It’s no particular secret that it’s been a rough year, and that that’s taken a toll on my writing. I wrote 200k last year, whereas this year I’m currently sitting just under 75k, and the vast majority of that has been since the start of October. So I’ve been feeling kind of fragile, and my confidence in my writing is… up and down, shall we say 😀
So when I walked a friend to the mailbox this evening and checked the mailbox on pure instinct because I’m expecting a parcel that looks like it now won’t arrive in time for Christmas, I was surprised to see a hand-addressed A4 envelope for me.
What could this be? I wondered. I did win a cool giveaway on Instagram the other week, but that was for bookmarks, so an A4 envelope seemed like a bit of overkill for that.
Idly, as I was farewelling my friend, I opened the envelope, mostly distracted.
I pulled out a slip of paper. “Congratulations on winning, this ticket allows you a free entry to a writing workshop.”
All the puzzled faces ever.
I didn’t enter anything to do with writing workshops????
The next thing out of the packet was a certificate — and all of a sudden things made sense. Or, well, all of a sudden I knew what the envelope contained, but I can’t say it made *sense* because, to be honest, it still doesn’t.
You guys.
To contextualise briefly, I live in the Australia Capital Territory, or the ACT; it’s my ‘state’, okay?
So. You guys.
I won the 2019 ACT Writing & Publishing Awards Children’s Division. o.O
Or, more precisely, When Worlds Collide did, the third and final book in the Sanctuary series.
YOU GUYS.
I WON THE AWARD FOR BEST CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITTEN AND/OR PUBLISHED BY SOMEONE IN MY STATE.
Needless to say, I said, “Oh my gosh” about ten times in a row and then burst into tears on my friend’s shoulder.
After the year I’ve had and the blows to my writing confidence? Wow. I am so, so, SO intensely grateful.
Apparently I can write after all. *grin* Who knew?
In the spirit of gratitude, I’m ending this by posting below the Acknowledgements section from When Worlds Collide. A lot of people help to birth a book, and unfortunately the Acks are usually at the very end of the book, so not as many people see them as the acknowledgees deserve. So here, my public acclamation of gratitude to the very special, wonderful people who helped bring the Sanctuary series to a conclusion 🙂 🙂 🙂
And also, of course, my eternal thanks and gratitude to you. There are many ways you could choose to spend your day, and that fact that you chose to spend a few minutes dropping by my blog means the world to me <3 Thank you.
WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First thanks go to Clare, not only for dealing once again with my constantly fluid and always urgent deadlines, and not only for creating a GORGEOUS body to house my lil book, but also for her infinite patience with receiving sixty single-sentence emails a day in peak periods, for constant encouragement (hellooo, master enabler!), and for just generally being the absolute best friend a writer person could ask for. I don’t deserve you. Truly.
And further people I do not deserve: Daimien (good golly, I know the house has been a trashfire this year, and your patience as I pick away as this writing thing trying to turn it into a career is magnificent) and Liana (honestly, it’s a wonder your eyes are still attached to your head with the frequency with which you must roll them at me, wondering what harebrained scheme I have concocted next).
Significant thanks also to Kerryn, Bethany, and particularly Miles, who came back for multiple rounds, for their incredible generosity in proofreading. Your eyes are utterly invaluable in spotting all my horrendous typos, and I adore you immensely. <3
Wow. A whole trilogy. Thanks, God: we did it.
When Worlds Collide – in print and in ebook, with signed copies at Harry Hartog in Woden, ACT 🙂