I've received my first ever contest feedback. I entered the Great Beginnings Contest held by the Utah RWA Chapter. I'm so excited to say how happy I was with the kind comments and suggestions given by the judges, but I must say that what meant the most to me was the reader judge. She gave me the highest marks and said she really enjoyed the story!
So I've entered another contest, this time taking into account what I've learned. I hope to do better this time around. This contest is supposed to be about the darkest moment in your book. A fight between your main characters or something horrible that happens. I've got that covered! The question is will it be good enough to impress the judges? I hope they at least get kudos for originality because I don't believe I've ever heard of another romance novel that has the heroine putting her horse out of his misery. I think the scene really pulls you in and grabs you. Every time I read it I forget to edit because I get so caught up in the story, and I wrote it! I did manage to edit it and hope its good enough to place. Either way I'll just be happy to get the feedback on that difficult to write scene.
In other news I'm planning to attend the Connecticut Romance Writers of America Conference in a few weeks. I'm really looking forward to meeting people in the business of writing and publishing romance. My husband reminded me recently that I have just as much right to be there as anyone and that I'll be among my peers so I shouldn't be intimidated by them. The next couple of weeks are going to be busy while I polish up my finished manuscript and work on the synopsis. Ugh, I hate writing a synopsis! Trying to cram a whole book into a few paragraphs isn't easy. Wish me luck!