W.I.N.

I am very honored that my MG entry into the Smartwriters.com W.I.N. contest, Yamabushi and the Seven Gods of Happiness, took an honorable mention. Many thank-yous to Cynthia Leitich Smith, who judged the MG segment.

I am also more than a little befuddled. Yamabushi was a last-minute thing. I wrote a first chapter and an outline only to cement an idea, and I would consider it by far the weakest entry I made. I thought my YAs were much stronger (as well as completed).

Let this be a lesson to me: I have to understand what made Yamabushi more appealing that the YAs. Was it the story? The hook? Or the synopsis? Am I so close to my own work that I don’t know which story is better or more likely to sell?

Either way, I am still thrilled to be mentioned among this group of excellent writers. I’ve been wondering which novel idea to pursue as my next project. Now I know.