Arcturus gets Honourable

Good news; my short story ‘Arcturus’ won an honourable mention from the Writers of the Future contest!

 

Like most budding writers, I enter any and every competition that I can afford to. One such competition was the Writers of the Future contest, sponsored by L. Ron Hubbard. Okay, I know what you’re thinking: ‘What’s the top prize, a personality test?’

Seriously though, it’s a contest with critical clout. It’s free to enter, if any fellow writers haven’t seen it yet (linky) and occurs quarterly. Well, I entered one of my short stories, Arcturus, in the last quarter.

Now, I didn’t win, which is fine. What I did get is an ‘honourable mention’, which means that they thought it noteworthy, but there were others that were better. They spell it ‘honorable’ because they’re from America and don’t know better, but I don’t want to split hairs. The kudos far more than I expected and really good news to me. It’s my first writing award, even if it’s not a formal ‘win’.

Maybe one day I’ll be able to write as well as R-Hubs. The wild fantasies he comes out with are so imaginative and inventive. I speak only about his books, of course, not his lizard cult. Honest.

 

Arcturus is a medieval fantasy about a nameless and savage convict who, when confronted with genuine beauty, finds out that he has a heart after all (and it no longer belongs to him). The story will be in the Splinters of Truth collection, when I finally edit it all.

In the meantime, check out the certificate they sent me. Curious, no? It’s an odd thing, receiving concrete recognition that’s also really funny. Observe dodgy phone photo:

Oh, one more thing. Watch this space for news of an offer on The Firebird. Ooooh…