I was at work today, having missed the official announcement thingy due to a family crisis (now mostly resolved, thank goodness), when I decided to look at the results online. I was a teensy bit worried that I wouldn’t make the top 20 after all.
6th? SIXTH? SERIOUSLY???
I sat and glowed for about five minutes, then I went and checked again because maybe I read it wrong somehow?
And then I glowed some more.
I made the top ten as a newbie (newbie IF-er; I’d been writing novels for a very long time already) in 2016, and have been trying to get into the top ten again ever since (while watching the competition get better and better). I’m astonished that I finally made it.
I… wow. Just wow.
I still can’t quite believe it. But I believe it enough to be very, very pleased and grateful.