Houston Writers’ Guild 2010 Manuscript Contest
Remember that contest I told you guys about? They announced the winners.
Mainstream Fiction Novel: 1st place, Conceding Grace, by Pamela Fagan Hutchins (moi)
Romance Novel: 2nd place, Leaving Annalise, by Pamela Fagan Hutchins (moi again)
Yeah, I totally wish I’d entered Going for Kona, too, now, but it is undergoing rewrites, bummer. It was my night.
Blowing Eric a long distance kiss right before I entered the reception. I look sleepy and stressed! 🙂
They should have both been in Mainstream, because Leaving Annalise is not a Romance, but I didn’t want them to compete against each other. Conceding Grace is the sequel to Leaving Annalise. Got the scores back and 3 of 4 judges scored the 2 manuscripts 150 out of 150 (except I got 1 point off in each for having my name in the header — so,I can’t follow directions? is that a problem?? and of course that means the scores were 149, but only because I can’t follow directions, so I won’t follow them here either, and I’m going with the substantive version of the score), and 1 judge scored L.A. 129…I like those scores, especially the high ones.
Besides, Leaving Annalise has already had her win; I rewrote Leaving Annalise this summer after a different excerpt of the earlier version won first place in the Romance Category for the 2010 MS Contest with the Writers’ League of Texas.
Big thanks to Christina Uticone aka Snowcones (former guest blogger on this site for Saying Yes and Saying No) for going as my date/life support system. Because of her, I did not spend the night hiding in the bathroom/hallway/car.
Best part of the conference, as always: meeting other writers. Nikki Loftin, Samantha Clark, An Duong, Rebecca Nolen, Chris Rogers, June Faver. Awesome. Also, great session by Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen. Nikki — represented by Suzie Townsend — has traded some chapters with me, and her critiques have rocked. So did her chapters. I’m very much looking forward to seeing her books (and greeting cards) in print. Many thanks to Roger Paulding et al for putting on the shindig, and to Roger especially for inviting me to help him entertain the visiting agents at dinner.
Oh, and about agents? I would like one, please. Please, God, send me an agent. Or let one of the four that are evaluating Leaving Annalise call soon. Either option works for me.
I am very pleased. Unfortunately, I celebrated on Facebook/Twitter/blog, home alone. All my kids were elsewhere, and my husband was in India. Anyone in Houston want to take me out for a celebratory ice cream sundae? 🙁
Yippee!!
Pamelot
Congrats!!
Yay! Thanks!
I will be your agent (what does an agent do?)
Courtney, that did not inspire a lot of confidence from me! However, I suspect you’d be the rock star of agents if you did it. They sell manuscripts to publishers, and keep 15% of everything the author makes.
Aww if I was closer I’d totally take you out for a celebratory ice cream. Congrats on your amazing accomplishment. You should be extremely proud of yourself!
Thanks, @cookswithtofu/Suzanne. I’d take you up on it. I even have on makeup, ha ha. This was the night to party.
WOW!!! Congratulations girl! I would have loved to come get you and take you for ice cream! It’s already 10:30 tho and I’m leaving in the morning for a week and haven’t begun to pack!
Congrats again, that HAS to feel good! keep up the tremendous work! We’re all rooting for ya.
Oh man, I was so close to ice cream….. 🙂
Thanks Rene!
Awesome … well done … and congrats!! We’re all here cheering for you online!
Thanks Deb. Check out my “in praise of swim teams and step daughters” post — kind of like your skaters in some ways!
http://pamelahutchins.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/in-praise-of-swim-teams-and-step-daughters/
U like to write too? Cool. i couldn’t find your email so i left u a comment instead.
thanks for visiting my blog.
did u find me on twitter?
if so what is your twitter handle?
i want to be able to tweet with you.
I double heart writing. It is aWESOME.
I do! I Double Heart it! I’m @pameloth — I’ll go find you on Twitter. 🙂
An awesome validation of what is already known. You CAN do this, you really can!
You inspire me, you support me, and you remove all the roadblocks. You give me emotion and words for that which has no words. I love Eric. Thank you.
So proud of you!! But totally not surprised! Rock on!! 🙂
Yeah baby! Thanks, Heidi.
Congratulations Pamela! So happy for you. Well deserved!
Terri
Thanks, Terri!
Thank you for stopping by and commenting on my blog! And yes I agree, we are amazingly blessed to have such wonderful men who are just really lucky they found us!! Heh heh. Congrats on the wins (you’re so hot you sizzle, whoo hoo) and you don’t look stressed, you look beautiful!!! I’m off to check out some other posts – I am a new follower and I can already tell I’m going to love your blog!
I tell mine that every day. Saying how lucky he is to have found me just never seems to get old! And thank you, thank you very much.
Well OBVIOUSLY due to the amount of comments I’ve been generating, I LOVE your blog. I also can’t tell you how much your comment on my “Sex” posting touched me – it was so right on and I wanted to stand up and say, “Amen! Preach it sister!” because so few women get that! Maybe someday we can do a double post on that – what it takes, how it stays sizzlin’ afer 9 and 16.7 years and how it will never go away – will just keep getting bettah and bettah!!!
It would be fun! We should!
Great job Pamela! You Rock!
Thank you very much, Janet!
I GOTTA try this winning thing. Sounds like it feels pretty good.
;)~
I’m so happy for you! I feel quite privileged to have an award-winning author reading my work.
I’m not WORTHY!!
LOL
Hugs!
“You can’t enter if you don’t win” 😉
Thanks
Congratulations!! That’s wonderful! You can celebrate when hubby comes home!! What a great feeling! I hope yo have continued success!
I just entered a contest a couple weeks ago…I won’t find out the results til NEXt MARCH!!!
Good luck in your contest. Keep me posted!
Congrats to you!!! What an amazing accomplishment. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that an agent scoops you up soon. =]
Thanks Nikkolish. Prayer, positive thoughts, sacrifices at a pagan altar, and crossed fingers all accepted. Although truly the pagan sacrifice thing creeps me out a little bit.
Oh WOW!!! Congratulations. I’m a little late reading about this but it’s always fun to have people tell you that you are great over several days 🙂
You’re right about that! Thanks 🙂
Congratulations!
xo Susie
Thanks Susie Wish they’d have given me a crown like yours 😉
Congrats, Pamela!!!! It’s raining in my neck of the woods so I’m finally getting around to reading my feeds. Hearing about good news is good any day, no matter how many days later. 🙂
Thanks, Su-sieee! And nice comments are great whenever they come in, too 🙂
Glad to hear that all of your hard work paid off. COngradulations!
Pam, I won one year. Yeah, first place rocks. So I know how you feel – that said, I want to read for you. And when is lunch to be, by the way? How about the Indian/fusion/middle-eastern/Taiwanese place around the corner from my house?
Let’s lunch this week — I’m good Mon-Thur (I’ll message you). OH, I would be so honored if you would read for me. I would love to read for you. (I am an enthusiastic reader, I get as much out of reading other WIPs as I do working on mine, and I really try to add value– just read for Nikki Loftin for the first time, and I think she was pleased — do you know Nikki)?