I get an agent!

This is Taggle, the talking cat. He is the real star of the book that is inexplicably named after this girl he travels with, Plain Kate. Taggle is feeling smug. That’s because he officially has an agent. A big deal New York agent. He anticipates riches and fame.

I am not smug, of course — rather, I’m stunned and excited to have been accepted by my first choice in agents, Pippin Properties. It’s a small agency specializing in children’s books. They rep, among others, Kate DiCamillo (Because of Winn Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux), William Steig (Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Shrek) Doreen Cronin (Click, Clack, Moo) and Stephen Mitchell’s children’s books (The Wishing Bone, The Nightingale).

Okay, maybe I’m a little bit smug.

Pippin will be representing all my children’s and young adult writing, including my beloved Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight. But they have advised me to start with Plain Kate, make a big splash (!!!), and let the odd-ball picture books ride that wave.

Preparing for the coming fame, I am slowly cleaning up this website. Please excuse the mess in the meantime. (Picture of Taggle’s non-fiction avatar Meadow used by permission.)