Showing posts with label awards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label awards. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards 2013

In case you didn't know, Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award 2013 has begun. The entry period started yesterday and runs through January 27, or until they receive 10,000 entries. This year they have five categories: General Fiction, Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror and Young Adult Fiction . 

Last year I entered Screwing Up Time and it was a Quarter-finalist. It was a wonderful experience. (Though not everyone has had positive experiences, a lot depends on the reviewers you get.) This year I debated whether to enter or not. I'm not sure whether books in a series like Screwing Up Babylon have a chance, especially since SUB is the second book in a series not the first. (I mentioned that it was a book in a series in the pitch paragraph, so there's no confusion later.)

In the end, I have nothing to lose by entering, assuming I'm not too discouraged if the book doesn't do well. (For those of you who are considering entering--read the small print regarding exclusivity, agents, etc.)

In the meantime, good luck to everyone entering! And if you're entering, leave me a note in the comments section--I want to cheer for you!


Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Ten Things You'd Probably Rather Not Know About Me

David Powers King recently gave me the Kreative Blogger Award. (Thanks, David!)  For the creative blogger award I'm supposed to share ten things about myself and then pass the award on to six other bloggers. (It was very hard to chose only six.) So without further ado, ten things that you'd probably rather not know about me.



Ten Interesting things about me (some fall into the “don’t try this” category).

1. When I was a teenager, I was swimming in the ocean, saw a sea turtle, and grabbed on for a ride. It was amazing. Until he pulled me out to sea and decided to dive to the ocean floor.

2. I drove a car home from school (in Los Angeles) with my eyes closed. It was okay though because my best friend told me when to turn, when to slow down and when to stop.

3. I’ve been a runner for 29 years. (With some months off here and there when I was pregnant; puking didn’t mix so well with running.) And I actually hate running, but it feels so good when I stop.

4. I’m face-blind. I recognize people by their height, shape, hair color, facial hair, etc. When my husband shaved his beard and mustache, it took weeks before I didn’t have a split-second of panic, thinking “who is that stranger,” every time I saw him.

5. My family calls me the “orchid whisperer” because my orchids bloom prolifically. But the truth is that I don’t do anything except ignore them and give them leftover ice cubes for water.

6. I can tie a cherry stem into a knot with my tongue.

7. My favorite junk food is honey-mustard pretzel pieces. They make me happy...until I realize how many miles I have to run to cancel out my indulgence.

8. Clowns and circuses really creep me out. I still can’t figure out why face paint and demon-possessed eyes makes people laugh. Oh, and those weird wind-up monkeys that bang cymbals...they’re creepy too.

9. I still have nightmares about missing a final for a college class. I graduated a long time ago.

10. I love office supplies. Post-it notes, triangle-shaped paperclips, red pens (I must have at least 12 at a time.), highlighters, push pins (even though I don’t have a cork board.), floral binder clips, etc. One of my favorite pastimes is going to Staples and redeeming my store credits for more organization supplies. Bliss.

Six Bloggers to Whom I now Pass on the Award:




4.  Patti



Don't forget there are only a few days left to enter the contest to win a free e-copy of Screwing Up Time at Novel d'Tales