AWESOME NEWS!

by Susan Dennard

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So, I went pretty WACKO on my blog yesterday, and I wanted to share the awesome news here too.  (And yes, I realize “awesome” is a very uncool word — especially to non-Americans.  I’m sorry.  I’m a 90s girl at heart.)

So THE NEWS.  What is it?  ::drummmmmmrollllll::

The Spirit-Hunters will be published by HarperCollins!

I’m listed on Publishers Marketplace and everything!  I have to admit, that as over-the-moon as I was for 3 weeks (yeah, I had to wait 3 WEEKS to announce this! The deal happened on November 17th), it didn’t feel completely real until I saw my name on the PM Deals page:

Susan Dennard’s debut THE SPIRIT-HUNTERS, set in an alternate 1800s Philadelphia, where a 16-year-old girl’s brother is taken by a necromancer and his army of walking Dead, and how she must join forces with a rag-tag, demon-fighting group to save him – and the city – as she tries to avoid falling for the group’s dangerous inventor in the process, to Maria Gomez at Harper Children’s, in a significant deal, in a three-book deal, by Sara Kendall and Joanna Volpe at Nancy Coffey Literary & Media Representation.

We’re planning on a summer 2012 release, and if the first book sells well (which it will, right!?  RIGHT!?!?), then books 2 and 3 will come out in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

Sarah and I are gonna be Apocalypsies together! WEEEE!!

I have to say, this wouldn’t have happened without my fabulous agents, Sara Kendall and Joanna Volpe.  (This is Sara’s first deal too!  Congrats are in order, I believe.)  Plus, I need to thank my new editor, Maria Gomez, for loving The Spirit-Hunters enough to buy it! 😀

DREAM BIG, AND THEN DREAM EVEN BIGGER.

I also need to thank the FictionPress world for giving me a start all those years ago…  Oh, those were bad stories, but oh, I learned a lot!

But to be perfectly honest, almost all of my good fortune is thanks to my family.

My parents taught me I could do ANYTHING if I worked hard and never gave up.  They were 100% right.

My sister read all my rotten stories, and my brother…  Well, he didn’t make fun of my stories — that’s a lot, coming from him.

In recent years, my husband, the Frenchman, has been the driving force behind everything.  I can never thank him enough for his love and support.

And last but no least, THANKS TO YOU!  The LTWF readers have been amazing to connect with, and I feel so blessed to be a part of this group.  Lots of fun happens here, and so many stories shared.  It’s been a wonderful two months since I joined. 😀

Seriously, though — to partake in the Full Insanity of my AWESOME NEWS, stop by my announcement from yesterday.  I have pictures of me dancing with my dog (whose name is Asimov) and a video of me announcing the news.

Oooh, and be sure to look below — now I have a new mini-bio. 😉 Cool, eh?

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Susan Dennard is a writer, reader, lover of animals, and eater of cookies. She is repped by Sara Kendall of NCLit, and her debut, The Spirit-Hunters, will be available from Harper Children’s in 2012. You can learn more about her writing process, crazy life-thoughts, and crippling cookie-addiction on her blog or twitter.