Someone needs to stick a pin in my big swelled head

Dec. 3rd, 2009 at 6:22 AM

Setting: Tall office building in downtown Portland. Lisa is at her desk, doing worky things and sipping her coffee. The phone rings.

Out Loud Lisa: This is Lisa.
Awesome Editor: Hi, this is Margaret.
Out Loud Lisa: Hi!
Interior Lisa: OMG hai!!!
AE: Have you heard the good news yet?
OLL: Um … no?
IL: Uh …?
AE: Flash Burnout has been nominated for the William C. Morris Award.
OLL: Oh my God!!!
IL: (silent screaming, running around in circles)

(Co-workers look up.)

AE: Do you know about that award?
OLL: Yes! Elizabeth C. Bunce won it last year!
IL: (hyperventilating)
AE: Congratulations, we’re all very excited for you. It’s not public yet, so you can’t tell anyone until they make the announcement in a few days.
OLL: I can’t believe it! Thank you so much for calling to tell me!
IL: (unconscious)

I can’t actually remember what else we said. We talked for another couple of minutes, then hung up. I told my curious co-workers. There may have been something in my eye when I was telling them.

Then I called my husband. He was gratifyingly excited!

Then I called my agent.

Amazing Agent: Hello.
OLL: Good morning! Would you like to hear some good news?
IL: (silent crazed grinning)
AA: Yes, I would.
OLL: Now first, you can’t tell anyone —
AA: Okay.
OLL: Not even a cryptic little online note …
AA: OKAY. What IS it?
OLL: Not even …
AA: #%^&*!!!
OLL: My book has been nominated for the William C. Morris award.
AA: What’s that?
OLL: Hahahahahaha!
AA: (Googles madly)

To be fair, this is only the second year the award has been in existence. And I got a huge amount of hilarity out of the fact that she didn’t know. WIN all around!

Setting: Office. Co-worker stops by Lisa’s desk.
Co-worker: I finished updating performance for those accounts.
Out Loud Lisa: Okay.
Interior Lisa: My book has been nominated for an award!!!

Setting: Elevator. People ride in silence.
Interior Lisa: You guys! I wrote this book? And it just got nominated for an award! I can’t believe it! (motionless jumping up and down)

Setting: Happy Bowl. (I’m not kidding: I got my lunch from Happy Bowl.)
Lady taking my order: Okay, teriyaki chicken with rice. White or brown?
OLL: White.
Lady: $6.75, please.
IL: My book got nominated for an award!!!

Setting: Starbucks.
Out Loud Lisa: Can I get a tall iced tea, unsweetened?
Barista: Tall? Are you sure? Don’t you want a grande?
OLL: Yes, I do!
Interior Lisa: I see you guys every day! You are my beloved suppliers of coffee and tea. I really want to shriek, “My book got nominated for an award!”
OLL: (pays) Thanks, bye.

Back from lunch, I check my email.

ZOMG wha --?

The Morris finalists have been announced!

I answer emails and indulge in a phone call to a friend for real-time squealing. I check Twitter and find a tweetsplosion of congratulations. Something must have gotten in my eye again. I tweet back for a few minutes, then rein myself in and get back to work.

Setting: Office.
Co-worker: Time for that meeting.
Out Loud Lisa: Coming.
Interior Lisa: You heard, right? My book got nominated for an award!!!

Setting: Conference room. People sitting around a big polished wood table.
Co-workers: (Worky talk.)
IL: My book got nominated for an award!!!
OLL: Right. Are we going to switch to a different proxy voting service?

So that was my day.

I was hysterically happy on the inside but outwardly placid. But when I got home from work, my enforced calm started to dissolve … I broke a glass, and knocked a couple of things over, and even tripped on the stairs.

My body must’ve felt free to freak out in the privacy of its own home.

And you know what? Other people were nominated, too. *nodding vigorously* It’s true! Not just ME WITH THE GIANT HEAD.

Here’s the list:

Fellow Deb Malinda Lo’s beautiful book, ASH
Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl’s just-released but already much-acclaimed BEAUTIFUL CREATURES
THE EVERAFTER, by Amy Huntley
hold still, by Nina LaCour

I’ve only read ASH, but I’m sure the others are all fantastic, too … and I’m finding copies ASAP to read up on my competition.

Oh my God!

My book is a FINALIST.