Woohoo! I’m over the moon. My unpublished novel in verse, What Lies Beneath, captured first place in the Florida Writers Association (FWA) Royal Palm Literary Awards competition on Saturday night. The first time I entered the contest and won with my unpublished book, Backpack Blues, I wondered if it was just a fluke because the book is unique. Dr. Mary Custureri owner of Taylor and Seale Publishing took a chance on me. Backpack Blues: Inspire the Fire Within is now a published book available on Amazon.com. 

My second win with a new manuscript has confirmed in my own mind that I’m legitimately a poet and writer of novels in verse.

Do you have a passion for writing? As Nike says, “Just Do It.” Believe in yourself. It won’t be easy. It will require writing, editing, revising, revising again, hiring a content editor, revising, hiring a copy editor, and revising a final time before submitting to a contest or publisher. 

Entering contests makes you a better writer.  At the end of the contest, every entrant receives a rubric from a minimum of three judges. These rubrics help writers learn how to make their works better. How do I know? Before writing winning novels, I wrote novels that didn’t win. The rubrics helped me to improve my writing. 

Thank you for visiting my blog.