…And I’m back! This will be short, so let’s dive right in.

Well, it’s been another hot minute since I posted. Writing has slowed to a crawl but more to do with stuff outside the writing life. Still, today, I’ll be able to sit down and clack on my keys for a bit on Warmaster. And I’m feeling the itch to return to THOLAC. So, I thought I’d shoot out this update.

Earlier this year, I entered a writing contest, Ink & Insights. This is the second time I’ve done so. The first time was in 2017, I believe. Anyway, I forgot about it until I received an email from them Thursday morning. This year, I submitted the prologue and the first two chapters of THOLAC, and the feedback I got from the judges is more than promising. With four judges and two-hundred-fifty points apiece, I walked away with a nine-hundred-forty-three. I still don’t know what my final placing is, but I’m sure that will come out in the forthcoming weeks or months. 

Which brings me to my last point, the feedback. Actually, the feedback between the judges vs. critique partners. The interesting thing about critiques is that it’s all based on opinion, no matter how they tackle your work. What the judges praised me for, others had strong opinions to cut. That leaves me with a conundrum of what to keep and what to eviscerate. In the end, like I tell all the people I critique, “it’s your book, your story; you are the author, and if you want to keep or cut entirely depends on you.” 

That’s it for this round, short and sweet. I shall return…

If you enjoyed this content, check out my books, The Bearer of Secrets, Mark of the Profane, The Demon’s Fate, The Dark Portal, For Heathens of Heaven, and Flawed to the Core: Building Memorable Characters and Writing on Amazon. All works are available on Kindle Unlimited, eBook, and print. Reviews can be found on Goodreads and Amazon.