Launch Pad Contest -- We Have a Winner!

December is a big month. My birthday, my husband's birthday, my youngest granddaughter's birthday, Christmas and all that such a mega-event involves, year-end accounting matters, etc. Did I mention that my birthday is in December too?

Another exciting thing that happens in December: we here on Novel Rocket announce the Grand Prize Winner of our year-long LAUNCH PAD Contest: Boosting You Out of the Slush Pile.

To refresh your memories, here's how it works. We conducted six mini-contests throughout the year, choosing a winner from each of the six major novel genres (Suspense/Crime/Mystery/Thriller -- General Fiction -- Middle Grade/Young Adult -- Historical Fiction -- Contemporary Romance -- Speculative Fiction). The winner of each of these genre divisions moved into the Grand Prize round.

The Grand Prize Winner receives a one-of-a-kind blown glass rocket trophy similar to the one pictured, which will be inscribed with the winner's name. (The one shown on the left was the award we gave our 2012 winner. If you look closely, you can see the inscription.) Moreover, members of the Novel Rocket staff will work to match up the winner with an agent or other publishing professional to help further his or her writing career.

One thing that sets the 2014 winner apart from previous Grand Prize entries is the fact that this one is self-published. We've had quite a number of self-published entries in the past; that's not new, and it's in accordance with the rules. Seldom, however, have we received one that's so skillfully written, and never have we received one that so impressed every judge who read it.

That's why we're excited to announce the 2014 Grand Prize Winner of our LAUNCH PAD Contest: Boosting You Out of the Slush Pile. Please join us in giving a hearty congratulations to

SALLY BRADLEY

for her truly remarkable Contemporary Fiction entry, Kept.

Novel Rocket will be in touch with Sally directly to arrange for delivery of her prize. 

In the meantime, if you'd like to read more of this novel (we published the first chapter here), you can hop over to Amazon and purchase the whole book in either print or e-book version. (It might make a nice gift for the readers on your list. Or... for someone you know with a birthday this month...)

When she's not overseeing the Launch Pad Contest, Yvonne Anderson writes fiction that takes you out of this world.  

Choose your itinerary from among these exciting voyages: Book #1, The Story in the Stars (ACFW Carol Award Finalist, 2012); Book #2, Words in the Wind; Book #3, Ransom in the Rock; Book #4, The Last Toqeph.