Congratulations!

To Patricia Wood, whose debut novel Lottery will be out in August - and just got a huge spread in the Putnam catalogue!

Here's her blog post about it....

Pat is one of those people you love to love, and I'm pleased and proud to be part of her writing world.

.................................................................................................................................................................

On my submission status:
The Ballantine acquisitions team turned down White Night.

Something tells me it's going to be a long, long wait.
One thing you need a lot of in the publishing world is patience.
Patience, patience, and yet more patience.
Nothing moves quickly.

So the question is: do I regret it?
Do I regret my little private rebellion against HarperCollins?
Should I have written that option novel just the way my editor wanted, taken the advance, and ran?
If I had, would I be big by now, and writing what I really want to write, like she'd promised, back then in the Grand Hotel Eastbourne?
A part of me does have regrets. That's the part of me that is struggling to keep my family above water financially. A part of me that wants to lie down and rest, to just write whatever they want, and to hell with everything else.

I'm tired. My husband is ill; he's contracted Parkinson's Disease, and just when I thought the kids are big enough to be on their own I've got someone new to care for. He's now retired and our income is cut by half. I'm tired of the struggle.

And another part of me says: it's OK. One day, it will be worth it.
One day I'll find the editor who can say a wholehearted YES to my work, and an acquisitions team who'll agree. One day, I know, I'll find my readers.

I truly believe that if I had given in back then, written a book by numbers instead of from my heart, I'd have lost whatever it is that makes writing special for me - a certain magic.
I want to preserve that magic, find it again and again. I want an agent who roots for my writing and wants it to be the best it can be and will help me to get there - not one for whom a quick success is more important than growing into the best writer I can be.
In that sense, all is well.

I shall wait.