#jaggerjones

Malayna Evans, author of Jagger Jones & The Mummy’s Ankh, talks about how she got her agent, Liza Fleissig (Liza Royce Agency).

How I Found My Perfect-fit Literary Agent

(with a lot of hard work and a giant dose of good luck)

There are a lot of terrific things about accomplishing my lifelong goal of becoming a published author. I get to chat about my favorite subject, ancient Egypt, with kids. I’ve made loads of new friends, including other authors to share the wins and losses with. I was just invited to sit on a panel at a literary festival I’ve attended as a consumer for years. (Eek!)

Some of the pleasures are predictable. Others I didn’t see coming.

One of the best surprises I’ve found on my path to publication is the simple enjoyment of working with an agent who appreciates my work and understands where I want to go. If I’m honest, landing an agent was also one of the most hard-won accomplishments so far.

You’ve heard that old saying: the harder you work the luckier you get. I won’t say I didn’t work for it—I did. I wrote the manuscript, revised the manuscript, labored over the perfect query letter, did my research, sent out dozens of queries, crossed my fingers really hard.  Literary agents don’t just fall from the sky. You have to work at it. And it requires a level of patience I don’t naturally possess. But the day I sent a query to my fabulous agent, Liza Fleissig from LRA, the universe leaned in, patted me on the back, and whispered in my ear: it’s your turn.

My debut novel, Jagger Jones & the Mummy’s Ankh, features a South Side Chicago kid named, predictably, Jagger. And because luck was on my side that day, my agent has a Jagger of her own. I’ll never know if I’d have caught her attention if my protagonists had been named Jim, or Jennifer, or Jamal. But what I do know is that she took one look and my query and wanted to see more.

It would be nice to say she then took one look and my manuscript and my fate was sealed. But like everything else in this business, it took more edits, more time, more work, and way too much patience. Liza asked me to revise, then revise again. But each time, she gave me exceptional feedback, finding the holes in my story, suggesting ways I could improve it. Had I done all that work and not earned my way onto her list, my manuscript would still have been much improved. So I took every bit of advice she threw my way and did my best to incorporate it. I trusted her. And that trust paid off.

In the end, Liza invited me to join her terrific team of writers and she found Jagger a perfect home (yay, Month9Books!) …. and she got me three-book deal (yay, me!). She’s advocated for me, educated me, and given me a few much-needed pep talks along the way. And I have the security of focusing on the work, knowing I have a solid partner to help me launch my work into the world when it’s ready.

So what’s the take-away?

If you’re a writer in search of an agent, my story might feel frustrating, like something you can’t possibly replicate. I mean what are you going to do? Research the names of agents’ loved one. (Uh, creepy!) But here’s why my story should give you hope: I did it. And I’ve met a bunch of other formerly unpublished writers who’ve done it too. And I also work with some extraordinary critique partners who haven’t done it … yet. I managed my expectation—I’m still managing them—and pushed myself even when it felt hopeless. And eventually, I found someone I trusted, then she held my hand while I took the leap. So even though my story won’t be yours, it does show that an unpublished, middle-aged, single mom can move the needle forward with grit, determination, and some faked patience. And if I can do it, you can too!

Malayna Evans published Jagger Jones & The Mummy’s Ankh in May 2019.

We spoke to Gracian, the 16-year-old son of Malayna Evans, about how he inspired his mother to write Jagger Jones & The Mummy’s Ankh, which released today!

Your mom says that this whole book started when you asked her, years ago when you were nine years old, if ancient Egyptians looked like you. If you remember, what inspired you to ask your mom that question?

I knew my mom was very interested in ancient Egypt, and I wanted to know if people looked different way back then, and if so, how.

After she answered, you suggested that she write a book about someone who looked like you traveling through time to ancient Egypt. How did your conversation go from the idea of looking like ancient Egyptians all the way to time travel? 

I don’t really remember, but I think I was trying to explore my young, creative mind.

This is partially your book too! How did you feel when you learned that your mom was going to publish this book years after you thought it up?

Very proud and surprised it was going to be turned into a real book, outside of just an idea Mom and I dreamed up. I was impressed that Mom turned an idea into a reality.

Your mom has said she based the book’s main characters on her children. How much did Jagger end up like you?

Not too much. He’s a little nerdier than me. Okay, he’s a lot nerdier than me.

I know I can trust anyone who reads this not to tell my little sister I said this, so I’ll admit Jagger and I share the same love for our little sisters.

How much do you think Aria ended up like your little sister?

Aria and my sister are more alike than me and Jagger. They share an adventurous personality and a more positive view of exploring new things. They also look alike.

Your mom has talked about how she asked you to look over the book while she was writing these bi-racial characters, since it’s more like your experience than hers. What was your advice to her?

Because the book takes place in an ancient Egyptian setting, I didn’t have too much advice, since most experiences I’ve had that relate to being biracial don’t correlate well with an ancient Egyptian setting. But I was able to share some advice on a scene about someone wanting to cut Jagger’s afro. I feel the same passion for my hair that Jagger has for his—it kind of makes me, well, me. I think I helped there a bit.

What else in the book did your mother write or change based on your advice?

Well the main thing is that I suggested words not to use—words adults think sound like kids my age but no kid my age would really use.

Finally, how often does your mom bring up ancient Egypt around the house?

Not too often anymore. She talked about it more when I was younger and she was in grad school. She used to teach me short phrases in ancient Egyptian. The one I remember was e-ee tee en ee aha en maha neferoo-ee, which Mom says means “welcome to me, rejoice in seeing my beauty.” She thinks she’s funny! :)

Many thanks to Gracian for talking to us about how he planted the seeds for his mother’s thrilling time travel adventure! Jagger Jones & The Mummy’s Ankh is out now. 

A guest blog in honor of National Teachers Appreciation Week 2019 from Malayna Evans, author of the forthcoming MG novel Jagger Jones & the Mummy’s Ankh, which releases on May 28th. 

Thoth, Teachers, and Invisible History Lessons

There are many things to love about ancient Egypt. One of those things is that they valued education so much they had a god, Thoth, dedicated to the topic, elevating the value of teaching and learning. We don’t have a Thoth today, but we do have National Teacher Appreciation Month. And as a middle grade author, I can’t think of any group of people more worthy of celebrating than teachers.

When I decided to use my education in ancient Egyptian culture to craft a series loaded with history, I knew I wanted to write a book teachers could embrace, something that would be fun for kids but also a useful classroom resource.

Turns out, writing an adventure series loaded with historical tidbits is harder in real life than it was in my imagination. But after a few false starts, I realized I needed to let go of the pedantic habits I’d learned in grad school, and focus on the storytelling. A big part of the journey for me was finding ways to incorporate history lessons that would be invisible to young readers. In the end, I focused on capturing the spirit of Egypt, in both big and small ways.

To capture the spirit in a big way, I chose a theme essential to the ancient Egyptian worldview--the afterlife. I turned to an old blessing, ankh, wedja, seneb, which means (may you have) life, prosperity and health. Book one of the three book series tackles ancient notions of life, contrasting them with modern notions. That’s a wordy way to say I took the old boy-saves-princess storyline and aligned it with the spirit of ancient Egypt. So it’s not the princess’s life Jagger must save, but her afterlife. (Cue spooky music here.)

On a micro level, I captured the spirit by weaving in loads of small, sometimes unexpected, details that are authentic to the culture. For example, anyone who has spent as much time studying ancient Egypt as I have, will tell you it must have been a very smelly place. Yes, the world is fully of smelly places, but one senses the ancient Egyptians took their smells seriously. Scents show up in texts, poetry, and images. Pictures of women with lumps on their heads, for example, are believed to portray scented wax hats that would melt throughout the hot day and keep the wearer smelling yummy.

Sadly, unlike Jagger and his little sister Aria, I can’t travel back to the place and time that fascinates me so much and enjoy the sounds and smells. But as a storyteller, I can assign smells I associate with ancient Egypt to magic spells cast by my magician characters. As an historian, I’m pretty sure you can’t ward off giant crocodiles with gum and the scent of lotus blossoms, which is exactly why I let Storyteller Malayna take the wheel.

I hope kids will enjoy the adventure and hardly notice all the history they’ll be soaking up on the way. And I hope teachers will find Jagger’s adventures a useful way to get kids excited about history … without even realizing there’s learning going on.

If you want a fun way to learn about Egypt in the classroom, you can download Jagger’s escape room style activity here: http://malaynaevans.com/wp-content/downloads/ANKHclassroomEscapeActivity-4.pdf

Check back on Friday to get a sneak peek at Chapter 1 of Jagger Jones & the Mummy’s Ankh!

Malayna Evans was raised in the mountains of Utah and spent her childhood climbing, skiing, reading Sci-Fi, and finding trouble. Many years later, she earned her Ph.D. in ancient Egyptian history from the University of Chicago. She's used her education to craft a time-travel series set in ancient Egypt. Book one, Jagger Jones and the Mummy's Ankh, is out in May of 2019. Malayna lives in Oak Park, IL, with her two kids, a rescue dog, and a hamster. She’s passionate about coffee, long dog walks, travel, and visiting classrooms to proselytize about the brilliance of ancient Egypt. You can learn more about Malayna’s resources for educators or reach out to schedule a class visit here, http://malaynaevans.com/for-educators/ or follow Malayna on Twitter here https://twitter.com/Malayna