Professionally Speaking, Of Course

There is a reason why I don't usually engage in the competitive side of things when it comes to games or polls or competitions because when you lose, and I guarantee you, you will lose more often than you win, and you you've played your hardest it burns like an acid bath that just sits like a ball of anger in the pit of your stomach and an ache in your chest.

I spent the whole day believing, after the polls had closed that I had won my category, Best Short Story Romance with, No Ordinary Love under my pen name Kate Lynd. To be nominated was awesome. But I knew I could motivate my online army of Tweeps, FB friends, and my generous friends at MuseItUp to vote for me as long as I wasn't in direct competition with them.  And I thought it had worked. Until I get online and I see where I'm 'tied' for 2nd place.

It's good in only one respect, Danielle and Christine moved up :). And I know the calm, mature, reaction is to, have a drink, be happy with 2nd. I'm in the top ten. Hell, I made the medal stand. But there's only one web badge given and it's for 1st place. I have never been satisfied with just placing. It has never been in my nature, when fully engaged in a competitive situation to give anything than my best and then some so right now I feel like they said here you go, now we want it back.

In high school a similar thing happened to me. I never lost my competitive zeal because I simply couldn't help it. I once placed 11th out of 54 teams at a national debate tournament and missed the final 8 on speaker points. I received a certificate for going 4-2 in preliminary rounds. The goal had been to do that. We were happy. At a county tournament we placed 5th, got a trophy, a team protested, a team we had very bad blood with and we were forced to hand it over to them. I know I'm 36, but it stings as bad today as it did 16 years ago.

All this does is prove to me that one poll is no better than another. Does that make me want to win any less? The ironic thing is no, it doesn't. I wish it did. But I've always been very competitive. I like events the feature skill that can measured, arts competitions are all so subjective. I entered No Ordinary Love in the RomCon contest. Where it's read and judged by readers and you're given a score. I'm hoping for a 9, but an 8 will get me a RomCon seal that I can feature on my website and my blog. Right now I wish I could put Daniel Craig on speed dial and have him come over for a little angry sex. That might be nice right about now lol.

I am fortunate. I have 3 books I signed contracts for so far. One of them is the first in a trilogy. I guess the next best thing to winning an award would be congratulating my team for their placement in the polls. To my brilliant editor Tanja Cilia who placed 8th on the editors list. Delilah I still think the cover you did for No Ordinary Love was far more deserving than 13th place finish it got but you asked that Tiger's needs be put before your own, so I didn't push as hard as I might otherwise would have, as the first impression a book makes is with its title and cover art. And you lady are the bomb. (Not to impune Children of Subspecies or Tiger's wonderful 2nd place finish.) Greta you're great too, I had to pick and it was more like Sophie's Choice in that regard.

So now that I'm done ranting you'll notice a huge button the says Shorty Awards-Nominate Me. I would ask that you please take a moment if you have a Twitter account to vote for me for Author. Now that's a popularity contest to be sure, but it's a red carpet Hollywood affair and nothing would be better than hitting triple digits in votes. Click on the button and it takes you directly to the voting page.

And before I sign off, congratulations to everyone who won or placed at the Preditors and Editors Poll in 2011. You motivated the masses. I think the only thing better than winning an award would be for people to keep buying No Ordinary Love and be interested enough to buy Another Way To Die when it comes out.

Good night, and good luck.