Page One Prize

My writing class is coming to an end. We've been gathering once a week—give or take holidays and spring break—since September. I'll miss the rhythm of it: the support, the camaraderie, the shared striving. But I'm hopeful for what comes next.

I've finished a first draft of Bones of the Moth and now move into the next phase: editing, layering, sharpening, obsessing. All forward motion—the best kind.

Recently, I came across a contest called the Page One Prize, and I entered it with the opening of Bones of the Moth—even though I’m still deep in second-draft territory. There’s something about first pages. I always return to them. They’re like doorways, I can’t help but polish every time I walk through.

I’d love to share that first page with you here. But not just in text.

I've translated it into speech—a marvel, really, when you stop and think about it. Not so long ago, I sat poised over a boombox, fingers hovering on the record/pause buttons, waiting to capture the perfect song off the radio. And now? Now I can hear words that once existed only in my mind, spoken aloud by a computer with a British accent.

(Blame The Rose Code, my most recent audiobook—everything sounds better in a British accent.)

So here it is: my opening page, rendered in voice, mood, and code. I hope you enjoy it.