We Have a Home!

Just a quick update to say that we have found a place to rent in the Jacksonville area.  It's a townhouse in Atlantic Beach within a few miles of the beach.  We're very excited to move in on the 1st and get settled!

The Coffee Queen and the Little Scoot outside our new front door

Rejection

Yesterday my book was rejected.  Earlier this year I sent The Mighty Carrot off to the first round of agents.  Once responded right away and asked to see the entire manuscript, along with a couple of my picture book texts.  And then I waited, and waited, until yesterday I finally had a reply.  It wasn't what I had hoped for.

It was a no.  Or rather, more accurately, it was a "not for me."  As a writer, rejection is part of the game.  I've learned that to a certain extent this is a numbers game.  To get that one yes sometimes takes hearing no a hundred times.  There are rejections, sometimes, that make you wonder what on earth you're doing, why you're fighting this uphill battle in the first place, why you put yourself in the position to be rejected over and over.

And then there are rejections like this one.  It was kind.  It was encouraging.  It said "you're a great writer" and ended with "I'd be happy to consider other work from you in the future."  In brief, this was a rejection that said keep going.

And so today I worked on Carrot again, looking for ways to sharpen it as I regroup for Querying Agents: Round 2.  There will be more rejections.  Probably a lot of them, actually.  I can't control that.  All I can control is making the story better and getting it out there.

It might sound strange, but I appreciate this rejection.  I appreciated the time and thought that went into the decision, and the honesty to say it's not for me, but someone else will feel differently.  In the end, I want an agent that falls in love with Carrot as I have.  And so, I keep going.

We made it!

Last Saturday we packed up the car and started the drive out of Minnesota.

Why do we have so much stuff???

How strange to cross the border into Wisconsin and not know when we might return.  The drive to Atlanta was uneventful, although we did see a few interesting sights along the way.

I don't know what it is either

We even took a few minutes to stop by Antique Archaeology in Nashville (we love American Pickers!).

At Antique Archaeology in Nashville

On Monday we made it to the Atlanta area to visit friends.  The Little Scoot did awesome in the car, but it was still a relief to be able to get out of the car for a while.

The Little Scoot entertaining himself

But after a few days we decided to press on, spending Friday in Jacksonville to take a look at the beaches and scout out a few possible places to live.

The Coffee Queen: On a beach again at last!

And now we're down in Cocoa Beach, our home for now.  More to come!