Short Story Anthology Contest
Are you up for this one?
I was thinking about something since two days ago. It was one of my many random thoughts. Anyway, here is what I have in mind.
I am sponsoring a contest right here on triond. However, if you are not part of Triond and still wish to partake of this contest you will just have to submit your entry in comment form.
Here is the contest.
Write a short story on any subject as long as it does not promote racism, homophobia, pedophilia, rape, or any hateful subject along those lines. The word limit is 1000 words or less. If you are a triond user, write it in article form and leave the article link in a comment below. If you are someone else that happens to stumble upon this article leave your story in a comment below, or leave a comment below to where I can find your story. You keep all rights to your story so don’t worry about that.
The winner of this contest gets a special article written about them by me. Also, they will then have a chance to write a short story anthology with me and can take either the e-rights or the printing rights of the co-written book. This means you can either post it up on smashwords, amazon kindle, etc. Or you can use the printing rights and post it up on createspace, lulu, and/or god willing mainstream publishing services.
Are you up for this challenge?
Deadline is February 3rd.
Good luck to all of you!
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January 20th, 2012 at 7:45 am
Sound interesting.I might just consider doing that.
January 20th, 2012 at 8:05 am
I’m into that…
January 20th, 2012 at 9:27 am
Here you are Erin – my entry
“LIP SERVICE.”
Barbara Bayle pursed her million dollar lips as she looked critically into the mirror. Her appeal was starting to fade, she knew, but men still got excited about her mouth. She made it a rule never to let male lips touch hers, not even in the bedroom.
Her agent, Ray was looking longingly at her from the other side of the secret two-way mirror. He’d die happy just to feel those lips on his own, but that lump of ice inside her chest made it an impossible dream. He shared this huge house with her, willingly at her beck and call because of his feelings.
She cruelly kept him at arms length, and he’d turned his tortured passion inwards. His other secret was safe, he’d thought, dreading the shame of exposure, but tonight, he was beside himself with rage.
She’d gone too far, taking his favorite dress from the wardrobe. What right had, the cold bitch, when her own designer stuff could clothe the population of a small village? Worse still, she’d used his ‘special’ lipstick. The thought of it on those untouchable lips made his blood boil.
She’d glibly cut deep into his very soul, and this only fuelled his anger. Some things she simply had no right to touch. He picked up the messily scrawled note from her with some distaste.
‘I’ve taken the black Versace number. It looks better on me anyway. Check out the video recorder. I want you out of my life. There’s a copy with my lawyer. We’ll talk about it in the morning. Don’t wait up.”
Ray set the VCR in motion. Graphic images of him in the lacy lingerie, high heels and carefully applied make-up, wearing designer dresses that Barbara would have killed to possess. He was horrified and determined, all at once
Horror turned to icy resolve as he smashed the tape with his foot. He went back to his den. How? Glancing round, he realized that one of the burglar alarm sensors had been tampered with. Getting a chair, he reached up to check it out. The evil bitch had put mini video camera inside it.
There was a way out, but not the one she had in mind. His sister Viola– the only person on earth who understood about his feminine side – had always willingly given him what he needed. Her kisses were those of a lover, not a sibling, though Ray never responded as she would have liked..
Voila earned her living as a toxicologist, and would do anything he asked of her. Tonight’s request was all the more delicious because she despised the love he had for that bitch he lived with, and the shabby way she treated him.
While Ray was finding his ‘present’, Barbara was enjoying the attentions of the leading man in her play, Charlie, at a nearby hotel, rejoicing in the feel of his sensual fingers as they peeled the clinging dress from her willing body.
Ray sat, silent and resentful, as she arrived next morning. He was toying with his precious lipstick and the smashed videotape on the table in front of him. He grimaced on seeing her, but said nothing, waiting in stony silence for her to speak first.
“I see you found it. You’ve some wonderful outfits, and I’ll love wearing them till you’ve gone. Make dressing up all the better for you, knowing that a real woman was wearing them first.” She mouthed sarcastically.
She was both appalled and excited by her feeling of absolute power, so when he made a small request, she felt bound to say yes.
“Will you take me to your lawyer and get things squared legally? You can have my half of the house. I just want to end it now.”
Later, she enjoyed his frustration at watching her shove the videotape determinedly into her bag, before waving the sheaf of papers in his face in irritation.
“You don’t get the tape until you sign these, you awkward bastard.” She said, menacingly. “Why wouldn’t you sign in the lawyer’s office?”
Ray smiled, his eyes filling with tears.
“One last request, and then I’ll sign.” He pulled out a gold pen and his special lipstick from his pocket. Handing the cosmetic to her, he continued. “I’d love to see how this looks on your lips. Would you, while I sign?”
Smiling in cruel triumph, she carefully applied it to her lips, pressing them together for best effect, before pushing her face close to his. Ray’s eyes were expressionless, and she was puzzled, as he produced another small phial, this one containing colourless liquid, before snarling hatefully.
“Poison. Untraceable. Should take about two minutes, my poor darling. It’ll look like an unfortunately fatal heart attack. A fair price to pay for all the lip service I’ve given, don’t you think?”
Sharp pain invaded her heaving breast, as Ray leaned toward her, reaching for her bag. With a superhuman effort, she drew his head to hers, pressing her mouth hard against his, before collapsing back into her seat.
“Your heart’s desire.” She croaked coldly, smiling darkly at the horror in his eyes. “All you ever really wanted from me was a kiss before dying. See you in hell.”
January 20th, 2012 at 9:29 am
Here you are Erin – my entry
“LIP SERVICE.”
Barbara Bayle pursed her million dollar lips as she looked critically into the mirror. Her appeal was starting to fade, she knew, but men still got excited about her mouth. She made it a rule never to let male lips touch hers, not even in the bedroom.
Her agent, Ray was looking longingly at her from the other side of the secret two-way mirror. He’d die happy just to feel those lips on his own, but that lump of ice inside her chest made it an impossible dream. He shared this huge house with her, willingly at her beck and call because of his feelings.
She cruelly kept him at arms length, and he’d turned his tortured passion inwards. His other secret was safe, he’d thought, dreading the shame of exposure, but tonight, he was beside himself with rage.
She’d gone too far, taking his favorite dress from the wardrobe. What right had, the cold bitch, when her own designer stuff could clothe the population of a small village? Worse still, she’d used his ‘special’ lipstick. The thought of it on those untouchable lips made his blood boil.
She’d glibly cut deep into his very soul, and this only fuelled his anger. Some things she simply had no right to touch. He picked up the messily scrawled note from her with some distaste.
‘I’ve taken the black Versace number. It looks better on me anyway. Check out the video recorder. I want you out of my life. There’s a copy with my lawyer. We’ll talk about it in the morning. Don’t wait up.”
Ray set the VCR in motion. Graphic images of him in the lacy lingerie, high heels and carefully applied make-up, wearing designer dresses that Barbara would have killed to possess. He was horrified and determined, all at once
Horror turned to icy resolve as he smashed the tape with his foot. He went back to his den. How? Glancing round, he realized that one of the burglar alarm sensors had been tampered with. Getting a chair, he reached up to check it out. The evil bitch had put mini video camera inside it.
There was a way out, but not the one she had in mind. His sister Viola– the only person on earth who understood about his feminine side – had always willingly given him what he needed. Her kisses were those of a lover, not a sibling, though Ray never responded as she would have liked..
Voila earned her living as a toxicologist, and would do anything he asked of her. Tonight’s request was all the more delicious because she despised the love he had for that bitch he lived with, and the shabby way she treated him.
While Ray was finding his ‘present’, Barbara was enjoying the attentions of the leading man in her play, Charlie, at a nearby hotel, rejoicing in the feel of his sensual fingers as they peeled the clinging dress from her willing body.
Ray sat, silent and resentful, as she arrived next morning. He was toying with his precious lipstick and the smashed videotape on the table in front of him. He grimaced on seeing her, but said nothing, waiting in stony silence for her to speak first.
“I see you found it. You’ve some wonderful outfits, and I’ll love wearing them till you’ve gone. Make dressing up all the better for you, knowing that a real woman was wearing them first.” She mouthed sarcastically.
She was both appalled and excited by her feeling of absolute power, so when he made a small request, she felt bound to say yes.
“Will you take me to your lawyer and get things squared legally? You can have my half of the house. I just want to end it now.”
Later, she enjoyed his frustration at watching her shove the videotape determinedly into her bag, before waving the sheaf of papers in his face in irritation.
“You don’t get the tape until you sign these, you awkward bastard.” She said, menacingly. “Why wouldn’t you sign in the lawyer’s office?”
Ray smiled, his eyes filling with tears.
“One last request, and then I’ll sign.” He pulled out a gold pen and his special lipstick from his pocket. Handing the cosmetic to her, he continued. “I’d love to see how this looks on your lips. Would you, while I sign?”
Smiling in cruel triumph, she carefully applied it to her lips, pressing them together for best effect, before pushing her face close to his. Ray’s eyes were expressionless, and she was puzzled, as he produced another small phial, this one containing colourless liquid, before snarling hatefully.
“Poison. Untraceable. Should take about two minutes, my poor darling. It’ll look like an unfortunately fatal heart attack. A fair price to pay for all the lip service I’ve given, don’t you think?”
Sharp pain invaded her heaving breast, as Ray leaned toward her, reaching for her bag. With a superhuman effort, she drew his head to hers, pressing her mouth hard against his, before collapsing back into her seat.
“Your heart’s desire.” She croaked coldly, smiling darkly at the horror in his eyes. “All you ever really wanted from me was a kiss before dying. See you in hell.”
January 20th, 2012 at 10:44 am
Erin Miller, this contest is a great idea.
January 20th, 2012 at 2:55 pm
Thanks for your entry Tony. Thank you marqjonz. I look forward to the other entries as well. And once again good luck to all of you!
January 21st, 2012 at 5:40 am
Question Erin: Can it be an old post that was already submitted on Triond? (With everything going on – some of them tragic – I don’t have the heart to write a 1000 word piece right now. Priorities of life.)
January 24th, 2012 at 9:08 pm
Another question Erin: Can fanfiction be submitted? Or is that a no-no?
January 24th, 2012 at 9:35 pm
Thanks Erin. Fanfiction is a no-no – in case anyone else asks. lol.
January 26th, 2012 at 11:22 pm
Here is my story erin
Hope Never Dies
By Michele L. Dicarluccio
Michele was about to give up finding someone that would see the inside of her and not what is on the outside so one day she decided to sign up for a dating site hopeing that would help her meet that special someone. After making her profile and putting a few pictures of her on the site she had confidence that this would help her to find someone. Days went by and she wasnt getting any hits at all and all the messages that she sent out to guys went unanswered until one day she was sitting at her laptop signing into her profile on that date site knowing in her heart that she wasnt going to get anything so she came across a profile that fit her to almost a tee he was taller than she was you have to remember she is only 5′3 and her weight was bigger than what she should be for that height. So she read more of the guys profile and found out that he likes cats and even has one he was 5′6 which made her smile because that meant that he was taller than her, he also was 31 which was close to her age every other man that messaged her was in their 50’s or 60’s he also had a cat was named misty which made her smile because she had a cat named misty to that just recently died. She was looking at the pictures of him and it made her smile because she thought to herself that he was cute in her eyes all but the mustache and beard that he had in the pics didnt agree with her but she thought his eyes were cute she was thinking to herself this cant be true and was wondering if she should take a chance on him or not because she was afraid of getting rejected or worse of all not even getting a reply so she got up the courage to message him on his yahoo that he left on the bottom of his profile and also messaged him from the site to and hoped that she would get a reply. So she went to bed that night after sending the messages hoping that her luck would change and the next day she got up and checked her messages all on her emails and also on the site and to her surprise she had a friends request on her yahoo and smiled because she recognized the name from the message that she sent the night before. She smiled and happily accepted his request to be his friend hoping that things might go further between them they started to talk and also used their webcams to see each other and she found out that his name was Hilton, while talking they arranged to meet at the library because you see he only lived about 20 mins from her in the same town as she lived in it was in the afternoon because he had work that day and didnt get off till 430 so they arranged a time for meeting at 5pm . So the next day she went to the library scared not knowing what this guy was like and hoped that he liked her and wanted to get to know her she waiting at one of the tables with her music on and you could tell that she was nervous about meeting him because she never met anyone from that dating site before they were texting each other back and fourth because he wanted to let her know that he was on his way to meet her she was nervous and kept walking back and fourth at the library the closer it came the more nervous she became and she turned to walk to the back of the library and right there in front of her was hilton he smiled at her and she smiled back and they headed out of the library to talk and get to know each other they talked to along time and she felt alittle better now that she finally met him that she decided to bring him home to her mom so that she can meet him they talked in her room and they were getting to know each other and she felt more and more comfortable around him then it was getting late and decided to walk him to the train station that his mom could pick him up and they talked more that night online when he got home and asked to see her again on monday which was very unexpected of her to get that response out of someone that they wanted to see her again. The weekend went by and she and Hilton talked online everynight and the more they talked the more they enjoyed talking and seeing each other on their webcams. Monday came and he got dropped off at the train station and waited for Michele to text to him to let him know when to come over so when she was ready she sent him a text to let him know that he could come and he walked over to her house and hung out and then decided that they were going to get a few friends together and hangout so Michele made a call to her best friend Nisa and asked her if she wanted to come out because she had someone she wanted her to meet. Later that day they all met up at the library it was Nisa, Michele, Hilton & Robert and they met up with their friend Liz alittle bit later and all hung out around town and then they all went back to Michele’s house to hangout and talk and it was getting boring so Michele asked if they would wanna go down to the bay or something so they all agreed to walk down to the bay where there is bandshell that you can sit on and so they were sitting on there and talking and having a good time. When they realized it was getting late so Nisa called her mom and asked it she could pick them up,Liz had to wait for her boyfriend to come and get her so when Nisa’s mom got there she only had to take Michele,Hilton,Rob and Nisa home which wasnt many when they got to Michele’s house Nisa and Hilton walked in with her to get some stuff that they left behind and as they were leaving Nisa went to the car while Hilton stayed behind alittle and that is when Michele got the courage to kiss him and he smiled and returned the kiss it was a very enjoying day, that night when hilton got home he texted Michele and told her he had a great time with her and asked if she was online and she said yes so he grabbed his laptop and signed on to talk to his girlfriend they talked so much that night that it was almost 2am when they were done talking and he asked her when he could see her again Michele went to bed that night thinking about how much fun she was going to have when she saw hilton again she couldnt get him off her mind.
The day came and she was getting ready when she got a text message from hilton telling her that he was running alittle late because his ride had not shown up and he had to wait for his mom to come home to take him to the train station where they agreed to meet . Michele and Nisa were wating there with their friend Rob for Hilton to get dropped off, Michele was so excited she couldnt keep still she kept pacing back and fourth and when he finally showed up she had a huge grin on her face and was so happy to see him as soon as the car was out of sight she planted the biggest kiss she ever had on his lip and he turned around and kissed her back she knew that she wanted to be with him and was glad that he saw something inside her but didnt know why he wanted her when he could have any girl that he wanted but he chose her and she was alittle hesitant to let her heart out there again but she said “I’m going to give him a chance what could happen”. They went back to Michele’s house to drop Michele off and Hilton walked her to her door and kissed his girlfriend goodbye and said he would talk to her later and not even a min later after she got in the house she got a text from him and they talked for a few hours because he had to get up early the next day for work. her so thats why he invited her to come over his house. They started to walk to his house which she thought would be easy but halfway to his house she was hurting because you see she has a bad knee that acts up every so often so when they were walking they needed to stop a few times just that Michele could rest her ankle because she wasnt used to this much walking and was out of shape big time. They got to where Barton School was and sat at the benches and talked for alittle bit just that her knee and ankles could rest alittle and then they started to walk again they got to his house and she was amazed that how small his house was but how charming it also was and was excited to be there she smiled and entered the house Hilton showed her around and then after they were settled they sat on the couch and started to watch a couple of movies he even got her a drink and then after awhile he made lunch for her and brought it to her which was something she wasnt used to at all and she told him that she wasnt used to all this pampering and was hoping she would get used to him doing things for her and with her. After the movies were over they went back into his room to hangout and to be together because you see his parents had no clue that he was seeing her and he didnt care if they did because he loved her and that was all that matters they were happy together and they told each other that they would be together for a long time. His mom came home about alittle before 9 and was tired from work so they were already planning on her taking a cab home but at 9 his mom offerered to take her home and they looked at each other and just laughed because they were both in shock that his mom would do something like that she knew not to ask his mom to take her hom because that is just the type of girl that she is she doesnt ask for anything but if its offered she will glady accept it his mom took her home and hilton got out of the car and walked his girlfriend to her door and kissed her goodbye which was sad because she didnt want to leave him but knew that she would see him again real soon. To this day Michele and Hilton have been dating for 5 months and its going strong who knows what the future will be for these two lovers.
The End
January 26th, 2012 at 11:22 pm
Here is my story erin
Hope Never Dies
By Michele L. Dicarluccio
Michele was about to give up finding someone that would see the inside of her and not what is on the outside so one day she decided to sign up for a dating site hopeing that would help her meet that special someone. After making her profile and putting a few pictures of her on the site she had confidence that this would help her to find someone. Days went by and she wasnt getting any hits at all and all the messages that she sent out to guys went unanswered until one day she was sitting at her laptop signing into her profile on that date site knowing in her heart that she wasnt going to get anything so she came across a profile that fit her to almost a tee he was taller than she was you have to remember she is only 5\’3 and her weight was bigger than what she should be for that height. So she read more of the guys profile and found out that he likes cats and even has one he was 5\’6 which made her smile because that meant that he was taller than her, he also was 31 which was close to her age every other man that messaged her was in their 50\’s or 60\’s he also had a cat was named misty which made her smile because she had a cat named misty to that just recently died. She was looking at the pictures of him and it made her smile because she thought to herself that he was cute in her eyes all but the mustache and beard that he had in the pics didnt agree with her but she thought his eyes were cute she was thinking to herself this cant be true and was wondering if she should take a chance on him or not because she was afraid of getting rejected or worse of all not even getting a reply so she got up the courage to message him on his yahoo that he left on the bottom of his profile and also messaged him from the site to and hoped that she would get a reply. So she went to bed that night after sending the messages hoping that her luck would change and the next day she got up and checked her messages all on her emails and also on the site and to her surprise she had a friends request on her yahoo and smiled because she recognized the name from the message that she sent the night before. She smiled and happily accepted his request to be his friend hoping that things might go further between them they started to talk and also used their webcams to see each other and she found out that his name was Hilton, while talking they arranged to meet at the library because you see he only lived about 20 mins from her in the same town as she lived in it was in the afternoon because he had work that day and didnt get off till 430 so they arranged a time for meeting at 5pm . So the next day she went to the library scared not knowing what this guy was like and hoped that he liked her and wanted to get to know her she waiting at one of the tables with her music on and you could tell that she was nervous about meeting him because she never met anyone from that dating site before they were texting each other back and fourth because he wanted to let her know that he was on his way to meet her she was nervous and kept walking back and fourth at the library the closer it came the more nervous she became and she turned to walk to the back of the library and right there in front of her was hilton he smiled at her and she smiled back and they headed out of the library to talk and get to know each other they talked to along time and she felt alittle better now that she finally met him that she decided to bring him home to her mom so that she can meet him they talked in her room and they were getting to know each other and she felt more and more comfortable around him then it was getting late and decided to walk him to the train station that his mom could pick him up and they talked more that night online when he got home and asked to see her again on monday which was very unexpected of her to get that response out of someone that they wanted to see her again. The weekend went by and she and Hilton talked online everynight and the more they talked the more they enjoyed talking and seeing each other on their webcams. Monday came and he got dropped off at the train station and waited for Michele to text to him to let him know when to come over so when she was ready she sent him a text to let him know that he could come and he walked over to her house and hung out and then decided that they were going to get a few friends together and hangout so Michele made a call to her best friend Nisa and asked her if she wanted to come out because she had someone she wanted her to meet. Later that day they all met up at the library it was Nisa, Michele, Hilton & Robert and they met up with their friend Liz alittle bit later and all hung out around town and then they all went back to Michele\’s house to hangout and talk and it was getting boring so Michele asked if they would wanna go down to the bay or something so they all agreed to walk down to the bay where there is bandshell that you can sit on and so they were sitting on there and talking and having a good time. When they realized it was getting late so Nisa called her mom and asked it she could pick them up,Liz had to wait for her boyfriend to come and get her so when Nisa\’s mom got there she only had to take Michele,Hilton,Rob and Nisa home which wasnt many when they got to Michele\’s house Nisa and Hilton walked in with her to get some stuff that they left behind and as they were leaving Nisa went to the car while Hilton stayed behind alittle and that is when Michele got the courage to kiss him and he smiled and returned the kiss it was a very enjoying day, that night when hilton got home he texted Michele and told her he had a great time with her and asked if she was online and she said yes so he grabbed his laptop and signed on to talk to his girlfriend they talked so much that night that it was almost 2am when they were done talking and he asked her when he could see her again Michele went to bed that night thinking about how much fun she was going to have when she saw hilton again she couldnt get him off her mind.
The day came and she was getting ready when she got a text message from hilton telling her that he was running alittle late because his ride had not shown up and he had to wait for his mom to come home to take him to the train station where they agreed to meet . Michele and Nisa were wating there with their friend Rob for Hilton to get dropped off, Michele was so excited she couldnt keep still she kept pacing back and fourth and when he finally showed up she had a huge grin on her face and was so happy to see him as soon as the car was out of sight she planted the biggest kiss she ever had on his lip and he turned around and kissed her back she knew that she wanted to be with him and was glad that he saw something inside her but didnt know why he wanted her when he could have any girl that he wanted but he chose her and she was alittle hesitant to let her heart out there again but she said “I\’m going to give him a chance what could happen”. They went back to Michele\’s house to drop Michele off and Hilton walked her to her door and kissed his girlfriend goodbye and said he would talk to her later and not even a min later after she got in the house she got a text from him and they talked for a few hours because he had to get up early the next day for work. her so thats why he invited her to come over his house. They started to walk to his house which she thought would be easy but halfway to his house she was hurting because you see she has a bad knee that acts up every so often so when they were walking they needed to stop a few times just that Michele could rest her ankle because she wasnt used to this much walking and was out of shape big time. They got to where Barton School was and sat at the benches and talked for alittle bit just that her knee and ankles could rest alittle and then they started to walk again they got to his house and she was amazed that how small his house was but how charming it also was and was excited to be there she smiled and entered the house Hilton showed her around and then after they were settled they sat on the couch and started to watch a couple of movies he even got her a drink and then after awhile he made lunch for her and brought it to her which was something she wasnt used to at all and she told him that she wasnt used to all this pampering and was hoping she would get used to him doing things for her and with her. After the movies were over they went back into his room to hangout and to be together because you see his parents had no clue that he was seeing her and he didnt care if they did because he loved her and that was all that matters they were happy together and they told each other that they would be together for a long time. His mom came home about alittle before 9 and was tired from work so they were already planning on her taking a cab home but at 9 his mom offerered to take her home and they looked at each other and just laughed because they were both in shock that his mom would do something like that she knew not to ask his mom to take her hom because that is just the type of girl that she is she doesnt ask for anything but if its offered she will glady accept it his mom took her home and hilton got out of the car and walked his girlfriend to her door and kissed her goodbye which was sad because she didnt want to leave him but knew that she would see him again real soon. To this day Michele and Hilton have been dating for 5 months and its going strong who knows what the future will be for these two lovers.
The End