Why I was AWOL ... Again

Zeph's Unusual First Math Lesson: 2+1=4

As you may have noticed, this blog's been a little quiet lately. I don't usually post personal things here (except when I do), but I wanted to give you a little update as to my bloggy/social media absence.

November, as of course you know, was NaNoWriMo, and I was participating for the first time! I was on a strict deadline though because I was flying home for the holidays on the 18th, and I knew I *had* to be done by then or I'd never finish (true story -- whenever I go back home, I invariably get so distracted by friends and family and holidays that I get approximately 0 hours of work done). But with some great tips and great help from my fellow #writesprint  #500in30 buddies, I totally won in 18 days!!!! W00t W00t! (no blog posts in that time though, sorry :o} )

I'm now about to start revising my NaNo novel (an MG contemporary retelling), and continuing to research and draft my YA Journalist Novel.

But, it's been a little trickier than usual because ... we are expecting Taylor Baby #2!

{ Announcement Video Courtesy of Zeph }

We're so very excited about Z getting a brother or sister (though not thrilled by the insomnia, queasiness, and exhaustion that has come with the first trimester, but that's almost over, so: onward towards more writing and more blogging!!)

Zeph is both slightly confused ("Go get baby NOW") and very excited. He's dubbed it "Elmo-Baby" XD. He's also getting pretty helpful around the house, and I hope that lasts till Baby-Time *fingers crossed*

Like last time, I won't post much more about our new Bub here, but if you want to follow along, I will be doing regular updates over on my personal blog: Taylors in Sydney.

Coping with Rejection: 10 Tips from the Pros

Rejection sucks.

My personal favorite coping mechanism: chocolate!
Image from Flickr User : FlickrLickr

Unfortunately, as writers, it's something we have to deal with on a daily basis. Because publishing is such a subjective business, rejection is an ongoing, and inescapable part of the process. We all go through it. Even novel-writing rock stars.

So how do the pros handle it? Read on to see!

  {and click their names to see the full stories}

10 Tips for Coping with Rejection : Pro Edition

    If needed, take a moment for self-care:

Bingewatch a season (or two, or twenty) of a favorite show. {Sarah Dessen}

Drink some Hot Chocolate  (or Dr. Pepper & M&Ms) and have a good cry. { Marie Lu  & Kiersten White}

     AND THEN ...

Toss the rejection in your rejection bag or rejection roll as a war wound ... and as a visual aid so when you get published you can encourage future writers not to give up on their dreams! { Meg Cabot and Shannon Hale }

Remember: as tough as it is, rejection only means not right now, for this person.
So just keep swimming! { Veronica Roth }

Don't Listen to a rogue naysayer ... they're just one opinion. { Beth Revis }

But sometimes ... do tune in to good advice and Revise Your Query { Corrine Jackson }

Get More Beta Readers, Glean what you can from rejections, Edit and move onward! { Maggie Stiefvater }

Revel in the suckiness of it all and then Revise, revise, revise your way out { Natalie Whipple }

Work on your craft, write a new book, and Try again! {Demetria Lunetta}

Chin Up! Today's seemingly crushing defeat could be tomorrow's bestseller. {Marissa Meyer}


      { and remember: there are always more contests and more agents ! }


Also be sure to check out:

12 Famous Writers on Literary Rejection

Bestsellers that Were Initially Rejected

And on this blog: Feeling Rejected? Join the Prestgious Crowd

What about you? How do you deal with the inevitable rejection that comes with publishing?

HAPPY DANCE! (I Have an Agent!!!)

My cyborg beekeeper story
has an agent!!!

You guys. I can't believe I'm sitting here, writing this post.

It's a post I've been longing to write since the beginning of this blog, four years ago -- way back before my FARLIGHT story when I had the beginnings of a novel idea and I scarcely knew what an agent was ...

   ** Cue exceedingly long post. I'll totally not judge
       if you skip to the end to see how this turns out : ) **

Novel Attempt #1: The Awakening of Minna Gray

I started writing my first novel back in January of 2011. I was working on my PhD at the time, and I'd just submitted my Prospectus to my committee. I didn't have many classes that semester (I think one??), and the previous fall, I'd gotten an itch to write the story forming in the back of my mind. So I took the month of February, and wrote and wrote and wrote until I had a bright and shiny (Read: incredibly messy and horrid) first draft. I probably edited it some after that, but not nearly enough before I inflicted it on my little sister, my husband, my mom, and .... oh lordy, probably some other people too ... and for that I apologize profusely. That *thing* was not ready to see the light of day.

But I knew there was something there, if I could just ... well ... rewrite the whole darn thing. Which is exactly what I did. And then edited it again, and then sent it out to beta readers, and edited more, and ... well you get the picture. In April 2012, I started querying (lightly) and later that year entered some contests, through which I met a TON of amazing fellow writers.

They love my story!!!

(**PSA: If you're a querying writer and haven't ever considered entering a pitch/query contest. DO IT. Or participate on the sidelines, cheering the entrants on. It is a wonderful way to meet a whole bunch of incredibly talented, supportive, and all-around amazing authors! I love the writing community! END PSA.**)

Early 2013 was truly a roller-coaster of a time for me, emotionally. I finally had a decent query and first page, and I started getting some    nibbles. I queried some more. But this was 2013, and my story was
a Young Adult Dystopian Fantasy.                                                     

They hate my story

Let me repeat that: It was a YA Dystopian

It had some other problems too. Namely there was an element to it that read too MG, but was too dear to me to cut from the novel. I'd suspected it would be a hard sell, and my time in the query trenches confirmed that more than just hard, dystopian was kind of like the kiss of death. Not surprisingly, the rejections started pouring in. While many of the agents were very enouraging, and I even got an R&R, they all said that it would just be too hard in the current market. I stopped querying my dear little MINNA after only getting about a third of the way through my agent list.

Don't stop writing. Or else.

Cue lots of crying and chocolate.

But I couldn't stop writing. I knew I couldn't.

Enter Manuscript #2: FARLIGHT

I began writing my second MS in August of 2012. This one was a YA sci-fi about a cyborg beekeeper enroute to New Earth (you can read more about it here if you want!). I only got a few chapters done before dissertation research and a subsequent move to Australia sort of sidelined everything for awhile. But I picked it up again in 2013, and by September, I had a nicer-shinier, twice self-edited MS #2. Again I put it through the gauntlet of betas and CPs (thanks Monica, Stephanie, Max, Ifeoma, Leigh, and Mara!!), then edited, followed by another round of betas and more editing in 2014. Somewhere in there I graduated with a PhD in Sustainability, moved house, and had a son.

Are you ready to query?

Yeah ... being a first-time mum hit me HARD. It was all kinds of great, but our little guy wasn't (and still isn't) a good sleeper. He's also fairly opinionated about *things* and usually wants these *things* right now Now NOW! Still, I somehow managed to whip my book into shape in the first half of 2014. FARLIGHT was ready.

I started querying lightly in September, put my letter through Query Letter Hell, started querying again, and participated in #pitmad, and later in the year, #SFFpit. I tried to do the blog contest circuit, but never got picked for the agent rounds.

so easy to doubt yourself

Not gonna lie: the fact that I hadn't made the cut in the October/November contests really got me down. MS #2 was supposed to be more marketable than the last. I knew more about writing/querying/editing/the works. I loved my story. My betas and CPs thought I had something. What was wrong? Maybe everyone was just being nice. Maybe I was misreading what people had said. Maybe my idea was actually total crap. Maybe I wasn't pitching it well. Maybe I was a horrible writer.

You guys, ALL the doubts started creeping in.

I revamped my query. After some extremely helpful feedback on a full manuscript rejection (I will love that agent forever), I made some fine-tuning edits to that too. In January 2015, I started querying again. In February, I participated in the First Five Pages Workshop and met some lovely fellow YA writers that helped me tighten up those critical pages even more. (Thank you Abigail, Lisa, Meghan and Sheri!)

Lit Agent Detective Mode

I devoted myself to researching literary agents. I read about them on Lit Rambles, PM Member pages, Query Tracker, Query Questions w/ Michelle. I scoured #MSWL lists, #MSWL paragraphs and their twitter feeds. I carefully tailored every letter I could. And it paid off. The full requests started coming in! I queried HARD.

And then ... *crickets*

I knew from prior experience that it often takes agents awhile to get to the partials and fulls on their desks. I kept querying. Kept wailing at the form rejections in my inbox and doing *happy dances* for the requests.

Still no word.

It'd been over three months since my first full request of my revamped MS. Not that long to wait, but *refreshitis* was hitting me big time. And then, while checking my email at 2am, [as one does], I got an email from one of the agents who had my full. My heart started beating faster ... and then I clicked on it ... and it took forever to load because the internet sucks here in Australia ... and it was ... a rejection.

I was really bummed. I tried not to be. Tried to tell myself I had plenty of other fulls out there. Tried to tell myself that, statistically speaking, rejection is part of the business. But we all know that sort of comforting only kinda works. Every rejection is still hard.

I kept querying.

Then on April 1st (I know, "April Fool's"  ... classic, right?), again on a 3am email-check, I got an email that went something like this:

Hi Carissa: One of my colleagues passed your manuscript on to me. I'm on page 100 and loving it. I just wanted to check with you that it is still available. (Sidenote: THANK YOU AMANDA!)

Please pick me!

Cue massive heart racing and complete and utter inability to go back to sleep. It was night in Australia, but back in the U.S. it was daytime, and somewhere over there, an agent was reading my book RIGHT NOW.


So of course I got up and typed out a blabbering email. Was it available? Heck yes, it is available. Please don't stop reading because you don't think it's available!!



The next day, I got another message that went something like:

 I've got 60 pages to go, and I really, really like this. 

Of course I'm available for a call!

Which of course made me do ALL THE HAPPY DANCES.

Then two days after that, I got an email asking: was I available for a call to discuss the manuscript? WELL OF COURSE I WAS.

... The only problem is I sort of wasn't. I was on vacation in Cairns at the time, visiting the Great Barrier Reef. After a bit of calendar-checking, we scheduled the talk for three days later.

Three whole days.

During which, I ...

(1) Quickly double-checked my list of all the important questions you're supposed to ask an agent during "The Call" and then

(2) Re-read his email, saw the word "edits" and promptly began second-guessing myself all over again: I'd been wrong. This wasn't "The Call" after all. This was simply "A Call" to discuss revisions ... perhaps a Revise & Resubmit request. Or maybe not even that. Maybe he just wanted to call and discuss what he thought needed work, but he didn't even want a R&R. 

All the voices of doubt settled in so quickly.

The Call

Because I was in Australia, and he was in the US, we ended up speaking via my laptop ... which was tethered to my OZ phone ... which was connected to the internet via 3G ... which made me sound like I was talking through snorkel while in the Great Barrier Reef, rather than just sitting in an apartment unit by the Great Barrier Reef.

Throughout the entire call, he was so great to talk to, you guys. I mean I felt like I'd known him forever. And he was incredibly enthusiastic and encouraging. Yet while he was telling me how much he liked my work, and my writing, and my action scenes, and the sustainability themes, my brain kept on trying to keep me in check, telling me "But this isn't the call." Yes, he likes this. Yes, he likes that. But there will be a but. Because this isn't The Call. 

Brains are such funny things, right?

There was a but. He ran some broad editorial suggestions by me (all of which I loved and made me super excited to re-visit the manuscript). And then, after some chatting about travelling, food, academic conferences, we got to the end of the "Not-The-Call" and I asked what the next steps were (referring to what I was 99.9% sure was an R & R) and he said:

Well I can send you the agency contract.

Hold up. What are we talking about? Is this a revise and resubmit?

I think I actually said something about as eloquent as that, and subsequently almost fell out of my chair when he said:

No this is an offer of representation.

I may have squeal-scream-laughed a little. Pretty sure he could see my smile through the phone. After coming to my senses, I asked the questions I would have asked, had I thought that the call we were having was THE CALL. By the end of it, I knew 100% that this was the agent that I wanted to represent Farlight. He got my book. He wanted more of the elements in my book that I loved but had been scared to go overboard with.


The After-The-Call

I had a number of queries, partials, and fulls out at the time, I gave them a deadline to reply if they were still interested. After the crazy flurry of both step-asides and requests to see more settled out, I had 17 full manuscripts out. Now, knowing that I really wanted the agent I'd already talked to, I gave them only a week to respond (more on this in a subsequent post). At the end of the week, 9 agents had stepped aside, and 8 agents were unable to read the MS in the timeframe (so effectively, stepping aside).

One week after the offer, I accepted. A bit of time (okay, a lot of time -- both he and I had conflicting vacations, etc) and admin and emails later, everything's official and I can finally post this:

Today I am beyond thrilled to announce that:

 I am now represented by Jason Anthony                                         of Lippincott Massie McQuilkin!!

Not going to lie. Right now I feel a little like I could fly (a starship) :)

Stay tuned for a post on the query that worked!

Also, Ryan wanted to chime in:

Me too, Ryan. Me too.



.

The Writing Life Update - A Bloghop Post

Z and I take a much needed coffee break

I don't often participate in bloghops but I needed a little kick in the pants to get blogging again. Reason? See photo, right.
That's Z. 8 months. Cute as can be and champion sleep fighter.

.... So when fellow YA SF author Stephanie Flint (SBibb) tagged me for this bloghop, I decided to go for it!

First, a bit about Stephanie (who I first met through Absolute Write, I believe!)

Stephanie Flint is a book cover designer and author of YA/NA. Her most recent release was Ashes, a short-story prequel to her 1000 Words: A Collection of Short Stories project.

Check out Stephanie's Blog here:  http://sbibb.wordpress.com/

P.S.: I just finished reading a near-finished MS of hers. It takes place in a world where superheroes used to thrive, supervillains now reign, and those with superpowers who don't cooperate are transformed into monsters. A super fast-paced, fun read set in a richly imagined world! Read more about Distant Horizons here!!

Okay, now onto the BlogHop questions:

What am I working on?
Well, I just finished working on FARLIGHT - a YA sci-fi about a cyborg beekeeper sleuthing out a thief before all the supplies on her generational starship vanish. I've just started querying it, and I'm super excited for it!! *fingers crossed*

Next up? A YA Contemporary that I'm super excited about, as it's a retelling of one of my childhood favorites! Also in the near future, a MG victorian fantasy. Did I mention I have a hard time settling on a favorite genre?

How does my work differ from other novels in the genre?
In YA sci-fi we've seen a lot of post-apocalyptic futures, a lot of aliens, a lot of earth-based sci-fi. Like some of the newer YA SF, I wanted to take things out of the solar system - into deep space. So I've set the book in the far future, on a starship hurtling toward a new star system and a New Earth, in an era where genetic modification of humans is (somewhat) commonplace. Using that backdrop I explore issues of insider-outsiderness, identity, resource use, and the far-reaching conequences of disconnect. [ Between escaping an oxygen draining chamber, scrambling through ducts after bees, first-love, first-heartbreak, evading hostage-seeking rioters, sleuthing out resource thieves, and racing from killer droids of course :) ]

Why do I write what I do?
It's been said before, but I write because I have to. There's an enormous tidal wave of books welling up in my mind ... and they're like hardcovers and heavy and stuff - if I don't let them out, the pressure would probably kill me!

What is my writing process?

Rewards for editing.

Right now? With coffee. LOTS of coffee. heehee j/k -- but not really.

Coffee. And jellybeans.

I know, I know. I'm like mostly vegan, and organic, and local-food, and kinda health-freaky. But I'm also a first-time mom.
So.
Coffee. And jellybeans.

But for realsies:

I'm a plotter, fairly fast(?) first-drafter (about 6 weeks -- though with my new little bub, we'll see!), and dramatic revisionist. I like my books to simmer for awhile in my mind before each write/re-write. I currently do a lot of my writing at a standing "desk" (my kitchen island) while rocking my little boy to sleep in his baby carrier : )

Oh! And I get a lot of my ideas for stories while washing the dishes (yes, we have no dishwasher).

This is a bloghop, but I ran out of time to ask people, so if you're seeing this and you want to participate, consider yourself tagged!

Also: Any tips on how to juggle writing & parenting a tiny, crazy, cuddly person would be MUCH appreciated!

Balancing Act - Life, PhD, Writing, and new Manuscript!

Why hello there! It's been awhile. I realized at the beginning of summer that I was going to have to start prioritizing my activities if I wanted to finish my dissertation and still enjoy my trip back to the states for my sister's wedding. So as you can see based on the timing of my last blog post, I took a little Blog/Twitter hiatus. 

To be honest I was hitting a bit of a wall in terms of bloggy content. Does that ever happen to you? I felt like I had written about a lot of the writing related topics I wanted to, and I was even feeling too stressed to write up my book reviews. So I just decided to take a break. Some people are great at consistently posting things to their blog, but I have to be really driven by a topic, and I just  ... wasn't.

Now that I'm back from the daze of dissertation defending, and officially graduating (yay!!) I'm back in novel writing mode. Well editing mode technically.

The good news about taking my little hiatus is that I did all the things I set out to accomplish:

• Defended PhD dissertation!
  
• Spent great quality time with my fam 
• who live so far from me now =(
  
• Survived my first two trimesters without too many nervous breakdowns
• had no idea how much anxiety pregnancy could cause!
  
• Finished my new YA Sci-Fi Manuscript!
• anyone want to beta?? hee hee.
  Blurb about the book here.

So all in all, I'm very pleased with the outcome. But I've missed you!

How do you deal with too many things on your plate? What's the first to go? Do you ever get blogger-block? Get overwhelmed with blog reading/writing? With Twitter? What are your tricks for achieving a balance?

The Reason I've been AWOL: Part II

Yesterday I posted The Reason I've been AWOL Part I. This is Part II. 

Some of you may already know from Facebook and other channels that I have some very exciting (and non writing related) news! If you haven't seen it already, check out the video my husband and I made:

It is the story of our lives since we met each other, as retold by our little shell actors (Austrocochlea porcata to be exact -- yes I'm a marine biology nerd!). The story opens where we met in California, up to Seattle (note the Space Needle, heehee), to our grad programs in Arizona and then across the ocean to Sydney, where we are about to embark on a new adventure!

Our Lives In Shell Video:

That's right, my husband and I are thrilled to announce that we are expecting our first child!
Due Date December 3rd, 2013. This past year has been a very difficult one for me healthwise, so we are excited, shocked, and completely over the moon about this!

I won't be posting much more about the little one here, but if you're interested, there will be regular updates over on my personal blog: "Taylors in Sydney"

Did you mean what I think you said?

 PhD Misunderstood

Sometimes there are things people say here in Australia that don't translate. And there's things that I say which they don't understand. Those are all fine. We might not understand each other, but at least I'm not going to misuse them on accident - inadvertently converting an innocent US word into an extremely "disreputable" Australian phrase.

If you know me very well, you will know that it is nigh impossible to get a dirty word to cross my lips. Why? Well there's a reason they call them dirty words people! They feel nasty-pants on the way out! And then of course there's the word that technically isn't dirty but for some reason still feel it is when I say/hear it. This naturally means whenever Rob & Co. want to be particularly hilarious, they say that word approximately three thousand times over the course of the evening. Grrrr. It is amazing how often it fits into conversation. And if you don't know what the word it is, I'm not telling you, because then I'll only have more people to torture me. But I disgress.

The problem is there are several words that seem oh so cute and cuddly in American English, but are somewhat less appropriate here in Australia.

The "Do Not Say" List:

Date - While still used in the american sense (I think anyway), can also be used to describe the bit of the human body so loved by Sir-Mix-A-Lot. A "date roll" is another term for toilet paper.
Doodle - Not sure if they ever use this to refer to drawing/sketching, but they definitely do use it to refer to a certain portion of the male anatomy. Sigh. So long Doodle Poll - it was good while it lasted.
Fanny Pack - These were such a bad idea to begin with, it's probably a good thing the term is indecent here, like it is in the U.K.
Pissed -  This simply means "drunk" ... not so bad, but could lead to awkward moments depending on how/in whose company you used it.
Root - In Australia you NEVER root for your team, unless you are extremely promiscuous.

Then, on the other hand there are things they say commonly here that would mean something slightly different in the U.S.

"I'm going to knock up Lisa tomorrow" (Translation: I'm going to call her up/look her up)
"Everyone get out your rubbers!" (Translation: Please get out your erasers.)

Some days, it seems like we might understand each other best if we didn't say anything at all.

We'll see how I go ... and other ways to sound Aussie

So today, or maybe it was yesterday (it is hard to keep track of days when I am on Sydney time, but my computer is on AZ time), I submitted my book to Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award! It would be AWESOME if I could even make it through round one of this thing. We'll see how I go on the 23rd!

Which reminds me - I have been meaning to share my first installment of Australian Phraseology.
Whether we're going out in the arvo (afternoon) with friends or are just trying to pick up some "tasty cheese" (cheddar) at the local market, I often feel like I need to be carrying around an Aussie Decoder Pen. I know these folks are speaking English, but there are a heck of a lot of differences.

To get the full experience of this list, click on the links - you'll jump to one of my favorite websites in the entire world: Forvo.com. There you can actually listen to an Aussie say the word out loud!

All right! On to some of my current favorites:

Bogan -- This is the Australian equivalent of a "redneck" though I think it's a bit more specific ... like a redneck in the city maybe? I haven't quite figured out how offensive this, and I haven't been brave enough to drop it in casual conversation to find out.

Maths -- This one just cracks me up. You don't work on your math homework. You work on your maths homework. In an interesting twist, you likewise don't watch sports, you watch some sport. I don't know why, but I giggle everytime I hear these words or see them painted on the "maths tutorial" buses ... which they have quite a lot of here.

Bench -- After Rob received several mysterious emails from colleagues about nibbles being left on the bench, we quickly realized that nibbles=snacks. What took us longer to figure out was why the heck people were leaving them lying around on a bench where someone could sit on them?! We had no reason to worry. Turns out a "bench" is a kitchen counter. The problem is I now have no idea what to call an actual bench! Sigh.

Biscuit -- This one still has me going in circles. If a biscuit is what we (Americans) think of as a cookie, what do Australians call a biscuit? I've sort of figured out the whole chips(AUS)=fries(US), and crisps(AUS)=chips(US) thing, but the biscuit/cookie mess has me completely confused.

Also, if like me, you ever suspected that American tv/movies were exaggerating how often Aussies say "mate"  -- they aren't! They may even be under-exaggerating! They say it ALL the time, to friends and (more often) as a way to be welcoming/friendly to strangers. I love it! I don't think I'll ever be able to bring myself to say it with a straight face -- it just begs for that great Aussie lilt -- but I love it!

Suds & Surveys

I sent out a survey this morning! My very first data collection instrument for my PhD dissertation. It was a very exciting moment (or really, hours worth of moments, as I had to manually email each request)! Now the problem is something inside me keeps thinking that at any moment I will receive more responses to my survey. So this has been my day so far: type a few sentences, check my survey website, write an email, check my survey website, type up an agenda for this weekend's training session, check my survey website, get a drink of water, check my survey website . . . you get the picture. But so far I only have one measly response! I know that very soon (and perhaps several reminder emails later) all that will change, but right now the one response just looks so sad and forlorn on my screen. Which is why I decided to do the dishes instead of looking at it.


Question - If the whole point of a barbecue is to keep the mess outside, why are there are always 10 times more dishes left in my sink than when I cook a regular meal?? Not that I'm complaining. I was the one that wanted to barbecue in the first place, and sometimes I (secretly) enjoy doing the dishes as a break in my day, but still!!!


I've decided I need to brush up on my Australian English - otherwise I may not understand a word that's being spoken once I get there!

This is how "Barbecue" is pronounced in Australia, courtesy of Forvo.com - click to listen:

Baahbecue  . . . very similar. I'll be fine on the grilling front.

However, I've been looking at: Koala Net's Australian Slang page, and the differences seem dizzying, though I am not sure how widely used some of these phrases are. For example, is a teapot really a "Billy" ?? As an avid tea drinker this will be a critical piece of my vocabulary! And if a "jug" is an electric tea kettle, then what do you call a jug?

My First Blog Entry

It's funny how the little things can change the direction of your life. Applying for an impossible job on a whim, and then landing it. Deciding at the last minute to walk a different way home and meeting someone you spend the rest of your life with. Things like that. So that's why I'm grateful that at the beginning of the year, frustrated with the lag time between my Comprehensive Exams and Prospectus Defense, I decided to start writing up bits of a story that had been forming in my thoughts for some time. At first I thought it was just a time filler (I am horrible at sitting still), but then I realized I loved it. I'd forgotten all about that kind of writing . . . the kind you aren't trying to write up for a term paper or academic journal.


So, here I am, six months later, editing my first YA dystopia / fantasy novel, amidst beginning research for my dissertation on farmers' markets, and completing research for another grant on urban food environments. And hoping that in a few weeks? months? I can start sending off my manuscript to agents. And hoping that putting so much time and energy into my novel writing wont jeopardize my chances of finishing my Ph.D. on time, or at least that I'll finish my data collection before I move to Australia in January!


Because, yes, I am moving to Sydney. It's official! Though no plane tickets are bought yet, my very talented husband has accepted a job as a full time faculty at the University of New South Wales. And so begins the next saga in our adventure. I'm very excited about it . . . I think Australia will be a great place to live, and I can't wait to get out on the Great Barrier Reef! Perhaps at long last I will get my Scuba Certification, bad ears and all. Though the intertidal world has served me well it might be time to progress a little deeper. And of course, Australia is home to the amazing Garth Nix, whose Old Kingdom series is incredible!