Welcome to the RPLA Showcase
Each year at the Royal Palm Literary Award Banquet, authors experience the joy of earning accolades for all the hard work that is often done in the privacy of the home with little to no recognition. Our goal is to showcase the best of the best at the 2016 Royal Palm Literary Awards and provide First Place winners with a well-deserved spotlight. Not only are we recognizing extraordinary talent, but we’re giving readers an opportunity to sample excerpts from the winning stories.
2016 Unpublished Blended Genre & Unpublished Fantasy
Fairy Free by Janet D’Andrea
Janet D’Andrea won First Place in the Unpublished Blended Genre category and the Unpublished Fantasy category. In Fairy Free, Poppy Elver, a smaller than average fairy, attempts a forbidden bit of magic and finds herself in a mortal-sized mess that leads to a life-changing, love-affirming adventure.
Click the link to read a sample:
Q & A with Janet D’Andrea
Q: Where do you get your story ideas?
A: I read–a lot! Sometimes a little snippet in the news or in a magazine will plant the seed for a plot line that will eventually grow and take on a life of its own. I’m also a big people watcher, constantly taking note of the interesting characters that cross my path on any given day.
Q: Anything in particular about your award-winning RPLA entry that you’d like to share?
A: While Fairy Free is categorized as YA, I think it would appeal to ambitious middle grade readers as well. And while set in the fantasy realm of the Hyter Copse, readers will hopefully feel right at home with the main character, Poppy, and the challenges she faces as she tries to find her way in a changing world.
Q: Who do you credit with inspiring your writing?
A: I had a couple of wonderful English teachers in high school. One in particular, Mrs. Helen Bryce, taught me not only the mechanics but sparked the joy that comes when you manage to get a bit of magic down on the page.
Q: Any tips for new writers?
A: The best thing I ever did was find a supportive writer’s critique group. Not only did the members act as a much needed sounding board, but the weekly deadlines kept me writing–even when the words were slow in coming.
Thank you for sharing, Janet, and congratulations! Visit her website: www.janetdandrea.wordpress.com
A message about supporting literacy in Florida:
If every member of FWA went to Smile.Amazon.com, chose Florida Writers Foundation, Inc. as their charity and, instead of logging into Amazon.com, logged into Smile.Amazon.com, FWF would receive 0.5% of the purchase funds. Every time.
We could significantly fund the literacy efforts of our organization. No money out of your pockets…just some invested time to set this up.
How easy for us to make a difference. To see all of our work, please read the pages of our website www.floridawritersfoundation.com. You’ll be proud.
Tom Swartz, President, FWF
