ROOMS Entry in Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest

(Amazon)

I recently entered a novel competition with my unpublished novel, Rooms.  That contest was the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. I was very excited about it and worked extremely hard on all the entry requirements and sent it in to Amazon before the deadline was up. Today I found out that I made it into the second round of judging.  Rooms made it into the top 2023 entries out of about 10,000, and in my category there are 398 entrants left. There will be one winner chosen out of each of the five categories.

The five categories in the contest are Romance, General Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Mystery & Thriller, and my category, Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror.  If you click here, you'll go to a page about the contest with all of the categories.  By clicking on the icon of each category, you can see the list of authors and titles that have moved on to the second round.

I'm very pleased!  This morning I woke knowing that this was the day that I'd find out if I was going on or not.  I found the document with the names in my category, clicked on it and looked down the list.  My heart was pounding! Then I saw my name, Bob Stegner, and then Rooms!  It was an amazing experience!

As I'm writing this post, I'm remembering one of the things that I had to do to enter the contest. I had to write a Pitch.  It's somewhat like a summary of the book but much more.  Not only is it a summary, but you have to somehow hit the plot highlights, show your writing style and present the protagonist all within 300 words or less. I'll never forget all the time spent writing, re-writing, and struggling over that part of the entry. The work paid off, though, as I made it into the second round.

This has been quite an experience!  You never know what will happen, but no matter what, I'm extremely happy that I made it this far and am hopeful!  I'm so attached to the characters and the story that I feel like they have moved on with me to the next part of the competition.

The next date that is important will be April 14th. That's when the top 500 Quarterfinalists will be announced.


Learn more about Rooms and my published, forty page young adult novel, Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy, by clicking on the links below.

Rooms' Teaser

Rooms' Excerpt: Chapters 1-2

Rooms' Chapter Titles

Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy published and for sale on Amazon.com

Paperback - $3.23

Kindle version - $0.99 

Wheatgrass' Teaser

Wheatgrass' Excerpt

Amazon Contest Logo image from:
http://www.amazon.com/b?node=332264011

Planning and Writing My New Book

Before you read about my new book

This month I will learn if my unpublished novel, Rooms will move on to the next level in a competition that I've entered.  I'm hopeful, but we'll have to see how that goes.

You can learn more about Rooms, and my published young adult, forty page novelette, Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy by clicking on the links below.

Rooms' Teaser

Rooms' Excerpt: Chapters 1-2

Rooms' Chapter Titles

Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy published and for sale on Amazon.com

Paperback - $3.23

Kindle version - $0.99 

Wheatgrass' Teaser

Wheatgrass' Excerpt

(Forest)

New Book

I am extremely happy and lucky that I was able to live overseas and travel for the last five years.  I found places in Europe that lit my imagination and captured my soul.  These places, I'm sure, will influence my writing for years to come, and one of those places is the location of my next book.

The image above provides an impression of the mood that will be central to the new book, as it is a fantasy/mystery thriller that takes place in and around Edinburgh, Scotland. At the focal point of the book is an old family mansion owned and lived in by the Bauman family.  The family consists of Elizabeth, the Mother, her two children, Fiona and Ewan, and the family housekeeper and nanny named Mary McClellan.

I've been working hard on the basic plan for the book - the characters, the setting and the plot.  I think it's beginning to come together, and I've actually written the first two chapters and just started chapter 3. The challenge in writing this book, as I see it, will be in connecting all the dots between the twists and turns within the plot and being able to maintain the tension and the element of surprise while holding the story together. 

Also, as I write more, read other author's works and pay closer attention to the craft of writing, I see it more and more as allowing myself to slow down and visualize each scene in the story.  It's so important to not be afraid to allow oneself to take the time to paint the picture of each scene with details that richen the experience for both the writer and reader.  Maintaining a balance between painting those pictures through words and continuing the flow of the story are very important as well as laying down clues along the way that help the reader and allow the connection of all the story lines to blend together toward the climax.  I love writing more and more and feel that I've found something that I was meant to do - something that I've been moving toward through the many experiences of my life.

This new book is taking shape, and as I can tell you more, I will.

Tree/Moon Image from:

Forest Blue Moonlight Wallpapers.. Digital image. Travelization. N.p., 30 June 2012, Web. 16 Mar. 2014. <www.travelization.net>.

Poem: DANCE

Before you read my poem below

You can learn more about my unpublished new science fiction novel, Rooms, and my published young adult, forty page novelette, Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy by clicking on the links below.

Rooms' Teaser

Rooms' Excerpt: Chapters 1-2

Rooms' Chapter Titles

Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy published and for sale on Amazon.com

Paperback - $3.23

Kindle version - $0.99 

Wheatgrass' Teaser

Wheatgrass' Excerpt

(Goyette)

Dance

A rhythm rounds a fiery soul

Of beat

Heat

Desire

Tension

Music

Body and mind

A syncopated punctuation

Of thought

Sweat

Motion

Emotion

Passion

Inciting a throng

A stipulated froth

Of pounding

Color

Vibrating

Undulating

Play

Catapulting to crescendo

Dance

A deep earthen song

Dance

A tropical parade

Dance

A life spent

In a moment

Dance

A pounding

And a thrill

Dance

A pure soliloquy

Of survival

Stamina

Action

Stillness

Love, and light, and power

Copyright © Bob Stegner 2007

Dancer Image from:
Goyette, Barry. Two Dancers. Digital image. Wikipedia. N.p., 29 Dec. 2007, Web. 4 Mar. 2014. <http://enwikipedia.org/wiki/Dance>.