And The Winner Is...The Novella With Spirit

Waiting for news can be a tense time unless you fill it with something very distracting. I concentrated on my day job, dove into my next novel project and allowed time to float by.

Writing contests usually have two stages: the Finalist stage and the Announcement (Winner) stage. As a contestant, if you've been selected for either, you get The Call. Most contests strive to make a personal phone call, not send an e-mail. It's a lot more fun to give (and get) this news over the phone.

I got The Call in early summer before the RWA Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. From nearly 200 submissions, Carousel Magic had risen to Robin Award Finalist. I cried, I laughed, I called everyone I knew. The contest coordinator also asked me if I would be attending the conference in July. The winner would be announced at the annual Awards Luncheon, and they wanted all the finalists there. No hesitation. Yes, I would be there.

I had attended the Awards Luncheon before and I knew that this was a big deal. Kind of like the Oscars. If I won, I would be walking up on to the stage in front of a crowd in a huge conference banquet hall, and I'd be asked to say a few words. The Spirit kept nudging. "Don't go unprepared," it whispered. "Be ready to walk on that stage." I carefully crafted a brief acceptance speech and wrote it on a couple of index cards.

The first day and a half of the Orlando conference passed by me in a happy haze. Other writers congratulated me, I basked in the attention and acknowledgement. I was a Finalist! Members of my chapter, Greater Detroit RWA, were as excited as I was. By the time the Awards Luncheon occurred, I trembled with nervousness. As I had envisioned, the Banquet Hall held 20 or 30 round tables filled to the far corners with conference-goers and well-wishers. My chapter and other friends filled two tables not too far from the stage. I could barely eat.

Then the Announcement. Introduction of all five finalists. 3rd Place. 2nd Place. And...Me!


"From the Heart of the Author to the Heart of the Reader"

The cheers around me exploded, and I walked slowly and steadily to the stage, now somewhere between shaking leaf and bursting fireworks. I shook hands with Robin Lee Hatcher, for whom the award had been named, and with the coordinators at Laubach Literacy. I stepped up to the podium, looked out over the crowd, breathed in courage from the Spirit, and read my little speech.

Thank Heaven for those index cards.