Truth Devour's Blog, page 4

Wantin is going from strength to strength with continual recognition in almost every competition the novel has been entered into. The most recent has been an honorable mention in the romance category at the 2015 Readers Favorite Book Awards.

 

International Multi Award Winning Novel Wantin By Truth Devour

When I first started submissions for the whole trilogy (Wantin, Unrequited & Sated), I soon recognized that it was difficult to enter all three books within the same category as they were competing against one another rather than being assessed as a series. It made sense, after all the competitions I found were specifically for single entry considerations. 
If you are published and have begun your own journey of competition submissions you will understand what I mean by it all adds up $$. Especially when you start looking at multiple categories for multiple novels. In the instance where the e-book submission route is not available there is a need to factor in the expenses around supplying paperback copies (usually three) and posting them to the relevant country. The trilogy was costing me a kings ransom to submit. 
It didn’t make sense for me to continue trying to get all of my books in the trilogy recognized at the cost of competing against each other. Instead, I concentrated on just submitting my first book of the series Wantin, into as many of the competitions which accepted Indie titles / self published authors. This in hind sight was the best decision I could have made because I was now in a position to afford to enter a larger variety of book festivals for less outlay. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories are another real challenge I faced when entering my work into competitions. There seemed to be a variance in not only the availability of consistent genre and sub- category naming convention but also the interpretation of what qualifies the works to be aligned to it. In some places such as Amazon my trilogy has been classified as ‘erotica’ due to the sexual descriptives contained within the body of work. The reality is that if I submitted Wantin under this genre for competition assessment the judges would no doubt be disappointed. Instead, where possible I try to enter competitions that align with the core of my trilogy’s story, which personally I feel falls into an Adult Contemporary Romance space. If this isn’t available then I tend to lean toward Romance – General, Chick Lit and if they have it ‘Wildcard.’

Another little gem of wisdom I can share is the importance of organizing yourself. I’m not sure about you but for the most part I feel eternally time poor. No matter how many hours in a day I consume on my creative pursuits, I still short and always yearn for more. In saying this I guess the emphasis on being organized is a critical success factor in not only being prepared for when I need to enter competitions, but also for when to check for upcoming results.

There isn’t really an ideal one stop shop literary competiton calendar for these types of events available. If you google it as I did you can certainly get a large amount of articles apportioned to discussing the need to have one, but I am yet to locate any provided which hold value to me for easy reuse purposes. The long and the short of it is that in the end I created my own. My experience has taught me that it is best not to leave it unchecked for too long. I find it needs to be updated at least annually due to the regular competitions sometimes shifting dates, participation rules, entry prices etc. In my case the added challenge is my propensity to write in many genres. I’ve just released book one – Illuminarium in the Soliloquy’s labyrinth up and coming five series.  The genre is dystopian fantasy with a sub category of paranormal. This means I need to revisit what are the competitions available so I can start mapping out a competition calendar to cater for genre.

Oh, the joys of being a writer. No-one ever tells you that your writing must be artfully juggled in between the social media promotions, blogging for sanities sake, entering competitions, engaging with reviewers, book releases, signings and on the odd occaision a social life.

Blessings – Truth Devour

 

 

Many moons ago a budding young very naive girl came from Japan to Australia to study. We met through mutual connections and became fast friends. I gave her the knick name DaDoo because whenever I said I needed to get something or go somewhere to run an errand she would often say “Its ok, I do.” That somehow in my clockwork orange with a dash of wonderland thought stream translated into DaDoo.

The perfect moment. 

The image you see above was taken by me at the precise moment Dadoo’s mom understood the context around an inappropriate dirty joke I had just told. It is one of my favorite images.

 

Like mother like daughter

Dadoo, Okasan and I were walking along the beach. When we stopped to appreciate the view I noticed their stance. Much to my delight as I quietly stepped back I realised they unknowingly both held the same position.

These are the moments I enjoy recording because it tells a story otherwise unseen.

 

Blessings – Truth Devour

 

Japan has always held a special place in my heart. There is a familiarity, perhaps even a comfort for me that holds no explanation pertaining to my lineage or cultural upbringing. My only connection to its shores were through the martial arts training I received during my teenage years. I was a voracious reader of anything non fiction. My ties into karate peaked my interest in exploring a multitude of styles which eventually lead me to seek to understand more information around Japan’s traditions, beliefs and environment.

My third trip to Japan occurred in Dec 2013 and held great personal significance to me. There was an enormous amount of change occurring, some of it could be attributed to my own stimulus and the other aspects as I now understand it were associated to destiny, fate or perhaps a little of both.  It was here exploring the bamboo forest in Arashiyama, Kyoto – Japan, that I recognised I had a very important decision to make.

The picture below was taken by me as a reminder of my choices and why I chose to make the one I did. My exposure to certain experiences across the months leading up to my trip to Japan rendered me blind to the reality of the situation. I stared at the stalks of bamboo and visualised myself trying to navigate through the forest blindfolded. If I relied on a singular sense such as sound or touch I would amplify the difficulty of navigating through safely and most certainly increase my risk of failure.

I knew to enter into such a domain blindfolded meant I would need to surrender my mind to the acceptance that I would not be present to all the answers. If I wanted to be true to myself than my only path was to be driven by the rhythm of my hearts tune and guided by my souls light. I had to trust my instincts when my eyes, ears and mind were being betrayed by the illusion of truth.

At times when I find myself on the crossroads of sadness, frustration or doubt, it is this place that I visualise myself present to.

Address: Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Blessings – Truth Devour

 

Hi All,

I am pleased to announce WANTIN took out first price at the LA Book Festival 2015 in the Romance category and has received an honorary mention at the following additional festivals:

- London Book Festival
- The Great Northwest Book Festival
- The Great Southwest Book Festival
- The Great Southeast Book Festival

"With graceful, effortless writing Truth Devour's novel “Wantin” follows one woman's search for love. This story is narrated by a young British woman, Talia, who has depth and a range of moods from sexually electrifying to nostalgic to existential. Talia earnestly describes her wants, lovers, and love making all in great detail. This story feels real, rather than romantic, because at its core is a woman searching for an enduring love that proves elusive."

Hi All,

If you get a moment can you please vote for my three books in the Best Books of 2014 - All genres category.

Wantin Unrequited & Sated

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...

Thanks
Truth Devour