Did I loose?

The Amber Quill Heat Wave results have been posted, and here are the winners :

AQP'S 3RD ANNUAL
AMBER HEAT WAVE CONTEST


The Results Are In!!!

With more than 200 manuscript entries received this year—almost double the number of entries we received for last year's contest—we had an extremely difficult time narrowing down the list of winning manuscripts. But after numerous weeks of evaluating the stories through three intensive judging phases, we have finally selected 11 manuscripts we felt best represented the erotic romance our readers have come to expect from Amber Quill Press.

So, without further ado, here are the manuscripts—listed alphabetically—we have chosen to receive our standard two-year electronic publishing contract, and the authors we will be inviting this year to join the Amber Quill Press roster of authors...

The Claiming - Sherrill Quinn
Cup Of Fate - Cassandra Curtis
Darkson’s Forfeit - Marie Harte
Diary Of A Dirty Cowboy - Jade Rivers
Family Jewels - Kelly Maher
Her Black Little Heart - Selah March
Poker Brat - Barrie Abalard
Santa’s Helper - Cassidy Kent
The Streets Of Florence - Pepper Espinoza
Tales of the Pride: Awakening - Larissa Lyons
Unloved - Nina Merrill

Is my name on that list under a pen name? Nope ;
So I must have lost, right? Well. Guess that depends on how you look at it. Me being a glass half full kind of person, I think I won from this contest in a big way.

This was my first contest, first submission, and the first time I ever let anyone read my writing, all wrapped up in one. I had great feedback, and I had a major writing flaw pointed out to me by someone who read it before edits. Just by becoming aware of that so early, I came out a winner in this contest.

I had my first taste of submission anxiety. The "did I hit Send too early" fear.

I learned what it's like to sit around waiting for results to be posted - it's not fun! I think I'm going to avoid contets that do web site postings at midnight, it makes it very very hard to go to sleep afterwards! lol.

But most of all, I learned that Romance Diva's absolutely rocks. Out of 11 winning stories, at least 4 of them are Divas. (Still waiting to see if anyone claims a pen name that wasn't recognized, but 4 out of 11 when it was a non-Diva sponsored contest is amazing!) The people support, cheer, prod, cajole, console, laugh, scold, teach, learn, and write together. I've made friends there that I'll carry with me throughout my writing life - and I'm so proud of all of us that entered the contest, and excited for those who find their name on that winning list.

So anyone feeling a bit sad for me (or themselves) that a certain name isn't on that list, I'd invite to look at how much you've won. Then polish that baby, or put it away and start a new one - there's a world full of readers out there, and a home for every book. Even if that home is a deep dark box in the back of your closet.

Gratz to all the entrents, and special Congratz to CC (Cassandra Curtis), Jax (Cassidy Kent), Selah, and Pepper!