Bad. Bad Jilly. Shame on you.
But as usual, I have an excuse, and as less-usual, it's a pretty good one: I've been busy finding my people!
Last year at a writing retreat, I met the fantastic Kim Savage, who told me about a group she was in, the Sweet 16s. It was a group of writers, all of whom were having their first YA or middle grade novel debut in...you guessed it, 2016.
Clearly, the minute I heard about The Swanky 17s I raised my hand as high as it would go and started shaking in my seat, hoping they'd pick me.
They did--hooray!
In the last two weeks we've been kicking it into seriously high gear, getting the website up and running (thank you infinitely, Sara Biren!), the twitter account active, and all our ducks lined up so we can start welcoming our fellow 17ers.
A couple of the things people tell you about this process that's impossible to believe before it happens to you are 1) how slowly publishing schedules move, and 2) how much of your work as an author is about finding interesting ways to get your books to readers.
Thankfully, the Swankies are helping me manage both of those. I can't imagine a better way to spend the 18+ months between now and my book actually existing than connecting with other authors (with books that I can't wait to read), promoting our work together, and--let's be honest--knowing who to turn to when the headaches and the nerves and the frustration and the elation start coming fast and thick.
Of course I've also been working to get the 2016 comedy debut lined up and ready to go...
...but that's another story.
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