East Texas Writers Guild First Chapter Awards: Works in Progress
July 12, 2016
Caleb Pirtle III
THE EAST TEXAS WRITERS GUILD is proud to announce the winners for Category II, works in progress, of its second annual First Chapter Book Awards.
According to Roger Middleton, president of the Guild, “We received a far greater number of entries this year in both categories, and they came from as far away as Great Britain and Canada, as well as from noted authors across the United States from New York and Florida to California and Washington. Included were many authors who have attained bestseller status from U. S. A. Today and Amazon. According to judges, the writing, across all genres, was at an extremely high level with only a minimal amount of points separating the entries from top to bottom.”
Each entry was judged blindly by three different judges from a panel representing editors, authors, educators, librarians, independent bookstore owners, and avid readers.
Judges reported that the critical and overriding factor in determining the winners centered on both the hook at the beginning of the book and the cliffhanger at the end of the First Chapter. In most cases, the determining factor was: Will the first chapter make me want to read the rest of the book when it is published?
The first and second place winners, as well as all finalists, will receive digital badges which can be placed on the covers of eBooks, printed and placed on paper books, or added to Websites, blog sites, Facebook accounts, Twitter accounts, or emails. The badges may be used in any way the author chooses to showcase and promote or market his or her book.
Finalists for each genre are not listed in any particular order.
First Place: Romance
Michelle Grey
False Hope
Kansas
Second Place: Romance
Sandra Clarke
Accidental Promises
Texas
Finalists: Romance
Patricia Paris
Lucia
Maryland
Billy Ray Chitwood
Cloud Dancer
Kentucky
Nancy Hudgins
Maggie’s Dream
Texas
Gene Eric Crider
Vicarious Relations
Washington
First Place: Mystery/Thriller
Scott Bury
Dead Man Lying
Canada
Second Place: Mystery/Thriller
Brinda Carey
Left Alone
Texas
Finalists: Mystery/Thriller
Janis Thornton
Dust Bunnies & Dead Bodies
Book Two
Indiana
Debbie Turner
Written in Red
South Carolina
Jean Lauzier
Trail Ride
Texas
Denise Weeks
The Wrong Hostage
Texas
First Place: Nonfiction/Memoir
Sara Marie Hogg
It Rises from the Pee Dee
Missouri
Second Place: Nonfiction/Memoir
Marsha Graham
And Then I Fell Down
Texas
Finalist: Nonfiction/Memoir
Lorna Penland
Never Say Never Again
Texas
First Place: Historical Fiction
Patricia La Vigne
A Moment in Time
Texas
Second Place: Historical Fiction
Christy Nicholas
Legacy of Luck
New York
Finalists: Historical Fiction
Janice Ernest
Animals Who Served WWI as told by
Stubby of the 102nd Infantry
Texas
Patricia Taylor Wells
The Eyes of the Doe
Texas
Sidney Hastings
Journal D/un Homme au Milieu de sa’Vie
Mississippi
First Place: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Michael Wigington
Sword of Vinganza
Texas
Second Place: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Phyllis Zimbler Miller
The Mother Siege
California
Finalists: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Mike Clifton
Chronicles of Meredith:
The Conquest of the Veil
Texas
Douglas Derrer
The Children’s Hour
Texas
Philip Levin
Quest for the Zany Zombies
Mississippi
Susan A. Royal
To the Past
Texas