Capital Crime Writers

RePost of Capital Crime Writers Audrey Jessup Announcement.

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 1 Comment

Thank you to Capital Crime Writers for hosting the Audrey Jessup short story contest.  Also thanks to the judges who took the time to read all of the entries and thanks for the lovely evening out.

The photo is me looking surprised and happy 🙂

This is the blog they posted on Monday.

Congratulations to our Audrey Jessop Short Story Prize winner!

 

Kristina Stanley Audrey Jessup

 

Kristina Stanley walked away with the 2014 Audrey Jessop Short Story prize for her submission, “When a Friendship Fails”.

The awards dinner at The Heart & Crown in the Byward Market capped off a Capital Crime Writers’ mayhem-filled year.

A huge thanks to our judges and all participants. And it’s never too early to start working on your submission for next year.

Here’s the complete list of prize winners and honourable mentions:

FIRST PRIZE:   ‘When a Friendship Fails’ by Kristina Stanley

SECOND PRIZE:  ’The Moment It Fell’ by Wynn Quon

THIRD PRIZE:  ’The Ride Home’ by Linda Standing

HONOURABLE MENTION:  ’Act the Part’ by Jennifer Jorgensen

HONOURABLE MENTION:  ’Scapegoat’ by Nicholas Ashton

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Farley’s Friday: A Wheaten Can Listen Well (Audrey Jessup Crime Writing Award)

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Farley here,

I’ve had a weird week.

Kristina talked for days on end and it took me a while to figure out what she was doing. First I thought she was talking to me, and I felt pretty flattered to get so much attention.

Then I realized she was focussed on something else entirely. And look what she made me wear.

Farley in Hat

“Take this hat off my head,” I bark.

“You’re my audience,” Kristina says.

“Audience for what?” I bark.

“I have to read aloud at the Audrey Jessup awards, and I need to practice.”

“Yeah, but why do have to wear a hat?”

“Because I’m pretending you’re sitting in a bar listing to me read my story.”

Okay, I get it. She’s nervous and wants to practice. She keeps mumbling something about the 10,000 hour theory and the more you do something to better you get at it.

So the night of the awards, she comes home all happy and dances around the living room. She won 🙂

Kristina Stanley Audrey Jessup

Now I just wag my tail. I’ll let her read to me anytime if it helps.

Woof Woof.

Capital Crime Writers

 

Prepping for a Reading

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 12 Comments

Have you ever read your writing aloud in public? I haven’t and am about to.

My short story “When a Friendship Fails” has been nominated for the Capital Crime Writer’s Audrey Jessup. As part of the nomination, the 5 nominated authors are asked to read part of the story aloud. The event is taking place in a pub in down town Ottawa.

The complete story takes 20 minutes to read, and I’ve been given 7 minutes.

I’ve been using Audacity to practice, and to deliver a strong emotional impact, I need to choose if I should read:

  • from the beginning
  • middle
  • or the last three scenes

Audacity makes me listen and practice. After I decide which section to read, I can work on the timing.

Here’s my question.

When reading a scene on a page, the reader can see paragraph breaks and knows a new character is speaking. But when listening to a story, the listening doesn’t have the advantage of seeing the paragraph breaks. I’m not an actor who can change the sound of my voice for each character (although I’m trying),  so when reading from a finished work, is it okay to add a few he said/she said tags to make it clear who is speaking?

What comes next and is the most nerve-wracking of all: I have to read aloud in front of people.

Yikes.

Thanks for reading . . .

Thanks to HSW Literary Agency

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 10 Comments

Life as a writer is often spent behind closed doors working hard, but there are moments when a writer catches a glimpse of hope that her work may actually entered the world of the published.

Margaret Hart and Natalie St. Pierre at the HSW Literary Agency have been working hard behind the scene to help me get my novels published.

Their last post at HSW Literary Agency:News certainly made me smile, so here’s a shout out to say thanks.

Sometimes a girl just has to share her happiness.

Thanks for reading . . .

Here is what HSW wrote about me:

Persons Unknown? Crime Writer Kristina Stanley Makes Her Name

Author Kristina StanleyThe life of an author, quietly perfecting her craft, is often anonymous. But the efforts of crime writer Kristina Stanley are at last getting the attention they deserve: Stanley has three works up for separate crime writing awards!

Descent, the first book in Stanley’s Kalin Thompson series, is nominated for the Unhanged Arthur, the Arthur Ellis Award recognizing the year’s most promising piece of unpublished crime fiction. Over in the UK, the Crime Writers’ Association honours book two in the series, Burnt, with a nomination for their Debut Dagger. Finally, just in time for Short Story Month, Stanley’s “When a Friendship Fails” is nominated for the Capital Crime Writers‘ Audrey Jessup Short Story Award.

Congratulations, Kristina! We anxiously await the results!