Awesomesauce. Two-book deal for Delightful Author. Squeeeeeeee!

We've been holding back, Delightful Author and I. The publisher, of course, wanted everything ironed out and official first. Knowing she was probably just bursting (I mean, wouldn't you be, with such news?) I decided to not publicly announce anything--even anonymously--until she could.

But. We just got the go-ahead from the publisher to shout it from the rooftops: we just sold two books! 

(I say "we" because, of course, the writing was a considerable amount of the work!)

This is terribly exciting. Don't tell our other clients--I love all the books I work on--but this work is a favorite of mine. It's a Young Adult paranormal romance, and it made me feel like I was fourteen again--that imagination-captured, cynicism-not-yet-in-place, dizzied with gorgeous images--that kind of reading.

And the author's not bad, either. :) From the first moment I spoke with her, I knew we had a rapport--she's smart, darkly funny, and a positive delight. I mean, how many clients will let you punctuate your official agent correspondence, your surprise at the latest turn of events, with "O-M-G"?

So, Delightful Author and I were busy last week (when I was busy not being run over by holiday-clad firetrucks)  finalizing everything. It was a week of phone calls, flurries of emails, and--of course--drama, drama, drama.

It was a curious day in the office, at the end of it--my boss and I were both waiting to hear back from editors who'd promised us each offers, and we--anxious, tired of waiting for the phone to ring, and thinking of our upcoming office holiday party--put on some music, took the cordless into the kitchen, and cooked. One of our cookbook authors has a delightful recipe for a Mediterranean spread that can be made with either red or green peppers--and we made both. With bell peppers sizzling and popping in the oil, a gorgeous CD of arias blasting,  and the radiator exhaling sweet puffs of warmth, I found myself feeling very, very thankful.

It couldn't have possibly worked out any better.

We ended up with a two-book deal (sweet!) with an editor who gets the book more than I could have ever hoped. She's a Joss Whedon fan, an editorial genius, really funny, and kind. There was some drama because there were several editors interested--after all, agents do toss out work hoping that someone will fall in love with it; when that happens with multiple people, it's never easy--and also, of course, these are people we like and want to keep happy, as it's quite possible we'll be sending them books for the next forty years--but after so much thinking, I wholeheartedly believe Delightful Author and I made the right choice.

The books will be published by Penguin in 2011.