Novelist Deb Hosey White, This Week's Sponsor for Our Sister blog Kindle Nation, Moves To Second Round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest

In another case of sweet serendipity, it turns out that a new novel by this week's sponsor for Kindle Nation's free weekly email newsletter -- Deb Hosey White, author of Pink Slips and Parting Gifts -- has just been selected to advance to the second round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest. We asked Ms. White to submit a piece explaining how it all works, and she came through very nicely for us:

By Deb Hosey White

If you haven’t yet discovered the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards (ABNA), now’s your chance. Writers from around the world enter this contest, but what makes ABNA unique is the quality of the contenders and the camaraderie among contestants. 

In the same spirit of shared experience offered by Amazon and Kindle Nation, the ABNA reflects a writing community interested in helping their peers. As the entry deadline approaches, the buzz on the ABNA message boards is all about writing a good pitch, editing excerpts, and guiding contest newcomers on the rules of the competition. Since the contest was conceived four years ago, the ABNA community boards have become a forum for sharing literary experiences and resources, peppered with humor, personal interest, and some clever writing. Amazon, CreateSpace, Penguin Group USA and Publishers Weekly collectively sponsor the ABNA.

With 10,000 entries, it’s great news that my novel Tales of the Sofa has made the cut and advanced to ABNA’s second round. 

What happens next?

Between now and March 22, Amazon Vine Reviewers play an important role by reviewing the top general fiction and young adult novel excerpts to determine the contest’s quarter-finalists. 

Then the real fun begins for Amazon readers. 

Once the quarter-finalists are announced at www.amazon.com/abna Amazon customers can download, rate and review ABNA contest excerpts, providing feedback to Penguin editors about submissions. Finalists are announced in June. 

If you decide to take a look, you’ll find more great reads from an amazingly diverse group of writers – there’s definitely something for everyone.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy Pink Slips and Parting Gifts, which you might say has been mutually selected by Steve Windwalker and myself to serve as the sponsor of this week's issue of Kindle Nation's weekly blast!