Unusual Events Has Been Removed From SPFBO 2016 · 8:04pm May 19th, 2016
All right, guys, it's official. I just heard back from Mark Lawrence, the head of the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off, and now that the competition has begun, my book could not be moved to another reviewer, so instead, I've elected to withdraw my entry (Unusual Events) from the competition (for the reasons for doing so, see this post here). It's sad that it had to be done, but I feel my reasons were sound.
It is somewhat of a disappointment, however, in more ways than one. First, it's a shame that it had to come to a removal. I was really interested to see what reviews would have cropped up from the SPFBO, as well as what sort of extended audience I could gather. But in light of their review practices ... no gain would have been worth throwing my support behind it. Secondly, it is a shame that such review practices are even a small part of the SPFBO. Perhaps that will change, I would put my voice out as saying I strongly encourage them to do so, but I'm not holding my breath.
So, that's the bad news. Sort of. I can't help but feel it's a good thing, in the long run. There are some things one just shouldn't associate with, and reviewing and rating books with the focusing lens of "Is the character/writer X race or not?" is one of them.
In other news, the book in question can still be read and enjoyed by those of you who won't care so much what Samantha's, Alma's, Jacob Rocke's, or Mathoni's gender or ethnic heritage happen to be over getting a great story. You can find the book here.
Thanks for the advice, guys, and thanks for standing with me on this one. I'm glad I'm not the only one who considers this important.
You can also read this post (it's identical) at my site: Unusual Things
It had to be done.
Would it be possible to put it in next year's event?
"SUPERMODEL" was my favorite story in Unusual Events, I think. That, or "Monthly Retreat." I wonder what her superhero name ended up being...
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I don't know. My withdrawal may have soured my chances of being allowed in next year, especially if the curator doesn't agree with my reasoning.
SUPERMODEL was my favorite as well. It came together so much better than I'd ever hope, and ranks as one of the stories I'm most proud of. I don't know if we'll see Samantha again, but her adventure was certainly worth living.
It sucks that it might hurt your future chances, but you're better off in the long run.
I'd jokingly suggest you to submit a Magical Pastel Pony story instead, but that reviewer would probably think that the Ponies weren't multicultural enough.
On a side note, I finally got around to downloading the Kindle app on my phone. Nomming the stories in my free non-gaming time, and got through One Drink and a little into Dead Silver, as well as buying Unusual Events. Those subtle references make me laugh, especially when compared to all the stories here that do blatant shout-outs to other fiction.
The pastel pony line is pretty obvious for a fan of MLP, but how many would get the nod to the guys in New York handling the problem in One Drink?