Time for a few puffed feathers. Earlier this year, I submitted an entry for the RWA Little Gems competition. This is a short story competition of maximum 3000 words, and it must feature the gemstone that is nominated for that year. This year’s stone was Sunstone.
Yes, I know – I hadn’t heard of it either and had to do some research.
Sunstone – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunstone
Sunstone is a plagioclase feldspar, which when viewed from certain directions exhibits a spangled appearance. It has been found in Southern Norway, Sweden and in various United States localities.
Crystal system: Triclinic
Color: Colorless, yellow, red, green, blue, and ..
Although Wikipedia refers to various colours, all the images depict a tangerine coloured stone. Google it and you will see what I mean.
I thought that I might as well try my luck and the story came together quickly – a light and amusing romance tale, suitable for reading over a Sunday morning coffee. To my delight, my story was selected as being one of the finalists and was included in the anthology of fourteen stories.
Each entry is assessed by three different judges and the comments and scores are forwarded to each entrant after the judging process is complete. That was most valuable and I picked up some useful pointers on writing style. Also of interest was the fact that a feature one judge commented on as pleasing, another judge found to be a point of criticism so you can’t always please everyone.
The anthology was released at the recent RWA Conference that was held in Adelaide. Now that I have had a taste of the competitions, I might submit entries in other categories next year, even if just to get the feedback.
Congratulations to the other entrants and of course to Sheridan Kent who designed the cover. The book is available at the RWA website.
Emily Hussey 