Thanks to all of you who took the time to write and post entries. Reading them is always the best part of my weekend. Here are the ones that stood out. Who did I overlook? Let me know in the comments! Final results to come (hopefully Monday afternoon!)     Tim Lowe   On the road to Vegas, we were beset by bikers.   Demon’s ilk. Hell’s bane. They swerved and veered. Grinning, guffawing.   “Hold on, Doctor,” I said grimly, snorting a line off the creamy leather interior of my red Chevy convertible. “Time we taught these bastards a lesson!”   “You sure, Raoul?” sai ..read more

 One of the ways I deal with the isolation of these past few years is to travel by book. I've been reveling in Lands of Lost Borders by Kate Harris of late.      Here's the description from the publisher:   As a teenager, Kate Harris realized that the career she most craved--that of a generalist explorer, equal parts swashbuckler and philosopher--had gone extinct. From her small-town home in Ontario, it seemed as if Marco Polo, Magellan and their like had long ago mapped the whole earth. So she vowed to become a scientist and go to Mars.   To pass the time befo ..read more

This cracked me up completely. From the incoming mail bag: Your article "Ghosting" (linked here) inspired me and my team to create an article called "How Do You Cope with Being Ghosted?". Ghosting is becoming increasingly popular nowadays although this dating term is relatively new. Our team of experts created this article because ghosting may cause serious mental health problems and people need to know how to cope with it. Our guide contains 11 useful tips for those who faced ghosting as well as its reasons and consequences If you read the blog post, it's about ghost writers. Why should ..read more

  Years ago, when I was in junior high, my English teacher said we could have extra credit if we went to a play being offered at the local college.   I wrote down the location, day and time; my folks dropped me off at the theatre and said they'd be back when it was over. (this is not the start of a suspense novel, they did come back!)   I went in to find no one in the lobby. I opened one of the doors to the auditorium expecting it would be empty as well. But, no, there was a play in progress on the stage.   I found an empty seat in the last row and settled in.   ..read more

All of us have preferences.  I'm not keen on medical mysteries. I'm not all that keen on atmospheric, gothic novels. And I'm just not the right person for serial killer novels.   But there are a LOT of people who love those kinds of books. And buy them.   And the authors of those books enjoy a lovely career.   Which means even if you don't like a certain kind of book, you absolutely positively do NOT want to include that in a query letter.   No Matter What.   And particularly if you aren't keen on books that sit at the top of the bestseller lists and sell zillions ..read more

 Here are the entries that stood out for me.   Tim Lowe   Iggy had grown so much in the past few years. On the day his brother was murdered, she had a round little face and a Campbell’s kid smile, a tight shock of wiry curls crowning her head like a halo. Now, her face had lengthened and fleshed out. The chubbiness was gone, replaced by the soft supple curves of adulthood. She had Frankie’s light brown eyes, but everything else about her belonged to her mother. Her squat, athletic frame, her cocoa-tinted skin. Even her dimples were her mother’s.   “I swear, Uncle Donnie ..read more

  i was given clear instructions to do nothing yesterday so I didn't. Which includes the writing contest results. But I think I can only use this excuse once, or I'm going to be shipped off to Carkoon my ownself ..read more

 Let's change up for the holiday weekend! Instead of writing a story, tell us about your main character Here's an example of the kind of thing I'm looking for: Josh stood to go as Skylar stepped through the door, slender and gorgeous, wearing a black moto jacket over a short black dress, black tights, and black ankle boots. Her hair was different. Burnished auburn, long on one side, short on the other, with a single blonde streak. Even with Josh being all the way in the back, their eyes locked, and she smiled, a crooked smile he found charming. Josh had never decided if the smile made ..read more

    My agent made it clear when she took me on that the representation was only for that one specific book, and not necessarily for my career. She was the only offer I had, so I went with it. We don't have anything in writing. The book is now out on submission. We've had a few rejections and we're currently waiting to hear from four publishers. The agent has told me that after this round, if nobody picks up the book, she and I will go our separate ways.   My next book is nearly ready. When I mentioned that to my agent, she said she was not currently open to queries, but when sh ..read more

  In case the details from the 9/15/ contest have been forgotten (much like they were for me-thanks to Colin Smith for the nudge) here's the idea:   How about we have a flash fiction contest that isn't prompt words, but a prompt concept?   To wit: Write something that creates tension, and makes us want to know more.  These were the preliminary results.   Timothy Lowe  Nobody knew the bomb was about to go off. Not the nurses, not the technicians. Certainly not Tom Syzlak, who’d come to have his kidney out.   He was at the vending machine when it happened, a s ..read more