I learned yesterday THE MENGELE EFFECT was selected to move on to the Semi-Finals round in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. A "Bald Man Happy Dance" quickly ensued!
So, what does this mean? THE MENGELE EFFECT is now one of the top 5 of 2,000 entries in the Sci Fi/Fantasy/Horror category, and one of the top 25 of 10,000 entries overall. You can see all the Semi-Finalist selections HERE. CONGRATS to each of them!
I was disappointed a couple of my favorites didn't move on - one was titled "Faust's Butterfly", which I thought was excellent, and another was from a fellow Nebraska Writers Workshop member, Shannon Smiley, titled "The Age of Knowing". I hope both of these authors submit next year, because their talent deserves recognition. One glance at the number of 5-star reviews they received on their excerpts should tell you something.
I'm happy my novel made it though, but I know simple luck and timing play a LARGE part (as it does in most things in life). I was lucky enough to have my 300-word pitch, 5,000-word excerpt and entire manuscript land in front of reviewers who happened to like what they read. I knew, though, if I were able to get this novel past the initial pitch judging, it would have a chance...and this year, it did.
In 2011, THE COMING made it to the quarter finals round, but wasn't selected for the semi's. I was pleased it went as far as it did, considering it was my first novel. In 2012, I submitted THE MENGELE EFFECT, and it didn't make it past the pitch. In 2013, I tried again, but had the same results. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." Yep...I'm glad I decided to submit it a third time.
The #1 entry for each category will be announced on 8 Jul. Out of those top 5 finalists, Amazon readers will vote to choose the Grand Prize winner. Amazon is supposed to start contacting potential finalists on 2 Jul--if I don't get a phone call or email around that date, then this fun ride is probably over...and that's okay.
So what am I going to do until 8 Jul? Well, to start, I'm going to enjoy playing with my new smoker my wife got me for Fathers Day (I have the best wife ever, in case I haven't mentioned that), chew on a couple pieces of chocolate-covered bacon she picked up for me for Fathers Day (best wife ever, did I mention that yet?) and enjoy Fathers Day with my three kids & their 'significant others' tomorrow while I cook two tri-tip roasts, Santa Maria BBQ-style, in my new smoker!
Wish me luck! (both with the contest, and that the tri-tips come out okay!)
I just finished The Mengele Effect yesterday, having purchased the Kindle version a few weeks ago, and I confess it will probably haunt me for a long time. It put me again in the sort of devastated world envisioned by Philip Wylie in his novels Triumph and The End of the Dream and by Stephen King in The Stand, all three of which manage to make Neville Shute's famous doomsday novel On the Beach seem sterilized and tame by comparison.
ReplyDeleteIn your post you mention Faust's Butterfly. If you would like to read the rest of it, the full ms is available free on Authonomy, HarperCollins' interactive showplace for new unpublished books in many genres. It may be found at http://www.authonomy.com/books/12929/faust-s-butterfly.
Joining Authonomy, as you probably know, is free, and membership entitles a reader to comment on the more than 5000 books on the site.I've been a member since 2009, and for me it still resembles a gigantic neverending literary convention where thousands of people are seeking to hand you their books for free, and you find yourself having to retreat often into solitude.
BTW I just bought The Coming and look forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteBill,
DeleteHave you ever read SWAN SONG by Robert McCammon? It's right up there with THE STAND in my opinion. If you haven't read it, I think you night enjoy it.
Just bought it and looked at the opening. Good stuff!
DeleteChuck,
ReplyDeleteCONGRATULATIUONS! I'm so glad I've already finished your book!!
Bill