Friday, February 25, 2011

One year ago today...

I've been staring at the computer for 30 minutes thinking, "Would readers feel ripped off if I skipped this post and just suggested going over to The Debutante Ball to read what I blogged about there?"

I've also been thinking about how much I like wool socks and wondering when I last washed my hair. It's been a busy 30 minutes.

But I just looked at the calendar and realized it's a significant day. Maybe not to everyone, but certainly to me.

One year ago today, my amazing agent Michelle Wolfson called to say Sourcebooks, Inc. had offered a three book deal for my romantic comedies.

It's funny to look back now on the blog entry I posted that day. I wrote about visiting my grandmother (a trip I took to get my mind off the fact that the Sourcebooks editorial board was deciding my fate).

Michelle called a few hours after I got home, and I remember panicking as I saw her number on my caller ID. Did she usually call with bad news or email it? I couldn't remember.

I do remember there was a long pause after the preliminary hellos, and in that pause, I was certain we'd been rejected.

I'm no pessimist – far from it, in fact. But I'd had my fair share of calls that left me nodding and squeaking out, "it's OK," while trying to pretend it didn't feel like I'd just been bitch-slapped with a spiced salami.

But there was no bitch-slapping on February 25, 2010. Just a lot of squealing and jumping around and maybe dancing the cat across the bedroom.

He's still pissed about that.

I didn't get the go-ahead to squeal publicly until the next day, so I settled for calling friends and family that evening.

Then I went out and dyed a purple swatch in my hair (a tradition started by my agency sistah Kiersten White and soon to be continued by our other packmates Linda Grimes and Kimberly Sabatini who both just landed book deals. Have I mentioned how much it rocks to be part of Michelle Wolfson's Wolf Pack?)

Anyway, happy anniversary to all of us. Some of you have been reading since I started this blog a few weeks before the book deal came through, and some of you are brand new within the last few days or months. I appreciate every single one of you, and am so thrilled to have you as part of this journey.

Now go out and celebrate. Hey, we can all use the excuse, right?

24 comments :

D. U. Okonkwo said...

How cool! Happy Anniversary!

Anonymous said...

That is very cool. Happy anniversary & I love the hair streaking initiation. Oh and we appreaciate your witty posts and much as you appreciate us reading them. It's great symbiotic relationship. ; )

Amanda Hoving said...

Loved your story! I just found you a few months ago, so it's fun to go back and read how it all started. Happy Anniversary~

Crystal Posey said...

Happy Anniversary!

Steph Schmidt said...

Happy Anniversary! And may there be many more, with new book deals of course.

I'm more than a little curious now if everyone in the agency pack has to stick to purple though...

Christopher said...

I know you said "...dyed a purple swatch in my hair..." but all I read was "I went streaking".

Happy deal anniversary! I'll go do a celebratory streak for you. Watch the evening news for me.

Heather Hellmann said...

Happy anniversary and congratulations on your success! I can't wait until your first book hits shelves. I enjoy reading your blog so I'm sure I'll enjoy your novel!

Sarah W said...

Happy Anniversary!

I want a purple streak . . .

Danica Avet said...

Happy Anniversary, Tawna! I can't wait for Making Waves to come out. Okay, I'm a little disappointed we didn't learn more about wool socks, but I suppose we'll survive ;)

Anonymous said...

Yay. What a great thing to celebrate! And the purple swatch is awesome. Congrats. Enjoy the journey!

Matthew MacNish said...

Awesome. Happy bookiblogaversary. It's a word.

Kimberly Sabatini said...

Love ya Sistah!

Linda G. said...

Happy Anniversary! :D

And laughing at your moment of panic when you saw Michelle's number on your caller ID. I panicked myself when I heard her voice, and started chatting inanely about trivial stuff, just to put off hearing what I was sure was going to be bad news, or, at best, a pep talk about not giving up. Must have rambled on for five minutes before I steeled myself and finally let her talk.

And then, of course, she had to listen to me hyperventilate and squeal for another ten. ;)

Candyland said...

You inspire me. I don't think I've ever told you which sucks on my part, but you do. You're hilarious, talented (I could go on and one, really), and you write these insanely great posts every day.

In my next life I want to be you. Or at least a character in your book. Or a monkey so I can get away with scratching my butt in front of people.

BarbN said...

thank you for the link (the illiterate girl). almost didn't notice that there was a second page.

congratulations on your anniversary! I'm so looking forward to your books.

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Good for you! Congratulations on developing such a terrific blog so quickly.

I finally bit the bullet and posted my very first blog today. Still have a lot to learn, but if, a year from now, I have even ten percent of the followers you've attracted in a year's time, I'll count myself lucky. Hell, I'll be happy if I have ANY followers ... (hmmm, maybe I should call all of my kids ...)

Happy Anniversary!

Susan

Caryn Caldwell said...

That's so cool! It's funny to look back on things. What seems obvious in retrospect was NOT at the time.

TAWNA FENSKE said...

Thanks so much for the kind words and well wishes, guys! It's been a crazy year, hasn't it?

Tawna

Debra Lynn Shelton said...

Happy Anniversary! What a special date to note. Love the purple hair, and the Wolf Pack? Unbefreakinglievably awesome. ;-)

Ev Bishop said...

Happy anniversary! Your books sound great--perfect beach and holiday reads. As I'm taking a trip at the end of August this year, I'll be sure to pick up your first one.

Cheers,
Ev

Adriana said...

Congratulations, happy anniversary! Love the purple swatch, love the clever post - fellow crusader, will be back for more!

Adriana

Jason said...

"Bitch slapped by a spicy salami" - that better be going in your next manuscript. :)

Sage Ravenwood said...

Definitely a significant date. Happy Anniversary to the coolest news ever! (Hugs)Indigo

Melanie Sherman said...

I can't imagine how fun that must feel, but I can come close. I still have the message on my answering machine from when the Pacific Northwest Writer's Association told me I was a finalist in their literary contest. Yeah, and that was 2009. Multiply that by a hundred and I'll bet even the cat was happy.