Into the future

Two minor milestones achieved this week: 1.) I finally sent a query letter for my novel Make Nice to an agent. I got the name of the agent from a writer I met up at Holden Village in June. Whether this will turn out to be beginner's luck and I get an agent on the first try -- man, that would have to be unbelieveable luck; either that or my novel is more impressive than I think -- or (more likely) it's just the first in many queries. My friend Katia has sent out about fifty queries over a year and a half, trying to get her novel represented.

And 2.) I put out another issue of the church newsletter I edit. It contains a piece I wrote up at Holden, to be published in their newsletter as well, about walking their labyrinth and how it's like writing a novel.

Speaking of books, my friend Qiron has used iUniverse to publisher her book Feminist Folktales from India. Qiron, a brilliant law graduate who speaks several languages, has been toiling in as a technical writer for several years, and is one of many Sybase alumnae. If I had a dollar for every technical writer who used to work at Sybase, I could buy myself a damn fancy meal. Fortunately for me, Cris still works at Sybase, so we can buy ourselves a fancy meal once in a while anyway.