Tom Parker from Dubuque, Iowa, in the United States, has won a publishing contract from Spectrum Audiobooks in the Page Turner Awards eBook Award, for his mystery thriller novel At Arm's Length.
Tom entered the Page Turner Awards, where published and unpublished fiction and non-fiction writers of all genres can be entered to get discovered by high-profile judges from the literary world.
Having retired as Captain of the Criminal Investigation Division, Tom spent time writing stories and didn’t expect his hobby to lead to a publishing contract.
At Arm's Length is about a serial killer targeting homeless people in the community. A young detective is partnered with an older, cynical detective to investigate the cases. Meanwhile, the killer decides to spare one of his victims and keep her hostage. That may have been his first mistake. His second was targeting someone close to the detectives.
As a former Captain of the Criminal Investigation Division, Tom saw first-hand how a young detective would be eager to solve a case, while an older experienced detective would follow the evidence and keep an open mind.
Although this is a work of fiction, what the characters in this book experience could easily be true.
Tom said, “As an aspiring author, having your work recognized by writing industry professionals is every writer’s dream.”
Kelly Rinne from Spectrum Audiobooks judged the eBook Award and was immediately captured by the narrative in At Arm's Length and offered Tom a publishing and audiobook production. Tom is now signed with Spectrum Audiobooks.
The Page Turner Awards, sponsored by ProWritingAid, gives writers and authors the chance to enter unpublished or published fiction and non-fiction books, where a group of literary agents and publishers will read the work.
Judges are carefully selected literary agents and publishers who are looking for writers to represent and publish, plus influencers in the publishing industry.
Founder of Page Turner Awards and award-winning novelist, Paula Wynne said: “There are writers from all walks of life, from manual labourers to academics. All with stories to tell, most of them heart-warming and moving. We’re proud that our Awards celebrates excellent writing and helps writers and authors to get their stories discovered.”
Success stories from this year’s awards include three writers winning literary representation, six writers winning a writing mentorship, five writers winning a publishing contract and thirteen independent authors winning an audiobook production.
Find out more about The Page Turner Awards: https://pageturnerawards.com. Submissions for 2021 will open on the 1st of January 2021.
