A fun awards with some twists and surprises, join in on the action and have a look inside.
Submissions close 28 Feb 2019.
Judge based contest, cover contest, and some fun with nominations and tag challenges.
Hi there, nice to meet you. My pen name is Helena Gonski, but you can call me Jas. I am from Australia and I work as a clinical psychologist. The things that make my world go around are my cat, travel, surf, and my gorgeous husband.
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Wandering with you won first place in the romance category (Complete)
Story Blurb:
Thomas has it all: a title, money, the girl, and a prestigious position waiting for him at the family law firm. But when he thinks about the life ahead of him, his chest constricts, and he can't breathe. With his final exam approaching, it seems there is nothing else to do -- until his friend proposes something different: a gap year. Armed with a guide book, his backpack, and one-way ticket, he sets off for Peru. The problem is, budget hostels and dodgy buses are a far cry from what he is used to. Then he meets the slightly neurotic Nadia who speaks her mind and makes him want to scream, and he realises that life might hold more excitement and adventure than he bargained for -- if he'll embrace imperfection.
Nadia flies to South America to meet her boyfriend, Khai, and start the trip of a lifetime. Unfortunately, Khai quickly shows his true colours, and she finds herself dumped, alone, and almost out of cash. But true love isn't supposed to be easy, and Nadia determines to meet up with him in Cusco to work things out. Just as she is on her way, she is approached by Thomas, a bumbling idiot abroad, who convinces her to let him join her on her trip. Suddenly, all her beliefs about relationships become challenged as things start to get interesting.
What inspired the story?
Wandering with You is my learn-to-write novel. I thought it would be easier to write this genre than the dark fantasy and Regency romances I long to write. But now I have a newfound appreciation for contemporary romance and chiclit! I first decided to write after a major injury that kept me from my favourite hobbies for a few years. After one tragic attempt at trying to write a book without having any idea of what I was doing, I researched how to write, and decided to use the write-what-you-know principle to write a story about falling in love while travelling. (Fun fact: a lot of the settings in the book are places I have visited, and I met my husband while he was backpacking in Australia).
More news from the author:
A big thank you to the JeDi_Academy for running these awards, and to the Rebel_Town account (and members) for all the constructive criticism I gave and received — I can't understate how much this has improved my writing!
Notes from the judge:
Well written. Characters jump out of the page and they feel real.
