I would like to thank the following readers who volunteered to judge this competition and come up with 2 finalists:
Ingrid
Kris
Simsala
The Judges have done their job and the two stories that they selected are:
Head Games
Studs and Roses
These stories are enclosed in this post – just click on the links above.
It’s now your job to choose a winner. You can vote only once. 🙂 Please enter your votes in the comments to this post.
You have until Tuesday, September 14 at 6.00 P.M. to select the winning story. Thanks guys.
Have fun reading everyone 🙂
Congrats to the finalists. Good luck.
Studs and roses.
Head Games
Head Games
Studs and roses. Definitely. Waay great!
Really enjoyed both stories, but I’d have to pick Head Games.
Studs and Roses
Tough choice, oh my goodness!
I think I have to go with Studs and Roses, by a hair. It might well have been Head Games, though, if I hadn’t been distracted by a) lack of a name for the POV character until more than halfway through, and b) too many “he”s and “him”s that I couldn’t figure out the antecedent for.
Someone please tell me that these are published authors, or that they’ll submit something for publication soon!!
The rules said must be unpublished by X date (I forget) so they are true amateurs.
Congrats to the two finalists. How many entries were there in total?
I had a hard time deciding between the two but please cast my vote for:
Studs and Roses.
Wow, they were both really good. Such a hard choice, I enjoyed reading both. But I’ll have to pick one and my vote is for Studs and Roses 🙂 For the great smart-ass comments and for a heavier emotional aspect.
Studs & Roses, but it was a close call
Both great, my vote is for Studs and Roses
Head Games. But both were a lot of fun!
Studs and Roses 🙂
I enjoyed both stories very much. Both were good 🙂
My pick is Studs and Roses.
And congrats to both finalists!
My vote goes to Studs and Roses, but both stories were really good. Congrats to both finalists!
Close call. Both did well for amateurs (Congrats to both) but my vote is for Studs and Roses.
I gotta go with Head Games — the kitty was the deciding factor!
Wow, hard choice. I think I will go with Head Games by a millimeter.
Studs and Roses. Funny and sexy in all the right ways. ^_^
Studs and Roses by a hair.
Studs and Roses!! Whoohoo!
I liked them both! But I liked Studs and Roses best!
Both stories were really good. I will have to pick Studs and Roses though.
Difficult to choose, but I’ll go with Studs and Roses.
I really liked both, but since I have to pick one, I’ll pick Studs and Roses.
Studs and Roses.
Both stories were great but I like Studs and Roses just a little better!
Studs and Roses. Loved the sassy daughter!
STUDS AND ROSES.
Head Games was adorable, but I snorted Diet Coke on my desk reading Studs and Roses. Well done both of you and thank you to the judges!
Studs and Roses all the way!!
Both stories were good but Studs and Roses got the tea snorts.
Two excellent finalists! It wasn’t easy but I’m going with Studs and Roses.
Studs and Roses
Studs and Roses!!
two great final stories – both authors need to keep writing! My vote is for Studs and Roses.
I vote for Studs And Roses. I enjoyed both but S & R had characters who were more fleshed out.
Enjoyed the stories – congrats to both writers! I’m voting for Studs and Roses.
Liked both stories a lot. Picking “Studs and Roses” for the sheer sexiness and likable characters. One teensy point which didn’t detract from the story too much: pretty much every word that should have ended in -ing was shortened to -in’ (weddin’, puttin’, somethin’, etc.). I was born and raised in Texas and can guarantee that I do not speak that way and don’t know very many people who do. Just sayin’. :O) Either way, both authors please keep writing!!!!!
Hi SAS
I hope that the author of Studs and Roses reads your comment and maybe next time he/she writes a story about Texans they will get the proper respect. I think this was done just for emphasis and there was no disrespect intended.
Wow, both stories were great reads, but my fav was Studs & Roses. The interaction between father/daughter was a hoot!
Studs and Roses. It was really funny, characters were defined better and cowboys are sexy. Sas has a point about the language, it was a bit distracting, but lack of the name for the second character and to many HEs pulled me out of the Head Games more.
But, considering the limitations of the contest, both stories were great. Congratulations to both finalists!
LadyM
I had to limit the contest to make the judges’ work easy. I thought that 3K was reasonable. Many of the shorter stories published by DSP (‘daydreams’) are around 3K – 5K and they usually have at least one sex scene. The only difference here is that I insisted that the stories be funny. 🙂
I think all the writers did great and the opportunity the contest afforded them is something they would not have had if they had not competed. So far, over 400 people have read their stories!
I am listening! LOL. SAS, no disrespect was intended. It was simply done for emphasis. I originally used the shorter endings for only certain words that I do know southern friends of mine do shorten. However, when I had a friend helping me edit she pointed out that it might be moe confusing that way because it would seem inconsistent and maybe as an error. So I went with it. I will keep your points in mind though for future. Thank you!
I really enjoyed both stories but prefer Studs and Roses. While I understand the attempt at trying to convey a southern feeling, I found all of the dropped g’s a bit distracting. Maybe there would be a better way to achieve the same effect while keeping the g’s. In any case, but stories were good. I only wish I could write fiction because I’m really tired of writing textbooks – or will be by the time the current one is done in a few weeks.
Congrats to both of the finalists. 🙂
Studs and Roses
Studs and Roses gets my vote.
While I do really like the story of Head Games, the pronoun usage was rather confusing and pulled me out of the story too much. It was just too distracting.
Head Games!
Congrats to the finalists! 🙂
I had a difficult time deciding on which story to vote. They were both great and they both had their strengths and weaknesses. But they are so different it’s almost impossible to compare them, imo.
Eventually I decided on: Head Games.
Thanks to Ingrid, Kris and Simsala for doing the judging.
Studs & Roses. Had me hooked from the first few words 🙂
Do the other contestants get any sort of feedback? Thanks. (I already voted)