Thursday, February 14, 2013

Taking My Knocks



And SHEEEEEEEE's OUT!

Oh, it's just part of the process... From everything we could tell, the YA category in the Amazon contest this year looked the most densely populated, and since 400 were picked from EVERY category, that means YA is where the competition was stiffest... My pitch was as good as I could make it...

Oh, I could engage in conspiracy theories... (I did notice VERY few H names made it through YA... stingy scorer?  could be... but I might have BENEFITED from NOT being in that group the last two years... there is always some chance to it). I have read a couple YA that made it in... and they are good, but they are also qualitatively different... maybe a little perkier?

So I spent a good part of yesterday pouting a bit... (no mention of big girl panties, please... you know my feelings on pants)

One, two, three... UP!
I will comfort myself with my good company... and maybe some fantasies about a brigade of men in kilts...

I know I am in good company, as I had some talented friends ALSO knocked out...


Okay, over that.

TODAY really ought to be celebrating our talented friends who are IN.


Congratulations to blogger friends:

Leigh Moore with Rouge!
Carolyn Abiad with Burnt Amber
Theresa Milstein with Sorceress Sisters

And also to some longtime ABNA friends:

Janet Oakley with Timber Rose
Sue Maynard with Suffer the Fury
Becky Kyle with Ms. President
Lisa Koosis with The Road of the Dead
Dwight Okita with The Hope Store
Sylvia Jefferson with The Agreement
Diana Wilder with The City of Refuge
Robert Leland Taylor with Holy Toledo and the Virgin Shirley

(okay, confess... who snorted when you saw Robert's title?)  I'm sure there are bunches more who made it. I go a little cross-eyed looking at lists... and I have a few friends I only know by first name.

So lets make a toast to these fabulous friends and the others who pass on and call it good. May they keep progressing!


In Other News:

Eating stuff going good... was down 11 pounds at the 6 week weigh-in (Tuesday).

Making polishing progress...

This is good... always good to have a bite of humble pie now and then...

And that is what I can manage today... so there...

Oh... and happy Valentine's Day... But please only PRETEND to massacre people in honor...

erm... (what?)

20 comments:

Trisha said...

Sorry you missed out this time, Hart. I did too, but I wasn't so surprised. Competition would indeed have been stiff with the great prizes up for grabs!

Anyway...onward and upward! ;)

And super CONGRATS to those who made it through the first round!!

Jessica Bell said...

aw, so sorry you didn't make it! Congrats to those who did.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Sorry you didn't make it! Good stuff on the weight loss though.

Cherie Reich said...

I was disappointed not to see your name on the list, but that's awesome about the weight loss so far and making polishing progress! :)

LTM said...

((hugs)) I'm very disappointed in those judges not including you. :o(

The good news is you're killing it on the eating stuff. 11 lbs? Wow! And glad to hear the polishes are going well!

congrats to everyone who made the cut--yes, Robert's title is HILARIOUS!

onward~ <3 U!

Lisa K. said...

Thanks for the shout-out, Hart. I was disappointed not to see your name on the list. YA really looked to be the toughie this year...and SF/F/H too, which surprised me. I thought I was helping my odds by subbing in that category, not hurting them. It's always so hard to predict.

jaybird said...

Good news with the weight loss, yay! Keep up the good work. Bad news with not making it. Boo. There's always next time :)

Loved your kilt picture! Made me smile.

Roland D. Yeomans said...

I didn't make it either. I should have gone for the YA and not Fantasy with a 14 year old protagonist. But we can second-guess all day.

For a few moments of moping we have been spared months of fruitless hoping. The odds of winning are enormous, right?

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

Well, dang.

Happy Valentine's Day, Hart.

Kathy M.

Romance Reader said...

Hugs, Hart! Sorry you missed out and congrats to all those who made it.

Nas

jack welling said...

I'm disappointed.

You're still famous to me so there's that.

Too much celebrity and you'd have no time to write with the lucrative realty TV deal.

I normally normally recommend brownies. In this case, maybe a lovely bowl of very cold peaches. (Trying not to sabotage your efforts).

Unknown said...

Hi Hart,
Congrats on the weight loss--very hard to do.
Humble pie is very low in calories I hear.
Tag--you're it. You've been selected for a very special something over on the nut-tree.
(Okay--so I'm not Amazon, but Amazon is, like SO last year!

~Just Jill

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Oh... I'm sorry you were cut so soon. It' scary how competitive YA has become in recent years.

Diana Wilder said...

Who needs big girl panties when there are big girl smiles (shared and worn)? Speaking of which, the line of hunks in kilts sure made ME smile!

Denise Verrico said...

Here's to men in kilts! Happy Valentine's Day, Hart. Cedric said he'll don a kilt just for you.

Unknown said...

Aw, man. I think you're right about the dark thing, though. (How some edgier YA didn't go through,) But there's your current book deal and, I'll bet, some ale "research" to look forward to. Plus more pics like those above. Where'd you get them? Ah! There must be a men-in-kilts web site! Googling...

Helena said...

Ah, crap. I really wanted you to make it. But just remember it was your pitch, not your book that took it on the chin, and the odds sounded overwhelming. Meanwhile, you're getting books published, so bully for you! And 11 pounds lighter? Wow.

Ella said...

Next time Hart it will be YOU!
Congrats on losing! YOU must celebrate-Cheers!

Nice photo!

Alison DeLuca said...

In or out, you are fab and I'm incredibly lucky to have you as a blogging friend!

And I join with you in lauding that group of writers who made it through the incredibly difficult pitch phase. They are all wonderful - and you are too Miss Hart.

Arlee Bird said...

I'll keep my distance from the YA genre. I was reading about how Geezer Fiction is becoming the hot new market. Maybe that's where I'll head. "Write what you know" like they say.

Lee
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