I—somewhat foolishly, I admit—entered Pulp Literature’s First Page Cage contest. At the time, I used the deadline to spur me to the end of the manuscript, and I was pleased to make the long list. But I figured things wouldn’t go beyond that.
I was wrong.
I’m in the quarter-finals. In addition to the editor judges, there’s a readers’ choice component of the contest. I’m not sure why this surprises me since the contest is a cage match. This sort of thing is implied.
However, it did, and does. But if you’d like to read more and play along, you can do so here. Or, if you’re ready to head straight to the entries and voting, you can do that here.
And if you’re curious about what I’ve been working on these past several months (and why I’ve been so quiet), you can see that below.
The Pansy Paradox
A woman with nothing to hide—except the truth—meets a man with nothing to lose—except his heart. And he’s just arrived in town to fire her.
Meet Pansy Little …
Since her mother vanished, Apprentice Field Agent Pansy Little is the sole guardian of King’s End, protecting it from a supernatural force only a select few can see. The arrival of an agent from headquarters doesn’t bring relief. Instead, it means Pansy’s well-crafted charade is about to collapse.
Meet Henry Darnelle …
Principal Field Agent Henry Darnelle doesn’t want to be in King’s End, but he’s been blackmailed into performing Pansy’s field agent evaluation—with explicit instructions to fail her.
Distractedly handsome and unfailingly correct, he surprises Pansy—and himself—by defying orders to fire her. Instead, his curiosity is piqued by both Pansy and King’s End.
Together, they investigate, unearthing the intricate ties that bind their families. Together, they might even be falling in love.
But someone with a decades-old obsession is watching, maneuvering behind the scenes. This someone won’t rest until blood is spilled.
Welcome to King’s End, where discord falls from the sky and an eccentric twenty-something patrols the streets with her pink polka-dotted umbrella. Where one misstep won’t merely bring disaster—it might spark the end of the world.
Writing Wrongs 
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Wonderful news all around! Congratulations, and best wishes!
And I love the blurb you provided for you next work — this sounds like a fantastic (new?) direction for you … and lots of fun, too! Good luck!
Thanks! I don’t feel like this is a new direction, but then again, I’ve been living with this particular story for a decade now. It’s a fairly big story (in word count, POVs, etc.). I plan to let it sit for a few months and give it a reread to make sure it isn’t totally bonkers.