Well, despite all my worries and anxiety, my mewling and puking, and all my complaining, I got a complete draft of my new novel completed. (The adult book.) And…..my agent loves it. Her assistant read it too, and said she couldn’t put it down. I’m ecstatic. Really. I am. I have the character down, her voice down, and the basic plot nailed. Which, in the world of writing, is a lot.

The thing is, I still have a lot more work to do on it. Like, a REAL lot. According to my agent’s editorial letter, a lot of my action scenes aren’t moving forward. This means that while there may be a ton of stuff going on, there’s not a lot driving it. There’s not enough at stake; not enough being risked. Sometimes, in the first rush, when I am scrambling to get to the end, I forget this. I have it in my head, but somehow I forget to transfer it to the page.

One of the more exciting things about this book though, is that I really feel as if I am being pushed. Normally I don’t like to be pushed. I’m very comfortable much of the time leaving the things the way they are. Being pushed is hard. It’s uncomfortable. It requires a shitload worth of effort - the kind that leaves you sweaty and in tears. But yesterday my agent said to me: “I’m going to push you on this one, Cecilia, because I want it to be at the top of your publisher’s pile. I want them to say, ‘This is OUR book. OUR author.’ And I know you can do it.”

For as hard as it is to be pushed, it’s harder still to ignore someone standing behind you, saying those kinds of things.

So I’m going to have to disappear for a little while longer. Don’t take it personally - I’m just diving back into the manuscript. I’ll be up to my ears in action and forward motion, risk and stake. Pushing myself to take this book as far as it will go - so that it can be the best it can be.

Onward, always.

CG

It’s a good one!!!

Yes!!! 

Willowood Cecilia Galante. S&S/Aladdin, $16.99 (272p) ISBN 978-1-4169-8022-3

Galante (The Patron Saint of Butterflies) writes a heartfelt story of friendship and change. When Lily’s single-parent mother gets a new job, the fifth-grader isn’t happy about moving to a bigger city (“Their lives had been so perfect back home in Glenview, where everything was quiet and green”). Lily sorely misses her best friend, Bailey, and their secret place under a willow tree. With her mother working long hours and Bailey too busy to talk on the phone, Lily’s closest confidante might be Weemis, her pet gecko. Although some people—her babysitter, Mrs. Hiller; Gina, the class nerd; and a pet shop owner who offers Lily a part-time job—make kind overtures, Lily doesn’t recognize the value of their friendships until actions she takes result in hurt feelings and misunderstandings. Galante has a knack for small details (like Lily contemplating that neither she nor her mother know how to braid hair) and fully formed characters that make the story inviting and authentic. Lily emerges as a likable, realistically flawed heroine; her courage and integrity, illustrated in her determination to make things right, will win readers’ respect. Ages 9–13. (Mar.)

Thank you, Publishers Weekly!!

Onward!

CG

My third novel, Willowood, will be released into the wide world tomorrow morning! It’s exciting and terrifying too - almost like letting a child of your own go out there and have to navigate all those treacherous hills and valleys without very much help. So to those of you who may go out and buy the book, be gentle! It’s my little girl one, and she has to be treated with much kindness!!

 Also, see me talking a little bit about the book here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvvEvKDylDI

Onward, always.

CG