Amazon First Round

The hopes of roughly 8,000 people will be dashed today when the Amazon.com Break-through Novel Award make their announcement. Only 2,000 entries will move to the second round based on 300-word pitches. The evaluation is not made on the manuscript itself, but on the strength of the pitch, the originality of the idea and the quality of the writing of the pitch.

Tension is building on the forums, as no one quite knows whether the announcement will be made via email or appear on the website itself. 

Many are holding vigil, clicking on the refresh button every few minutes. Others are patiently scheduling their visits every four hours. 

Still others are convinced this year email notifications will go out on this day. But if the past is any indication, that wait may last four or five days. 

While some are participating in a virtual party as they wait, others are sharing their coping plans; chocolate and Thai food seem to be in favor as well as excessive drinking. 

While waiting, I've been playing with word clouds (see above). I haven't quite decided on my plans for today other than lunch. Thai seems like a good idea.

Punchlines

Will you please sign my petition? I'm collecting signatures for...

...my priest. He wants to get reinstated but the parents weren't too pleased with his oral performance.

The boys were, however.