Third Place: Better Late Than Never by Lindsey Marks
Lindsey Marks (@bylindseymarks) teaches neurodivergent learners by day and writes novels that combine her special interests by night. She lives in Chicagoland with her husband along with a morally gray beagle and a cinnamon roll pit bull.
What the Judges said:
"A clever premise and delightful execution. Lindsey, your snarky banter sings in this chapter, and the world-building and plot that pads it make it a must-read. A total, eternal joy."
"I absolutely love the dynamic between Prudence and Clay. You do such a great job layering in their history through hilarious banter and chemistry. The overall concept is so fun as well, and the crumb you leave about how Clay died creates just enough mystery to make me desperate for chapter two."
"'Sylvia Plath’s latest work Figs' had me laughing out loud. And the tension between Clay and Prue was so tangible, I was dying (no pun intended) to find out more about their history. You managed to create a realistic, unique world in very few pages filled with strong, fully fleshed-out characters and tons of humor. Such a fun read!"
"The concept of this story is so fantastic! I found myself laughing from the opening paragraphs, and continuing to smile throughout. I got a great sense of your protagonist and her personality from these opening pages. The humor and banter between your characters is top-notch, and I would love to continue reading to find out just why Prudence and Clay keep getting matched up!"
Tell us a little about your writing background. How long have you been writing? What inspired you to start?
Growing up, my primary creative outlet was visual arts, but I've always been fascinated by people. I would entertain myself by inventing people in my head, throwing them into scenarios and imagining how they would react. It was not until a few years ago that my inner life started to get a little crowded and I learned that I could free up some real estate by writing them down. In March of 2022, I sat down for a date with my husband and told him, "I think I want to be a writer."
Tell us more about the inspiration for the novel this chapter is from! Where did the idea come from?
This premise came after some faith deconstruction, which prompted a fun thought exercise imagining an afterlife where everyone who ever died lives together, allowing people from across history to interact. I've long been fascinated by cave paintings like those found in Lascaux and Chauvet. A few years ago I read an article about Paleolithic people and learned that our brains haven't meaningfully changed since then. It blew my mind that someone plucked from that era and dressed in modern clothes could blend right in on public transit today…So that's basically what I did.
Where can readers find more of your work? (Feel free to share social media links, blogs, etc.)
You can find me on Instagram and Threads at @bylindseymarks, where I share snippets and updates about my projects. I love connecting with other writers of all genres. Please stop by, say hello, and let me follow along with your writing journey as well!
What advice would you give writers on writing a great first chapter?
I think the opening scene can be daunting. It helped me to treat it like any other scene, where a character has an objective but something unexpected complicates their pursuit. One of my favorite pastimes is perusing bookstores and reading the first few sentences of a novel to see whether the story pulls me in. This opening came from trying to write something I would want to keep reading.
A Chat with the Author:
