As we stood in the lunch line at the Writer’s Day Conference on Saturday, I complained about being hot and sweaty and sought out shade anywhere I could. Afraid of venturing too far for fear of losing my place in line, I positioned myself so Jay stood between me and the sun, so most of my body and face were shaded.
As I stood in Jay’s shadow, Jay noted out loud that I was, well, standing in his shadow. And as I slowly backed away from him, he said, “You’re finally coming out from my shadow!”
“Yeah,” I said. “Do you think they’ll have those little peanut butter cookie things they had last year...? Oooh, and that chocolate cream pie thing??”
Pause.
Another pause.
“What?” I blinked.
Robin, Jay, and Cynthia blinked back.
“Oh! OH!! NOW I GET IT! Standing in your shadow? Coming out from your shadow?? HA! I totally get it now! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
As you all know, Jay is my mentor, my friend, my hero. (As is Robin, but we’ll deal with her shadow another day.) He’s done this writing thing 3 times as long as I have. Over the years he’s won countless contests, awards, and various accolades from everyone in the business. In the last couple years, I’ve started winning contests, awards, etc. Jay’s had praise from editors. I’ve started getting praise from editors.
And though we are THREE Disco Mermaids, everyone at the Annual Conference seems to know us as “JAY ASHER and those two wild blond chicks.” People often think Robin and I are the same person, unless we’re in the same place at the same time. Not that I’m complaining...she’s HOT!
We’ve been researching agents forever, and we all came up with very short lists of our top picks. Jay signed with a kick-ass agent in September. He sold his first book this month (if you missed it, the announcement in last week’s Publisher’s Weekly is pretty killer!).
And...wait for it...wait for it ...
On Friday at 10:52 a.m. I SIGNED A CONTRACT WITH JAY’S KICK-ASS LITERARY AGENT!!!
She loves my book. I love her. I love Jay. Jay loves her. It’s SO COOL! Although still officially in Jay’s shadow, I’m hoping that when my book sells, I’ll emerge from the cold damp darkness and leap out into the warm sunshine shouting, “I am somebody! I am the wild blond chick who hangs out with Jay Asher...named EVE!”
(**And, NO, Jay’s kick-ass agent did NOT know that I was one of the aforementioned wild blond chicks, and I therefore officially got an agent on my own merits. No nepotism here...just in case you were wondering.)
- Eve
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
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17 comments:
So
Very
Fabulous
!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations, Eve!!
Congratulations, Jay's blonde chick friend!
Kidding. You cast a large (but not large in the chubby sense of the word) shadow yourself.
I'm hoping tu agent es mia agent, but even if not, FELICIDADES!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!
THAT is a big giant step!
Laura
the clay lady
www.lauraludwighamor.com
That's wonderful! Congratulations!!!
That merits you keeping all the Halloween candy for yourself!!!
Oh, the shadow thing and whose shadow is big enough to cover someone else is the biggest softball y'all have thrown in a while. I'm eyeing it floating through the air, readying my stance, gripping my metaphorical bat with renewed vigor to hit it out of the park and . . . a swing and a whiff. I got nothin'. I'm too excited to make a funny, at-your-expense comment. Love, Lamy
Congrats! Congrats!! Congrats!!!
Congratulations, Eve. (For the hundreth time!) Luckily for me, I'm a bit taller than Jay so when I stand in his shadow, my head still pokes out a bit.
But just a bit.
Love you!
Robin
P.S. Is Lamy the funniest sister ever!? Seriously, she's freakin' hilarious! Love the softball analogy.
It's time for the truth, Eve. The sun was trying to metaphorically shine its light on you the entire time...I just stepped in its way momentarily. It's all about you, babe!
- Jay
(By the way, the dry cleaners called to say they were able to get the stain out of my coattails. So don't worry.)
Thanks for all the CONGRATS, folks!! I had no idea so many people read my posts on this thing.
The main thing I love about being a children's book writer is having constant support and friendship from people all over the planet! Do you think doctors and lawyers have this much love for one another?
And, Jay, that's really funny. It would be funnier if you'd ever even worn a coat!
Ooooohhhhh...I'm outta here! I'll be here all week. Enjoy the veal cutlet, and don't forget to tip your waitresses!!
Eve
No surprise, really now, but nonetheless great and deserved news, Eve. Now tell your manuscript to go kick some serious butt, too!
Congratz, how'd I miss this!
Oh, Eve, that is great news! Congratulations! Now I'll have to buy two rounds in LA! :) It's going to be quite the bash!
I'm so HAPPY for you Auntie Eve!!! Can't wait ot hear more about it... Talk to you soon...
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