Moving up at ABNA! Woot woot!

On February 24, this past Thursday, those of us entered in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest, the yearly chance given by Amazon and Penguin to give authors with unpublished or even self-published books to surpass ALL the other 5,000 and be one of two books chosen (Young Adult Fiction and General Fiction) to get a publishing contract, $15,000, and general envy from all that remotely know you, found out if we made it up. Most of my 'real-life' friends think it's pretty cool I write books, but they wouldn't want to do it themselves. Give them a great Nick Sparks or James Patterson or even Harry Potter and they are set. They've said they love what I've written and can't wait to see it in print. With a cover. On a bookshelf at Barnes and Noble.

But my other friends, the virtual ones, and to whom I feel as close to as anyone I have ever known, they are writers. They entered this contest with me, and a few of us moved up, a few of us didn't. We know at this point, it's mostly a crap shoot. This part is based on the pitch (a few paragraphs describing our book, making it sound like the next best thing coming, in 300 words or less). But still...to get past the pitch part is a good thing. Keeps you in the running.

Out of 5,000 entrants, 1,000 General Fiction, and 1,000 Young Adult are chosen. My book, Paper Tigers, is in the running as 1 out of 1,000 other Young Adult books. I am so excited!! But, now we have to wait...again. It feels sort of like, well...

Haha!! Those are snails, by the way. And it's exactly what it feels like now. This part of the wait is pure agony. They're basing the next choosing on the first 5,000 words of our novel. I'm pretty confident about those chapters, they've been picked over so much by myself and others that if something IS found to be wrong? I'll send THEM a trophy. :) There is so much intense and excellent competition. But that's what makes it so good.

Well, that's all I have to tell you. I'm editing, thinking of new stories, excited about all of it! I feel really good about this year. I'm cleaning house, both literally and figuratively, making room for new changes to come. Sort of like taking everything out of a room, repainting, and waiting for the new furniture, that you let someone you trust pick out, to arrive.

I hope God knows I like browns and blues, sort of a city feel and beachy feel all entertwined. Er...maybe God will put in a call to Nate Berkus?

:D