Over the last week, I held my first ever contest. Can I say just how much I enjoyed doing this? First of all, every entry was so great and I just had fun reading them. Secondly, I just liked doing it. :D

I know that I am so glad I didn’t have to judge these because I still haven’t picked a favorite. Good thing I picked a judge that developed a system!

First, the poll winner. I asked for public votes over the weekend and this person wins a $15 gift certificate to Amazon. With 33% of the vote, the winner is:

CLAIRE GILLIAN!

Congrats!

And for the judged portion, I was given an overall winner, plus two honorable mentions. The overall winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.

First, the HONORABLE MENTIONS, with comments:

Madeleine

“You’ve got to pee before you can zip up your pants.”
Great opening line.

Krista

“My mother’s mouth turned down everytime she saw a cigarette dangling out of Jules heavily painted lips or my stringly hair stuffed into a dirty ball cap.”
This is the image that caught my attention. I’d enjoy reading closer to the opener.

And apparently, the public liked the same entry as my judge.  The OVERALL WINNER  is:

CLAIRE GILLIAN!

Here is what led to her selection (in the judge’s words):

“I judged the entries on a 5 point system using four categories.  I was judging on unique premise, writing voice, the hook, and a desire to keep reading.  

********************************************