50th Follower Contest – Voting Stage

(If you don’t remember anything about my 50th follower contest, please read this post)

And the entering stage of my 50th follower contest is now closed! Phew. We have a lot of great stories here, all of which are very deserving. I really encourage you all to vote on your favorites! Note: I’m keeping the anonymity for a reason (I don’t want any cheating). Don’t worry, I will reveal the authors and their blog links when the contest voting ends on November 22nd so you can read more about the authors behind your favorite stories. Let me just set the basic guidelines for voting before we begin:

- Everyone may only vote for TWO stories. I’m sorry, you’re going to have to choose.

- Authors, you may vote for your own story if you like, but only once. You MUST vote for someone else’s story in addition to your own. Authors, you may also encourage people to vote but please don’t spoil the anonymity by saying which story is yours.

- Voters, remember that these stories are supposed to be six sentences, so don’t judge them by length.

- I’m also hiding the results to the public because I don’t want any hard feelings (and I also like the element of surprise). I promise that I will NOT EVER rig the vote. As I said before, I like the element of surprise.

- Remember, these stories are in no particular order.

And finally, please, please, PLEASE vote on your favorite stories and even link to it on your blog or any social media if you feel so inclined as well. Thanks everyone and let the voting begin!

#1 – Different

A girl was walking down the street wearing Edwardian boots and a sundress. I watched her from outside the convenience store, watched her hair flow down her back. She looked straight at me. Her form had an edge to it that was sharper than what I was used to. She was different from me—I became frightened. I turned and passed through the brick wall to get away.

#2 – The First Battle

From the deep underground the dark angels soared wailing out in the open, threatening. Came the angels from above with their loud trumpets, singing. On the verge of heaven and hell they met and exchanged glances and in their heart they knew the battle has begun. A light shone in the distance blinding both parties as they retreated to their initial hiding again. I am the alpha and the omega, it said, only by my command will you fight. Peace fell back on earth by now lacking all the serenity of existence until the light would come again.

#3 – The House

Sam moved into his new house today. He thought it would be a good start for him, but the house had a different thought. This house was evil and wanted Sam out. Sam could fill the evil presence in the house but had no clue what to do. The longer Sam was in the house the more he became like the house until it possessed him. The house liked murder, and so Sam killed.

#4 – Living the Dream

The house is dark except for the one lone light bulb exactly over my head, piercing my solitude like an interrogator. In the kitchen, the refrigerator bumps and clangs as new ice drops into the ice box. I listen to a man at the back of the house gag and spit while he attempts to extract tonsilliths from his throat. I grimace. This is the life I chose. But as I sit here indifferent, dispassionate, something inside me desperately wants to run.

#5 – Morning Rays

On a gnarled, oak bench, underneath a fragrant pine, sits my father, worn, leather prayer book open on his lap.  Jewel-colored hummingbirds dart to and fro suckling sweet nectar, when one flies near to whisper in my father’s ear.  Sunlight filters through the branches on this lazy morning.  He stands, stretching out the body, now bent from age, as his face turns upward letting the first rays of warmth course through him.  “Thank you, Father,” he says.  It will be a good day.

#6 – In The Shape of Shep

Behind the barn, Orville leans the rifle against the sagging wood, rinses all of Shep’s paws with the barn hose, and dries each paw with a rough rag. Orville’s heart releases like fingers stretching open from a closed fist. “A dog’s good for filling a grief-dug hole,” he says, his soft voice lifting. Shep wags his tail and races away. Orville follows him into the warm house where Muriel weeps in her black dress.

#7 - No Stone Unturned

The old witch had advised him to add no more than five drops of blood per head. Jackie knew his three buddies would be too chicken to volunteer, so he drugged their beers. Their heads were the only things sticking out of the holes he’d dug in the backyard. He shaved off all their hair while they slept, popped open the vial, and dripped the recommended dosage on each bare scalp. Within moments, long, green, speckled snakes emerged from stimulated follicles and locked eyes with Jackie. This really is Medusa’s blood, was his last conscious thought before transforming to stone.

#8 – It’s A Joke, Right?

“Guy walks into a bar after a thermonuclear war,” Sam says, then picks up his beer and looks across to Gus for a reaction.

Gus puts down his own mug, swallows and asks, “So what’s the punch line?”

Sam blinks, then turns away. “That’s it.”

Gus scowls, then starts mouthing the joke out loud, thinking hard. Suddenly it hits him. After a thermonuclear war, there is no guy and there is no bar because there’s no nothing else either. So he looks back at Sam and says, “Not funny.”

Sam is looking at himself in the mirror as he admits, “Not as little as a word. So next time you walk into a bar, stop looking so goddamn lonely.”

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Did you enjoy these? Tell me what you think of the overall product and don’t forget to vote!

****2 winners will be selected*****

 

50th Follower Contest!

***Although you may certainly enter even if you don’t have a blog, the prize may not mean much to you without one****

In celebration of my 50th follower, I have decided to host a contest on this blog for all of you. Although I wasn’t originally planning to (like I am planning for the 100th follower giveaway), I have given the subject some thought and have decided that it would be a fun, easy thing to do that all of you will certainly enjoy. I am very pleased to have met my goal of 50 followers by the end of October (actually reached on the 29th) which I had set since September 1st. My next goal is 100 followers by the end of December for my much BIGGER, much BETTER 100th follower giveaway. I promise you that that giveaway will be good and worth your while, but as will this one.

The Challenge

My challenge is for you to write a short fiction piece for this contest. The piece can be any genre as long as it’s fiction but the length of the story must be six sentences max. This way, it shouldn’t take you too long to write your piece and when you read everyone else’s story, you won’t have to read long, incoherent ramblings like you have to do with me.

The Prize

Sadly, there won’t be any money or books for a prize – I’m saving that and much more for my 100th follower giveaway – but the prize will be something I know you all want. Followers.

What are you talking about, you idiot (you must be thinking)? Followers?

Yes, followers. The winners will get new followers. How? By sending me your piece, you automatically agree to follow the two (maybe three) winners’ blogs. Whether you win or not, you must follow the winners’ blogs as a part of the contest. That way, if you win, you’ll be getting a lot of new followers and visitors to your blog. I hope to have a lot of cross-following amongst all participants! I mean, who doesn’t want new blog followers? And it takes only six sentences!

The Rules

- You DO NOT have to be a follower of my blog to participate but I do encourage you to follow me if you send me your piece

- By sending me your piece, you automatically agree to follow the winner(s) blog(s). You MUST honor this commitment.

- Please keep your story to a maximum of six sentences. Wondering how you could possibly write a story in six sentences? Read a few stories on this blog http://sixsentences.blogspot.com/ to figure out how.

- Keep your stories clean, please. No obscenity, no swearing, nothing that you feel would be questionable content-wise.

- No non-fiction.

- You may vote for yourself but you MUST vote for at least one other person.

How It Works

Obviously, the first step is for you to write and send me your piece following the guidelines below before the contest begins on November 15. When the contest begins, I will post each of your pieces – which will be anonymous until the contest ends. I’ll set up a Polldaddy poll for voting. You may vote for yourself but you MUST vote for st least one other person as well. When the contest ends on November 22nd, I’ll make a post announcing the winners and revealing who wrote what. You must then follow the winners’ (either 2 or 3 depending on the number of entries) blogs. Even if you don’t win, if someone especially liked your story, their is good chance they will follow your blog as well, which will be placed next to your name on the post of the 17th.

How To Submit

Once you have written your story, please send it to me at JHansenAuthor(at)gmail(dot)com . Please make sure that your story is no longer than six sentences – otherwise it will not be accepted. Please remember to include a title! Include your name/username/pen name and a link to your blog. Please also don’t include an attachment; put the story in the body of the email. I will confirm reception of your story immediately after I see it in my inbox. If you don’t receive a reply after two days, I didn’t receive your email. In that case, please tell me so as a comment and we’ll figure something out. Thanks!

OK! I’m very excited about this contest and I hope to see you all there. I know that this gets in the way of NaNoWriMo, but really, it’s only 6 sentences at most. That should not take long to write and you have plenty of time to write it. Definitely check out this blog for examples http://sixsentences.blogspot.com/ . These pieces, though short, are designed to tell a story of their own. Make sure they do before submitting. Will anyone be participating? Comments? Questions? Concern? Don’t hesitate to ask and, if you feel so inclined, please spread the word about this contest. Thanks!

 

On a more random note, here is a guest post I have recently made about my upcoming anthology if you are interested. Also, a reminder about the twitterview. The scheduling has gotten changed around because the author won’t be available during the original date. Now, however, it is set to Sunday, November 6th at 7 PM EST. More info is here. Please show up and ask some questions.