First Page Entry #5--The Lion and I

Book Title - The Lion and I
Genre - Adventure/Drama
Current page count 213 (not finished)


First Page--
There are a few things I learned from the short time I spent living with the lion. Three of those of which were very important.

The number one most important thing was never eating in front of a lion.

The number two most important thing, never sneak up behind a lion while he is eating.

The last but not least never try to ride a lion like a horse.

Lions are not horses. They do not adapt well to riders and as such will claw your eyes out and eat your heart. Nobody wants their heart eaten.

It was purely by accident that I came to know the lion. I can assure you I think he might have been happier had he never met me but given the circumstance, neither of us had much choice in the matter.

I was a middle age adult, my waistline was living proof, and he was a lion.

I don't know how else to put it. I have no idea how old he was, I never asked him.

He wouldn't have answered anyways, he was always masquerading around as if he owned the place, tossing his mane back and forth and if I asked him a question he was always aloof and mostly ignored me, except when I had food, of course.

In my youth, I had watched many shows on the television about animals and not many of them graced the screen more than the formidable lion. They were always trying to eat a wildebeest or getting in fights with crocodiles and hippos. Frightful beasts in the least.

In my comparisons of this lion, which in time I came to call my lion, with the lions I had seen on TV, I would have guessed his age around three maybe four years old. I could tell by his mane mostly. The older lions on the TV always had long robust manes and my lion had a shorter more juvenile looking mane. That would explain his inability to listen to instructions and his wetting the bed - my bed that was. Our relationship was one built on trust. He had to trust me that I wasn't going to put him back where he came from and I had to trust him that he wasn't going to eat me. It was a one sided issue I can assure you. I didn't see any way that he was going back where he came from, but I did see plenty of ways he could eat me.

You might say that we became friends on that little island, at least I like to think so. Lions are social creatures and so are humans. Frankly without me he would not have lived long. Had he ate me he may have lived a short while but nonetheless he would have perished. So in a roundabout way we came to rely on each other quite heavily over the course of our coexistence. I was glad to have someone to share my thoughts with and he was happy to have someone to keep him alive.

He was a much-needed friend in those long days and without him, I would not be the same person I am today. You see, I was a vastly different person before I met the lion and the day that I stepped foot on that boat was a day that would forever change my life and his too.

First Page Entry #4--Rapier

It's not too late to send in your first page to be entered in the contest. The novel itself does not have to be finished. Send your entry to charity.bradford@gmail.com and include your:

Name, Title, Genre, Word count, and first page.

Entry #4

Title: Rapier
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Wordcount: 101,000

First Page -

I felt the other immortal before I saw him. Or her. Gender isn’t a factor in my twisted-gut reaction to another like me.

The middle of nowhere town was like many others I’d been in, smelling of hot asphalt and exhaust fumes. The town square had a beer garden in commemoration of Labor Day and the townsfolk were strolling with their kids. The elders were holding down the iron benches with their butts. A little something for everyone that day. Including me.

Several of the good people from Middle America eyed me—the stranger in their midst—but their attention soon wavered. It wasn’t polite to stare, especially at the ones who had answered their advertisement for a jolly good time at the celebrations. Supporting the local economy and all.

In addition to the locally brewed beer, munchies were everywhere. From deep-fried turkey legs to funnel cakes. I’d passed on the first and was just finishing the second when my stomach dipped as if my digestion was fighting off a bug. Like major, a knife plunged into my innards. It always hurt when I sensed another immortal, but after so many centuries, I’d learned to blow it off without so much as a stumble.

I licked the powdered sugar off my fingers and wiped my hands with the napkins given to me by young miss at the concession. She had given me an appraising look as I thanked her. Her fingers lingered on mine when she’d handed me the change for my ten spot and I’d rewarded her with a smile. She brightened for a moment but when she leaned forward, I turned away. So not interested.

My fingers cleaned, mouth wiped, I swept the crowd with a disinterested gaze, like I was looking for a bathroom. I couldn’t spot the immortal right off. Neither challenging hard glares nor scared rabbits looking to run. People—all humans except for one—were going about their business without giving me an obvious target.

The oldsters had their heads together speaking softly. Not them. For a moment my gaze rested on a jeans-clad twenty-something dude in a tight black T-shirt. But he didn’t look my way. Anyone who felt the presence of another immortal would be looking. Like the funnel cake gal who was still obviously interested. Or the brown-eyed beauty sitting on the rock wall across the grounds. That one was finishing an ice cream cone, glancing up as she did.

First Page Entry #3--My Best Friend's Prince

It's not too late to send in your first page to be entered in the contest. The novel itself does not have to be finished. Send your entry to charity.bradford@gmail.com and include your:

Name, Title, Genre, Word count, and first page.

Entry #3

Title: My Best Friend's Prince
Genre: NA Fantasy
Word count: WIP, aiming for 80K

First Page:

At this rate, my college fund would be spent in the first month—and not on school fees.

The old guy, with the same mattressman-of-the-month grin that adorned the wall behind the cash register, completed the paperwork before I had a chance at cold feet. Did he have to work every Saturday? If my parents hadn't ingrained in me the need to support small businesses, I'd have been at the mall right now. Even if restock fees were higher in chains, I would have welcomed the randomness of their staff schedules.

My insides twisted tighter than the French braid I wore for graduation. If I couldn't sleep, I wouldn't be getting the grades to keep my scholarship. Then bye bye med school. I couldn't let my parents down this soon.

An hour later, two delivery guys lugged away the soft twenty-four-inch mattress I had bought last week, leaving its firmer brother on my dorm room bed. At least my new deep-pocketed, seagrass green sheets still fit.

The full size bed occupied most of the double room, which was mine alone because Annabelle only needed a place to crash when there were parties on campus. Her twin mattress hid neatly under my bedframe, and the pair of desks that had come with the room bookended the window to complete the décor. Neatening the place on Saturday morning had become as much of a tradition as my trips to the local mattress store. Or Friday nights in the basement’s laundry room.

First Page Entry #2--The Other End of the Sky

It's not too late to send in your first page to be entered in the contest. The novel itself does not have to be finished. Send your entry to charity.bradford@gmail.com and include your:

Name, Title, Genre, Word count, and first page.

Entry #2

Title: The Other End of the Sky
Genre: Science Fiction
Word count: WIP, aiming for 80K

First Page:

Whoever thinks coming out of the womb after nine months is traumatic has never been revived after traveling through space in a hibernation capsule.

The rush of air burned as it filled my lungs, while the rest of me froze as if I’d fallen into a snow bank. A scream broke free and reverberated around me, my body convulsing repeatedly against a cold, hard surface.

Smooth straps tightened around my chest and thrashing legs, and I wallowed in the security of their confinement. My gasps subsided into the monotony of normal breathing as my back warmed the smooth surface underneath. The incessant beeping of a machine I wished I could unplug permeated the darkness, and an unnerving grinding and screeching shifted around me as if we were playing Marco Polo.

A warm blanket engulfed me when the straps released my stilled body. The plush fabric dried the sweat off my skin, and I curled into its comforting embrace. Licking my lips did nothing to quench my parched mouth. Like a newborn, I craved the silky texture of the milk I gave up drinking midway through childhood. But most of all, I craved the comfort suckling could bring. Laila, this world better be worth the pain.

I laid in the dark, my thoughts stretching like cramped muscles. The now foggy to-do lists Laila and I had spent months discussing could wait. Until I saw this new world with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe I wasn’t on Earth.

First Page Contest

I know this is last minute, but we haven't had a contest in forever! It's time we got down to the nitty gritty of writing and let you show us your stuff.

Here's how it will work. 
1. Email your first page to charity(dot)bradford@gmail(dot)com right now. That's right! Don't worry about going over it 100 times. Read through it, catch what you can, and send it in.
2. Include your name, book title, genre, and word count (estimate if you're not finished)
3. I'll start posting the first pages on Wednesday for everyone to read and comment on this week.
4. Next week we will vote and I'll let the top 3-4 entries repost with any revisions they might have made based on comments.
5. On Thursday we will vote again to get our reader's choice winner!

First and second place will win a free audio book. They can choose between STELLAR CLOUD: A Short Story Collection and FADE INTO ME.

First Page Contest

Since no one sent me a first chapter to critique, perhaps we can do a first page contest here this week? I'll even offer a prize at the end of any one of our moderators' books:

 












 How to Play: Send me your first page (marcy@tidewater.net) and I will post it and one another which our readers will vote on. Winner moves on to the next round and the final winner will get their choice of any one of the above. A page is approximately 250 - 350 words.

So, who wants to play?

Bold New Worlds Short Story Contest for High School Students

I'm launching my own national high school speculative fiction short story contest and I need lots of help spreading the word. That's where YOU come in. We live in different towns and states. I need you to find one English teacher at your local high school and tell her/him about this contest. They will share it with the other teachers and the word will spread. Here's the deal...

Bold New Worlds

A High School Short Story Contest for Speculative Fiction

Contest Description:

Short story, 1,000 words or less in the science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, steampunk or other speculative fiction genre.

2014 Theme:

"Bold New Worlds"

Create and share your own world with us. It can be alien, futuristic, epic fantasy, steampunk, alternate timelines, whatever you can think of. Let your imagination take us somewhere we've never been. 

Prizes:

First place winner receives $50 and $50 for their school library. The top 5 entries will also receive in-depth critiques for their stories.

Deadline:

Emailed or sent via online form by November 15, 2014.

Submission:

You can click HERE to submit by online form or Email your submission to boldnewworlds @ gmail.com (no attachments please, include story in the text of the email).

Include with your story:

• Name
• email address
• high school (and HS address)
• year in school
• word count
• title of story

Winners will be announced in December. Winning stories will be posted here and on the Bold New Worlds Facebook page. Some entries, including winners, may be published in a collection of short stories. (Note: Any proceeds from the sale of this collection will be used solely to fund the prizes for future short story contests with more prizes given for more placings).

Criteria:

Short stories will be judged on:

• creativity
• imagination
• world building
• character development
• plot development

Questions? Visit the webpage or email Charity Bradford at boldnewworlds @ gmail.com

And here's the best part...I have four amazing judges to help me out this first year.

L. Blankenship--fantasy

Cindy Borgne--science fiction

Alex J Cavanaugh--science fiction (space opera)

Roland Yeomans--paranormal fantasy

Can you help spread the word? 

Drabble Winners!

What an amazing week! You guys did an excellent job with this 100 word challenge. I hope you are proud of your submissions. We thoroughly enjoyed each one.

Here is how the judging worked. Each of the nine moderators voted for their top three in order. Each time a drabble received a first place vote it got three points, a second place vote got two and third place received one. All the drabbles received multiple votes, so all of you should give yourself a pat on the back. But, we have to choose three out of the six.

Third Place goes to...

Matthew Frantz and Leap Of Faith

Second Place goes to...

Hillary Sperry and Transformation of Style

First Place goes to...

Ginger Faulkner and The Endless Struggle

Congratulations! Each of you can choose a query critique or a first chapter (up to 20 pages double spaced) critique. Email us at unicornbellsubmissions @ gmail.com with Drabble Winner in the subject line. Please give us a week or two to get the critique back to you.

Thanks for participating!

Drabble #6--Close to Death

Close to Death 

Heather panted, sweat prominent on her brow. Nausea clung to her stomach as she crawled to the fountain of youth. Her boots were high-tops, and left dragging trails in the salty marsh.

Spoonbills rested here, a plethora of pink birds arranged around a watery nest. You weren't supposed to feed them, but Heather had no choice. She was dying, and the dead should be allowed to break laws. Tracing a triangle in the wet dirt, she brought out tubers and bulbs from her pocket.

The birds retreated, started to eat. Heather crawled to the fountain, and drank.

Drabble #5--Transformation of Style

Transformation of Style

I stared at the rows of shoes in the window, imagining myself lying surrounded by masses of them. I grinned at the picture in my head. I could live happy in that nest for days.

The plethora of styles beckoned me through the door. A sales girl bounced into view and sat me down. After a fifteen minute whirlwind, I was walking away from the shop four inches taller. Rows of tiny, metallic, triangles glittering on my calves.

These boots may not be the fountain of youth, but I swear time pauses a little every time I take a step.

Drabble #4--Magic Kept

Magic Kept

A triangle of light touched the meadow floor. Sparks swirled like dust, and color exploded in the small space. A plethora of blossoms had been born in the glorious mixture of sun and magic.

I edged from the birds nest and shimmied down the tree, my boots catching only once on a strand of moss. 

Most night pixies lasted only a few moon turns, but not me. I had lived in time with the faeries since my first midnight trip in the light.

I stepped into the glow and felt it course through me. My own personal fountain of youth.

Drabble #3--The Endless Struggle

The Endless Struggle

Smith vomited on his boots.

The killer’s nest hosted a plethora of women, throats slit, drained of blood. The expert, a kid called Boston, caressed triangles engraved in the bodies.

Smith shuddered; deja vu.

Noticing his angst, Boston’s youthful eyes gleamed.
“Ready for the back room, old man?”

Smith opened the door, a bathtub overflowed with blood.
Boston descended upon him. Smith fought wildly as his head plunged into a dark viscus grave.
No, not again.
The sick personal fountain of youth. 

Wrinkles faded as power emerged.
Smith transformed into youth.
“Till next time, old man,” they whispered to themselves.

Drabble #2--Leap of Faith

Leap of Faith

I stood at the Fountain of Youth, boots worn, rat's-nest hair dripping sweat, pouring into my eyes. I lifted my hat and wiped my brow. I'd finally made it.

The three mountains that made the triangle teeth weren't bad. Hard to find, but not bad. This plethora of trees, though, who needs that? 

Now water coursed by.

I wasn't sure how to trust it.

How's it worked exactly?

Fine print somewhere, always was.

Eternal youth?

Maybe.

A river never stops either, but it does end. A big cosmic joke, right?

One way to tell.

I lifted my cup and drank.

Drabble #1 First, the Treasure

First, the Treasure 

The young pirate’s boots clumsily sought each point of the triangle drawing on the cave floor. One misstep, and the walls would fall, burying him and the treasure in a nest of rubble and gold coins.

But stumble, he did. The cavern trembled, and a plethora of rocks from pebbles to boulders filled the entrance before he realized what he’d done. He clutched his map as he was buried, the X his downfall, inches above wealth, an inch from death. He’d arranged his quest too hastily.

His last thought was I should have searched for the Fountain of Youth first.

Fountain of Youth Drabble Contest!

Today is the day!

As in, the last day to email your entry for the drabble contest. All entries will be posted tomorrow for your comments and enjoyment. The moderators at UB will read, confer and pick our winner(s) by Friday of this week.

What is a drabble you ask?

A drabble is a complete story in only 100 words. For our contest I'm going to give you some specific words that you MUST use in that story. Here are the rules:

• Email your drabble to unicornbellsubmissions @ gmail (dot) com with the subject line: Drabble Contest. Today is the LAST day I'll accept entries.
• Your story must contain the words: fountain of youth, boots, triangle, nest, plethora 

I will post all entries tomorrow. The first and second place winners will get to pick between a query critique or first chapter critique!

Still not sure what a drabble might look and sound like? Here's one I did for Rachel Harrie's Campaign a few years back. (I don't remember what all the words were, but goldfish was one)

Perspective 

The goldfish bowl teetered on the edge of God’s knee. 

A shiny blue and white marble floated inside the blackness within the bowl. Billions lived their lives on the spinning orb unaware of those who watched. 

They toiled, strained and reached for more. There must be more. 

As their numbers strained the planet’s resources they ventured outward—out into the black void. 

And His kitty’s tail twitched. 

“Trust me, little humans. It’s much safer in there than out here.” He gently pushed the tiny space ship off the lip of the bowl and watched it fall back to earth.

A year of Blogfests and Contest, Starting with Love is In the Air

This year at Unicorn Bell, we are going to have more fun! Yep. We want to enjoy writing again for the sake of writing. Whether it be something serious or silly, we want to write something just to see if we can. No strings or expectations attached.

How are we going to do this you ask?

Blogfests and contests!

We will have several throughout the year and anyone and everyone is invited to play. Here are some of the ideas we're tossing around...

Blogfests
Love is in the Air
Twisted Fairy Tales--genre wars
Breathe More, Talk Less--dive into the senses, little to no dialogue
Critique Partner Pitches--you've got to sell yourself!
Facebook Blog Hop--no strings attached, just a list to browse and find new friends
Action vs. Suspense

Contests (with prizes!)
100 word Drabble--use specific words
1st Paragraphs or Pages
3 line Pitches
Every Which Way the Wind Blows--Themed topic
Dialogue Challenge--Dialogue between two people, no tags. Can you make it work?
QueryCon 2014--Our annual 3 week intensive workshop and agent/editor judged query workshops

We obviously won't get to do all of them, so which ones peak your interest? Anything else you'd love to see as a blogfest? Tell us down in the comments.

Now, for our first blogfest of 2014...in honor of the quickly approaching Valentine's day...

It's a celebration of that little thing called love. Be it steamy or sweet, puppy, kitty, teen, aggravating, first kiss or final goodbye, let your scene tug at our heartstrings.

Share your lovey dovey moment on January 20th and then visit and comment on the other blogs on the list.

Flash Me!

So in honor of NaNoWriMo, I'm going to put on a Flash Fiction writing challenge here at Unicorn Bell.

WHAT!? Are you Crazy!? We're writing our Butts off as it is!

Maybe.

But here's my logic.

First of all it's flash fiction. Totally the opposite of what you're (supposedly) doing every day with meeting your daily word count challenges, plotting, thinking, character development...blahblahblah. You know. Writing a NOVEL! In a MONTH! *tweak*

Second of all...I'm going to bet a puppy that a good deal of you have gotten to the point where you're either 1) Slightly burned out. 2) A tad bit Stuck or 3) Just all out Full Blown Writers Block.

The best way to fix that? Change of scenery. Write on a totally different project. For no reason. Except to have Fun! And win Totally Fabulous Prizes! *more on those in a minute*!

So. The Rules are very simple!  There are Three pictures below.

1) Choose a Picture as your Muse.

2) Your Flash Fiction Must be at LEAST 500 words but no more then 1500.

3) That's it!

4) Email your submissions to me at unicornbellsubmissions@gmail.com with Flash Fiction in the subject.

Have them in to me by Wednesday. I will post them and give my critiques.

THEN! Because this is a very simple contest, and I want to keep it fun...Based PURELY on comment count.

Friday! The Top Three will get their choice of prizes.  (So, whoever has the most comments is Grand Prize, second most comments second Place, then third most comments third place.)

Prizes are:  1) $10 Gift Card to Bn or Amazon. Which ever one floats your boat. 2) A first chapter critique by me! and 3) a Soft Cover copy of Tad Williams "Otherland".  (Which I hear people absolutely are amazed with...I wasn't too amazed with myself)

So. Without further ado...Get Writing! Hope to see some submissions!

PICTURES:

Source: danielwidrig.com via Alicia on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Alicia on Pinterest

Source: ngm.nationalgeographic.com via Alicia on Pinterest

                                                                             

Source: Uploaded by user via Alicia on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Alicia on Pinterest

Questions about the School's In Query Contest

I only received one question through email, so if you have any questions, please ask now and we will answer them.

Question 1:
I'm going to sound like a complete neophyte, but... here goes: I have a couple completed (second draft) manuscripts that I'd like to get into someone's hands... but I have no CLUE how to write a query letter. What do I need to do? Is this contest for me?

My Answer:
YES! This is for you. The first two weeks are going to teach you how to write a query and give you the opportunity to get feedback and fine tune it before our editors read them. It's sort of a mini workshop, stretched out over two weeks. The best part is it's free, so check in every day and go for it!

_____________

Just remember, everything you can learn from feedback will only make you stronger. A year and a half ago I queried a small publisher who turned me down, but the short paragraph of advice they gave me really pushed my writing forward.

During the first week of "School" we'll be posting multiple times a day, spread out over the course of the day--sort of like a mini online conference:

• The Purpose of a Query and How to Write One
• Stalking/Researching Agents and Editors
• Formatting Paper and E-queries
• Submission Guidelines are Your Friend
• Great Places to Read and Get Feedback on Queries
• Sprinkle in some horrible queries showcasing everything you can do wrong, written by us here at UB just for fun
• Short interviews with our guest judges introducing them and their company.

We may even have another surprise up our sleeves, but since I just thought of it I need to confer with my comrades. :)

Calling All Followers With Completed Manuscripts

We've been sitting on something here at UB.

Well, yeah, that too, but I'm talking about something new for our little blog.

Something we've been dreaming of doing.

Something with YOU in mind.

The time has finally arrived to fill you in on our plan to take over the world!

*cough* *cough*

Sorry, not that plan.
What plan? We aren't plotting to take over the world so just stop already.
Now, where were we?
Oh yes. The plan to help you wonderful followers get some quality feedback on your work.

We are excited to announce the School's In Query Contest!

We are devoting most of August to queries: how to's, examples, workshops and the query process in general. The last week of August we will have three wonderful guest judges reading all polished queries for FINISHED manuscripts.

Krystal Wade from Curiosity Quills
Andrew Buckley from Curiosity Quills
Nancy Bell from MuseItUp Publishing
Amy Lichtenhan from SapphireStar Publishing
Donna O'Brien from Crescent Moon Press

If they like what they see, they may request pages and who knows where that may lead you?

There will be more info coming over the next few weeks, but we wanted to give you time to comb through that MS one more time. Maybe even get one more beta reader? Here's what these ladies said they are looking for right now.

Krystal--I love older mc's (18+)! I'd like to see some good dystopian, more male mc's too, and then of course anything scifi/fantasy/paranormal with something new and unusual.

Andrew--I’m looking for adult fiction be it paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy and/or anything quirky or humorous. No YA or NA please. I like strong protagonists with a unique voice and wonderfully evil antagonists. Please, please, please, no in-your-face sword and sorcery type pieces. They’ve been known to cause sharp pains in my posterior. I’m also looking for cookies. Oatmeal raisin are my favorite.

Nancy--MuseItUp is looking for more dark fiction, horror, as we are light in that department. However, romance, historical romance, YA/MG from a male POV that will entice that sector. Of course, we are open to anything that is well written and crafted. We don't publish literary fiction or poetry.

Amy--We're especially interested in contemporary romance and paranormal romance at this time, although we are accepting submissions in all fiction categories.

Donna--Currently, we are looking for voice rather than specific genre requirements, though we
are primarily a boutique publisher of high quality fantasy, futuristic, and paranormal fiction. We are interested in urban fantasy, dystopian, futuristic science fiction, steampunk, mind-bending time travel, space operas, mythological as well as historical retellings with a twist, epic high fantasy, and the paranormal. We are also interested in paranormal categories of suspense, thrillers, gothica, and mystery. CMP also accepting submissions in the YA and New Adult categories of the above mentioned genres.

If you are interested in playing, what questions do you have about the contest? 
Please email them to unicornbellsubmissions@gmail.com and I'll post and answer all of them for our Friday post. 


...And for anyone who might be interested, look what I found on Google.

And the winner is...

Thank you all for taking the time to visit our wonderful entries and voting. Every one of them went above and beyond anything we hoped for. Why am I surprised?

After three days of voting, you have chosen--

Julie Dao's Fairy Tale over at Silver Lining

Congratulations! You have a choice between a first chapter critique or a $20 Amazon Gift card. Email me at charity.bradford@gmail.com to let me know what you would like.