ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID...

Ok, so the 15th has come and gone, and I've not had an e-mail from SIWC, so that means even though my poetry was shortlisted for their contest for the SECOND time, I've come away again with no prize.

"Pity party of one, Mr. Baker? We have a seat ready for you...it's an electric chair."

So...just a little more self-pity before I move on. My picture book, Joanie Ark: Dragon Slayer scores a 97% at PNWA this year, and still doesn't make finals. I've been shortlisted for poetry at the Vancouver Readers and Writers Festival...and won nothing. I've been shortlisted at SIWC twice now...and won nothing. It's a wee bit frustrating to come so close and still walk away empty-handed.

A small publisher has told me they're interested in my chapter book series for the end of 2012, but I still don't have any contract in hand for The Abracadabra Amulet.

A query I sent out last week to a small publisher for my contemporary YA mystery/thriller, One-Way Ticket, came back the very next day with requests from two of their editors for a full manuscript, which I promptly sent. I'm hoping for a little good news...from somewhere? For some piece of writing I've done?

That's why I'm gearing up for SIWC. I'll be pitching two novels, two chapter book series, and two picture books. I also have two new writing deadlines for novellas I'm working on for novella contests in November and December of this year. So I'm going to turn that self-pity into determination--into making sure that my writings are so compelling that they're irresistible to all who read them.

If you need me, I'll be in Dreamland for the next few months...after all, I'm back to writing! ;-)

PNWA RESULTS--OUTSTANDING!

This year, I submitted a children's picture book, JOANIE ARK: DRAGON SLAYER, and three of my poems to PNWA's writing contests. Each work comes back with critiques...and that's got me excited:

Here are some of the judges' comments about JOANIE ARK: DRAGON SLAYER:

• "The character is a tough little girl with a wonderful imagination--I totally fell in love with her."
• "There is an easy flow, a natural buildup of suspense, and the conclusion is wonderful."
• "Magical and imaginative!"
• "A charming story about a little girl who doesn't want to be a princess."

Now here's the kicker: one of the judges scored it 97%. The tougher marker gave me 89%, which resulted in it not making the shortlist--sigh--but many of the comments given showed me that this is PUBLISHABLE NOW! I fully expect to see this picture book in print in the not-too-distant future.

As for the POETRY, here are some of the judges' comments:

• "The vocabulary of these poems is simple but effective. The author combines words to form unique phrases and images, as in "a marriage of two soles" and "words waking between us."
• "Best lines: "In the daylight, winter wills me to you. I follow" and "startles strangers who wade / into a world where even the weave of seaweed / can't wall us away."
• "Strong images in 'Boys of Summer' deftly place the reader at the center of the action. The reader is invited to experience the poem rather than just observe it."
• "The author has an excellent grasp of form. The two interlocking poems in 'Silver Anniversary' are a great example of this deftness. Similarly, in 'The Swing of Things,' the subtle repetition of the first stanza as the final line of each consecutive stanza is brilliant."
• "The last lines of 'Boys of Summer' appropriately mimic the vanishing footprints that the speaker describes." 
• "Nothing in these poems feels contrived, and nearly every line strikes just the right tone."
• "The spare, energetic imagery of these poems does a great job of showing emotion, rather than telling the reader how to feel. A great example of this is the speaker staring at the fading footprints at the end of 'Boys of Summer.' We are not told directly that the speaker is upset, wistful....We are simply left with an image."
• "The speaker's tone is even-handed and appropriate to the subject matter. 'Silver Anniversary' is tender but not sentimental.
• "The author is adept at both simple, direct lines and more experimental devices. The jumbled lines at the end of 'Boys of Summer' are an enormous risk to take in a poem of such direct imagery, but they end up working very well to slow the reader's eye, catching us in that final image."
• "All in all, these are some truly professional poems."

The bad news? You guessed it--my poems, despite the glowing comments--did not make finals. Arghhh! 

Still, the comments given are food for my poetic soul. I KNOW my poetry is breaking into new levels--reaching places it just WASN'T in years past. I fully expect to see some of my poetry win contests and get published within the coming year. Yes, I do feel that good about it--even with the possibility of having egg on my face and a foot in my mouth a year from now...!