Navy Veteran, Michelle Winkler, who lives in Glendale, Arizona US, has won an audiobook production in the Page Turner Awards, which was announced at a glittering online ceremony, where Paul Michael Glaser from Starsky and Hutch fame was a special guest to announce the winners.
The Page Turner Awards, sponsored by ProWritingAid and Campfire, offers authors, writers, and screenwriters the chance to enter the first 10 pages of their writing project, where a judging panel of literary experts and film producers will read the work.
Dust on the Altar is a Sci-Fi story about a reluctant witch who flees her traumatic past and must regain the powers she abandoned to take her rightful place as coven leader and bring her aunt's killer to justice.
The inspiration for Dust on the Altar came to Winkler while she was driving past a church near her Glendale, AZ home.
When she heard the phrase ‘a loss of faith’ she always thought of Christian faith. But what about other faiths? What about Pagans? What would cause a witch to lose her faith in magic, and what would help her bring it back?
This formed the heart of the story, but it became a story of faith, found family, and facing your fears. Through the years that Winkler dedicated to developing Dust on the Altar, she found a kindred spirit in the main character, Jade. While not modeled after herself, Winkler came to understand more about her own traumatic childhood, by helping guide Jade through facing hers.
Winkler suffers with ADHD and believes it’s not an invisible illness, because it’s not something that can be cured. It’s a difference in the way a person’s brain is wired, that makes things like, prioritizing, scheduling, focusing, and following through very difficult. She hopes that by sharing her struggles with ADHD she may inspire others to see what is possible in their own lives.
Winkler said, “Being new to entering contests, I was impressed with the Page Turner Award's transparent process. Entering this contest truly offers something to help every writer, or published author, with their wide variety of prizes. I’ve never attended a virtual award ceremony, so I was humbled and honored to win an audiobook production. I hope this will inspire other writers to push through any self-doubt and know that their voices are worthy of recognition too.”
See more about Winkler and her winning submission: https://pageturnerawards.com/2021-audiobook-winners
This year aspiring writers walked off the red carpet with life-changing prizes. One new unpublished writer won literary agency representation, while a screenwriter won literary management. Another new writer won a publishing deal, seven independent authors won an audiobook production from Spectrum Audiobooks, plus one other won a publishing package (including an edit, book cover and book trailer), and another author won a book adaptation.
The Page Turner Awards winners can be found here: https://pageturnerawards.com/2021-winners
Submissions for the 2022 Awards will open in January 2022. Find out how you too can enter your writing into The Page Turner Awards: https://pageturnerawards.com
