I swear I’ve been hard at work, just not at updating y’all over here on my blog. But I have proof!
I’ve been busy querying agents and publishers about the satire romance I finished in 2023, which was a finalist in the romance category of the Writer’s League of Texas at that time. More to come on that, but the short version is I have thus far amassed over 100 rejections.
But fast forward to the present, I have also been busy writing the first draft of my NEXT novel, which is a satire thriller. As with my last work in progress, I entered it in the annual Writer’s League of Texas manuscript contest, more as a way to get some early feedback and a helpful critique to let me know if the book is worth finishing.
Last week I got my helpful critique, which was indeed helpful. It included a modest amount of praise, but was not nearly as effusive as the critique I received when I entered Don’t Give Me Grief, so I was not confident I would have a repeat performance as a finalist this year.
I was right about the finalist thing, but I was also wrong because I wasn’t a finalist in the thriller category… I WAS THE FUCKING WINNER! So – introduction… it’s called The Handwriting Artist (a working title I was unsure of but everyone else seems to love it, so I suppose it’ll stay) and I’m about 60% done with the first draft, so don’t expect anything any time soon. But having this prestige under my belt certainly doesn’t hurt.
I’ll share with you my favorite line from the book so far, which I have committed to memory: “If I’d known I’d be spending so much of this trip running for my life, I’ve have done more cardio and worn a better bra.”
