My ABNA...What???

I was curious to hear reviews for my ABNA entry, so here they are. Not bad actually, but they leave me a little annoyed about how things are rated in the contest. I mean, why on earth would they give a YA or suspense novel to someone who doesn't even like the genre?

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After a spate of school shootings, the story, while fictional, seems terribly real. A mercilessly bullied boy is about to execute his plan to get revenge on his fellow students. Majesty--with a mother broken and unavailable -- "the love of her life snuffed out"--knows that she has cried wolf one too many times. And she has to hide, so what can she do to prevent this horror from happening?

I found myself feeling Majesty's intense alarm in the pit of my own stomach. But, although the author manages to hit me in the gut, I'm not at all a fan of this type of fiction. If I were, I would have given it a higher rating.

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That's an excellent review IMO. In my short excerpt, the reader felt my character's alarm in the pit of her stomach and my story rang as real. That's awesome and encouraging feedback! Couldn't ask for better than that. Though the genre wasn't her thing, I loved what she had to say. She also summarized my excerpt well in detail before her commentary there.

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I didn't like how the author switched tone in each character's head and this myatery was to gothic in spots. Never found out what is was alla bout.

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[Typos above are not mine. Hmmm.] And that's not a bad review either. In my novel, I made Warren's scenes darker with a richer vocabulary to reflect his conflicted mentality and intelligence. He is Goth, so I'm glad his scenes came across as Gothic. I was hoping for that. I'm sorry he/she didn't like the switches in tone, but I think it's one of the things that will make my work stand out from the slush pile. And it's pretty clear what the story's about. The other reviewer got it perfectly.

On the whole though, I just think reviewers should rate a work based on the writing itself and not what genres they do or don't like. Just sayin'. I'm happy with these reviews, mostly, minus the flubby fingers. I get flubby fingers a lot so I can't talk. I know alla bout that. ;) Red Bull does wonders or those Dunkin Donuts Mocha Swirl Lattes. Seriously. I totally do run on Dunkin. Perks me right up. Mmm. Later.

~ Signing off and sending out cyber hugs.

No Go But That's Okay

I've been offline for a few days. Well, I'm back...obviously. I got an email from ABNA and my entry did not make the cut. I'm supposed to get the excerpt reviews in a couple weeks. I'm curious about those.

I was glad that I wasn't chosen to move forward because after entering I was nervous about being in the contest. The more time that went by, the more I was hoping for a diss. ABNA is just not the route I want to take to become published. And if I somehow won, which is slim but still a possibility since someone has to, then I'd be roped into a crappy contract and be starting off my career un-agented.

There are few shortcuts you can take to get you to where you need or want to be in publishing. I'm excited about going on an agent hunt. Do I want to be rejected? No. But how exciting will it be when I strike a chord with that ONE. who is as passionate about my work as I am. The hunt is fraught with tears, struggle and fire, but that builds determination, perseverance and strength.

With my critique circle nearly finished with my MS, I'm so close to putting on my hiking boots and stocking up on printer ink and paper reams. Can't wait.

~ Signing off and sending out cyber hugs.