The State of Grace

In 2004, I had an interview with a literary agent from New York, the manuscript for the first book in the Gillian Jones Mystery Series clutched in my hot little hands. I listed the accomplishments that I thought would count for something – an honorable mention from a literary magazine, a degree in Journalism, several short story publications. Each was discounted with a shake of her head. At the time, I’d worked at the DMV for about fifteen years. Although I hadn’t put that tidbit in my bio, she said that was the “most fascinating” thing about me. Afterward, I realized I should’ve pulled out the big guns and told her that I grew up on a chicken farm in northeast Nebraska.