Well, I got the job.

You are now reading the blog of the newest associate editor of the Imprint Book Group at Strang Communications. You may start your congratulations adulations now.

Check out my new boss. He's super-cool and about 5 feet tall. I'm really looking forward to learning all I can from him and adding all I can of my quality dynamite zest to his team.

Speaking of Bert's team, it consists of 3 people: him, me, and Debbie. Debbie is the editor, I'm the associate, and Bert is the editorial director. Together, we'll put out titles in three imprint groups all year. The imprints are:

• Siloam, offering titles in alternative health from a Christian perspective;
• FrontLine, which discharges political and social justice views; and
• Realms, their new fiction imprint with a supernatural flair.

Debbie does most of the work with Siloam; I think it is her "baby." They're interested in what I can add to Realms, and this excites me even though I don't read much of the kind of fiction they produce. I wanted to work in fiction when I started out toward the book business, and now it seems I'll finally get that chance.

(As a sidenote, I think they want me to help with Realms because I mentioned I write my own stuff. Sure, I have a few novels in the works, but I warned them my problem is I never finish anything. I just started a brand new story last week, for instance.)

Even though Strang publishes books and magazines that are geared toward an audience different than myself, I'm looking forward to what I can learn from this job. I'll not only get to groom my editorial skills far beyond where they've currently grown, but I'll also be working with a team I already like and feel great affection toward. Plus, working on stuff that challenges my own way of thinking and believing has a twofold benefit: it can teach me something new and it can offer an opportunity for me to challenge others in their places right back.

So, here's "cheers" from me. I'm going to have a glass of wine in honor of myself tonight. I'm sure convincing Kirk to join me will not possibly be that hard. :)