Wednesday, October 3, 2012

To Contest or Not to Contest

Have you ever done something you weren't sure you should? Okay, hit the pause button. That's a bit of a dumb question, because...well, I imagine everyone has leapt into a situation then said, "Oh, crap. What did I just do?" But whatever. Let's just go with it for a minute and ignore the blantant duh factor. Why? I did something a while back that I wasn't convinced I should do.

"Go on," my friend said.

"Oh, I dunno," I replied, uncertain, a little queasy at the thought.

She huffed. "Stop being such a pansy, for heaven's sake, and take a chance!"

All right, granted...my friend doesn't mince words. Or have any patience for vacilators. Normally, I'm the same, but when it came to entering Fury of Fire (my debut novel) in a published authors contest, I have to say, my courage departed for places unknown.

Why? It's hard to say. Perhaps because there are so many talented authors out there writing fabulous stories. Maybe I contracted the bock-bock gene somewhere along the way. All I know is she suggested. I cringed. She shoved, and I folded like a dirty shirt, threw my hands in the air and said "All right!" just to shut her up.

Well as it turns out, she was right. I was...ahem...wrong. And boy, am I ever glad that I was, and that my friend bullied me into taking the leap of faith. She is clearly a much wiser person than I, because...

Fury of Fire (A Dragonfury Novel, book 1) is a double nominee in the NJRW 2012 Golden Leaf contest in the Best Paranormal and Best First Book categories. So completely fabulous! The winners will be announced at the Put Your Heart in a Book Conference on October 12th, and I couldn't be more excited to be counted among such wonderful finalists.

I guess that just goes to show when you take a chance and put yourself out there, good things happen. Clearly, I owe my friend a nice bottle of wine. Oh, and maybe a box of fancy truffles too (which, of course, I will help her eat. Fair's fair, after all).

4 comments:

  1. I totally understand your hesitation to put yourself out there. It can be really difficult to take a chance sometimes, but it looks like it really worked out well for you. Congrats on the nominations, they are well deserved because your books are just awesome! :)

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  2. It was a little weird to enter FoF in the contest, but once the initial YIKES! wore off, I was happy I had taken my friend's advice. And thanks so much for the compliment! I'm so glad you're enjoying the Dragonfury books.

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  3. These’ll help immensely on your journey Upstairs, giving you incredible, indelible thots-to-ponder: Q: Why should you love our exploded plethora of produce which’ll plant the seeds for YOU to grow to great heights?? PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK:

    A: Greetings, earthling. Not sure if we're on the same page if you saw what I saw. Because I was an actual NDE on the outskirts of the Great Beyond at 15 yet wasn’t allowed in, lemme share with you what I actually know Seventh-Heaven’s Big-Bang’s gonna be like for us if ya believe/accept: meet this ultra-bombastic, ex-mortal-Upstairs for the most blatantly deluxxe, catch-22-excitotoxins, myriads of cogently-ironic-metaphors, guhroovaliciousnessly-delicious-endorphin-rush, pleasure-beyond-measure, Ultra-Firepower-Idyllic-Addiction in the Great Beyond for a BIG-ol, kick-ass, party-hardy, robust-N-risqué, eternal-real-McCoy-warp-drive you DO NOT wanna miss the sink-your-teeth-in-the-rrrock’nNsmmmokin’-hot-deal: PLEASE KEEP HANDS/FEET INSIDE THE RIDE UNTIL WE MADE A CIRCUMFERENCE OF the OUTSTANDING, NEVER-ENDING, THRILLIONTH-RED-MARKER-POSSIBILITIES …with eXtra eXciting eXtroverts doing the most vivid, brazen congrewnts: flawless as pearls from the Toyster Upstairs!!! Gain altitude, not attitude, and take front-row-seats, as the inexhaustible, irresistible intimacy shall blow-your-fragile-mind to peaces, miss gorgeous. Meet me Upstairs. Do that for us. Cya soon, girl…

    PS “It is impossible that anyone should NOT receive all that they have believed and hoped to obtain; it gives Me great pleasure when they hope great things from Me and I will always give them more than they expect”
    -Our Lord to Saint Gertrude

    ReplyDelete
  4. These’ll help immensely on your journey Upstairs, giving you incredible, indelible thots-to-ponder: Q: Why should you love our exploded plethora of produce which’ll plant the seeds for YOU to grow to great heights?? PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK:

    A: Greetings, earthling. Not sure if we're on the same page if you saw what I saw. Because I was an actual NDE on the outskirts of the Great Beyond at 15 yet wasn’t allowed in, lemme share with you what I actually know Seventh-Heaven’s Big-Bang’s gonna be like for us if ya believe/accept: meet this ultra-bombastic, ex-mortal-Upstairs for the most blatantly deluxxe, catch-22-excitotoxins, myriads of cogently-ironic-metaphors, guhroovaliciousnessly-delicious-endorphin-rush, pleasure-beyond-measure, Ultra-Firepower-Idyllic-Addiction in the Great Beyond for a BIG-ol, kick-ass, party-hardy, robust-N-risqué, eternal-real-McCoy-warp-drive you DO NOT wanna miss the sink-your-teeth-in-the-rrrock’nNsmmmokin’-hot-deal: PLEASE KEEP HANDS/FEET INSIDE THE RIDE UNTIL WE MADE A CIRCUMFERENCE OF the OUTSTANDING, NEVER-ENDING, THRILLIONTH-RED-MARKER-POSSIBILITIES …with eXtra eXciting eXtroverts doing the most vivid, brazen congrewnts: flawless as pearls from the Toyster Upstairs!!! Gain altitude, not attitude, and take front-row-seats, as the inexhaustible, irresistible intimacy shall blow-your-fragile-mind to peaces, miss gorgeous. Meet me Upstairs. Do that for us. Cya soon, girl…

    PS “It is impossible that anyone should NOT receive all that they have believed and hoped to obtain; it gives Me great pleasure when they hope great things from Me and I will always give them more than they expect”
    -Our Lord to Saint Gertrude

    ReplyDelete