ABNA discussion

Welcome to the ABNA group. If you are new please introduce yourself and tell us a little about yourself!

My name is Susann Duncan. I'm a navy wife, and working mother of two elementary school kids. Ella Awakened is my first novel and this is my first time entering the ABNA. My WIP is the sequel to E.A. - Ella Provoked.

S.E. wrote: "My name is Susann Duncan. I'm a navy wife, and working mother of two elementary school kids. Ella Awakened is my first novel and this is my first time entering the ABNA. My WIP is the sequel to ..."

Hello Susan, I was wondering if anybody would join in! Blood on the Sand is also my first novel, and my first time entering. My WIP is also the sequel. So we are pretty much in the same boat, only in different genres. I can't wait to find out who makes it past the first round. This waiting game is driving me nuts!

Mikhail wrote: "S.E. wrote: "My name is Susann Duncan. I'm a navy wife, and working mother of two elementary school kids. Ella Awakened is my first novel and this is my first time entering the ABNA. My WIP is t..."

I can not believe the contest hasn't closed yet. I wonder how many entries they'll wind up with. I was one of the idiots who stayed up till midnight when it opened thinking it would fill up fast.

Oh you're not alone! I also stayed up 'till midnight. But with it being our first year, I don't think anyone could blame us. I wish there was a counter on the main page for how many entries there are. I don't think we'll ever know. (But here's to hoping there aren't very many!)

I've thought about that from one end of the spectrum to the other. Maybe not many entries, maybe (conspiracy theory) thousands and they are taking as many as they can get. Just saying, no entry fee and a prize this huge hmmmmmmm

Well Mikhail - it did close a little early.

I saw that. I'm glad it's finally closed. No more obsessively editing.

Hi my name is David Holley and I live in Philadelphia, PA. After a 20 year stint in advertising as a creative director I decided to do the unthinkable and walk away from the only career I have ever known. I have since dedicated myself to be a full time writer working on my series Eden

It is the first book I have ever written and easily my most challenging creative endeavor I have ever pursued.

Friends and colleagues alike have called me crazy but I insist this is the best thing I have ever done and I have no regrets. I did enter this story in the ABNA and I wish you all luck with the contest.

welcome Dave! And good luck to you as well!

Hello,
I'm Jw Bull from Atlanta, Ga. I entered my book, Pickin' Tomatoes, in Amazon's contest. I'm also a member of the FMC (Foolish Midnighter's Club). Don't know what possessed me to stay up to enter...

Bygones...

Jennifer wrote: "Hello,
I'm Jw Bull from Atlanta, Ga. I entered my book, Pickin' Tomatoes, in Amazon's contest. I'm also a member of the FMC (Foolish Midnighter's Club). Don't know what possessed me to stay up to e..."

Welcome Jennifer! Well...I've already seen quite a few complainers on the amazon boards that they didn't get in on time because they thought the contest ended at midnight tonight no matter what. So we should be proud to say we entered ours in a timely manner :)

Hi Mikhail,

I'm a Goodreads member, though I haven't been as active as I should be. Thanks for starting this group.

My entry is JUKEBOX Volume One. I've written several books, and one I'm currently working on has a character with a name similar to yours. I post excerpts of my work on Scribd, which is a good site to get readers. I have two books out, one is my entry and the other is a YA paranormal called RAZHER. Again, thank you for starting this group, and I wish you all the best in the contest.

Camille wrote: "Hi Mikhail,

I'm a Goodreads member, though I haven't been as active as I should be. Thanks for starting this group.

My entry is JUKEBOX Volume One. I've written several books, and one I'm current..."

You're welcome Camille, and thank you for joining! Good luck to you in the contest as well!

Hi - George Nolly here. My entry, Hamfist Over Hanoi, is the sequel to my first two novels, Hamfist Over The Trail (http://www.amazon.com/Hamfist-Over-Th...) and Hamfist Down! (http://www.amazon.com/Hamfist-Down-Su...). The first two books were too short to qualify for the contest, and my current entry barely made the length requirement, at 50,100 words.

It's Hart. Goodread makes me wear the name I'm published under.

Dave, I can't believe you survived 20 years of advertising. I did 3 and barely escaped with my soul in tact. Then again, I was in account service. And it was nice to have a solid kick in the butt to go to grad school.

Anyway... social scientist by day, and MEDIUM WRONG was the 12th book I wrote... (3 are in the publishing stream... thus, the Alyse thing)

Welcome George, and nice to have you here Hart!

Hi everyone. I'm Lisa. I'm a longtime ABNA participant, having entered every year the contest has been running. I've been a semifinalist three times (with three different books) and the other two years was knocked out in Round 1. I still haven't sold any of my books, although I am a published short story writer. This looks like a great group. I'm so happy to be a part of it. Good luck, everyone.

Mikhail wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Hello,
I'm Jw Bull from Atlanta, Ga. I entered my book, Pickin' Tomatoes, in Amazon's contest. I'm also a member of the FMC (Foolish Midnighter's Club). Don't know what possessed m..."

Am proud I got it together. Fun group you started Mikhail- we can keep each other entertained while we await the results!

Hi! I'm Heidi. Newbie to the ABNAs, but self-published author for many years. I'm from sunny Arizona (although it's been raining for three straight days... weird. The world must be ending). I work in advertising (*waves hello to fellow comrades**) and love animals, guacamole (a lot), reading and sometimes my husband (Until that last part, my intro was beginning to sound like a Playboy bio. Ha!). Congrats to everyone who entered. Glad to have a group I can fret with.

ETA - Oops... almost forgot -- I entered Flirting with Death into the contest.

Oh, no! is it a bad omen that of five books on the ABNA bookshelf, my title has a twin? Mr/ms Lake - Now I have to go check out my competition! ;-)

ETA - Okay, must be a mistake. The book was published by Avon in 1996. Phew!

Hi Everyone,

My name is Craig an this is my first time entering the ABNA's and so far I am really enjoying the process. I am Architectural Technologist studying to be an Architect by day, and lover of Fairy Tales by night...

My book is called the Adventures of Phippen Abercrombie and you can find my pitch over in the pitch discussion.

I am really looking forward to watching some of the pitches I have read progress through the process. There are some really talented people out there. It is a bit intimidating!

Good luck everyone.

Hi! I'm Jules. I live in FL but am a Jersey girl at heart. This is my first time participating in ABNA. Gotta say, it was a little more stressful than I thought it would be! That whole being able to go back and edit your submission till the contest closes thing is a killer.

My submission, The Illyia Chronicles: Citizen, is the first of a planned trilogy.

Hello! I'm Tracy. I've been writing screenplays the last few years. Entered contests - no luck! I'm a huge fan of Buster Keaton (wrote a bio-pic that is currently in the BlueCat and Zoetrope contests).

Never attempted a novel before, but wanted to explore Keaton as a character in an extraordinary situation and so came up with a fan-fiction manuscript, THE VAMPIRE DIARY OF BUSTER KEATON.

I took a bit of a risk with my pitch. The reader will either find it amusing or annoying, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

I see you have a pitch thread. I'll post it there and let you folks tell me what you think.

Hello, all - and thanks, Mikhail, for starting this group.

I've been a Goodreads member for nearly a year. Various events, some sad, have kept me from participating as much as I wanted. That should be changing.

This is my second ABNA. From the pitches there are some truly wonderful entries. I wish everyone good luck!

Dave, I can't believe you survived 20 years of advertising. I did 3 and barely escaped with my soul in tact. Then again, I was in ac..."

Hart, advertising can certainly tax the soul but I'm a strong believer in what doesn't kill you makes you stronger ;)

Hi! My name is Carolyn. I teach high school science by day but write whenever I have time. This is my second year in ABNA. My entry is called Four Lucy Fight Club.

Dave wrote: " Dave, I can't believe you survived 20 years of advertising. I did 3 and barely escaped with my soul in tact. Then again, I was in ac..."

Hart, advertising can certainly tax the soul but I'm a str..."

I don't know... when it comes to advertising I think it might be, "what doesn't kill you, kills you slowly..." Ha!

Lisa, Heidi, Alek, Craig, Jules, T, and Diana we're happy to have you all! And I agree, it looks like this will be a good group. Now I'm going to be thinking of some good thread ideas to keep our minds occupied during this first round of judging.

Hi,
Thanks for the invite.
I'm Carl Frederick. I'm a theoretical physicist and SF writer (although it's hard to tell the difference sometimes). I'm an epee fencer and also play in a bagpipe band. I live in Ithaca, NY ('10 square miles surrounded by reality').
I'm mainly a short story writer. My work appears often in Analog Magazine.
This is the first year I've entered the ABNA contest--with a SF tale, 'Wizards of Science'.

Wizards of Science

Good Day, All! K. R. Schulteis here. My current ABNA entry, Chasing Danny, is my second novel/second entry into ABNA. I had submitted my last novel into ABNA back in 2010. Never made it out of the first round but hope springs eternal, so here I go again.

Thanks for starting the group Mikhail.

Greetings, all. I'm Rocco and I'm submitting This God, I, my action-packed superhero thriller. I look forward to reading your excerpts.

Great to have you here Carl, K.R., and Rocco!

Hello. Excited to join the ABNA Goodreads group... A little about myself: I'm a stay-at-home mom of a 3-year old with another on the way... my 2013 entry is Terra Incognita (my first completed novel and third time entering it). I am currently unpublished but hope that changes soon. ;) I enjoy anything creative (studied art in college) and have always loved reading and writing fiction. Also, I'm a complete introvert, so you might not hear from me a lot.

Hi, this is Dan Lombard (real name), entering my first ABNA. In previous years the $15K advance didn't really float my boat, but $50K, that's better. Okay, I'll settle for $15K if one of you grabs the top spot. My book was self-published on Amazon last June, my second book, it's called Midnight Departure, an action thriller set against the backdrop of building the bullet train in California, so maybe its a political thriller. Best of luck to all.

Welcome Heather and Dan!

Hi all. I wandered over here after seeing the thread Mikhail started on ABNA.

I think I saw Mikhail's first pitch on the pitch thread. It sounded surprisingly fresh and entertaining to me for the general category of zombie fiction, so I thought maybe this group would be interesting.

I write near-future sci-fi about the colonization of the ocean. The quickest way to familiarize yourself with my Danglers series is probably to visit www.newhollandonline.com

The first book in the series is available for free in any number of electronic formats here:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...

Hello everyone, I'm Elizabeth Kay. I've been a writer for a long time, but after a major operation I've been a lot less active and ABNA has been a way of getting back into it. I've entered a book called Ice Feathers for the YA category, which is unpublished.I have an author page on goodreads, and I've been converting my old books for the Kindle, although I don't get back the US rights for The Divide, and its two sequels until next June.

Hello everyone. My name is Melissa and I have entered ABNA twice. The first time I did not make it past the first round. I am hoping for better this time around.

I just released my first novel (self-published) in December 2012. My book is a fictional story about a family dealing with life and Epilepsy.

This year, I hope to complete two more manuscripts. One as a young adult fiction based on a fantasy world called Amythica. The second, is a fictional story based on the young love.

I look forward to getting to know more authors/ writers within this group. You can also email me at schenk_melissa@yahoo.com or friend me on Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/#!/missy.schenk and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Presenc...

Just wanted to say hi!
I entered ABNA again this year --the fourth time with the very same book!
You might ask why I'm so persistent, but this is a book that was once agented by a a myjoy US agency and almost got accepted be Random House. That agent left the agency, but an agent's assistant at my new agency has said that it's the best book she's read in her whole time as an assistant. And I've got good feedback in general for it.
It's not a book I'm actively trying to get published any more, but it's the most commercial of my books (Mystery and Thriller) and I think it has a chance.
However, in past years it has not done partuclarly well in ABNA. The first three years, it got past the first round and fell at the excerpt stage, in spite of getting generally good Vine reviews. Last year, it didn't even get past the pitch round! But last year I had entered it in GF for the first time.
Anyway, I'm not obsessing about it. If it makes it past the first two rounds I'll be delighted, otherwise, well, it's not a big deal. I have other books "out there".

Hi guys!

Nikki Bennett here. I have a book up on Goodreads called Four Fiends (it's a middle-grade read) but entered something different in the ABNA contest (mainly because Four Fiends is only 40,000 words or so and doesn't quite fit into the YA category anyway.) I entered the contest a few years ago (twice actually) with the same book, but I revamped it the second year to see if it would fly. It made it past the pitch cut, but didn't make the next round. I figure if this doesn't make the pitch round it'll just mean the pitch sucked, but not the book so I won't feel too bad I guess. These contests are fun just to network, if nothing else!!

Sharon wrote: "Just wanted to say hi!
I entered ABNA again this year --the fourth time with the very same book!
You might ask why I'm so persistent, but this is a book that was once agented by a a myjoy US agency..."

Hello Sharon. It is nice to meet you and I agree with you. For me, I feel about the same way. Regardless of if mine is accepted or not, I know I have done my best and I am content with that. That does not mean it is the end of the world. I wish you luck in all your endeavors. :)

Nikki wrote: "Hi guys!

Nikki Bennett here. I have a book up on Goodreads called Four Fiends (it's a middle-grade read) but entered something different in the ABNA contest (mainly because Four Fiends is only 40..."

Thanks for sharing. I look forward to checking it out.

Hi! I'm Laura and I just saw this thread via Diana. Hi Diana! I just entered this competition by accident, I think. Now I'm trying to forget it. :-)

Mikhail wrote: "Oh you're not alone! I also stayed up 'till midnight. But with it being our first year, I don't think anyone could blame us. I wish there was a counter on the main page for how many entries there a..."

Did I read somwhere that they only accepted a certain amount of manuscripts? Like 10,000? I did read the entry guidelines over and over so that I didn't waste my time, but I don't remember what they said.

Hi, everyone.

Daimones is the novel I submitted to ABNA

I’m Italian, or should I say, Sicilian. Palermo is my home town and I left it in 1986. I now have lived more years abroad than in Italy. Needless to say, I have changed in many and different way than my old friends there.

I lived in Switzerland, France, and the United States. For work, I used to travel some 500,000 air miles a year. I am a scientist as a background, having spent over 17 years in fundamental research. Most of my writing are academic stuff. I worked for many years at CERN, near Geneva—an international lab for particle physics research—then in the US at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. In 1995 I moved to the private sector, worked with Apple Inc., and then for the World Economic Forum.

Some say I have acquired a multi-faceted personality.

Author's website
http://www.facebook.com/massimo.marin...
http://www.facebook.com/MassimoMarino...
@Massim0Marin0

Hi all! I didn't enter ABNA this year but I was a top 3 finalist in YA last year (this contest was different last year). So if anyone has any questions about the process, feel free to ask.

Whoa! Hello Studio, Elizabeth, Melissa, Sharon, Nikki, Laura,Massimo, Aoife, Arc and Rebecca! I'm so glad so many people have joined so far. I'm looking forward to checking out all of your works that you've all mentioned.

-Laura, to answer your specific question...Yes, this year ABNA accepted 10,000 entries total. Which was a giant pool for the whole contest. No cap on any category from what I understand.

Hey all! My name is Erin and this is my second year in ABNA. Last year I made it to the Quarterfinals, so we'll see what happens this year. Let's see...other random things about me...I live in Ohio, my day job is as a licensing contact for a financial insurance company, I'm an Irish dancer, and I play handbells. I've been writing for nearly as long as I can remember (started writing when I first discovered what writing was at 6 years old and have never stopped), but I'm still working on the getting published part. I'm super excited that we have this group here! Good luck all!

Welcome Deena and Erin! Nice to have you!

-Deena...whereabouts in Iowa do you live? I just recently moved near the Quad Cities with my family.