Monday, September 18, 2006

I Won!!!

Okay, so we’re told as kids we’re not supposed to brag but...I love this manuscript so much! And I’m thrilled to be able to say that Black Cat of the Family won first place in the Paranormal category of the PASIC contest!

So I’m celebrating.

And I think that’s important—that if we are writers, we celebrate every victory, big and small. Because let’s face it, this is a crazy business. Things can go wrong that we have no control over. If we don’t celebrate the good moments, the victories, who will?

I love that the PASIC contest is called the Book of Your Heart contest. It allows those of us known for other things, to try something new. And I think that’s also important—to make sure that we sometimes do try something new, do find ways to keep our love of writing alive.

Sometimes the changes will be within the context of the books for which we are known and sometimes we may need to do something totally new. Black Cat of the Family falls somewhere in between.

Did I mention it would make a great series?

I’m also finding another totally new idea begin to germinate. The idea came out of my trip to California to speak at the East of Eden conference. At one point, at a dinner, I was literally scrambling to find a scrap of paper on which to write the first two lines! So often conferences do this—trigger new ideas for us or ways to transform the stories we are working on.

Well, anyway, I’m celebrating. I hope all of you are finding reasons to celebrate in your own lives.

April