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 2015 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.
2015 Published Mainstream/Literary
The Clock Strikes Midnight by Joan C. Curtis
Joan C. Curtis won First Place in the Published Mainstream/Literary category. Full of twists and surprises, The Clock Strikes Midnight is a race against time in a quest for revenge and atonement.
Click the link to read a sample:
Excerpt from The Clock Strikes Midnight
Q & A with Joan C. Curtis
Q: Where do you get your story ideas?
A: I have no idea where my story ideas come from. But if I had to guess, I’d say different places. Sometimes a person inspires me or a place. Other times the idea just happens, comes from inside me somewhere. The Clock Strikes Midnight was a story that evolved and changed. The characters dictated the events.
Q: Anything in particular about your award-winning RPLA entry that you’d like to share?
A: I’m excited that my first published novel received this award. This book was written from the heart. Once I finished the first draft, I didn’t think it would get published because it wasn’t genre-specific. That’s what motivated me to write the e-Murderer and the Jenna Scali series. But, as it turned out The Clock Strikes Midnight was picked up first and has won recognition here as well as from the Global e-Book Awards. I’m proud that I didn’t give up on it.
Q: Who do you credit with inspiring your writing?
A: I give my mother credit for everything about me. My dad died when I was eight. So, my mom was the biggest influence on me. She encouraged me and never put my writing down. But, what inspired me most was her reading. My mother read more than any person I’ve ever known. Her avid reading led me to the path of a writer.
Q: Any tips for new writers?
A: I have two big tips for new writers. 1) Learn the craft of writing (particularly fiction). Just because you can type or scratch on a notepad does not make you a writer. There is much to learn, no matter how much education you’ve had 2) Once you’ve taken the time to learn and learn more, do not give up. Keep sending out and don’t be daunted by rejections.
