Once There Were Sad Songs, a mainstream unpublished manuscript, won first place at Oklahoma Writer''s Federation, Inc., in May. It went on to take the creme de la creme award over all other winners in more than 30 categories.
After winning the Creme de la Creme at Oklahoma City, an agent contacted me and asked to look at the manuscript. Since I recently parted company with my former agent, I was very pleased when she told me she liked the ms and would like to represent me. I am now in the capable hands of Claudia Cross with Sterling Lord Literistic and she is marketing Once There Were Sad Songs. We are very hopeful since the feedback so far has been very positive.
This certainly proves that contests are great places to place work, even for those of us formerly published.
Just as life during the pandemic was color-coded with different hues representing different levels of danger, life in its aftermath has become shaded in similar ways. As a self-styled “Seeker of Beauty with Beauty,” (borrowing from a quote by W.E.B.