Tuesday, February 24, 2009

We couldn't have done it without you!

Remember last May when I posted a fervent plea for Gary Corby to contact me?

He'd sent an email query; I'd replied asking for pages.
My email to him bounced back twice as undeliverable.

I REALLY liked the pages.

I figured why not at least try to get his attention on the blog. Maybe he was a blog reader; at the very least he might have his name on google alert and see the post that way.

What I didn't count on was the response from y'all, the regular blog readers! You took it as a challenge!

You tracked him down.

In AUSTRALIA!!

You emailed him to email me; you emailed me with his contact info.

Turns out his webhosting service had a glitch, and his email was part of his site. By the time y'all were finished I had his home address, work address, telephone number and I think maybe a picture of the family guinea pigs.

Gary certainly got the idea I liked his novel!

Today the story comes full circle with this announcement on Publishers Marketplace:


FICTION: MYSTERY/CRIME
Gary Corby's THE EPHIALTES AFFAIR, set in Periclean Athens, to Keith Kahla at Minotaur, with Kathleen Conn editing, in a nice deal, for publication in Fall 2010, by Janet Reid at FinePrint Literary Management (world).


Thanks to all of you! We couldn't have done it without you!

As for Gary's website, well it's back up and running. Take a look!

48 comments:

Travis Erwin said...

That is awesome. Congrats to both you and Bill.

Gina Black said...

I saw that on PM today and was so happy for BOTH of you!!

Jinxie G said...

Congrats to both of you! That is awesome. =)

Daisy Whitney said...

I love happy endings!

J. M. Strother said...

I had nothing to do with tracking him down, but that is a nice story. I did click on the link, and I do like his pitch. I'll probably be buying that one.
~jon

Sarah said...

I remember that- though I wasn't involved in tracking him down.

So glad to hear the good news and to visit his website. Funny, I've never thought of Socrates as a 12 year old- always imagined him with a beard.

I wonder if his older brother ever wanted to give him hemlock? (When I was younger, the most irritating thing younger siblings could do was ask a lot of questions.)

courtney summers said...

The heck. The one day I decide not to obsessively check PM, two names I recognize pop up on it. CONGRATULATIONS GARY! CONGRATULATIONS, JANET! This is wonderful!!! Best! Story! Ever!

Taymalin said...

Congratulations Gary! Janet!

I cannot wait to get my greedy little hands on this book. It is exactly what I've been wanting to read.

Best of luck!

Brandi

Janet said...

Aw. Always love a feel-good story.

DeadlyAccurate said...

Congratulations, Gary!

Anne-Marie said...

Congrats to both of you. As a mystery fan, I'll be sure to pick it up when it's out.

-AM

Tana said...

What an amazing story. The book looks amazing as well. Can't wait!

SWILUA said...

Aw! What a heartwarming story! With cyber stalking overtones and everything!

congrats!

Merry Monteleone said...

I caught this on twitter (gee, it really is good for more than procrastination)

Congratulations, Gary and Janet!!!

Gary, I'm sooo happy for you - I can't wait to read it.

 Patrick Lee said...

Very cool!!! Congratulations, Gary! And Janet!

-Patrick Lee

Kim hanks said...

Kudos to you Janet and Gary!


www.kimhanks.net
http://kimhanks.blogspot.com

Gary Corby said...

Thank you everyone for all your kind words! The support is fantastic.

I'm bouncing around in happiness.

Thanks to the people who tracked me down, particularly Sha'el Princess of Pixies, and thanks too to my wife Helen, who noticed that email from Janet in the spam folder of an old email account, right before she emptied it. Phew, that was close!

And of course, thanks to Janet for representing me, and selling the book, in which she exhibited persistence beyond the call of duty.

YAY! (still bouncing)

jjdebenedictis said...

What an awesome story! Congratulations to both you and Mr. Corby.

L.C. Gant said...

That has got to be one of the sweetest stories I've ever heard! Just one of the many reasons I love being a writer. We really are quite invested in one another's success.

Gary Corby said...

The Strange Case of the Missing Gary is getting enough interest I'll post about how it looked from my end on my blog. Stay tuned.

PS: I'm still bouncing around...

Tara Maya said...

That is just COOL. :)

JKB said...

Always a congrats for you, Janet, and Gary! This is stellar news!!!!

Stacia said...

That is awesome! Congratulations to you both!

Ellen said...

Cool story. Congrats to you both!

s.w. vaughn said...

Now, THAT is an incredible story. I would totally write a book about it, if I ever for a moment thought that writers writing about writing was a good idea. Which I don't. :-)

At any rate, CONGRATS to Gary and Janet! WTG!! And good job, all you terrier-like blog readers! Isn't teh internetz awesome?

Deb Vlock said...

Hooray! If Gary's novel is as elegant and compelling as his blog and website, it's going to be a hit. Can't wait to read it!

Congrats to Gary and Janet!

Jean Wogaman said...

Congratulations Gary and Janet! I can't wait to read the book.

Lisa Katzenberger said...

What a great story. And Gary, a computer programmer who's funny too! Love the blog Gary!

Karen Kirkpatrick said...

Great story! And I can't wait to read the book. Love your web site, Gary! Fun, interesting stuff to read there. Congratulations!

Alix said...

That is amazing, great story.

Susan Adrian said...

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

Gary! Woot woot WOOT!

Congratulations Gary AND Janet!

Anita said...

What a great story!

Congratulations to you both!

Julie Weathers said...

Oh, my, gosh. congratulations, Gary. I am so pleased for you and Janet.

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

Sherlock Holmes: This diamond stick pin? It was a gift from the King of Bohemia ....

Pixie: Oh? That's nice, but I have a nice thank-you from Gary. I think that's worth more.

Gary: YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Unknown said...

Aww, I love this story. Yay for everyone!

ryan field said...

I remember that post. I even googled his name because I was curious. Full circle, indeed.

Angelle Haney Gullett said...

Rock on, internets, and congrats to Janet and Gary on the sale!

I love it when a plan comes together.

BookEnds, A Literary Agency said...

This is one of those fantastic publishing stories writers always want to hear about at conferences. Don't you love the power of the Internet. Congrats to you both! I can't wait to read it.

--jessica

Unknown said...

WOOT Gary! -- and of course Janet too! So wonderful, you deserve it Gary.

Anonymous said...

What a great story! Congrats to you both!

Anonymous said...

What a great story! I wasn't around when it started so had to go read the May blog entry first. Congrats to everyone... Gary, Janet and all who took part in the international search.

In addition to the bit about providing contact info it reminds us about the importance of asking for help, persistence, the reward of good writing, and the luck of having all the planets aligned just right. It's it wonderful when it all clicks!

Now I'm off to buy Sha'el 's book while impatiently awaiting the release date of Gary's. (There's the power of word-of-mouth advertising for ya!) :)

Carol Garvin

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

oooo thanks Carol ... it's on sale on the publisher's web site ... Drolleriepress.com

or fictionwise,readerwise, mobipockt and amazon for kindle .... oh oh oh and guess what???

as of last week the audio version was in recording with up to chapter 18 done. It will be available from audible. If i understood the audio editor correctly, Maggie Marsh is the voice. she has such a nice reading voice. I hope I understood him correctly. I'm sure I'll love it no matter who is recording it.

Mindy Tarquini said...

Oh WOW! That was Gary? Congratulations!! To both of you!

Sylvia said...

How wonderful! Congrats to both of you!

Robena Grant said...

What a great story. Congrats! to a fellow Aussie (although I now reside in the great USofA) and Gary, you do look like Bill Gates, only younger. Love your website.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Go internet - that's awesome! Congratulations!

Gary Corby said...

Wow, what a day! Or day and night rather.

People have come from everywhere to give me their best wishes. I knew there'd be quite a few, but I never guessed how many would notice. It's flattering! The stream has quietened now, but I haven't written a thing all day from talking to well wishers and/or wandering about grinning like an idiot. This is definitely an experience I'd recommend.

I wouldn't be in this position if Janet hadn't gone above and beyond the call of agent-duty in looking for me, nor if the Princess of Pixies and the cohorts hadn't found me. So thank you again, all.

I've had some rather amusing reactions from local friends who didn't know I wrote. Most got it and were amazed, a few didn't get it at all!

My usually placid web site and blog has had 447 hits in the last 36 hours. That's business as usual for some people, but for me that's massive.

So, after all the fun of the announcement, onwards with the serious but unbelievably fun job of delivering a book that I very much hope you're going to enjoy.

Life is good.

Joanna said...

Life is good.

And so is the book--Gary Corby Rocks!

--A late blog-reader

Jo