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Friday, July 8, 2011

Time to dance, ya'll

So, I moved to Utah in March. When I tell people this, they usually respond in one of a few ways:

1) "Why?"

2) "Why?!"

To both of those questions, I usually respond with: "Well, I have a lot of friends in Utah."

Which is partially true.

Now, I do have a lot of friends in Utah. I've met a bunch of people and hang out with lots of awesome writer-folk on a monthly basis. But when I moved here in March, I had one writer friend in Utah. And that friend, ladies and gentlemen, was Natalie Whipple.

Natalie has been one of my online writer buds for, oh, a few years now. Last fall, when I was nearing the end of my degree and had no freakin' idea what I was going to do with my life, she said, "Move to Utah." To which I replied, "Oh, yeah. Utah. Sure." Never thinking I would take the leap to move across the country, I visited her in September via a gift from The Parents to "check it out" should I decide to actually move there.

And now here I am, chilling in my apartment in Salt Lake City. This move has turned into one of the best decisions of my life. I'm happy. And it's all because one dear writer-friend dared to host me in her condo for a week last year and gently encouraged me every time I got anxious/scared/upset/angry-with-life to move to Utah. Natalie has been a constant source of encouragement for me, which is why I am THRILLED THRILLED AND EXCITED to get to share this exciting news with all ya'll:

Natalie Whipple’s debut novel TRANSPARENT, pitched as X-Men meets The Godfather, in which an invisible girl has to stop her dad—an infamous crime lord—from ruining her life, to Erica Sussman at HarperTeen, in a two-book deal, by Anna Webman at Curtis Brown.

In the summer of 2013, the world will be able to bask in the sheer awesomeness of a Natalie Whipple Original. I have been a huge fangirl of her books since she let me read her since-resting Ninja Novel, and not only does she know how to crank them out (with 13+ novels already FINISHED), she knows how to crank them out WELL. TRANSPARENT is no different. I mean, come on -- XMEN meets THE GODFATHER. Are you drooling yet?

So go over and give Natalie a cyber squeal of excitement and a celebratory cheer. She is now among the realm of the published authors. I can't think of anyone more deserving!

3 comments:

Natalie Whipple said...

SO HAPPY you moved to Utah! SO HAPPY that you're happy!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Utah sounds pretty interesting! I guess...lol I can't imagine living there-Ohio is bad enough. lol Your friend's book Does sound pretty interesting! I will try to check it out! :D Though 2013 does sound pretty far away....lol
I must say that graduating is definitely scary. I applaud you for figuring out what is right for you. It's pretty crazy how after you graduate people expect you to know Exactly what to do with your life. No pressure or anything right? lol Good luck with everything you do and I can't wait to read your book! :)

Samantha Vérant said...

Yay! Go, go, go, Natalie! Congrats! Congrats! Party in Utah!