It’s been a great summer.
The day after I returned from a trip to the Azores, I learned I won The Spirit of Susan DeFreitas Scholarship for the Writer Unboxed UnConference taking place in Santa Fe, New Mexico, this October.
As I told Therese Walsh of Writer Unboxed when she gave me the news, it’s an absolute honor to receive this award. Susan’s unwavering determination to push writers to be their best, not to create just a story, but a story that matters, is such an inspiration to me. I feel so humbled by this and so very, very grateful.
The older I get, … the more I see that every problem we have in our culture—from climate change to racism to sexism to poverty—is all because of a “bad story” we believe, a story that may have served us at one time but no longer does.
It’s time for those stories to change.
-Susan DeFreitas
If that incredible quote resonates with you or you don’t know of Susan DeFreitas and her legacy, I urge you to click a few links to learn more about her. Be prepared to be inspired.
Susan’s posts on Writers Unboxed
Susan’s posts on Jane Friendman’s site
Susan’s website
I have been keeping my head down, grinding out words, editing words, deleting words, rinse, repeat for five years since my novel Better Late Than Never was published. I’ve been happy mostly, watching my new novel, Boardwalk Ice, come together and enjoying the writing process. I’ve also spent this time diving deep into learning new writing craft skills. Still, five years is a long time without a finished work to share. There have been days, I longed for just a bit of validation that I’m on the right path. This award really hit the spot.
Would you like to read the excerpt from Boardwalk Ice that I submitted as part of the winning scholarship application? You can read it here.
I’ve got enough steam now to get me to the finish line, I am certain. A few more edits, one more round of beta-reads, and then hmm… I’ll have to decide to either look for an agent or self-publish. More news on that, coming soon.
Are you a member of the Writers Unboxed community? Did you know Susan DeFreitas? Are you going to the UnConference? Let me know!
This Is Not About is written by Ada Austen, the author of Better Late Than Never, a multicultural second-chance romance set on the beaches and boardwalks of the New Jersey Shore. It is the New Jersey Romance Writers 2021 Golden Leaf Winner - Best Book by NJ Author.
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