I’m so, so, SO excited because my middle grade has sold to SCHOLASTIC PRESS!!!! Here’s the deal announcement.
The inspiration for PRINCESS AND THE PAGE began when I took a trip to France with my sister.
I remember telling the castle tour guide that I was going to write a book about one of the castles on our tour. He looked at me like I was a crazy. But not my sister! She knew this dream of mine to write a princess story was going to come true even before I did. (Yes, we both worked at Disney.)
So the two of us searched for secret passageways and hidden rooms at every castle we visited.
But when we arrived at Château de Chenonceau, I KNEW this was the castle for my book.
But the book was harder to write than I thought and soon I completely forgot about my princess book. That is until my agent called me saying Andrea Pinkney from Scholastic wanted to work with me.
This is how our convo went:
Jeff: So Andrea Pinkney and I talked, and she’d like to work with you on a project.
Me: *passes out*
Jeff: Um, Christy, are you still there? Do you have any pitch ideas?
Me: *recovering from a near heart attack* I have this one idea about a princess and a pen and castle in France.
Jeff: Wow! This sounds amazing! Why haven’t I heard about this book????
Me: Because it’s awful and unfinished and I’m stuck. But mainly because it’s awful.
Jeff: Everything you write is amazing. You are too hard on yourself.
Me: No, Jeff it’s really, really BAD.
So we set up a phone call for me to talk to Andrea. I was a wreck. I told all my parents and friends and random strangers on the street that on Friday at 5 pm to leave me alone because I had a VERY IMPORTANT phone call.
It was Wednesday and the phone rings. I was like “Hey!” And then the caller introduced herself. It was ANDREA PINKNEY! I think I dropped the phone. Then I might have said something. I’m not really sure what. But she was so calm and professional despite the fact I messed up on the day of her call.
Our conversation goes like this:
Andrea: So tell me what the name of the book is that you are thinking about.
Me: (Inside I’m thinking OMG!!!!! I’M TALKING TO ANDREA PINKEY!!!! Someone take a picture!) I can’t remember the title. Something about a princess.
Andrea: Okay. So what is the story about?
Me: (OMG!!!! SOMEBODY PINCH ME!!!!! I’M TALKING TO ANDREA PINKNEY!!!!) I um… it’s about a girl, a pen, and a fairy tale. *hyperventilating* Let me look. I’ve got it written up on my computer somewhere. (So this is the point where I don’t find it even though it was right in front of me.)
But in the end Andrea was incredibly kind and it was a great conversation. Afterward I emailed my agent and told him Andrea was amazing, but I was very sorry because I completely messed up on the phone call and figured she’d never want to talk to me again.
Apparently I didn’t completely mess up because Andrea loved the idea!
I went on to rewrite the book based on Andrea’s direction and she liked it! Then it went to acquisitions!
I was a wreck waiting for the verdict.
I had just finished a book signing with Amy Christine Parker and Vivi Barnes and we were walking through the parking lot to meet friends at a Japanese restaurant afterward. That’s when I got THE CALL.
The convo went like this:
Jeff: You did it! Scholastic offered!
Me: *screaming and crying*
Jeff: Um… are you okay?
Random people in the parking lot: Is she okay? Should we call an ambulance?
Amy and Vivi: Don’t worry. She’s just very, very happy.
I am so thrilled and excited to be joining the Scholastic team and especially working with the brilliant Andrea Pinkney who I am now able to have normal conversations with (I only freak out once or twice).
Here’s my video of me signing my contract:
I can’t wait for you guys to read my fairy tale! You can add it to your Goodreads list here!
If you love my Gilded series, I think you’ll fall in love with this new book, too!
So happy for you!! Wonderful!!
Thank you! And for all of your support and critiques. You are an awesome crit partner!
Congratulations, Christina! So many wonderful things have happened to you since we met in Seoul!
Best,
Annie
Thank you! Your words mean a lot to me. I am still very grateful that you took the time from your busy schedule to eat dinner with my husband and I. That was really a special moment that I will treasure.