Peter T. Masson: up & coming

[Note: This is a continuation of a series of posts on up-and-coming authors. Whether newly published, in the process of selling a manuscript, or still looking for an agent, these are authors who -- through word-crafting, plot-building, or sheer poetry of action -- have captured my mercurial and selective attention.]

A struggle of faith, a war of destiny: Peter T. Masson's second novel, The First Coming, takes a religious question and works it into a classic thriller. When a Chicago policeman, mired in the ashes of a bad marriage and a dead end job, stumbles across an extant Jesus wandering the streets like some homeless man, he finds himself in the midst of a millenia-old battle. The twist? Satan himself is fighting to keep Jesus alive, thereby thwarting any hope for the future of a redeemed world.

A character-driven narrative packed with action and spunk, Masson's novel is engaging, succinct, and descriptive. He draws the reader in without subterfuge, giving us a protagonist we can empathize with, and maintains a break-neck pace interlaced with precious moments of clarity and contemplation. The First Coming is that winning combination of wit and valor, action and relationships, crisis and hope, but even better, it's the midnight read you can't put down.

Masson is currently looking for an agent and can be contacted at p-ter at hotmail dot com

Win $1000 in Unpublished Novel Contest

That well-developed muscle where the intersection of cynicism and skepticism spasm sporadically is currently twitching. But I'm willing to ignore it for now, if you're willing to suspend your belief system(s) as well.

Zirdland (sponsor of That First Line writing contest these many years) is hosting a new contest for unpublished novels. They're unabashedly up-front about their motives: After 4 years of development, it’s ready. Zirdland’s Story Arc Angel and analysis tool is in beta test right now. You can help us by entering our new contest. All you need is a completed novel that is unpublished. (Self-published works are acceptable.) There's no entry fee.

Since we're all being up-front about our motives, here's my request:

1. Explore Zirdland. It's not entirely up and running, yet, but it looks promising. What do you think?

2. Consider the Arc Angel Story Analysis. Can software really do this?

3. Think about registering a copyright for your novel. It's only $35 - $45.

4. If you're comfortable with the premise, enter the contest.

5. Come back here and post your thoughts. Collective wisdom far outweighs my humble little ploddings, and I'd appreciate knowing your gut reactions.

Bottom line for the contest:

• No entry fee;
• $1000 for first prize;
• Enter as many times as you want;
• Enter variations of the same novel;
• You maintain all rights to your novel;
• Only excerpts of top three are posted on-line;
• Your win will be publicized (via a press release to literary journals, publications and our publisher/agent database)
• The Contest ends at midnight on 10/10/08. The winner will be the highest scoring entry at that time.
• Download a desktop widget so that you can track contest standings.

Oops, I almost forgot: they're sponsoring a screenwriting contest as well, which will open up as soon as the novel one is finished.