Don’t you love those emotional rollercoaster days?

I was really down because the final contest I entered the Amazon book in — the GOTCHA contest — had already made calls to the finalists. That story has placed in three of the four contests I entered, so I had hopes this was going to be four out of five. Alas, it didn’t final.

Around nine last night, I was fussing over the second Amazon book and feeling frustrated. Then the phone rang. When I saw the call was from California, my heart skipped a quick beat. Maybe the coordinator hadn’t been able to make all the calls yesterday. Maybe the Amazon book still had a chance.

But it wasn’t what I thought. The Amazon book didn’t final. My new faith healer story did. I was shocked. It’s the only time I ever entered it in anything, and I only did so to get some feedback on whether it was worth finishing. Evidently it is.

This contest is a little different than most. The judges actually make the placements, then the top few go to editors for them to review. Normally, the entries are sent together as finalists, and the editor ranks them. The faith healer story was third. I’m happy that I don’t have to sit and wait another month or so to see which place the editor gives it. Ironically, this is the same editor that has the Amazon story in Duel on the Delta. Entires are not allowed to bear the author’s name, so I doubt she’ll figure out the two stories are by the same author.

Have I ever told you how much I love rollercoasters?