"The Secret Ingredient" and "Crocodile Tears" are Finalists in the Unpublished Stiletto Awards!

More news on the awards front: this time about two unpublished manuscripts I've been sweating over for months: the Contemporary Romance Writers of America have named "Crocodile Tears" and "The Secret Ingredient" as finalists in their unpublished Stiletto Contest! 

For the unindoctrinated, unpublished contests let authors submit their working manuscripts and hear early feedback on how well readers (read: judges) connect with it. Entering unpublished contests is an amazing way for authors to see what readers love (and hate!) about their books. When you become a finalist in contests like these, it's typical for medal-round judges to be acquiring agents and editors. This means that if you're an author trying to sell your manuscript, you might find an industry pro who's interested in your book!

These books are very special to me. I'll be blogging about them one of these days and releasing teaser pages that show off the plot. For the time being, it means a lot to get the scorecards, hear validation that judges liked both, and to see where these manuscripts may need work.

Winners will be announced at the 2018 RWA National Conference in Denver at the very-cool-sounding Stiletto party. For me, a final is a win and anything with a scorecard that gives me feedback is a win. My next big hope is that someone actually wants to publish it!!