Dear creative friends,

Here's a status report on my successes and setbacks  as an aspiring novelist.

In January I attended San Diego State University’s Writers Conference and met various agents and editors. One such agent is still reviewing my novel, Desert Medicine, and promises to give me her answer soon.

In the meantime, as the agent search drags on, I continue to send query packets directly to editors. One query,  mailed ONE YEAR AGO, yielded this response:

Our apologies for  taking so long to respond to your query regarding DESERT MEDICINE. If it’s still available we’d love to see the complete manuscript.

So the manuscipt is now under review in San Francisco, home of a small but highly respected publishing house, MacAdam/Cage. The editor who requested a look is new to the  company, so I suspect that when she arrived, her boss handed her a stack of old  correspondence to sift through.  I’m not  complaining.

In two weeks,  I’ll be attending the three-day Festival of Faith & Writing in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  I hope to be inspired by such  talented writers as Kaye Gibbons, Ron Hansen, Jan Karon, Oscar Hijuelos, Ernest  Gaines, and Kathleen Norris. I also plan  to pass out flyers for my newest web site, www.literarychristian.com and meet published writers who might someday be willing to write a blurb for my book  cover.

In January, I  was laid off from my 3.5-year, 20-hour-a-week consulting job.  While it’s been such a blessing to finally  have large chunks of uninterrupted writing time (I’m working steadily on my third novel, set in Nebraska), the hard truth is that my checking account is  approaching the stiff-penalty level. Like most writers, even many published  ones, my art cannot support a family. Contrary to the stereotype of the creative person as flighty and undependable, I am hardworking and deadline-oriented. If you have any part-time or consulting job  leads for a marketing communications specialist with web design experience, please let me know.

I’m pleased to announce that an excerpt of Desert Medicine has been accepted for  publication in California State University San Bernardino’s literary journal,  The Pacific Review. To read that excerpt, click here.

May God bless  all your creative efforts.

Judy

www.judyalexander.com (please sign the  guestbook)

P.S. If you’re looking for inspiration, try Margaret Morgan Maat’s book, Listening to the Rhythms of the Soul,  available on her web site at http://www.communityinc.com. She quotes: “The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.”

P.S.S. See my resumes at www.judyalexander.com.

Feel free to forward this email to your  creative friends.