WINNERS–Opening Line Contest

Thank you to everyone who participated. I had a blast reading your opening lines! This wasn’t easy–many of them intrigued me. So how did I manage to choose? Your entry made the top three if it:

1. Met the 160 character limit. (If your entry ran over, I chopped off the remainder of your sentence and judged from there.)

2. Was Concise, punchy, and attention-grabbing

3. Caught both my attention as well as Shari’s.

 

PRIZES

FIRST PLACE: A critique of your opening chapter up to ten pages or 4,000 words by beta reader extraordinaire (yours truly), AND a FREE thirty minute phone consultation from multi-pubbed author, magazine editor, and media expert SHARI STAUCH of SHARK MARKETING. Shari will assist you with your social media platforms (how to use them, how to increase your traffic, how to reach your target audience), coach you on improvements to your blog/website, or make suggestions on promotional details for your book release. Don’t have a website? Shark Marketing specializes in websites for authors as well as writers conference websites. This is a fan-tab-ulous prize!

SECOND PLACE: A critique of your opening scene or up to 2,000 words AND a book of your choice.

Books: No More Rejections by Alice Orr, Story Engineering by Larry Brooks, or How To Get a Literary Agent by Michael Larsen

THIRD PLACE: A critique of your opening scene up to 1,000 words.       

RUNNERS-UP: I’d love to do a 1,000 word critique for you as well!       

 

So, without further ado–the winners!                                            

RUNNERS-UP

Kris Walhderr

A painting undermined my father. And, as you will see by the end of my story, a painting nearly destroyed me. Art is dangerous like that, an unruly thing.

Killian McRae

The original plan definitely had not ended with exploding chickens.

Lindsay Kitson

No place better to be on a warm Saturday evening than looking for a whore in Bonnytown.

THIRD PLACE

Ashlyn Macnamara

If the key to announcing bad news was all in the timing, George Upperton’s mistress possessed impeccable sense.

SECOND PLACE

Barbara Forte Abate

He told lies the way some people make love; hard, often, and more than a little dirty.

FIRST PLACE

Caryl Cain

A good makeup artist can make anyone look beautiful. Even a dead woman.
Actually, Miss Ethelyn looked better dead.

Congratulations to the winners and MERCI for participating!

NEXT CONTEST COMING IN APRIL:

Create your best pitch and win a FREE WRITER’S WEBSITE (a $450 value!) or BLOG from professional web designer and developer, Brian Mowell. Details coming soon. YES, this is a FREE setup of your author website or blog! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G PRIZE! Already have a site? No problem. Have your existing site revamped for FREE!

WINNERS:

Email your pages as an attachment (Word documents only) and/or any questions to HeatherWebb (dot) writes (at) gmail (dot) com. Be sure to put OPENING LINE CONTEST in the subject heading.