My ex-boss' wife was the only woman in their house. She made him AND both their sons pee sitting down. This might explain a lot about why my ex-boss is the way he is.

Hee! connie, excellent.

OK. I'm floating. I'm completely gobsmacked. This isn't writing, except that my agency forwarded it on to me. ANd also, that this is reminiscient of the whole Callowen House Arts Festival in my series.

(deep breath)

I just got an envelope, addressed to me, reallyo trulyo, inviting me to the Renaissance Weekend this Labour Day.

I'm reeling. If you read the FAQ, it says that the invite is issued on the basis on nomination and recommendation by past participants and members of the advisory board.

Who in hell nominated me?

And oh, yes, we are so going. For a moment of "WHUZZAH?" from outer space, click the "media and Comments" page, or the FAQ.

I may go out of my frellin' mind, trying to figure out who recced me for this off that list. Apparently, Bill Clinton's involved in it, but that would be too damned much to hope for.

Anyway. Sorry. I had to squee.

Hells, yeah, Deb. Squee like a squeeing thing. That is so cool!

One of the things the invite wants to know is, is there something in which I specialise, that I would be willing to share with teenagers, as one of the "group meeting" things?

I could do one one writing. I wonder whose kids I'd be teaching? In looking at their sample past weekends, "On writing" has been handled by a few names.

That's so cool, Deb!

Deb, writing seems like the most obvious thing. But also, you've lectured on Shakespeare. You cook. Oooh! They have sessions for teens and college students. You could teach them how to prepare meals with actual foods and flavors in them. You could call it, "NO RICE IN A TUBE".

There's rice in a tube?

Why?

Ask Sean.

Deb, that is AMAZING. Really, really wonderful. I'm so excited, and SO JEALOUS. I would love to teach a seminar for teenagers at something like this.

I'm chuffed that there is such a thing in existence, and it makes me feel better about world leaders and influential people and such.

Go, team Deb!!!

You know you have to tell us all about it.

Man, all the things you could talk about! I'm so jazzed!

Another "this isn't really how the industry works, is it?" question for AmyLiz or anyone else who knows.

One of the bits of Conventional Wisdom I've seen floating around the internet is that you should never query an editor or agent in August or December, because August is the most popular vacation month, and December is the holidays, plus people have an urge to clear their desk for the New Year. The theory is that more form rejections go out because the editors and agents just don't feel like dealing with the mail.

That's never made sense to me. I can see how you might have to wait longer to get a response if your query arrives right after your target has left for 3 weeks in the Bahamas, but not that it would affect his/her response. I also wouldn't send an email query on Thanksgiving Wednesday or Christmas Eve, just because I think it smacks a bit of "I have no life, and as your client I will pester you at the most inconvenient and inappropriate times." But with regular mail, I figure it'll just go in the pile and get read when it gets read. All this stuff about not querying in August or December, or mailing your query/partial on Tuesday so it'll get there on Thursday or Friday and maybe the editor or agent will take it home over the weekend, just seems like so many silly stories writers tell themselves to give themselves more control over the uncontrollable.

But, of course, I could be wrong.