Paula Blais Gorgas

Posted By Paula on May 5, 2008

OTHER WORLDS, my fantasy anthology published last year, made a big splash at the recent OWFI Conference in Oklahoma City. If you’re thinking, “That title sounds familiar,” you’re right. This is the book I was supposed to talk about in a TV interview. Instead, I didn’t even make it to the conference! A muscle spasm in my back put a big spasm in my weekend plans. (What a way to chicken out of an interview, although I place all blame on my subconscious mind, which was merely trying to protect me.) I was still bemoaning my fate yesterday when an email came through from a writer friend, telling me he had picked up my contest entries and congratulating me on my book award. “What award???” I screeched through the computer. [Ahem! Drumroll here]:

OTHER WORLDS, a collection of five very different fantasy stories by Yours Truly, won the 2008 Oklahoma Writers Federation Trophy Award for Best Book of Fiction!

I’m still in shock, still reaching over to touch my beautiful trophy every few minutes. And still mad as &*)!* that I wasn’t in Oklahoma City to receive my coveted prize in person.

I’m sure there’s a lesson to be learned somewhere in this sequence of events from the past few days, something deep and philosophical about the subconscious mind and being careful what we wish for. But I’m not thinking about that right now. And I’m sure not thinking about the upcoming interview, which was merely postponed, not canceled.  I’ll think about it later…when I finally set my Trophy down in a very special, very visible place near my computer.

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