Georgia McBride

Bubbling Over With Excitement

I am so joyful, I’m about to burst! No. That thing didn’t yet happen, but, I am happily celebrating the success of others today. I have many colleagues in this business, some have even become true friends. Today I am celebrating a few of those folks and I am unable to contain my excitement for them so, I’m going to do a short post in their honor.
First, next week is the release of DESTINED by Jessie Harrell. In case you’ve not heard of it yet because you’ve been living under a rock, let me tell you about it. Well, how about I let someone else tell you about it? Here are some reviews.
Now do you believe me? OK. Time for a disclaimer. I also happen to be the book’s editor. And I must say. This is one of the most well-written, well-told stories I have ever read. When Jessie sent it to me, more than a year ago, I couldn’t say the same. I was unable to see then that DESTINED would become what it is today. But Jessie is smart. She took advice and critique from friends, editors, agents and yes, me, and worked it into an amazing novel that rivals many of the ones currently on my shelves.
Jessie is a wonderfully talented storyteller, and I celebrate her today because she didn’t give up. She refused to. She needed to tell this story and she did. And what a story it is. Congratulations, Jessie. What an amazing treat for readers of YA. Thank you for allowing me the pleasure of working on this novel. I wish you the very best of luck (though you don’t need it).
Now, onto the celebration of another dear friend. Lauren Hammond is a relatively new agent. I’ve been with her through the ups and downs of being a new agent. I don’t doubt there are more ups and even downs to come. But what I couldn’t stand were the negative comments, the naysayers and haters who got down on Lauren simply because she was new, unproven and without much experience in the industry. What they didn’t know, was that Lauren is one of the smartest, most dedicated and hungry people I know. She is kind and considerate and always puts the needs of her clients before her own.
I knew it was only a matter of time before Lauren would have something to celebrate, and advised her to ignore the negative Nellies and silence them with her success. It was difficult. The waiting. The watching. The pain. Lauren also is very sensitive and tried to defend herself once on a writer’s board I shall not dignify by naming. It only backfired.
I am over the moon with joy today, for Lauren and her entire staple of clients. Lauren, an agent for a whole eight months has landed squarely on the literary map. Today, her client Rachel Harris announced the first of Lauren’s deals on twitter. “@RachelHarrisYA: So, yeah, I’m gonna be PUBLISHED! http://t.co/7SStKW71 EEP! #MyWana #YASB #amwriting #amreading #yalitchat #writechat #entangledbooks” OK. So she may have used a few too many hashtags, but what they heck. She’s excited! Congratulations to Rachel, Lauren and the amazing folks at Entangled Books. And did I mention Lauren, Rachel and Entangled are ALL YALITCHAT.ORG members? Shameless plug. Here is the link to Rachel’s web announcement.
As for Lauren, a little birdy told me that she has in fact sold another book. The details of that deal are currently under wraps. I’m certain you won’t have to wait that long to hear more however. To query Lauren, read submission guidelines first!
And finally to celebrate even more, I’m giving away SIGNED copies of Margaret Peterson Haddix’s SENT and Lisa McMann’s CRYER’S CROSS! To win, please subscribe to my little site that could, here (sorry I don’t yet update often), and become a BELIEVER. Finally, please comment to congratulate my amazing friends, and a random winner will be chosen on December 1. Tweeting this contest/post give you extra love. Did you get all that? That’s 3 things to win, plus an extra thing for good measure! Good luck and thank you!
I hope you are inspired.

XO,
G
PS–sorry for the crazy spacing issues today but WordPress was acting wonky.