I'm going to be published author!
Pretty much a month ago, I submitted an entry for the fantastic story competition organised by the Dutch Comic Con, the American Book Company and the Dutch foundation for the promotion of the fantastical genre. The story had to be no longer than a thousand words, and had fit the fantastical genre (so fantasy, sci-fi, horror, paranormal...). A jury would read all entries (all 139 of them) and pick the ten best ones. Guess what: I ended up on the shortlist!
I'm so happy, because the ten winning stories will be published in a short story novel - a real one, made of paper and ink, and 100% touchable. Heck, my story will probably only cover 3 or 4 pages, but it makes me bounce through the room out of happiness!
The contest isn't finished yet though; a winner has to be picked by public vote. Yes, that's you I'm talking about! You can read all the stories on the site of the Dutch Comic Con and vote for your favourite. Of course, I would be very grateful if your favourite happens to be mine, but I am already very happy I got this far.
My story is called 'Bite me'. Spoiler alert: it is not about vampires. Go to the story shortlist For the non-Dutch speakers: sorry, some entries are in Dutch. 50% of the entries were in English, I didn't expect the number to be that high! (So please, Dutch publishers and bookstores, pay more attention to English novels! We like those, apparently.) Enjoy the stories and let your vote count! You can do that until March 12. The winner will be announced on March 26 during the Dutch Comic Con, Utrecht. This means I'll have to go there. Will you join me?