Sorry it’s been awhile, folks. Life has been crazy, but I’m hoping to do another post in the very near future going over the many big changes that have happened in my life recently.
Today, I have a big announcement - “The Whitehall Affair” made the Wattys 2023 Shortlist!!! It's my second time to be on the shortlist. The last was "Something Wicked" in 2021.
I’m incredibly excited about this. They changed things up and instead of choosing the top 20-25 books from each genre (there were 12 or 13), they’ve chosen the top 60-70 overall (from all genres) in two main categories - Ongoing and Completed. “The Whitehall Affair” is on the shortlist for Completed. They are going to choose the top 10 from each of the two categories for the final Wattys selection, to be announced publicly on Dec. 1.
It’s a huge honor to make the shortlist. I entered “The Whitehall Affair” last year, but it didn't get that far. At the time, I felt like it wasn’t quite what I wanted it to be, so took some inspiration from comments made by readers while also sitting down and taking a critical eye to the story. I made fairly substantial changes to some character backgrounds and subplots, though the overall original storyline is still intact. I’m much happier with the new version, and it seems the judges were too.
This year they have new, fun awards outside the main Wattys. There are prizes for Best Characters, Most Engaging World, Biggest Twist, and Catchiest Hook. They also have the Wattpad Webtoon Book Group Award for a publishing deal, Wattpad Webtoon Studio Prize (one per language) for an entertainment adaption offer, and the Fans’ Choice Award. The judges will pick three stories for fans to vote on to win that award.
Lastly, there will be two Grand Prize winners (one for Ongoing and one for Complete) that will win a cash prize.
I’m not sure how “The Whitehall Affair” will ultimately do. I glanced through the 69 titles on the shortlist for Complete, and it seems most are of the fantasy, sci-fi, and romance varieties, so I don't know how my mystery/thriller will stand up against those. I haven't read any of them either, which is a first. Usually, I've read at least three to four of the titles that make the list.
Anyway, I’m just happy it’s on the shortlist and I’ll take whatever comes my way, even if this is as far as my novel goes at this year's Wattys.
If you’re interested in reading “The Whitehall Affair,” you can find it here.
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