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Friday, August 5, 2011

The Importance Of Reading In Trees (And Agent News/Contests!)

My mom recently went through a whole bunch of old photos of me and my sisters, and she sent these with the caption, “Oh how you loved to read!”


That was the tree in our backyard. I was probably 8 or so in the first picture and closer to 10 in the second.


There were also pictures of me reading behind couches, under the kitchen table, and in the bath tub. I thought I’d spare you those, because that tree was my special spot. I think it made it easier to slip into other worlds when I was away from people (though I looked pretty exposed in that winter tree picture).

Did you have any special reading spots as a kid?


Okey-dokey, on with the agent news:

Hiatus
Agent Suzie Townsend of FinePrint Literary is taking a query hiatus from 9/1 to …TBD, so you've got about 25 days to shoot her a query. She says not to despair too much, and that other fabulous folks at her agency will be open for your querying pleasure. For details, click HERE.

Ninja Agents???
Click HERE to read the awesome news about agents who will be going through the query forums on the WriteOnCon website. If you’re not registered for this free online conference, sign up now!

Contests
Mini-Synopsis Contest with Agent John Cusick of Scott Treimel NY over at YAtopia: Condense your novel synopsis into 3 sentences to win a partial or full manuscript request. I dare you! MG and YA only. Entry deadline, August 11th.

First 500 Words Contest with Agent Lauren Ruth of Bookends Agency at Blackbird in my Window. Some adult genres and YA. Entry deadline, August 11th.
~


FYI, I’m leaving to meet up with my sister’s family this morning. They’re flying here to hang with us over the weekend (I suspect they’re mostly trying to escape the Texas heat/humidity). We’ll be hiking and eating and letting the little cousins bond all weekend, and I won’t have access to the internet. It’s really pretty sad how much that upsets me.

Thanks in advance for any comments, and I apologize in advance for not getting to your fabulous blogs this weekend. I’ll play catch-up next week.



23 comments:

  1. Sounds like a great holiday
    away from Blogging. Enjoy
    and stay safe.

    Cheers.

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  2. i LOVE those tree reading pics! thanks for the news as usual!

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  3. Great pics! I read anywhere and everywhere as a child (and now!) but no special spots. Have a great time with your family and enjoy the internet break :)

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  4. I love those pics of you in your reading tree. Have fun with the fam.

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  5. Oh my gosh! What adorable pictures. You should write a book called, "Jess Who Reads in Trees."
    or maybe

    "Tree Reader."

    I think they both sound kind of middle grade.....

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  6. Don't worry about being gone. It happens.

    Thanks for the contests, Jess!

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  7. That picture of the girl in the tree reminds me of me...reading in our big mulberry tree in the back yard.

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  8. You always have such great info for us, Jess. That David Copperfield video was hysterical.

    I actually have fulls out with Suzie and John both and biting my nails in anticipation of hearing back from either one. Yikes!

    Enjoy your nature! Always nice to take a break from the cyber world. Have a great weekend!

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  9. Thans for all the info. I queried Suzie Townsend this morning.

    I love the pictures of you reading in trees. My favorite place was in my bed, by the crack of light coming from the hallway when I was supposed to be asleep.

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  10. These pictures are so great! So cute! I read in the bath ALL the time!! (Partially why I'm afraid to convert to electronic... what if I drop it?!) I also love reading in a hammock outside during an Idaho summer--particularly in the evening. Everything is so lovely!

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  11. My old house had a garden with a trellis at the entryway. It was a Japanese-style garden arch, which meant the top was flat. I would sit up there with either a book, or my diary to take notes on my crush across the street :D

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  12. I love those photos of you reading! I can't remember having one place in particular as a kid -- I think I read everywhere.

    Wish I had something ready to query! It's back to writing for me in September, and hopefully I'll have something ready soon.

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  13. Jess, when you get back into Internet access, you were one of the winners of my giveaway. None of the other winners requested either Jacob Wonderbar or Across the Universe, so which one would you prefer?

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  14. Oh, I love the photographs! I read all over the place -- even at school underneath my desk, though I got caught out more than once!

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  15. Hey, Jess, I tagged you. You gonna play?
    http://weavingataleortwo.blogspot.com/2011/08/nonsense-post.html

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  16. Thanks for rounding up all the contests on the agent things going on in the blogosphere. Very useful stuff and I hope you have a great visit with your family :)

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  17. Those are great pictures! I'm very impressed that your were able to read in a tree and not fall out. I hope you had a nice weekend!

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  18. Thanks! I'm glad you liked the review! ( :

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  19. What a great question, Jess! My favorite place to read has always been in bed before I fall asleep. As a kid, I also liked to read flopped on my belly on the floor.

    And thank you for the contest round up!

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