Hello, Hedwig

I have some news I’ve been sitting on for a while now as all the formalities were being completed. I’ve been dying to write about it and now I finally can. I’ve made an important step in my journey as a writer and I’m very, very excited.

I have been signed by literary agent Lara Perkins to the Andrea Brown Literary Agency in San Francisco.

Lara is an exceptional agent and ABLA is a very distinguished agency. Humphrey and Tula are excited, too.

It happened like this:

I met Lara when I attended the Big Sur Writing Workshop back in December. (I blogged about the experience here.) She enjoyed the first few chapters of my story and was interested in reading more. We stayed in touch via email while I revised the manuscript based on what I had learned.

Over the next several months I revised, revised, revised. It took much longer than I imagined it would. At one point I thought I was done, but after setting the story aside for a few weeks and then re-reading it, I saw it was too “crowded” so I cut out a subplot. This left gaping holes that had to be stitched back together, but with the helpful feedback of writer friends, I revised it to a place where I felt comfortable with it.

Then I closed my eyes and hit the send button.

Lara promised to get back to me within a few weeks. I waited, and had all sorts of neurotic thoughts. Did I send it too soon? Should I have revised some more? Did I suck at this? Am I the only one who would like this story? Did it even make any sense? I hugged the dogs and they licked my face and I pretended that the cookies I was giving them had nothing to do with it. (I also worked on another story I am writing, which is probably the best thing to do while in waiting mode.)

And then, two weeks ago, Lara called. We chatted on the phone for quite some time. We talked about ways I might be able to strengthen my story further and her comments were enlightening and very insightful. And at the end of the call, she offered me representation as an author and also as a children’s book illustrator.

I couldn’t be happier. It was a nice bit of good news after the sadness of Huckleberry’s passing. I do wish that he could’ve been there to share the moment, but I’m sure he was watching from up above and letting out his beagley howl of happiness.

So what’s next? I am going to revise the manuscript again based on Lara’s suggestions. And maybe again…and maybe again after that, who knows? These things take time. And once the manuscript is ready, Lara will go out on submission with it. Of course there are no guarantees. This doesn’t mean my book will be published, but at least we will give it a go. This new adventure has been—and will continue to be—a wonderful learning experience and a whole lot of fun, too.

Please keep your fingers crossed for Lara and me.

A little while back I posted a fortune from a fortune cookie I’d received. Here’s another one. These fortune cookies are amazing, I’m telling you. Who’s writing them…Edgar Cayce?

And with that, I’m getting out of here before Lara sees it.

No, Samantha isn’t mine, although I wouldn’t mind if she was. Isn’t she beautiful? She is the furry child of my friends Anita and Gene, and I thank them for sending these photos.

I think a visit to Beaufort is in order…to see Samantha and Gene again, and also for some of the magic and music that is Anita Francis:

We were never dog and master…we were the best of friends. And between us, Huckleberry was always the wiser one.

We had our own language. I knew the sound that meant “I’m thirsty” or “I’m hungry” or “Let’s go for a walk.” And Huckleberry knew—without me ever having to tell him—when I was happy or sad or somewhere in between.

These past eight months have been hard, as he lost his eyes and his ears. We went through the nightly anxiety attacks together. He had developed sundown syndrome and suffered occasional bouts of vestibular disease. And through it all, we had to learn a new language. And as always, he was the teacher and I was the student. He would pace in circles and I would pace with him. And the circles kept growing smaller and smaller…his way of telling me it was time to let him go. I’ve never done anything harder.

For sixteen years and three months, Huckleberry, you were my truest friend, my trusted confidante. The one who loved me in spite of my failings. The one who was always there…through the happy moments and the not-so-happy ones, too. I have a beagle-shaped hole in me right now, and I’m sure you have a Sean-shaped one in you. Until we see each other again—and I know we will—that hole will still be there, waiting for you to fill it again.

I miss you so, so much you wise old boy. You taught me to be a better person and I can’t thank you enough.

Hopefully more than just one.

Positive and Negative Forces, © Sean W. Byrne, 5″ x 8″, mixed media

…and sometimes somewhere in between.

I attended the Big Sur Writing Workshop in Big Sur, California a month ago. I’ve been meaning to write about it, but got distracted when the holidays came roaring in (I’ve also been immersed in my story which you may remember I blogged about a while back).

It was a really wonderful experience. The workshop is organized by the Andrea Brown Literary Agency and the Henry Miller Memorial Library. You can read more about it here. It’s a great opportunity to meet other children’s book writers, as well as the agents from ABLA, editors from publishing houses, and published authors. To all my writerly friends: I can’t recommend it enough.

I wish I had taken photos, but I was so busy, my camera never made it out of its case. The only photo I managed to take was this (blurry) one with my phone the first morning:

Being on east coast time, I was up early that morning. It was about 7:00, I think, and breakfast wasn’t until 8:00. Thankfully, I was able to get a cup of coffee early. As you can see, it rained all weekend, but I didn’t mind because it made the whole experience that much more sensory.

Since I don’t have photos, I decided to do some artwork instead. But before I go on, if you have one of these things, please go get it and hold it up to your nose:

It’s okay. I’ll wait.

In order to understand the painting below, let me explain that there is a road that leads from the lodge up to where the cabins are. It’s not a bad walk, even in the rain, because redwoods are everywhere and they smell wonderful (now sniff that thing).

There was a whole lot of walking up and down the road that weekend, with everyone hunched under their umbrellas and clutching flashlights. It was very much like camp:

Big Sur Rain, © Sean W. Byrne, 14" x 11", mixed media

If you are considering going and you are like me (shy), all I can say is GO. The critique groups are very small (no larger than 5), so you get a lot of individual attention (I workshopped with a literary agent and an editor). The whole vibe is very relaxed, and you’re in a beautiful spot in a redwood forest, surrounded by kindred spirits…and if that isn’t perfect, what is? Between the critique sessions and the panel discussions, you will learn a lot not only about writing, but the industry as well. I now have new friends all over the country, and some have become long-distance critique partners. We spent a lot of late nights reading and printing out revisions in the conference center, and getting slap happy eating whatever food was still on the tables. The food, by the way, is excellent and the dinners are a lot of fun. With all the rain, everyone was wondering if the road to the lodge was going to wash out. This happens sometimes, apparently. (It didn’t. Too bad…the rooms don’t have telephones and cell phone reception is spotty…it would have been very Agatha Christie. If there had been a murder, that is…but, sadly, there wasn’t one of those either.)

Since returning home, I’ve been applying what I learned. I’ve also been working on illustrations, which really help me see, smell, taste and hear my character Humphery’s world. I imagine it’s a bit like what an actor goes through, getting into character.

Here are a few of the drawings, and again I apologize for the distracting copyright symbol, but my legal counsel (that would be Gaston) insists on it:

Farmer’s Market, Carrboro, NC

This barred owl appears to have taken up residence in our yard just off our patio. We first spotted him yesterday morning. He spent the day sitting in the dogwood (I kept going back to see if he was still there) and then flew off at twilight. I wondered if we would see him again.

Well, guess who was sitting in the same dogwood this morning? He watches the chipmunks run across the patio (and this morning, he swooped down and got one). He also lets you get surprisingly close to him before he starts doing that head-wobble thing. I wonder, is that a sign of aggression?

He’s just flown off again now, at twilight. I wonder if he’ll be back in the morning.

Here are a few more photos:

Sean

Humphrey and I have some news to share.

Say hi to Samantha

Wordless Wednesday

I said good-bye to my best friend last night.

A fortune worth saving.

Positive and Negative Forces

Humphrey and I went to Big Sur

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Hello, Hedwig