Writing Updates

I'm so excited to announce the biggest writing news I've ever had.

On Sunday, September 3rd, I received a phone call from Paula B of The Writing Show. I won 2nd place in their first contest. The criteria was posted on their website sometime earlier this summer.

We were looking for the best first chapter of an unpublished novel. We evaluated the entries on the following five criteria:

• Is it a compelling read with a great hook?
• Is the writing smooth and flowing?
• Is the dialog natural and does it move the story along?
• Are grammar and punctuation correct?
• Are the characters interesting?

The list of judges was quite impressive too.

Our nine judges were:

• Book publicist Karen Villanueva
• Author Harriet Smart
• Guest host and book reviewer Mick Halpin, also known as Critical Mick
• John Bryans, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher at Information Today Books and Plexus Publishing
• Georganna Hancock, who writes the fabulous blog Writer’s Edge
• Alan Chaney, co-founder of The Writing Show
• Chris Baty, founder of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)
• Author Paula Paul
• Author Micah Dubinko

But what you really want to know is posted at the site - the winning first chapter that hooked them so thoroughly. It's posted in both MP3 and .pdf format for your listening/viewing pleasure.

I'm still giddy and have been dying to share. Thanks, Ruth, for letting the club know about the contest, and thanks, club, for reading the first draft of this manuscript.