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Jun-7-2006 16:32

OK, we've had a Biography Contest. We've had a Beauty Pageant. Why not write our own mystery fiction?

Listen up everyone! Starting today, all detectives here in Sleuth are now entitled to participate in the First Annual Sleuth Mystery Fiction Contest! The rules are simple: create a good mystery story, submit it before the deadline, and wait. Three/four judges (including myself) will judge the entries, and the winner will be announced on either June 19th or 20th (the date still needs to be confirmed).

SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR ALL INTERESTED...
>>The story itself needs some specific components. First, it needs to be a mystery story. Second, it MUST include your detective as the sleuth. Suspects - you can have as many as you want, and their names should "reflect" the city your story takes place. You MUST choose one of the four Sleuth cities (New York, London, Shanghai, Delhi) as a setting. The minimum number of words should be at least 750. Maximum is up to you, but nothing too long. The murderer's identity should definatly be revealed in the end. Clues should be innovative and must point to the killer. Victim must die in an "old-fashioned" way (i.e stabbing, poisoning, strangling etc.). Victim should be included in the story in some way. The title must be appealing an appropriate for your piece of fiction. You CANNOT plagiarize a plot from a book, nor can you plagiarize a title. Not even one of the Featured Mysteries. Any questions concerning the outline of your fiction can be directed to me with PM.

>>Submission deadline is June 18th. No submissions can be accepted after that date.

>>PLEASE SUBMIT ALL ENTRIES TO THE FOLLOWING E-MAIL ADDRESS: mystery_submissions@hotmail.com Include your detective name, entry, and number of words used. If we have accepted your entry into the contest, we will send your confirmation by e-mail, or PM. If not, we will send you an e-mail or PM telling you this and explaining why it wasn't accepted.

More...

Jun-20-2006 13:48

STORY, if nobody else submits a piece of writing to me...

Jun-21-2006 11:27

My entry is in -- hopefully just under the wire - I know today was the deadline.

Jun-21-2006 13:06

Almost done. Will have it in today

Jun-21-2006 13:30

Also, there is no time mentioned on today's deadline. and I just lost 2 hours work because of a glitch at work. *sigh* maybe this just wasn't meant to be.

Jun-21-2006 13:46

I have received Elicere's entry, and I have approved it as the second entry into the competition.

I'm sad to hear of your bad luck, Rhiemma. Try and get your entry in by midnight, and if not, I will allow you to send it in tomorrow if nothing goes well and you cannot finish the story.

So far (still waiting on Rhiemma), I have two entries. Please PM me if you are planning to send an entry in, but cannot reach tonight's FINAL deadline.

Best of luck Rhiemma!

Jun-21-2006 15:46

Thank you. *grin*

I've sent it. I can't get back that 'flow' from the original. But, it is rewritten and now sent. :) it's just been one of those weeks, I think. I've twice lost parts of this story and had to rewrite them. *shakes head* C'est la guerre!

Jun-21-2006 18:16

I received it, scanned it, and have approved it. I'm assuming you are the final entry, so these are the contestants and their entries (also posted on the contest's website)...

AZN Cinderella - "The Murdered Starlet"
Elicere - "Untouchable"
Rhiemma Moon/Della Devine - "The Sound of Murder"

Judging will commense quite soon. Just as soon as I send out Rhiemma's entry.

Also, I'm sending Ben & Sunny all three so that they could have a look. I'm releasing all three, with the winner being announced to the public either tomorrow or Friday.

Best of luck you three!

Jun-23-2006 14:26

Alright, the time has come to announce the winner of the First Annual Sleuth Mystery Fiction Contest.

Three wonderfully scripted entries were received by the submission deadline. I enjoyed reading all three, I must say. Now, in a few moments, all three entries will be made available to the public on our website...

http://www.freewebs.com/sleuthmysteryfictioncontest

The judges and I have looked over the entires, and we all chose our favorites. With my vote, added to the other judges, I rounded up the votes and finalized the winner. Drumrolls please as I announce the first winner of the First Annual Sleuth Mystery Fiction Contest...

And the winner is......

Elicere with "Untouchable."

Congratulations Elicere!!! Just a quick note: Elicere is quite new here, and her story is set in Delhi, India. However, she never saw Sleuth's version of Delhi when she wrote the story! It didn't matter, because she made up for it with style and creativity.

Rhiemma Moon's "The Sound of Murder" came a tight second, while AZN Cinderella's "The Murdered Starlet" placed third.

Elicere Townsend will receive a special prize from Ben. Rhiemma Moon and AZN Cinderella will receive special certificates in their inbox's quite soon.

Thanks for participating, and congratulations all of you!!

Jun-23-2006 14:50

Wow -- thank you!

I look forward to getting to Sleuth-Delhi soon.

Elicere

Jun-23-2006 15:41

Congratulations!


I guess nobody liked mine...