Questions about the publishing details of the Thief series

[zeonn.livejournal.com]

I was wondering today about the publishing details of the Thief series, especially The Queen of Attolia (my favorite!!). So... does anyone know any details about how MWT got the books published?

Does she have a literary agent?

Or was the manuscript just a lucky find in an editor's slush pile?

Did it get rejected a lot before she found the right publisher to buy it? (a wise decision there Harper Collins! :)

and etc...
I did a bit of googling but wasn't able to find much info on the nitty gritty publishing details, and the behind-the-scenes stuff like that fascinates me as I'm an aspiring author myself. :D

Looking forward to hearing ya'll's thoughts!