You would think that after dreaming about this moment for years I would know what to say, but I’m speechless! On Friday my agent decided to send a sneak peak of WIP out to a few editors. First thing Monday morning we had a pre-empt offer!! I’m not sure I even breathed all day yesterday as things unfolded. And I couldn’t be more thrilled, excited, amazed, to announce that I’ve sold my WIP, THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH in a two book deal to Krista Marino at Delacorte, the YA imprint of Random House. Does my agent rock or what?

I still can’t believe it! I keep refreshing Publishers Marketplace to see the announcement and I think I might pass out once it’s posted!

I’m even more excited that I finally get to share with you more details about THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH. This is the book I started last year during NaNo when I emailed the first line to myself and couldn’t stop writing. It’s a literary post-apocalyptic novel and here’s what I wrote about it in my query:

Generations after the zombie apocalypse known as The Return, Mary’s life is as circumscribed by her community’s strict religion as it is by the fences that form her village’s only defense against the hordes of the undead — the Unconsecrated — who dwell in the surrounding forest.
Her faith is shattered the day her mother becomes infected by the Unconsecrated, and her belief in her community is destroyed when she secretly witnesses the Church leadership imprison, then condemn, a miraculously non-infected outsider who somehow finds a safe path to the village. The only other person who questions their Puritanical lifestyle is her betrothed’s crippled brother, Travis, who has been assigned to wed Mary’s best friend. Mary is torn between her duty to friends and society and her growing love for Travis.
When the Unconsecrated breach the fences and overrun the village, Mary, Travis, and their intendeds are among the few survivors. Now, their only chance is to brave the outsider’s path through the deadly Forest in an attempt to discover the only thing that Mary still believes in — that there is a world beyond the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

I can’t wait to share more details over the next few days!! YAY!!!!