For complete contest details, see www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/debut/
Are you entering your first chapter and synopsis? Wondering how it will stand up to the competitors?
Some quotes to help & inspire you, from Debut Dagger Bulletin No. 8:
Canadian thriller author Rick Mofina:
"Tension stripped bare is mental strain or excitement while suspense is anxiety over uncertainty of what’s to come....Who wants what from whom? What happens if they don't get it? Why now?"
British author Ariana Franklin, whose first book, Mistress of the Art of Death, won the CWA Ellis Peters Award 2007 and the Macavity Historical Award 2008:
"We need to grab our readers by the whatsits at the beginning, tempting them on with a literary version of a ghastly finger beckoning them from the traditional creaking door."
"Once you’re an established author and your readers trust that you’re eventually going to frighten the life out of them, you can get away with dallying -- but not when you’re making your debut."
