Competition closed.
The Amazon/Createspace ABNA competition is now closed. The competition runs once a year and accepts only 5,000 entries in each of two categories. I've entered Child of the Portal into the Adult Fiction category.
This first round is the hardest to crack, as it's not judged on the author, who remains anonymous through most of the competition. Nor is it judged on the work submitted. Instead, this first round is judged on the very short 300 word book pitch. For me, writing the book was easier and that has taken over two years. The pitch has gone through several revisions and has been brutally cropped and trimmed until only the barest bones of the main plot arc are gleaming there like bones in the desert. So now it's a waiting game as the team of judges sift through that vast pile of book pitches. This is mine, and now the category is full I can't change it any more. It's stuck as it is.
Susan's mother commits suicide which releases her magic as she gives up her life, and threatens to destroy the realm she has governed. Her closest advisor, the Naiad, has also vanished and her healing influence is sorely missed.
Susan's own magic is developing as she approaches her teenage years and it confuses her as she begins to grow into the strong, young woman her mother would have been proud of. Even her newly discovered grandmother, Lily, is pleased with her, even though she refuses to teach Susan how to safely use the magic.
With the Naiad gone, nobody in control, and no-one prepared to fill either role, the magical realm is in flux and chaos threatens, and the situation only worsens when Lily is lost and assumed to be dead. It seems that all will collapse unless Susan can find Lily and bring her back to restore the magical balance. But is Lily still alive, and can Susan find the salvation that is needed for the conflict to end and for peace to be restored?
Lily must be found, only Susan can find her and only the Naiad can save her. Lily must choose where and who she wants to be to everyone who demands that she be someone else. Susan must decide who she wants to grow into, and who she wishes to claim as her family.
This fantasy novel spans worlds, families and relationships and with two major character deaths, one birth, and plenty of drama you will want to join Susan as she finds out who she is and where she belongs.
The results of this first round will be announced at the end of February. Wish me luck!
Child of the Portal is the last in the main Portal series and brings things to a close. It's a bit sad really, I thought those characters might be with me forever. But like the character in Nim's Island [DVD]
, they quit when I no longer needed them.
I'm not quite done with the Portal series just yet though, there's at least one more book and possibly more.
Sarah Barnard – The Portal Series (Paperback and Kindle)
