Freaky Friday: The Stampfel-Volpe Version

In honor of Unofficially Official Agent Day I give you a special Friday list. Here are five reasons I love my fab agent, Joanna Stampfel-Volpe:

1. She can think like a writer, an editor, a marketing guru, a reader, a critic, a friend, a psychologist, a teacher, and a publishing biz insider ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Obama's lucky Jo didn't run for prez last year--he would have had serious competition.

2. She treats everyone with the utmost respect. Agents in training should scroll through the Nancy Coffey post on Absolute Write for lessons on how to treat prospective clients. Seriously.

3. She knows how to deal with writerly neuroses. I sent her an email telling her how nervous I was to send her my WIP. Her response? "Don't worry...we're a team now!" And you know what? I stopped worrying!

4. The girl eats, sleeps, and breathes books. Jo reads for work, for pleasure, for any reason--she just...reads. All the time. She must have a spare set if eyeballs or superhero glasses or something.

5. The little things...She likes the Fab Four as much as I do. She's a foodie who can talk gourmet with the best of them. She has a super adorable New York born-and-bred accent. She throws Mad Men parties and sends me the pics. And seeing her name in my email inbox makes me feel like I've won the lottery, every time.

So, thanks Joanna! And Happy Christmas to you!