It’s hard to believe that another year is already coming to an end. We’ve had a busy one here at DGLM, as dedicated blog readers will surely have noticed, and we’re looking forward to things to come in 2012. Except, of course, the end of the world. I, at least, am certainly not looking forward to dying in a fiery explosion, or lava rush, or whatever we’re meant to be consumed by, but I suppose that will make the few short months of living we have left to do all the more cherished. Right? Before I get lost in a downward spiral, I’m going to stop and instead update you on all the nice things that have happened for the agency and our clients. We’ve been busy, that’s for sure!

Since we last convened at the end of September, Michael sold FOR US BY US by Meg Leder and Rachel Kempster, a book to help couples chronicle their relationship through prompts, exercises and activities. This went to Shana Drehs and Sourcebooks.

Stacey sold a collaboration between A.J. Hartley and David Hewson, MACBETH: A NOVEL, at the beginning of October. A dramatic narrative retelling of Shakespeare’s play of the same name, this was sold to Andy Bartlett at Thomas & Mercer.

Jane’s next sale was David Morrell’s MURDER AS FINE ART, set in London during the early 1800s, in which a killer starts copycatting the Ratcliffe Highway murders (which took place in East London in 1811) with a twist–he  follows the rules laid out by essayist Thomas De Quincey in his “Murder as a Fine Art.” This went to John Schoenfelder at Mulholland Books

A prequel to the popular Maze Runner trilogy, Michael sold James Dashner’s THE KILL ORDER, which is set before WICKED was formed and Thomas entered the Maze, when sun flares scorched the earth and mankind began the ultimate fight for survival, to Krista Marino at Delacorte.

National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr and Dreamland Social Club author Tara Altebrando’s ROOMIES, in which two girls from opposite coasts are assigned to be freshman roommates and strike up a correspondence over the summer before, was also sold by Michael, this time to Julie Scheina at Little, Brown Children’s (with David Dunton of Harvey Klinger representing Tara Altebrando).

Michael’s next sale was for the third book in New York Times bestseller Lisa McMann’s ongoing middle grade fantasy adventure series, UNWANTEDS, and this went to Liesa Abrams at Aladdin.

BRIANNA ON THE BRINK, a first novel from Nicole McInnes, about a 16-year-old girl who finds herself lost, alone, and pregnant after a one-night-stand (let’s just say it’s complicated). Brianna has to choose between clinging to fear and jumping into the unknown. Stacey sold this Sylvie Frank at Holiday House

Finishing out October, John sold Editor-in-chief of ManoftheHouse.com Craig Heimbuch’s AND NOW WE SHALL DO MANLY THINGS, recalling the year the author spent learning how to hunt, both to reconnect with his family’s traditions and to explore how hunting and manliness intersect in today’s society, to Adam Korn at Morrow.

A lavishly illustrated tribute to CZ Guest, written and edited by Susanna Salk, author of Room for Children, went to Ellen Nidy at Rizzoli, sold by Michael.

Jessica next sold Qais Akbar Omar’s memoir about growing up in Afghanistan. From the Russian occupation, through years of brutal civil war, to the rise and fall of the Taliban and the arrival of the American troops, this wry, clear-eyed, and powerful memoir of life during wartime went to Courtney Hodell at FSG in a pre-empt.

Jane had the next sale with Mary Doria Russell’s THE CURE FOR ANGER, the further story of the complex relationship between Doc Holliday and his famous lawman friend, Wyatt Earp, the willful, emotionally brutalized women they loved, and the cast of ruffians and heroes who found themselves summoned by history to Tombstone, Arizona, to participate in or witness the infamous three-minute gunfight. This went to Libby Edelson at Ecco.

DRINKING LIKE A MAD MAN, a how-to manual on bringing mid-century cocktail culture to the home entertainer that takes the fear out of entertaining and demystifying the party throwing experience, is written by Steve McDonagh and was sold by Jane to Eileen Johnson at Agate.

Fitness and wellness advisor Mandy Ingber’s YOGALOSOPHY, an accessible handbook for getting it all together—body, mind, heart and spirit—full of workouts and eating guidelines along with unique daily insights, activities and thought-provoking anecdotes, was sold to Krista Lyons at Seal press by Jane.

Stacey then sold HAND MADE, the debut cookbook from Kamran Siddiqi, the 19-year-old creator of sophisticatedgourmet.com, featuring baking recipes and family stories combined with beautiful photography that illustrate the stories of his recipes through pictures, to Amy Treadwell at Chronicle.

EXTRAVAGANZA LIBERACE: A LIFE IN COSTUME is the first-ever illustrated collection of Liberace’s famous costumes, plus interviews with various designers who worked closely with him, compiled by costumers Connie Furr and Jan Jewett, with a Foreword by Liberace’s principal designer, Michael Travis. Stacey sold this to Julia Abramoff at HarperDesign.

Michael sold the final three books in Dale Basye’s irreverent middle grade series about naughty children in the afterlife, HECK, to Diane Landolf at Random House Children’s.

WHAT WOULD BRIAN BOITANO MAKE?, written by champion figure skater Brian Boitano, is a cookbook featuring recipes that are fun and accessible to the home cook, much like those exhibited on his television show of the same name and sold by Jane to Lara Asher at Globe Pequot Press.

Jessica then sold THE EMPRESS HAS NO CLOTHES by Joyce M. Roche and Alxander Kopelman to Neal Maillet at Berret-Koehler. From the former CEO of Girls, Inc, and the first black woman to serve as a corporate officer of a Fortune 500 company, this book is a personal look at her struggle to overcome “the Imposter Syndrome” and gives frank advice to women and minorities how to silence their implacable inner critics and own their own success.

Jane’s next sale was for a new cookbook from the bestselling authors of the ground-breaking, hugely popular Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day series to Pete Wolverton at Thomas Dunne Books as well as a revised edition of the authors’ bestselling original title.  The second book will feature 100 all-new recipes and photos.

Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel’s CHANGING THE WAY WE DIE, the first book to take a sweeping view of the hospice industry and what it means to the Baby Boom Generation was sold by John to Brenda Knight at Viva Editions.

Next, Jane sold Helen Bryan’s WAR BRIDES, a novel that takes place as Britain prepares for war with Germany, focusing on the lives of five young women that are about to collide in the sleepy Sussex village of Crowmarsh Priors to Terry Goodman at Amazon.

John sold author of STREET PHARM and SNITCH Allison van Diepen’s contemporary YA novel THE GAME, about a teen drug dealer who becomes a police informant to get revenge on a gang leader for sending him to juvie, to Jennifer Klonsky at Simon Pulse, with Annette Pollert editing.

Jessica Alexander’s WELCOME BACK TO CIVILIZATION, the story of how a normal American girl who grew up in the sheltering cradle of an upper middle class Connecticut town ends up managing a 24,000-refugee camp in North Darfur was sold by Jane to Meagan Stacey at Crown.

A.J. Hartley’s latest thriller TEARS OF THE JAGUAR brings back protagonist Deborah Miller as she must connect four remarkable events or die trying: The most famous witch trail in English history; the discovery of an underground Mayan tomb in the Mexican jungle; the disappearance of the original English crown jewels in 1649; and a string of murders perpetrated by an arms dealer in pursuit of a high tech weapon. This was sold by Stacey to Andy Bartlett at Thomas & Mercer.

Jessica’s next sale was BEAT THE HEART ATTACK GENE by Bradley Bale, MD, and Amy Doneen, MSN, ARNP, with Lisa Collier Cool. From the creators of the Bale/Doneen Method, “the only totally comprehensive program in the world for the prevention of cardiovascular disease” a book that lays out a life-changing and life-saving protocol for preventing and reversing CVD. This went to Tom Miller at John Wiley & Sons.

Whew! That is a lot going on, and we’re already excited for the new year’s prospects. So, happy holidays and warm wishes, everyone!

I have just returned from the river that is the sidewalk, my feet are soaked and my hair, I’m sure, resembles that of a bedraggled cat or something, so what better time than to update you on what’s been going on at DGLM these past couple months! (Somehow, that line of thought makes sense.)

Jessica started this round off with Kate Samela’s. GIVE PEAS A CHANCE: The Foolproof Guide to Feeding Your Picky Toddler. The subtitle says it all. This went to Shana Drehs at Sourcebooks.

Alexandra Lapierre’s IN THE NAME OF HONOR, the true story of the son of a Chechyan Imam, kidnapped from his village at the age of ten, raised as foster son of Czar Nicholas II, and whose desire to wed a Christian princess sets off a chain of events that forces him into an impossible choice between love and honor set against the splendor of the Russian Imperial court, was also sold by Jessica to Gabriella Page-Fort at Amazon Crossing.

Next up, A SCREAM AT MIDNIGHT by Shirley Damsgaard, writing as Jess McConkey, tells the story of a city girl struggling to fit in on her new husband’s farm where she encounters not only a different kind of life, but a ghost from long ago, and a murder that will shake her to the core. Stacey sold this to Emily Krump at Morrow.

Jane then sold Eric Taub’s DOES THIS PLUG INTO THAT?, which demystifies and provides a straightforward approach to the complex and often convoluted world of technology, to Chris Schilling of Andrews McMeel.

CANARY, Rachele Alpine’s debut YA novel, about a girl struggling to fit in with the popular crowd now that her father is the coach of the big-time basketball team, was sold by John to Emily Steele at Medallion Press.

Dr. Paul Linde’s WHEN QUEER WAS CRAZY, a peek behind the scenes of the colorful history of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the putting together of the DSM’s most recent edition, and how the federal government, insurance companies, and corporate interests shaped modern psychiatry, went to Naomi Schneider at the University of California Press, sold by Jane.

Stacey sold the first cookbook from the founder and creator of the popular RecipeGirl.com. In THE RECIPE GIRL COOKBOOK, Lori Lange,  will feature over 150 recipes and ideas for entertaining and every day meals for the home cook that are accessible to all skill-levels of cooking, to Justin Schwartz at John Wiley & Sons.

Matthew Algeo’s PEDESTRIANISM: WHEN WATCHING PEOPLE WALK WAS THE WORLD’S MOST POPULAR PASTIME, about the rise of pedestrianism, a competitive-walking craze that, by the middle of the nineteenth century, was the most popular spectator sport in the English-speaking world, the reasons for its broad and enduring appeal, its profound impact on American and British culture, and its continuing influence more than one hundred years later, was sold by Jane to Jerry Pohlen at the University of Chicago Press.

Michael sold SMELLS LIKE PIRATES by Suzanne Selfors—a rollicking third adventure in the SMELLS LIKE DOG series, following ordinary farm boy Homer and his treasure-sniffing sidekick, Dog, as they race to outsmart an old enemy and find a long-lost pirate treasure—to Julie Scheina at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Next comes DANDELION HUNTER, by Jane’s client, “Wild Girl” blogger and urban forager, Rebecca Lerner. Pitches as a Walden for the 21^st century, DANDELION HUNTER interweaves stories of an urban forager with reportage and philosophical insight, unlocking the many secrets of the wild plants around us. This went to Mary Norris at Globe Pequot at the end of August.

Adam Lazarus’s MONTANA VS. YOUNG: The Greatest Quarterback Controversy of All Time, the first book to chronicle the heated rivalry between Joe Montana and Steve Young for the starting quarterback position of the San Francisco 49ers, a rivalry that drove both players to Hall of Fame careers and Super Bowl wins, was sold by John to Jonathan Crowe at Da Capo Press.

INDELIBLE INK, the first novel in a new YA series by Dawn Metcalf, features a heroine who is accidentally marked by a mysterious boy, which places her in the midst of a dangerous, otherworldly plot to end the Age of Man. Michael sold two books to Natashya Wilson at Harlequin Teen.

Michael also sold the first three books in J. Scott Savage’s The Grimville Case Files series, about three monster-obsessed boys who must solve fiendishly funny mysteries in their hometown, including an amulet that turns its bearer into a zombie and a football team that’s “stitched together” by a body-snatcher, to Andrew Harwell at Harper Children’s.

Lastly, Jessica sold INNOCENCE AND WAR to Chris Kuppig at Signal Books. The author, Lord Ian Strathcarron, a British travel writer who lives aboard his sailboat, the Vasco de Gama, recreated Mark Twain’s colorful voyage to and through the Holy Land, which became the basis for Twain’s first major bestseller, The Innocents Abroad. Strathcarron’s own modern day adventures in the politically volatile, hotly contested lands are a counterpoint to and resonate with Twain’s sly observations about faith, chicanery and politics.

It’s been a busy end-of-summer around here and if the past couple weeks have indicated anything, it’s only going to continue. I may complain about the weather, but with so many new books being sold and published, it’s a blessing in disguise—more time to stay inside and read!