July 12, 2013

Announcing The Winners of The 4th Of July Secret Mystery Contest!!!

Good Morning, Everyone!

Thank goodness it's finally morning, right?

Because I know none of you got a wink of sleep last night wondering WHO would be the WINNER of the

The Fourth Of July Secret Mystery Writing Contest!
WHO ATE THE BLUEBERRIES???!!!


But now the day is finally here.

And I will tell you who won.

Just as soon as I find my glasses...

Ah.  Here they are.

Heavens!  I can't see a thing!

Hang on while I wash the lenses.

You know, I used to have perfect vision.  But somewhere in the last couple years I have become very dependent on my glasses.  I think it's all this computer time.  Or maybe my extreme old age...

What?

I'm rambling?

I told you.  It's my extreme old age :)

Okay.  I'll stop :)

Are you ready to find out who won?

Before I announce the winners, I just want to thank everyone who participated in the contest one more time - the writers, the readers, the voters.  These contests are so much fun, and they couldn't happen without each and every one of you.  So thank you all.

Now then.

Drum roll, please!

RATATATTATATATTATATATTATATAT!!!!!

The winner of The Fourth Of July Secret Mystery Writing Contest is

Cheryl

with her story

Mouse's Missing Magic!!!

Congratulations, Cheryl, on a fabulously written entry which has won you the opportunity to have the picture book manuscript of your choice critiqued by none other than the one and only Simone Kaplan!

2nd Place goes to Joanne for her story Mixed Messages!!!  Congratulations, Joanne!!  (Now aren't you glad you entered? :))

As second place winner, Joanne gets first choice of the remaining prizes:


 - a $50 Amazon gift certificate - Joanne
 - a picture book manuscript critique from yours truly (a $75 value) Sidney
 - the writing craft book of your choice (up to $30 value)
 - a place in Making Picture Book Magic (my online PB writing course) (a $99 value)

3rd Place goes to Sidney for her story Birthday Presents For America!!  Congratulations, Sidney!!  You get second choice of the prizes above after Joanne picks.

4th Place goes to Tina for her story Fishing Boat For Freedom!!  Congratulations, Tina!!  You get to pick after Joanne and Sidney :)

5th Place goes to Cathy for her story Guessing Game!!  Congratulations, Cathy!!  You get to pick after Joanne, Sidney and Tina :)

Winners, please email me and we will get all those prizes sorted out :)

And once again, congratulations to all our contestants!  I have to say, you are all winners by virtue of the fact that you took the time to practice your craft, write new stories to specifications and a deadline, and put them out there for people to read.  You know that whole 10,000 hours to mastery thing?  You're all a little bit closer :)

Thanks to everyone for making this another great contest.  I look forward to seeing you all in October for the 3rd Annual Halloweensie Contest!  (Unless I can't restrain myself and add another contest somewhere in between...  I'm not sure there's time, but feel free to weigh in on whether you'd like one and what it should be :))

Have a great weekend, everyone!!!

51 comments:

  1. I'm happy there are so many prizes. The stories were so good, they deserved to be winners. Congratulations, everybody!

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  2. delores @ thefeatherednestJuly 12, 2013 at 8:27 AM

    Congratulations to the winners...great stories, all of them.

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  3. congratulations to all the winners! Thanks for sharing your stories.

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  4. Thanks, Genevieve! Maybe we'll see an entry from you next time... :)



























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  5. They really were! As was yours! Thanks for taking part again, Delores :)



























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  6. It's brave and generous of all our contestants, isn't it Stacy? And we all get such enjoyment from reading their work!

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  7. Congratulations all and thanks again, Susanna!

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  8. Thank YOU for entering, Michele! I hope to see more of your work in future contests :)


























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  9. Woo hoo! Congrats to everyone. Well done! Cheryl I know that you are going to LOVE working with Simone!

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  10. I am just a teensy bit jealous of Cheryl :)

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  11. Sidney Schuhmann LevesqueJuly 12, 2013 at 9:46 AM

    I'm excited about placing in the contest! Thanks for the great prizes, Susanna, and thanks to everyone who voted. I'm wearing my red, white and blue today because once a year is not enough!

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  12. Congratulations, Sidney!!! You look very festive :) Joanne chose the $50 Amazon gift card, so you get next pick and can email me with your choice :)


























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  13. Congrats to the winners!

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  14. Wow, thank you so much! Congratulations to all the winners and to the wonderful writers who took part in the contest!

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  15. Thank you, Cathy! I'm excited to work with Simone.:-)

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  16. lol, Susanna. :-)

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  17. Congratulations to all the winners!! I'm delighted that the person I voted for did very well as did the ones I wanted to vote for (it was really hard to choose). Thanks, Susanna, for another fun contest!

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  18. Thanks for being such an enthusiastic participant as always, Beth, and for your wonderful story!



























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  19. Congratulations to the all winners! What fabulous prizes! Your stories were all delightful and I can see why the voting was close. A special congrats to Cheryl for winning the grand prize!

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  20. Congratulations to all the talented ladies and their wonderful stories!! (Don't worry, men; maybe one of you will win next time. ;) )

    As always, what's the most fun about these winning announcements is reading your tomfoolery, Susanna! You always put a smile on my face!

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  21. Thank you, Susanna! :-)

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  22. Thank you, Penny! :-)

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  23. Thanks, Penny - so glad you enjoyed :)

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  24. What tomfoolery? I seriously couldn't find my glasses... :) And yeah, isn't that funny that all the winners were women? And we actually had 2 men in the finals this time (which I believe is a first!)

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  25. Mike Allegra writerJuly 12, 2013 at 8:35 PM

    Congrats to all! What a great contest! Many thanks, Susanna!

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  26. Thank YOU for entering your terrific story, Mike!

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  27. Congratulations, everyone! Way to go!

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  28. Congratulations to the winners! I loved all your stories!

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  29. Congratulations to all the winners! Thanks for another fun contest, Susanna.

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  30. Thank you so much for being part of it, Catherine! :)




























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  31. And congratulations to YOU, Tina!!! So glad you joined the contest this time! :) Please email me with your choice of the 2 remaining prizes, and then I will let Cathy know what she gets :)

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  32. Congrats to all! Much hard work and creative energy went into these entries. Thanks, Susanna, for hosting this contest . . .you keep our creative juices flowing!

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  33. I'm glad you enjoyed the contest, Jarm! Thank you so much for participating! :)

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  34. MY CHERYL??????? My sweet pal??????? That lovely gal who we all adore??????????????????? YAHOOIIEEEEEE!!! WHOOP WHOOP. Congrads to Joanne, Sidney, Tina, and Cathy. You all write well. (Green with envy here) Thanks for all you do, pal. You are the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!! That comes from my heart.

    Hahaha. Those glasses have a way of getting lost. I have to wear mine all the time. *frowny face* Hugs pal. MWAH!

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  35. Congrats to all of the winners! Cheryl, Joanne, Sidney, Tina and Cathy...Whoo-hoo!!!! That was a lot of talent displayed in the 8 final stories.:) And thanks so much to you, Susanna...your holiday contests are a beautiful opportunity for all of us to stretch our creative writing muscles...and the prizes you award are AMAZING!!!!! We are all very appreciative of the time and effort that goes into setting all of this up...THANK YOU!

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  36. One more Congratulations is never enough :-) Yay for Cheryl!

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  37. Aw shucks, Vivian. I'm happy to do it. I love running the contests - giving writers a chance to write something new, get it our there, practice their skills - and I really love reading what everyone comes up with. I am always impressed be everyone's creativity and talent. And I really have to thank all of you for writing, reading, voting - because that's what makes the contests a success :)

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  38. Yes, Robyn, your Cheryl :) And you don't need to be green with envy! Please don't forget that you received and honorable mention for your terrific story!

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  39. This_Kid_Reviews_Books_ErikJuly 13, 2013 at 5:48 PM

    Congrats! All the entries were great! I am just catching up with reading them because we were camping. :)

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  40. Ooh! Lucky you! I hope you had fun and it didn't rain as much as it's been raining in my neck of the woods!!! :)

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  41. This_Kid_Reviews_Books_ErikJuly 13, 2013 at 6:00 PM

    It drizzled and showered, but never poured. I still had fun. ;)

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  42. It's important to know how to have fun even when damp :)

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  43. Love you, Sus!

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  44. YeeeeeHawwww! Yaaaay, Cheryl won first prize! I am so proud and happy right now. My heartiest congratulations to EVERYONE! The competition is fierce around these parts! You all did so well. I am so happy about the prizes everyone will be receiving, Woohooo and Yeah! High Five to everyone!

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  45. It was an amazing group of stories, wasn't it Pam? I am always so impressed by how well everyone rises to the challenge! Thanks for reading, and I hope one of these days we'll get an entry from you, because I know you can write, my friend, I've seen it :)


























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  46. Okay, your intro to this post had me laughing out loud. Thanks for the great contest and stories and for your wonderful blog! I always look forward to reading it!

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