Thursday 14 November 2013

Shattering the Silence

Have you ever had to keep a secret you were just bursting to shout about? It's hard, let me tell you.

At the beginning of last week I got a telephone call to say that my entry into So You Think You Can Write competition had been selected as a Top 10 finalist. I was just about stunned into silence at that point, but to be told to keep it a secret for a week, until the announcement was made on the website, was torture.


 
I tried so hard to get on with normal life and working on my latest story but I just couldn't settle to anything, not with a secret like that bubbling away inside!

Then finally it was the day, which meant keeping the secret a bit longer until the beginning of the day in New York when the website was updated. Once that was done it was time to tell everyone and anyone.

I have been assigned an author mentor, Maisey Yates, who will be reading my book and helping me to promote it. Also Laura McCallen, a Presents editor is championing my book too and you can find her on the 50 Editors page of the website.

I have worked hard towards the dream of becoming a Harlequin Mills and Boon Presents author, attending courses with Kate Walker here in the Wales, organised by Writers' Holiday and with Sharon Kendrick in Italy, organised by The Watermill.


I have met some fantastic people and made wonderful friendships through my writing and would love to push that dream to the limit and become published through this competition. If you'd like to be part of that dream you can vote each day for my entry Behind the Scandalous Façade until 25th November and my complete book is there for all to enjoy.

If you want to read and vote you can do so HERE!

Happy reading and voting!

7 comments:

  1. What a secret indeed! Congratulations on getting this far and fingers crossed for you, Rachael.

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  2. I've voted, Rachael and wish you all the success you deserve for working so damn hard towards your goal.

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  3. Fabulous. I've been voting every day!

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  4. Well done Rachel. I have downloaded the pdf and hope to read it soon. When I voted it said "come back and vote again tomorrow." Can people really do that?
    Anyway I know exactly how difficult it can be fitting in writing time along with your farming lifestyle plus family. Good luck

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  5. Oh yes Gwen, you can vote once every 24 hours!! I hope you enjoy it!

    Thanks Caroline, Chris and Johanna for the votes!

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  6. Congratulations and congrats on getting Maisey Yates as your mentor. It's a prize in itself. I don't know how you didn't explode with excitement when you got the news and got on with day-to-day life. I'd find it impossible (no discipline whatsoever!). And now you are so close to the end. I wish you all good things, Rachael and I'm glad that your hard work has received this recognition.

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  7. Thank you so much Jo and you're right, having Maisey as a mentor is a prize in itself. How I managed to get on with day-to-day life with a secret like that is still beyond me!

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