This past Friday afternoon, I was minding my own business, running errands, and pulling out of the gas station (don’t get me started on gas prices!), when my cell phone rang. Imagine my shock when it turned out to be neither my husband nor my mother (the only 2 people who ever call me on my cell phone) but my Kensington editor’s new assistant.

Here’s a little aside, which any authors reading this entry already know: authors LIVE for contact of any sort from their editors and agents. One author whom I know intimately and shall remain nameless, obsessively checks her e-mail dozens of times per day for news of any sort from her editor or agent. Each time this poor, misguided soul clicks on her inbox, she desperately hopes for news such as: has the editor/agent read the blurb/proposal/manuscript/synopsis yet? Does the editor/agent love or hate it? Has the editor sent the check yet? Has the agent received the check yet? Has the … Well, you get the idea. Since the publishing world works only slightly faster than an Alaskan glacier, 99 times out of a hundred, there is no news.

But this time, there was news. And in a phone call, which is so much more thrilling than an e-mail.

Here’s the news, which I really hope I heard correctly, since I was juggling the phone, driving, and trying not to cause an accident when I heard it:

My editor has accepted my second book for Kensington/Dafina, RISK (at least I think it’s still called RISK, although I was too excited to ask if they’ll change the title), and it will come out in February 2007.

Now, I know this may not be as earth shattering as, say, oil prices, but it’s big news to me. First of all, it means I won’t have to scramble to write another book ASAP, which I would’ve had to do if my editor hated this one. And there’s a whole new batch of deadlines, marketing and promotions for me to figure out and address. And, of course, there’ll be a new book cover, which I hope will be pretty.

I’d like to blog more about this life-altering news, but I need to check my e-mail and see if there’s any more word from my editor/agent.

If you have time, check out my other blog, where I gush about Karen Robards’ new romantic suspense novel, VANISHED. Here’s a link:

http://www.blogitorium.com/annchristopher