WINNER!! “Who Wants to Write a Short Story With Me” Contest

(Photo credit: kreg.steppe)

Wow, what a great collection of story ideas. Choosing just one was not easy and honestly it came down to about five minutes ago (as of the writing of this post at 5:45 this morning).

I’d like to say again that just because your story idea wasn’t chosen doesn’t mean it’s not any good. There were a lot of great ideas, creative, inspiring, intriguing, entertaining. Not all were appropriate for a short story, though. In fact, I was able to narrow the field pretty quickly by eliminating the concepts that would require much more than 10,000 words.

There were several that really caught my imagination. Some were surprisingly simple but sometimes it’s the most simple things that make the greatest impact.

Please, if you submitted a story idea and you’re interesting in writing or you are a writer . . . pursue it. Don’t wait. Make the time. Get help if you need it. But do something with it. You have an idea, a concept, a starting point, now go for it!

Okay, not to drag this on too much . . . here is the winner of the second “Who Wants to Write a Short Story With Me” contest:

CATHY GROOVER: I have always wanted to write, but fear kept me from doing so.

Congratulations, Cathy!

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“Who Wants to Write With Me” FIVE FINALISTS ANNOUNCED!

Time to announce the five finalists in the “Who Wants to Write a Story With Me?” contest.

But first, a little background. I received well over a hundred submissions. There were a lot of great story ideas. A lot. Some really moved me, got my imagination engine revving. Others not so much.

But here’s the problem. We’re looking to write a short story and many of the ideas were too big to be limited to a short story. Full-length novel? Definately. But not a short story. So while I was fond of them they simply didn’t fit the limitations a short story imposes.

So what was I looking for? I was looking for an idea that got me thinking right away, got me toying with plots, travelling down roads that most people don’t even know exist. But they needed to be appropriate for the project at hand.

Not an easy decision, I can assure you. Like I said, there were a lot of great ideas. And sometimes, the simplest ones pack the most powerful punch.

So without further delay, here are your five finalists. I’m only listing their names at this point. The winner will be announced on Wednesday and then I’ll reveal not only the name but the sentence as well.

David Wagner
Cathy Groover
Greg Fisher
Cory Clubb
Harry Fouts

Congrats to the finalists! (If you’re a finalist and you submitted more than one idea, sorry, you’ll have to wait until Wednesday to find out which one finaled. I’ll let you know then).

If you’re name isn’t on that list IT’S NOT because your idea(s) was no good. Like I’ve said a few times already, there were A LOT of great ideas. But for one reason or another these five folks had ideas that stirred something inside me. Got me excited on a different level.

Okay, the winner will be announced on Wednesday!! (I honestly don’t know who it will be yet!)

“Who Wants to Write a Story With Me?” CONTEST!

Do you want to take the plunge and co-write a short story with me?

Last year I held a contest where the winner would co-write and publish a short story with me. Aaron Reed, a pastor, husband, and father of five won and we just recently released our short story Mirror Image. You may want to check it out (only $0.99 on Amazon).

I think it’s safe to say both of us had a blast writing it, too.

Well now I’m ready to do it again.

Here are the details:

• Your entry must be a story idea in one sentence and one sentence only. Any genre, any topic, just please, no erotica.
• You can enter as many ideas as you want.
• You can either post your entry below as a comment or send it to mikedellosso6797@gmail.com. Please include your name in your entry.
• Entries will be accepted through midnight Friday.
• The final five will be announced Monday, 4/15.

Have fun with this. I know I’ll fun reading your entries.

Please help spread the word about this contest on all your social media hang-outs.

A Big Thank You

 (Photo credit: Avard Woolaver)

I’d like to give a big THANK YOU to all who helped promote the three-day giveaway of MIRROR IMAGE. The promotion went very well. I sincerely hope everyone enjoys the story. I know Aaron and I enjoyed writing it. And please write a short review and post it on Amazon. Those reviews carry more punch that you’d think they do.

In fact, I enjoyed the whole process so much I want to do it again. Stay tuned for more information coming next week about an all new “Who Wants to Write a Story With Me?” Contest. And start revving up your creative engine.

Also, if you missed the MIRROR IMAGE giveaway you can still download the story for just $0.99. Just follow this link.

And be watching for another short story to be released April 23. THE LAST HUNT is a tale that will make you think twice about ever going in the woods again.

It’s Coming Next Week . . . for FREE

Mark your calendars.

Something FREE is coming.

Next Tuesday through Thursday, April 2-4, the short story I co-wrote with reader Aaron Reed, will be offered for FREE.

About a year ago I did something that seemed like a risk at the time. I held a contest where the winner would co-write a story with me. I had no idea if the winner would be able to write, if he or she would have an imagination, if our personalities would gel. Nothing.

I took the risk and it paid off.

Aaron Reed, a pastor, husband, and father of five, won and we had a blast writing MIRROR IMAGE.

It’s on sale now at Amazon ($0.99) but next week you’ll be able to get it for free. When the time comes, please help us spread the word. Talk about it on Facebook, tweet about it, share it with your friends. It’s a great story and a quick read. You won’t want to miss this one.

And stay tuned for my next installment of “Who wants to write a story with me?”

A Thousand Sleepless Nights Nominated for an INSPY

Found out yesterday that A Thousand Sleepless Nights was nominated for an INSPY award in the general fiction category. See what the other nominated books are. What a great collection of authors and stories! I’m honored. Truly.

Winners of JANUARY JUSTICE Announced

For the past three days I’ve held a contest to win a Kindle copy of Athol Dickson’s newest novel, January Justice. We’re giving away three copies and today the winners are announced. They are:

Annie VZ

Carolyn

Tana

Congratulations to the winners. You’ll be receiving your Kindle version of January Justice soon. If you don’t have a Kindle, no worries. Amazon has a Kindle app for just about everything, PC, Mac, smart phones, iPad, etc.

Enjoy the story!

MIRROR IMAGE is Coming!

Back in May of 2012 I held a contest where the winner would write a short story with me and we would publish it as an e-story. Well, the winner was Aaron Reed and our story, Mirror Image, is finished and will be available through Amazon April 2!

We’re going to be doing a launch promotion and offer the story for free for 3 days only, April 2-4. You won’t want to miss this unique story. It was a blast to write and we’re both very excited to release it to the public. Here’s a blurb:

When Dennis, a loner with a wounded past, discovers he looks exactly like author Joshua Norton he convinces himself that Norton is living the life he should have been given.  Dennis obsesses over Norton’s seemingly perfect life and eventually plots to switch places with the undeserving author. But reality isn’t always what it appears to be and what Dennis finds isn’t exactly what he expected.

This was the first time I’ve co-written anything but I enjoyed it so much I plan to do it again in the future. Stay tuned for more information and another opportunity to co-write a story with me. And be on the lookout for Mirror Image!

Winner of Book and Chat!

(Photo credit: plenty.r.)

Last week I opened a new contest where the winner would receive a signed copy of my latest thriller, FRANTIC, and a Skype or phone conversation with me. To enter all one had to do was purchase my new novella, REARVIEW, for $1.99, then leave a comment on my blog.

The results are in and the winner of the book and chat is . . .

TIM BUSBEY!

Congratulations, Tim. I’ll be in touch with you shortly so we can arrange a time to hook up.

Thank  you to all who entered. I hope to do this again as I want to make an effort to talk more with readers, hopefully face to face.

“I Want to Talk to You!” Giveaway

To celebrate the release of my 7 Hours novella REARVIEW I’m hosting a giveaway and chance to speak with me directly about whatever you wish.

Here’s what you have to do: All this week REARVIEW is being offered at a special promotional price. Amazon and B&N have it for $1.99, Christianbook.com has it for $1.59.

#1: Buy the book this week while it’s on sale (sale ends Saturday at midnight). It’s under $2, not bad, and you don’t have to have an e-reader to read it. Both the Kindle and Nook have free apps you can download to your MAC or PC. Then you can read the book right on your desktop or laptop.

#2: After you buy it, leave a comment on this blog post simply stating “bought it” or “got it” or something like that. If you’ve already purchased it, that counts, just leave a comment. Yes, we’re going by the honor system here . . . I trust you.

#3: Enjoy the story. That’s it. You’re entered. Winner will be announced Monday morning.

What you get: One lucky winner, drawn at random, will get a signed copy of my latest thriller, FRANTIC, and a conversation with me either via Skype or regular phone (I prefer Skype if you have it, face to face is always better). We can talk about anything you want. Ask questions. Ponder the meaning of life. Berate me for killing animals in my stories. Whatever you want.

So are you game?