My News and My Town Monday

I've finished...again. I've gone through my entire manuscript and cut 53 pages!! And I've gotta admit--I think it's better, tighter, more cohesive. But talk about intense... I'm used to a more relaxed pace. But my resolution was to have this book done by the end of the school year, and while it was technically done once, it was suggested I revise, so I went back through it all again. And now I'm done...again.

And while I'm happy about that, I'm actually a little disappointed on another front. I'd queried an agent with my first few pages and synopsis, and she emailed me back the next day saying she loved the idea, would love to see the manuscript, and thought I'd written a stellar query letter. So I sent the manuscript (the old one, before the tightening, because at the time, the tightening had not yet been requested). Her blog indicates that she will respond to full manuscripts within just a few days, but it's been a month, and I hadn't heard, so I tried emailing. Nothing. I tried calling on Friday, but I haven't heard anything back. So...I think I kind of have to assume that it's a no-go, and that's a bit of a downer.

To end on an upbeat note, I decided to go with Travis Erwin's My Town Monday idea. Here is the sign outside a rinky-dink little gas station in the vicinity of my house. It fascinates me. Just above the spaces for gas and diesel prices, where someone might advertise lottery tickets or milk and bread, this place hawks it's brownies. Someday I'm going in--I'm going to find out what's so special about these brownies and whether this gas station has reason to be famous/infamous for them. Stay tuned...