Winner Announcement!

Our special guest judge this week, Maureen Lang, sent the following letter:

Hi, Tracy,

Wow, what a fun contest! I'm so grateful for theopportunity to be involved.

I read the stories that were submitted with interest,and it was a tough decision to choose who should win. :-) Obviously a lot of thought went into each story.

But I will have to choose "Skirting The Truth" [by Patty Wysong.] I thought the writing was fresh and inventive, with alot of action showing the story with an immediate sense of "being there." And I loved the title and how it ties in, too!

I also enjoyed the other two stories, Maris Manor [by Carolyn Kenney] with its intrigue and romance. That story had great pacing,which is difficult in short pieces. She was able to build the tension very nicely.

I also loved the visit to the past with Battle Casualty [by Richard C. Leonard.] I found myself wondering if the letters were only part of this wonderful short story or authentic to the author's forebear. Well done! I'm always intrigued by letters written generations before, sinceI have a number of letters from my own grandparents. [ED NOTE: Dr. Leonard submitted a paragraph of explanation with his story, but with the limited word count it was removed. He wrote: This story draws on the authentic life story and Civil War memoirs of my great-grandfather, John H. Leonard. However, I have changed the names because the first part of the story is fiction. I never had the conversation with my paternal grandmother because she was gone before I was two years old. The photograph mentioned, however, exists.]

Congratulations, Patty! You'll be receiving an autographed copy of On Sparrow Hill for your winning entry.

About our winner:

Patty Wysong says: "I'm a wife, a home school mom of five, book-keeper for our remodeling business, an active member of Faithwriters.com, and I'm a teacher in the children's ministry at our church--and I love all the hats I wear."

A special thanks to Maureen Lang for being our guest judge this week and to the other entrants - great job to all of you!!!!

I'll be announcing the next contest later today, so come check it out! It's going to be a bit different, touching, and great fun, with a very special guest judge!