A Very Happy Decade

At the Petty Magic launch party at Glucksman Ireland House, October 2010.

Two thousand four was a big year. I quit my first (and only) "real" job at HarperCollins, went on my first proper road trip (with Kelly B. all around the southwest), and moved to Ireland to get my M.A. in Writing. And ten years ago this month (!!!) I signed with my agent, Kate Garrick, who believed in my potential well before I came up with a saleable manuscript.

Ten years later, I feel luckier than ever to have her. I'm always thinking of Kate when I give other writers advice on finding an agent:

"It's almost like a marriage—you have to find someone you're compatible with taste-wise, someone who is enthusiastic enough about your work to want to represent you for a long time to come, who will advocate for you in every situation but won't make pie-in-the-sky promises."

Even better if that person is also incredibly warm and kind and cares about you personally. I know that if I were ever stranded at the Port Authority at four o'clock in the morning, I could totally rely on Kate to let me crash on her couch. Kate is always professional, yet there is an easygoingness to our relationship that makes the business stuff go that much more smoothly. We've accomplished a good bit over the past ten years, but when I think about how much we'll do over the NEXT ten years, I pretty much dissolve into a puddle of gratitude.