Watery Grave Invitational: The Winners

The winners have been seleted in Naomi Johnson's Watery Grave Invitational. Big-time congrats to the winner's and everyone who participated.

1st Prize: RUN FOR THE ROSES by Chris La Tray ($50)

2nd Prize: FINGERPRINTS by Eric Beetner ($35)

3rd Prize: A POCKET FULL OF HORSES by Chad Eagleton ($20)

4th Place: HARD TIMES by Ian Ayris (A bye into the next WGI)

5th Place: A tie:
                A GAME OF HIDE AND SEEK by Patricia Abbott
                TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG by Nigel Bird
                (Byes into the next WGI)

You can read the top 3 stories over at Noami's place HERE

Holiday's Were Made For...Working!

Man, has it been hectic lately. Spent the Memorial Day long weekend working and have to do the same Fourth of July. The Man even has us scheduled for next Memorial Day. But hey, I got's to pay he bills, and considering the state of the economy, I ain't gonna complain and I'm glad to have a job. The youth lacrosse season wraps up this weekend, so putting away the coaches hat is going to free up a good chunk of time.

Through it all, I was able to write and submit a 3,400 word short for Naomi Johnson's Watery Grave Invitational. I called it "Renegades of Pain" and I'm really happy with it. BIG TIME thanks to Naomi for hosting it and just as much thanks to Sanda Seamans' blog for tipping me off to it, at the eleveneth hour. I chipped away on this one from 10pm to 1am when I could and loved every minute of it. For whatever reason, I love writing under pressure. I'm always writing down small idea's for stories, or using real life situations to motivate me. For this one I combined two.

- Getting ripped off big time, when I bought my wife a flat iron for Mother's Day.
-That old Charms Lollipop commercial with the kid asking the owl how many licks it takes to get to the center of the pop.

From those two things, somehow, I built a story around them.

If you are looking for a way cool challenge, check out Steve Weddle's post today over at Do Some Damage. Summertime & Crime. I am so all over this as both are two of my fav subjects. Details HERE

Even though I have not been posting lately, I've still been following lots of blogs, reading some great posts and stories, and commenting when I can. There is so much talent out there, it is insane.

The Beat On The Street



It's old news that blogger was having some issues last week. Sure, it was a pain in the ass, but it is free and not much you can complain about, if your are not paying for it. It was however a case of  bad timing, as that was the day I posted a very entertaining interview with Declan Burke. Not only did the post disappear for a while, but all the associated comments, and I'm sure I missed some of them. So, in case you didn't get a chance to read it, Click HERE to get a few laughs and maybe learn a few things.

In other news...

- Seana Graham posted an excellent story that she had published a while back HERE

- Erin Cole had some great insight into the whole concept of fear and what makes her tick over at Richard Godwin's place HERE

- Over at Thrillers, Killlers 'n' Chillers, there is a really excellent story by Stephen Mescandlon.This is well worth a read HERE

- Lastly, I owe Sandra Seamans more than a huge thank you for tipping me off to Naomi Johnson's 3rd annual  "Watery Grave Invitational" contest. I was lucky enough to be selected to participate along with other mucho talented writers who I look up to.  And although my selection was not based on talent (you entered and were randomly selected from the pool of entrants), I welcome the chance to try and take my writing to a new level and moreso, read all the stories that come out of it. There is actual prize money associated with this one, which is way cool of Naomi to offer. Best of luck to all involved! Details and the list of writers HERE