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| Shannon Messenger |
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| Lydia Kang |
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| Shannon O'Donnell |
Have you ever changed your name? I have. I came into this world as Michael Gilmartin, but just before our second child was born we went to the courthouse and merged into the Gettel-Gilmartins. 'Course, we had to pay some bucks for the privilege, and the judge wanted to know why we were doing it. The answer: to bring on the apocalypse by causing computers to flip out over a hyphen.
I'm thinking of changing my name again, to honor three amazing writers I've gotten to know during my brief blogging life. It seems as if I've known the Shannons forever--and I met Lydia during the Pay-It-Forward blogfest. These three stars have turned October into a month-long good news fiesta.
First there was:
October 12, 2011 | |||||
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| Children's: Fantasy | Shannon Messenger's debut middle-grade series KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES, about a girl who discovers there are secrets buried in her memory that others would kill for, and has to figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world before the wrong person finds the answer first, to Liesa Abrams at Aladdin, in a six-figure deal, in a pre-empt, in a three-book deal, for publication starting in Fall 2012, by Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (North America). ljrennert@mac.com Then, on October 15 there was: The announcement by Shannon O'Donnell GOD. IS. GOOD! For three weeks I have been sitting on a secret . . . THE secret. It's been hard. This morning, I signed the contract. And that means I can finally say I HAVE AN AGENT!!!!!!!!! (Just to be clear: this is Shannon's announcement, not mine)  Terrie Wolf, of AKA Literary LLC | ||||
Finally, there was this: | |||||
October 20, 2011 | |||||
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| Children's: Young Adult | Lydia Kang's THE FOUNTAIN, about a 17-year-old, who must rescue her kidnapped sister with the help of a band of outcasts with mutated genes, set in 2150 when genetic manipulation has been outlawed, to Kathy Dawson at Dial, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, for publication in 2013, by Eric Myers at The Spieler Agency (World). | ||||
Wouldn't it be great if some of their good fortune rubbed off on me? From now on, please address me as Shannon Lydia O'Gettel-Gilmartin | |||||
I change my name whenever it suits me. So far that's only been once.
ReplyDeleteI've never changed my name officially but I have about eight different identities online.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the agent!
Thanks for shouting out about all the awesome news. I'm so excited for them all. And I was sitting on Shannon O'Donnell's news too.
ReplyDeleteUm, okay.
ReplyDeleteHaving changed my last name from Donovan to Wixted, I don't recommend choosing a new name that's harder to spell than the old one.
Just fyi.
Congratulations, Michael! What fantastic news! I'm really happy for you!!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
I am finding it amusing that even though you said "this is Shannon's announcement, not mine," all some people read was "I HAVE AN AGENT!!!"
ReplyDeleteHow I wish it were that easy!
Hmmmm . . . I like it! It has a nice ring to it. Thanks for the shout-outs Shannon #3! :-)
ReplyDeleteyo... shannon! how crazy is that we are both going for the name change. yep....just call me shannon, too. heh heh.
ReplyDeleteYou think your hyphen is confusing, try not using a hyphen! I added my maiden name, Ricard, to my byline to honor my dad. Boy, do people get confused!
ReplyDeleteI was so excited when I first heard the news! I am hoping for some of the good fortune to make its way further around the blogosphere.
ReplyDeleteNice feature, Michael.