Caitlyn Young is the alter ego of Shalanna Collins, a lifelong writer from Dallas, Texas. Novelist, pianist, belly dancer, baton twirler (but no fire batons *ever* again, by order of the Renner, Texas, Volunteer Fire Brigade), and amateur radio operator, she has published many fascinating short pieces at shalanna.livejournal.com, her weblog (not a "diary"--diaries pretend to some version of the truth, and writers don't hold with strict veracity. We prefer stories. They make more sense.)
CAITLYN YOUNG, SONG FROM THE HEART: an entry in the Dorchester/TextNovel competition
I've been writing since I could grip a crayon. As soon as I realized, around age six, that books didn't just fall from the sky fully formed as the Bible and the Encyclopedia Britannica had, I determined to become a novelist. I started with short fiction, which Mama said was "lying," and immediately forbade. However, I kept at it, despite the disapproval of "storying" (my mother's word for lying, truth-bending, and fact-twisting.) Teachers thought my writing was great, and I have many dedicated teachers to thank for my continued enthusiasm for the written word.
I've been hacking away at this Big Rock Candy Mountain of "getting a novel published by a legitimate large New York house" for quite some time. When I was in fourth grade, I decided to submit some poems and a short story to the New Yorker. Back then, there weren't so many people writing and sending stuff in. My poems were typed on Daddy's big old cast-iron Underwood in his home office, and that was state-of-the-art at the time. My stuff always came winging its way back through the snailmail service, but always with a nice little handscribbled encouragement on the quarter-page rejection slip. I suspect they liked the thought of encouraging a wee bairn, which my juvenilia told them I was. The handwritten encouragements continued until around eight years ago, when the slushpiles flooded and overflowed and editors began shielding themselves from the influx of submissions.
Still we beat on, boats against the current. My YA novel _Dulcinea: or Wizardry A-Flute_ was the first runner-up in the 1996 Warner Aspect First Fantasy Novel Contest. I currently have a mystery series under consideration at St. Martin's Press, courtesy of a judge in the last St. Martin's/Malice Domestic contest (I didn't win the prize, but at least I hit an editor's desk), and there are various other books in the stages of submission. However, I feel that the Dorchester/TextNovel contest is the greatest opportunity since the serpent held out the apple to Eve. Wait, that didn't come out right. . . .
This contest offers authors a way in by the back door, as I see it. The contest is counting on authors being able to drum up support for their work in the form of votes on the site. This way, they can tell whose work would attract a following and a fan base--or at least that's the theory. I despise having to go out and beg and troll for readers, but on the other hand, I think it's wonderful that readers can start reading our actual novels chapter by chapter and follow the book to its completion right there on the website. And all for free!
So if you are interested in free reading material, head on over to textnovel.com and have a look at some of the novels that are posted. Only those that are so marked are in the Dorchester "Best Celler" (cell phone novels--thus the spelling) contest. We'd love it if you decided to register on the site (they don't send spam, and it's all FREE) and vote. And if you have a book that you've been working on, why don't you join the site as an author and enter the contest? There's still time; the final decision won't be made until November. Come on, take the challenge--enter and become our worthy competition! It only hurts when you click on "number of votes."
If you would like to take a look at SONG, click on this link or type this into your browser:
http://textnovel.com/stories_list_detail.php?story_id=1368
There you'll find the novel's first few pages and description. IF you like what you see, scroll down that page past the greyed-out box with the description. You'll see the first four pages, which they call a chapter. They make our chapters very short so they can be read on PDAs or cell phones. Wild, right?
To vote, you first register (sign up) for the site, which entails clicking on "Sign Up" on the upper RH corner of the home page at
http://textnovel.com/
Fill out the short form with your name, pen name (it insists on this, even when you register as READER ONLY--you can use your first name and last initial or a handle), and a valid email address. They'll send a confirmation email to that address. Go and click on that link in that email, and it'll take you to the "Registration Complete" message. Then you're in!
If you like the book (or another you find on the site), and you have registered, please vote for it by clicking on THUMBS UP. You can become a fan by clicking on the cell phone icon as well. It would help even more if you do become a fan. That's like a second vote! And who can resist voting TWICE?!
You can vote for as many novels there as you like, or none at all. Either way, feel free to read your fill. There's more where that came from.
FACTOIDS ABOUT SHALANNA COLLINS, WRITING AS CAITLYN YOUNG
Favorite Author(s):Shakespeare, Donald E. Westlake, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Harper Lee
Favorite Book(s):To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, The Secret History, Bellwether (by Connie Willis), Dulcinea (by Shalanna Collins)
Favorite Music/Composers: the Beatles, the Monkees, Bobby Darin, Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, Vince Guaraldi, R. E. M.
Website(s): http://shalanna.livejournal.com
Stories on Textnovel by this Author
SONG FROM THE HEART Romantic suspense with a paranormal twist -- this is the one that has a good chance in the contest. Here's where your vote, and your subscription (click on the cell phone), would help most.
These two are also in the contest, but aren't very far along yet.
UNBROKEN A ghost story with horses
IN THE PUNDIT'S CORNER A screwball comedy with a suspense subplot
TOMORROW: Our next contestant/blogger!
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