Sweet baby Jesus, I have 3 2* months to whip my manuscript into shape.

On Feb 2, 2009, Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Contest returns for a second year

This time I’m going to enter.

*Edit: Uh, yeah, I can totally do math.

I won’t lie, I wasn’t in love with the excerpt of Fresh Kills that I read during the final months of the ABNA contest. But I have to admit, this guy sounds like a writer.

(Also, I’m well-aware it was only an excerpt, and one that hadn’t been through the rigors of the Penguin editors at that. I should check out the finished product and see how it compares…)

Highlights from the interview:

What made you decide to submit Fresh Kills for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award?

I had nothing to lose. I had a new novel I’m really proud of and the contest was a way to get it in front of people. Fish won’t bite if your line ain’t in the river, you know? Do good work, get it out in the world, and amazing things can happen. I’m living proof.

What has this contest taught you so far about the life of an author?

That the life an author is a lot like the life of a baseball player. Endless work and practice in preparation for long periods of anticipation and brief moments of triumphant joy. That’s cool, though. I love baseball.

This past week has been chock-full of reading, and I’ve loved every minute of it. First I finished The Witch of Portobello, another wonderful Paulo Coelho book. I’ve realized that his style is essentially “fable meets self-help book,” and I like it. I don’t think it’s something I’d attempt to emulate within my own style, but imitating it might make a good exercise.

Last week I finished his book The Zahir, which is my favorite of his so far. The characters are very rich and engaging, and their plights are more “normal” than in the other two books. But The Witch of Portobello had a better (twist!) ending, like The Alchemist.

The rest of my reading consisted of excerpts from the 10 finalists for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest.

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