After plates of ghoulish treats and glasses of gummy worm martinis on Saturday evening, the judges have chosen their top six picks for the Can You Leave Us Breathless? Blogfest Contest. I just want to say, you all made it difficult and we had to meet again on Sunday for coffee to come up with the semi-finalists. There were kisses and bugs and oh-my-moments galore in the posts. This group is talented and we enjoyed reading each of your entries. Again, we weren’t strict about word count or grammar in this contest. If it was close to 300 it was a go. All that you had to do is leave us breathless, which many of you did.
You must know that reading is subjective and us judges argued a lot during this process. There were so many wonderful entries and we applaud you all.
The judges
(Connie – editor at a university press * Joannine – teacher/writer * Marissa – English major student * Brenda – me)
Vote for an honorable mention…
So, since reading is subjective, not only are we going to have you vote on our six picks, but we ask that all the participants chose one honorable mention that they felt should have made the list. It can not be one of the six semi-finalists. Please nominate your choice in the comments of this post. Whoever gets the most votes will get a prize.
Thank you for being such great supporters of your fellow writers. I’m sure your comments were appreciated.
The Semi-finalists…
(click on their names to read their entries)
J. Keller Ford
Kaleen Harding
Lissa Bilyk
Jenny Kaczorowski
Swift Scribbler
Ellen Tremiti
Voting will end at mid-night October 27th (EST) and the winners announced on Friday, October 28th.
11 Comments
Jenny · October 24, 2011 at 1:54 pm
Wow, I can’t believe I was picked for a semi-finalist! Thank you so much, judges!!! 🙂 🙂 I’d like to say this has been a fantastic contest (thank you again, Brenda) and I have enjoyed reading all the stories and excerpts. I’m up against some fabulous competitors and it will be hard for me to decide who to vote for.
As for the honorable mention, I’d like to give two big thumbs up for Jennifer Eaton’s excerpt of “Cricket Riders”. I thought it was a well-crafted MG ‘horror’, and it definitely made the inner child in me gasp and want to read more. From her blog, it appears it scared the beejeebies out of her son…so much he had to sleep with his brother. What more proof does one need than an appropriate and desired reaction of a child in the age group you’re writing for? 🙂
Jamie Corrigan · October 24, 2011 at 2:41 pm
Congrats to all of the semi-finalists! You all did great!!
My vote for honorable mention goes to Tracy Joseph’s YA Thriller Sugar. I personally loved the deadliness in the story and wanted to know more about the characters and why they were doing what they were doing.
Thanks again, Brenda for holding such a fun creative contest!! I know I had a blast doing it! 🙂
Nicki Elson · October 24, 2011 at 6:56 pm
Thanks for hosting this Brenda and to all the judges. It was great fun to read the entries – congrats to the finalists! I’d like to nominate Scott Bury at Written Words for honorable mention. I thought he had a truly chilling entry.
E. Arroyo · October 24, 2011 at 7:55 pm
Thanks for hosting and making the selection touch and go…easy. =)
mynovelmyblog · October 24, 2011 at 10:07 pm
Thank you very much for hosting this event. I’ve really enjoyed being a part of it so far and I’m thrilled to be a semi-finalist. It was really hard to pick an honorable mention, but I’m going to go with Kate Larkindale’s piece. I really enjoyed her voice, and I loved the ending to the excerpt.
Swift Scribbler · October 25, 2011 at 5:42 am
Thanks for hosting Brenda, and for the nomination (eek!). I really enjoyed Nicki Elson’s entry–I loved how she switched from action to dialogue, and how she suggested a whole lot more outside of what was happening in the scene. It was fabulous.
Shilpa · October 25, 2011 at 9:52 am
Congratulations to all the semi-finalists! *Bite nails* wonder who the winner would be!
Jenny Kaczorowski · October 25, 2011 at 3:24 pm
It’s such an honor to be a semi-finalist! I had so much fun reading all the entries and I’m glad others enjoyed mine! I’d like to nominate Lisa M. Basso entry. I really enjoyed it – like I said on her blog, it’s very visceral! I’m creeped out in such a good way 🙂
ScottTheWriter · October 26, 2011 at 12:23 pm
There were some great stories posted here. My vote for honourable mention would have to be R.A. Desilets – that was a truly breathless story, and one that really makes me want to read more. I can see that turning into a great novel.
Kaleen · October 27, 2011 at 7:19 pm
Thanks, Brenda for hosting another great contest. I’m so honored to be a semi finalist! I vote for Nicki Elson as an honorable mention. I loved how her piece showed contrast between verbal and non-verbals to make a great scene. Thanks again!
Brenda Drake · October 28, 2011 at 4:32 pm
Thanks everyone for participating in the contest! I had a great time reading all your guys work with the judges (a little too much). You all did such a great job at leaving us breathless! <3
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