Today’s the day! We’ll be narrowing down our Red Light/Green Light entries to the top 25! But before I post our round two contestants, I’d like to say a big thank you to all those who’ve participated. It takes courage and daring to share your words with others, and all the entries we received were terrific. We wish you all the best and encourage you to persevere with your work!
DARKNESS WHISPERS
The light from the moon was unnerving. It was so full and bright tonight; almost as bright as the noonday sun.
STARLESS WORLDS
GRAFFITI DOME
Floating a few feet above the ghetto on
my hover board, I might not have caught sight of the rebel if a gust of
wind hadn’t messed with my fur coat and slapped my brushes out of my
hands. Chilling, listening to elusive chimes in the air, and retouching the faded graffiti under the city dome always bewitched me beyond any sense of safety.
THE NEMESIS OF EVE
My hands are like mechanical steel
blades, mining this floating island of trash for an unopened can of
food, a bag of anything edible–no matter the expiration date, no matter
if it was intended for dogs or cats. I stink of rotten meat, animal feces, and grime.
MURIEL AVENUE SLUTS
My mother and every other woman who lives on Muriel Avenue gets paid to have sex; that’s just how it is. People think it’s shocking or scandalous or tragic or something, but really it’s just a job and a good one too.
DREAMMARE
I wasn’t afraid of nightmares, because the real nightmares were people. Folks like Will’s father or my old neighbor or the person who cut Paige’s face.
THE CLOCKMAKERS
The boy was running against the minutes
because he had heard the jaguar screaming for time–above the sound of
the poachers’ dogs, screaming for her children.
If you’re looking for more opportunities to receive feedback on and help you perfect your openings, please consider the 1st 5 Pages Workshop. It’s free to enter, and a wonderful way to gain the perspective of published authors and an agent on your opening pages
And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for: here are the round two entries. Congratulations to all who’ve moved on!
FEAR NO EVIL
Rachel D. Hanville
The apples’ intoxicating fragrance filled the autumn air, concealing the stench of the undead’s decaying flesh. I sprinted through the orchards, occasionally stepping on a red apple rotting on the ground.
THE GIRL WITH NINE LIVES
V.R. Barry
The sun hadn’t set for over a decade, nor had it risen–how we longed to feel just one glorious, sunrise kiss upon our faces. The sky, laden with abundant storm clouds each one electrifying and thunderous, awaits the perfect moment to release its anger.
DON’T
Kyra Palmer
I wish people came with a warning label. Possible side-effects of association include: bad grades, missed curfews, and lying to parental units.
THE LEFT TWIN
Diane Bradley
I should’ve remembered how my sister died.
Her death would’ve been burned into every thought, but my mind wasn’t working right.
THE TIME SLAVE
Deeba Zargarpur
There’s no easy way to admit you’ve failed the ones you love. I mean, besides convincing yourself you haven’t.
TO THE MOON
Chelsea Carney
I stared at the half-open window of the house across the street dreaming of death. It was windy outside, and the yellow shutters on both sides of that window were knocking against the glass so hard the frame was starting to chip in the corners.
IMMORTAL SECRETS
Stacy Ricco & Sam Fury
White spots danced in front of her eyes and gravel bit into the side of her face. Pain bounced around inside of her head.
THE PENDRAGON’S SON
Kelly Barina
As I hurried down the castle’s vast stone
corridor to meet my half-brother for the first time, his name echoed
around me, whispered like a curse: Mordred.
corridor to meet my half-brother for the first time, his name echoed
around me, whispered like a curse: Mordred.
Likely no one else in Camelot shared my outlook, but that did not matter; his haunted name brought me no fear.
WHERE I BEGIN
Edmund Brescia
The high-arching sloped roof of Dulles International Airport didn’t offer any comfort. My right hand was tucked under my elbow, while my left index finger twisted a few strands of hair.
THE ART OF IN-BETWEEN
J.M. George
On the night of my kidnapped brother’s
twenty-first birthday, I jumped off the roof of a skyscraper with a rope
in one hand and a live, bagged chicken in the other. At this altitude, the wind felt like a chilly battering ram.
twenty-first birthday, I jumped off the roof of a skyscraper with a rope
in one hand and a live, bagged chicken in the other. At this altitude, the wind felt like a chilly battering ram.
MARKED
Lindsey Myhr
Catia de Rose sat on a bench in her front
garden, picking at a loose thread that was threatening to unravel the
lace cuff on her left sleeve. As hard as she tried, she was never perfectly put together.
garden, picking at a loose thread that was threatening to unravel the
lace cuff on her left sleeve. As hard as she tried, she was never perfectly put together.
FRAGILE CHAOS
Amber Duell
The musky hint of smoke follows me through the ruined Kisken city, over twisted metal and jutting pipes. The once-bustling tourist destination is hard to navigate without moonlight but there isn’t time to be careful.
JAGUAR CHILD
Jody Herlick
I sweltered by the river and considered dropping my hearth bowl into the green-shadowed water. Maybe I sensed even then what whispered in my bones.
SHROUDED GODDESS
Patricia Moussatche
Only Uncle Hector would hang a man then go fishing.
The giant jatoba tree, where the noose is set, shades the corpse but doesn’t protect it from the heat.
HER ROYAL HIGHNESS
Kristi McManus
I felt nothing.
Of all my senses that in this moment seem heightened, the one that appeared to be completely absent was the sense of touch.
DARKNESS WHISPERS
Aubrie Nixon
The light from the moon was unnerving. It was so full and bright tonight; almost as bright as the noonday sun.
STARLESS WORLDS
Nicholas Kelly
The Echelon hovercrafts arrived right on
schedule, roaring down the green valley of Ceirk the day after harvest,
just as they had done the year before and the years before that. Maybe that was why Jane’s brother and sister didn’t seem scared.
schedule, roaring down the green valley of Ceirk the day after harvest,
just as they had done the year before and the years before that. Maybe that was why Jane’s brother and sister didn’t seem scared.
GRAFFITI DOME
Sussu Leclerc
Floating a few feet above the ghetto on
my hover board, I might not have caught sight of the rebel if a gust of
wind hadn’t messed with my fur coat and slapped my brushes out of my
hands. Chilling, listening to elusive chimes in the air, and retouching the faded graffiti under the city dome always bewitched me beyond any sense of safety.
CYNISCA AND THE OLIVE CROWN
S.Q. Eries
A model Spartan princess was a champion in the battleground known as the social arena. Dignity was her armor, wit her blade.
VALLEY OF MIST AND MEMORY
Michelle Collins
Bearing the collective memory of an entire village is a burden meant for only a person of great strength and power. As my little sister performs the Gathering ritual, I know it is right that Mama chose her to be the next Water Bearer instead of me.
PRINCE OF DARKNESS
Alexandra Labdon
Prince Eliseo Di’Alonzo knelt in prayer at the Church of the Lady, and hoped that day would not be his last.
The elegance of the church interior seemed to mock him.
THE NEMESIS OF EVE
Kimberly Zook
My hands are like mechanical steel
blades, mining this floating island of trash for an unopened can of
food, a bag of anything edible–no matter the expiration date, no matter
if it was intended for dogs or cats. I stink of rotten meat, animal feces, and grime.
MURIEL AVENUE SLUTS
Maggie J. Hasbrouck
My mother and every other woman who lives on Muriel Avenue gets paid to have sex; that’s just how it is. People think it’s shocking or scandalous or tragic or something, but really it’s just a job and a good one too.
DREAMMARE
Shannon Thompson
I wasn’t afraid of nightmares, because the real nightmares were people. Folks like Will’s father or my old neighbor or the person who cut Paige’s face.
THE CLOCKMAKERS
Gordon LePage
The boy was running against the minutes
because he had heard the jaguar screaming for time–above the sound of
the poachers’ dogs, screaming for her children.
There were two shots.
