The Story Queen is a Finalist!

The Heartland Romance Authors RWA chapter has announced The Story Queen as a finalist in the 2009 Show Me the Spark contest.

I was blown away by the scores and judges' comments. I have three fans out there!

So, now what? Well, for one thing, I need to edit the 17th century Salem passages and sharpen the dialect, using my brother's helpful critique as a guide. And the modern-day dialogue has a bit too much teenspeak in certain passages. I'll fix that, too. After that, I'll wait for the final results and hope one of the final judges asks to see the manuscript. I still have some queries to agents floating around out there, too.

Mostly, though, it's time to move on. I've started a new WIP, tentatively named Invulnerable. It'll be another young adult paranormal romance, this time with a comic book theme. I've completed the first chapter (fodder for a few contests next year!) but only have a vague idea where the story will go. That's the fun part. Getting into that zone and letting the story tell itself.

Joe