My New Partnership With Illuminate Literary Agency

Well, it’s time to finally share some big news. A lifelong dream is coming true ~ I’ve partnered with the incredible team at Illuminate Literary Agency!

I’m so thankful for my rockstar agent, Jenni Burke - she’s truly kind, smart, and professional and is patiently coaching me as I learn the ropes. She’s fervently caught the vision for the project I’m working on, and I have no doubt she’ll help me find the right publishing partner to bring this book into the world.

I wish I could share this news with my 2005 newly-married self who sat in the twinkle-lit loft of her condo under a city overpass in Dallas, tapping out the first few words on her fresh new blog, Dreams of Simple Life. She didn’t know it would turn into 10 straight years of blogging and sharing her journey to a simpler life in the city, chronicling backyard gardens, urban walks, drives to local farms, new businesses, and new babies.

I wish I could celebrate this with my 2015 self, who swallowed a lump in her throat as she said a bittersweet goodbye to that city life in Texas, moving her family in blind faith to the hills of Tennessee. The courage to change would be painful, but it would also turn out better on the other side.

I wish I could tell my 2017 self on the first day she farmed in her entire life, that all this hard work - some of the hardest she’s ever done in her life - would lead to some amazing camaraderie, colleagues, and opportunities, and it would all be worth it. The story that started with a wildflower seed in urban soil would grow to reach many more people than she could ever have imagined back then. Her family that began on city soil would dig and plant and harvest next to her, and it would feel very, very right.

And I can tell them - because all of those versions of me are going into this project, and they’re all part of the woman I am today, just with a few more well-earned gray hairs and lines around my eyes.

To all my sweet friends and readers…many of you have been joining in since those early blogging days. You have no idea how much it encourages me to step forward in bravery to use my voice...thank you! One day I’d love to sit with you in my living room and toast over delicious, frothy yerba maté lattés.

~ ~ ~

Here’s what I posted on Instagram one day this summer, shortly after I signed with Illuminate…

“Even here, you can still be brave. Even here, you can choose to trust that your fears of not being good enough, worthy enough, smart enough, beautiful enough, or qualified enough do not disqualify you from making the most of this life just as much as anyone else. It does not matter how many times you have failed, or how many times you have been looked over, betrayed, or forgotten. Those things may have ignited fear within you, but they also ignited bravery within you, too. And the power of your bravery is stronger than you think.” (Morgan Harper Nichols speaking straight to my soul again).

I often feel disqualified, and it’s a struggle to believe I can take up as much space in the world as I believe for everyone else (Enneagram 9 problems!).

But I’m gonna continue stepping out and cheering you on to do the same. We’ve got this.

Yup, we’ve got this. Because there’s nothing else we can do except live our unique stories and share what we’ve learned along the way.

I don’t know what the rest of the journey looks like yet, but I firmly believe that we can’t miss the plans God has for us, and I know good things are to come. That’s all I can say for now. 😉 Stay tuned...