Showing posts with label #RPLA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #RPLA. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 03, 2021

Hello November and IWSG!

 


So, I have to begin with the best news first. I WON!!! My entry "Rain" won first place (Gold) in the women's fiction category of the Royal Palm Literary Awards this past October! I'm still feeling the high... I've received the actual award and included a photo of it below. This was so heartwarming for me since it took me SO long to finish this novel. Whew. Talk about a WORK in progress. We're talking years here. So, to have it recognized in this way was more than powerful. It was an acknowledgement by others that the work was worthy. I am so incredibly grateful. (In case you'd like to read it, click on the links Rain and novel in this post!)


On the home front, my husband is recovering well from knee replacement surgery and I'm hanging in there as his nurse, cook and bottle washer. It's tiring, but worth it when after his first Physical Therapy session Tuesday, he came home feeling so much stronger and happier with his choice (as if he had a choice) to do this. He'd tried everything else first over the last two years. Surgery was the last choice and he finally made it. I am thankful he is healing well!

And again on the home front, our retaining walls are done! I'm going to post a full album (on FB) of the beginning, progression and end, but here I'll post just a few to give you an idea of what we had done.

Before...

During, first & second walls done

Planting first bed!

Besides all this wonder and work, I'm tired, but still happy to see the kiddiewinks I tend in before/after school care in my "day" job. I'm off to bed, but wanted to thank all the wonderful well-wishers who cheered me on last month when I told you I was in the running for the RPLA award. Thank you thank you thank you! I won! Rain won! I'm still over the moon about it. 

Now, on to the IWSG. Please go and visit our wonderful co-hosts this month! Thank them for doing a great job!  Kim Lajevardi, Victoria Marie Lees, Joylene Nowell Butler, Erika Beebe, and Lee Lowery!

The question of the month is: What is harder to do, come up with your book title, or write the blurb?

BOTH! For me each one has its difficulty. Though sometimes titles come easier, blurbs are never easy, at least for me. I struggle, and I send it out to many writer friends to ask for input. Thank goodness you all are there! How about you? Which one is easier for you?

I wish you all a November full of colors and food and good times with family. See you in December!


Thursday, October 07, 2021

So October Is Here IWSG

 

A day late, but not a dollar short. A new take on an old saying to start this post off. Perhaps funky, but I've been up since three something so go figure!
This is the month where I find out if I've won the Royal Palm Literary Award! I'm excited and trepidatious. I'm posting the link to the YouTube video of those of us who are finalists. I show up around 6:07 for about 2 seconds. I'm glad they posted it for us to see ahead of the conference which will not be live this year, thank you Covid...again.



On to IWSG!
Our wonderful co-hosts this month are...

Please go by and give them a thanks for being there for us, if you haven't already. I'm sorry this is so short, but have to go get ready for work! Hope all of you are doing exciting things and staying safe and healthy! Fall/Autumn, here we come!!!

Wednesday, November 04, 2015

IWSG Wednesday


IWSG GROUP


Please thank our awesome co-hosts for this month, Stephen Tremp, Karen Walker, Denise Covey, and Tyrean Martinson
Co-hosts are wonderful beings who enjoy helping make this blog "hop" a success, so make sure you visit and thank them for all that they do, as well as our Ninja Captain, Alex himself...





For this month’s IWSG post, I have some introspection I’d like share. What does it mean to win an award? How many writing awards are out there and is there a list of those who “count/matter” and those who don’t?
I don’t know. I just know what it feels like to (finally!) win one! A Royal Palm Literary Award, first place in mystery, from the Florida Writers Association's annual competition. To win a contest where no one who knows me is amazing. That my work was judged by no one who has anything to gain by liking what I wrote, that's a wow. I love this feeling about winning an award.


On the other hand, I made the mistake, perhaps, of reading the rubrics (I should have waited until I wasn’t working on the current WIP) from the judges who commented on the other novel I entered that did not win. Depressing. Not because they were mean. Contrarily, they were professional about what they said and I could see truth in some of the comments, which made me feel terrible.
However, “it’s too late to turn back now.” What I learned from this is that I may not be able to go back and change what is already out there, but I can learn from what I did and did not do and make this next novel that much better. I’ve decided to take that route and get over my pity party, as soon as I can, which probably won’t be for another few days. I know myself. I need to grieve and dwell. Then I can move on.
How do you handle criticism, no matter how “constructive?”