Whodunnit - A 600 Follower Mystery/Celebration

The Significant Other Blogfest was not only a blast, but it also catapulted me across the 600 ‘Like Minded’ followers mark. Yowza!! When I force myself to slow down and really think about it, it’s absolutely mind numbing and humbling at the same time. I realize that a certain percentage of the 618 tiny faces on my sidebar are dead-links, followers who are here in name only. Those are the ones that clicked the button to become a follower (probably in response to me becoming a follower on their blog), but stopped visiting a long time ago. Shame on me for not doing a better job of holding their attention! But those are balanced by readers I know are out there who aren’t registered through Google Friend Connect (like Facebook), and therefore excluded from the 618. Any way you dice it, the size of a small town care what I have to say and are hopefully entertained by my shenanigans. Like most of us, I am not published, I don’t have an agent, and my background carries no expertise that could prove useful in developing our craft. For the most part, I rely on my creativity, inventiveness, dull wit and sharp pen to keep things fresh for all of you…and remain relevant. I vow to continue in that manner for as long as you keep coming by to check on me!

You know what reaching a new plateau means though…merriment for one and all!

I needed to take a little time to mull over what I wanted to do for this milestone and I believe I’ve come up with something both fitting and different. Let me introduce to you the WHODUNNIT MYSTERY celebration/contest!

How is this going to be different? Well, I wanted to design something that would be easy to take part in for those who like it simple, but I also wanted a way to do something that intrinsically represented who I am as a writer. And what do I write? Mysteries!

There are three ways to play. First and foremost, anyone participating (at any level) needs to be a follower of this blog here or on Facebook, and leave a comment on this post at either place. That comment will put your name in the hat for a $25 Barnes and Noble gift card to be drawn in two weeks on Sunday Feb. 20th.

The other two ways to play will require a little work on your part. I’ve written a special short story, a murder-mystery, that needs solving. In order to solve it, you’ll need clues. Where can you find these clues? Your friends have them…of course. That’s right, thirty-seven of your fellow blogger are hosting a clue on their blog side-bar right now. Which bloggers have them? That’s for you to find out…at least for the first week. During that time you’re on your own to find the clues, using whatever investigative technique you choose. Do you need all 37 clues to solve the mystery? No. A smart cookie could probably figure it out with ten, if they’re the right ten. Some of the clues are rather innocuous and others are critical pieces of information. It’s for you to deduce which is which. You can team up if you wish. Play with a friend, play with a CP, play with your husband or wife who’s always yelling out the name of the guilty party halfway through NCIS. Tell all your friends and spread the word!

Anyone who emails me at dlh(dot)hammons(at)gmail(dot)com with the correct solution to the mystery during the first week will have their name entered in a drawing just for mystery solvers, FIVE times. One guess per person.

At the start of the second week, I’ll post the names of the 37 blogs hosting the clues. Anyone who emails me the correct solution during the second week will have their name entered in the same drawing, but only ONCE. Also one guess per person.

And the winnings if you solve the mystery and your name is pulled out of the hat? A $20 Amazon gift card sent to you every quarter in 2011 (Mar. 1, Jun. 1, Sept. 1, and Dec.1). Talk about the gift that keeps on giving.

Are you itching to get started? You can find my story by clicking on its aptly entitled name, Whodunnit, but don’t forget to leave your comment below.

Thank you again for linking arms with me, and good luck!

The games afoot!