32 Comments
User's avatar
Winston Malone's avatar

What an honor to be recognized alongside such talented writers here on Substack. Thank you so much Brian Reindel, Meg Oolders, and Tom Pendergast for hosting and judging.

I love Simon's work with Tales from the Triverse, and I'm looking forward to reading and following everyone's stories. I was feeling a bit down this week, and this was an unexpected pick-me-up. Thanks for all of the support!

Brian Reindel's avatar

I'm so glad to hear that, Winston, and I hope you're feeling better soon. The community at large is lucky to have you among our ranks, and I'm excited to see how your novel develops!

Simon K Jones's avatar

What Brian said.

Winston Malone's avatar

Thank you, Simon!

Nathan Slake's avatar

Congrats Winston, great work. Hope this keeps the spirits lifted :)

Shaina Read's avatar

I can’t wait to read through all of these stories! Thanks so much for hosting and boosting fiction here Brian!

Congrats Winston! I know how much effort you’ve put into this story. I can’t wait to read it.

Winston Malone's avatar

Thank you so much, Shaina!

Chris Deliso's avatar

Way to go, Winston! What a great way kick-off to the book! And, though I haven't had the time to read them yet, the premises behind the runners-ups' stories are wonderful too. What a great amount of creative imagination this little contest has gathered together. Great stuff, Brian. Happy writing, everyone!

Winston Malone's avatar

Thank you for the kind words, Chris! I haven't had time to check out everyone's stories yet either. It's nice that this has doubled as a sort of curation of stories available on Substack.

Simon K Jones's avatar

Huge congratulations, Winston! Best thing about this (other than being mentioned alongside such fantastic writers, which is a huge honour) is getting an immediate boost to my reading list. Can't wait to dive into these projects.

Thanks, Lunar squad!

Ben Woestenburg's avatar

Way to go Winston! Congrats!

Winston Malone's avatar

Thank you so much, Ben! THE SHIELD OF LOCKSLEY looks so epic. I love King Arthur stories.

Tom Pendergast's avatar

Congrats Winston, and also congrats Brian for using the award-granting process as a way to open up a discussion of what makes writing worth reading.

Winston Malone's avatar

Thanks, Tom! And you're right. I love that aspect because it helps me gauge reader expectations for the book as a whole by understanding what worked well in the first chapter. Great job, Brian!

Brian Reindel's avatar

It's definitely taught me a thing or two!

Simon K Jones's avatar

I like this award precisely because it's recognising and examining a form that (these days, at least) is fairly unique to online writing. I've been doing this for years now, but I'm still figuring out what makes for a good prose serial opening.

Stephen A. Davis's avatar

Congratulations Winston! And well done to everyone who took part.

Winston Malone's avatar

Thank you, Stephen! I love your design work on Knighfall and Sonrise. I'm eager to dive into your world.

Stephen A. Davis's avatar

Thank you! Hope you enjoy when you do.

Rachel LaDue's avatar

Congrats, Winston!!!! (What’s the appropriate celebratory cultural signal in your world?)

And thank you, Brian and Meg, for putting so much of your time and consideration into this! I enjoyed this whole process so much and thrilled to have such a fun way to discover other great fiction writers here!

Winston Malone's avatar

Thank you, Rachel.

Good question! Hmmm. I know that if I had chromopathy, my eyes would be a bright yellow/gold right now from happiness.

In terms of celebratory signals, it would have to involve the sun in some way like reflecting sunlight into a central location to overload a sol-stone, or maybe exploding a sol-stone in the air to simulate the sun during the night. I'm not sure! You've given something to consider. :)

Cameron Scott's avatar

Congratulations, Winston! So well deserved

Winston Malone's avatar

Thank you, Cameron! You're awesome. I'm excited to read The Dancer.

Redd Oscar's avatar

Bravo, Winston!

Winston Malone's avatar

Thank you, Redd!

T.D. McIntosh's avatar

Nice job, Winston!

Winston Malone's avatar

Thank you, T.D. McIntosh!

William F. Edwards's avatar

Congrats Winston.

Winston Malone's avatar

Thank you, William! I'm eager to get more into Battles Beneath the Stars soon.

Bill Bradbury's avatar

Congrats, Winston! And thank you to Brian and the review team. Great to see some many fiction writers on Substack!

Winston Malone's avatar

Thank you, Bill!