I'm not a huge fan of writing contests, having only entered a few over my relatively short writing career, but one I haven't missed is the ABNA.
I was quite pleased this year to see that instead of the two categories that have been used for submissions in the past (Young Adult, and Fiction), this year there were five categories -- including one for Mystery/Thrillers, a decent fit for my writing.
I just checked the lists of those novels passing on to the second round, and was gratified to see DELIVERABLES, my entry for this year, made the cut.
My first year entering the contest, I submitted LEVERAGE. It made it to round 3. The last two years, LEVERAGE only made round 2. I'm quite hopeful that DELIVERABLES, despite being a little out of the mainstream of Thriller writing (it is, after all, a Corporate Thriller, focusing on wrongdoing in a business context), will reach round 3 as well. It is identified by most of my readers as their favorite of my novels.
Next year, I should have HEIR APPARENT, a more conventional thriller, ready for the contest. I have high hopes for that work, but for now, all my hopes are riding on DELIVERABLES.
So now I'll just sit by for the next month, twiddling my thumbs and hoping for an entry into the next stage. Or maybe not.
So many stories to tell, so little time....
