief summary, and I hope I can upload some pictures soon. For some reason it isn't working at the moment... I'll work it out and put some up soon. :-)
We drove to Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road, which we did over two nights. The first day we didn’t get very far, it was more of a push start. The second day we did all our sight-seeing; the Twelve Apostles, The London Bridge, and many other beautiful sights along the beach. At one stop we dug a big hole and they buried my shoes. I was not impressed. At another we all wrote, in huge letters, ‘Hi Sophia!’ in the sand. That was the same beach where Sophia’s Dad had written ‘I Love You’ to Sophia’s Mum. Very sweet.
The third day we went shopping at all the surf stores before driving, finally, into Melbourne. We booked into our hostel, did a bit of shopping and then got ready to go out. That night we saw Spamalot, which was Monty Python’s broadway production. I was expecting it to be amazing but it just blew me away. It was SO funny! I was laughing the whole time, in stitches, and nearly crying. It was basically Monty Python’s Holy Grail with extra songs and adapted for the stage. I highly recommend it to anyone who can make it, it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
The next day we went shopping. Everywhere! Bourke St, the factory outlets, and some other places Sophia said were really good… I got so sick of shopping, and let me tell you that is STRANGE! I love shopping! Maybe I wasn’t in the mood… the Myers there is enormous! It has a huge basement that stretches forever and then there’s the upper levels. I could of gone crazy.
That night we got really spruced up for our second theatre outing – Phantom of the Opera. For those who don’t know, I LOVE Phantom of the Opera! I can play all the songs on piano, I know the music and lyrics off by heart and am a huge fan of both Andrew Lloyd Webber and Anthoy Warlow. I wore a really pretty blue dress and some silver jewellery. Us girls had great fun dressing up and the guys looked pretty nifty in their suits. They clean up well.
The actual show left me breathless and covered in goose bumps. At the very beginning, during the auction, I couldn’t believe that I was there. As soon as the chandelier went up I realised I was really there and my heart felt like it stopped beating. It was fantastic!! I couldn’t list a favourite bit. Anthony Warlow’s voice is so emotive and beautiful and when I heard it I just felt like closing my eyes and drifting away. I think the best part of the theatre was when the Phantom rose up from behind a cherub hanging mid-air and sang about how he’d been betrayed by Christine and about how he loves her. It was such a strong scene.
After the show I bought so much memorabilia… I went a little nuts… it was so good though! And now I have a phantom mask on my bookshelf :-P
The next day we did the touristy stuff. We went to the old gaol, which was pretty interesting. We went on a tour. The guides acted like guards taking prisoners through the jail. They gave us all identities and locked us up in a cell with the lights out for like five minutes. We weren’t expecting it, we just thought it was a normal tour, and when they yelled at us we got a bit offended. We laughed about it later though. It was the jail where Ned Kelly was hung.
After that we went to the museum, which is pretty cool. I love the dinosaur bones and stuffed animals. There was also lots of cool space stuff, and the usual science and history stuff. Then we went to the biggest cinema in the world, eight stories high, at imax, and saw Beowulf in 3D. It was a really bad movie, but the 3D was awesome. That night we went out to a nice place for dinner, and then went to a dance club at the casino. It was fun, but the men were a little too… confident. :-P
The next day we went shopping AGAIN! (Sigh) and then that night we went to Mt Dandenong (I think that’s what it’s called) and looked out at all the pretty city lights. It was a nice quiet day.
Our last day in Melbourne we spent the morning getting packed, buying Krispy Kreme doughnuts and had lunch with Phil’s sister (who lives in Melbourne). Then we started the long drive home. I think I ended up getting home at midnight after dropping everyone off at their prospective houses.
Anyway! It was a great trip, although that was a brief summary, and I hope I can upload some pictures soon. For some reason it isn't working at the moment... I'll work it out and put some up soon. :-)
Catch Up
Well, it’s been a while so it’s about time I wrote a few more blogs! Quite a bit has happened since my last blog entry, but I’ve been either busy or away from home. I’ve been house sitting for six weeks while my best friend and her family were on holiday in Thailand, and the internet there is dial up so blogging with that internet connection on my old laptop was not going to work…
Anyway! Hope these few blogs keep you both updated and entertained. Enjoy! :-)
Anyway! Hope these few blogs keep you both updated and entertained. Enjoy! :-)
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