And the winner is...

Over the past week I have been preparing for my competition finals. I met with the judges on Friday and Saturday, and did my first public reading ever on Saturday afternoon.

Ultimately, I did not "win" my book deal competition. I am proud to say that I finished third, behind 2 brilliant memoirs; one the story a woman's triumph over bipolar depression, the other the a moving tale of a young black woman's struggle to reconcile her well-to-do upbringing with ingrained racism and hatred in the American south during the civil rights movement. Just being in a group with these amazing women, as well as the three other, astounding authors (read all about them in the link bellow), was an honor, and I already feel like a success. The competition was extremely tight. The difference between first and third place was just 12 points.

I want to wish the very best to my friend Charita. She has worked incredibly hard for this victory and I am so thrilled for her success. This woman has been through so much in her life and has come out the other side with an amazing, triumphant story. I cannot wait to read her book!

After a little break I plan to begin work on another draft of my book and start the process of submitting to agents. I hope to have a plan in place in the next few months in regards to how I'm going to get you all your goodies. I am so grateful to all who have supported through this process. I am going to make this dream come true, no matter what!

There's a great deal that I'd like to say about winning, losing, and gratitude, but I think I might save that for another day. I'm going to go sleep for a week now.

http://whenwordscountretreat.com/meet-the-pitch-week-v-finalists/