A Contesting We Will Go

Pamela Tracy here. No, not the snake, but the blogger writing about the snake. So, hey, if you're an unpublished author of inspirational romantic suspense, you truly do want to check this contest out.

THE PHOENIX RATTLER – DOES YOUR STORY HAVE BITE?

Christian Writers of the West (CWOW) is the Arizona branch of American Christian Fiction Writers

PRIZES: What’s the prize? Finalists will not only receive the opportunity to have their ten pages judged by an agent and/or editor, they will also receive a finalists’ certificate. The winner in each category gets a designer championship pin and will be mentioned on the ACFW loop, on our CWOW website, and Michelle Sutton’s highly trafficked blog: http://edgyinspirationalauthor.blogspot.com/

Categories and their esteemed FINAL ROUND judges:
Contemporary Fiction: Melissa Endlich, Love Inspired, Harlequin
Historical Fiction: Barbara Scott, Abingdon Press
Suspense/Thriller/Mystery: Elizabeth Mazur, Assistant Editor Love Inspired Suspense
Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Allegory: Diedre Knight, Knight Agency
Young Adult: Janet Grant, Books and Such Literary
Women’s Fiction: Rachelle Gardner, Wordserve Literary

FEES: A flat $20 fee per entry paid through Paypal button on http://christianwritersofthewest.blogspot.com/

HOW TO ENTER:
Please include an attached RTF file of the first ten pages of your manuscript, Paypal receipt, and the following information (You can copy and paste the entry form below into an RTF document and complete/attach to entry email. Email entry to the coordinator of the category you're entering):

ENTRY FORM:
Name:
Address:
City/State/Zip:
Phone (cell/home):
Email address:
Are you an ACFW Member? (Membership not required for 2009 contest)
Title of Entry:
Word count of completed manuscript:

Category Coordinators:
Contemporary Fiction: Terry Doyle terrydoyle@cox.net
Historical Fiction: Sandra Smith sandraleesmith@cox.net
Suspense/Thriller/Mystery: Pamela Tracy PamWrtr@aol.com
Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Allegory: KM Wilsher gzusfreek@live.com
Young Adult: Lynn Rush sheriboeyink@cox.net
Women’s Fiction: Jennifer Cary jlcary@writeme.com
((Romance included in all categories))

THINGS TO REMEMBER:
1. You should send entry form (shown above), the first ten pages of your manuscript, and paypal receipt to the coordinator of the category you desire to enter by Midnight (PST) October 31, 2009.
2. Use Courier New or New Times Roman font 12 with 1-inch margins all around
3. Make sure to pay your $20 fee by the paypal button on http://christianwritersofthewest.blogspot.com/
4. Finalists announced mid-December, 2009 and Winners announced mid-February, 2010.

ELIGIBILITY: CWOW’s Phoenix Rattler is open to all unpublished writers. There is no membership required for this first annual contest. Published authors may enter if at least five years has passed since their last publication.

If you have any general questions, contact
KM Wilsher gzusfreek@msn.com
Or
Lynn Rush sheriboeyink@cox.net

In the beginning, I was a no-nothing writer. Yup, that's right. My first attempt (besides in college on the electric typewriter) was a Star Trek. It was 300 pages, single-spaced. How did I learn? I ran, yes ran, to my local community college and took a creative writing class. Then, I followed it with an Intro to Manuscript Writing class. I didn't even know the second class existed! I took the Intro class three times. Why? Because not only did I like the teacher, but there was a core group of five of us who - along with the teacher - formed a critique group. That critique group - with a few changes - still exists. How long ago was that? 1993. What did I do next? Well, one of the gals found an ad in the newspaper for an RWA conference in our town. This was a Wednesday; the conference started Friday. Four of us went. Today, of that four, two are published and two have escaped from the writing universe. What came next? You guessed it. Contests. My first attempt at the Golden Heart came back as Non Romance. Amazingly enough, it was a vampire book. I've really come a long, long ways. Hehehe. The one that did best in contests was my first Love Inspired Suspense Pursuit of Justice. And, I still remember more than a decade ago that proposal going into a contest and being beaten by a proposal penned by our own Lisa Mondello. I'm all for contests, so without further ado, let me tell you about a contest my local chapter Christian Writers of the West is putting on. It's called the Rattler. Hey, we're in the desert. And, if you write suspense, you really do want to check it out as most of the Craftie Ladies have signed on as judges. Just think of the feedback before Genesis time!