High Drama Blogfest/Giveaway

That’s right boys and girls, DL’s holding a Blogfest. And not just any Blogfest, this one comes complete with all sorts of nifty prizes. I realize we shouldn’t need extra motivation to get writers to…um… write, but I wanted this Blogfest to standout. In that same vein I’m hoping to encourage participation from some of us bloggers who tend to avoid posting work on-line.

So, what am I after with this Blogfest? Drama. The word is Greek meaning "action", which is derived from "to do". Though its more common usage speaks to a specific mode of fiction represented in performances, it has also come to refer to a specific genre of fiction (neither comedy nor tragedy) involving a serious mood and conflict. That’s all just literary speak meaning drama simply covers a wide spectrum of contention, action crisis and atmosphere designed to amp up the stakes in our stories. It is an element of writing that transcends genre, so everybody can contribute. I’m looking for a sample of your work that demonstrates those qualities.

High Drama Blogfest/Giveaway!
When: Saturday, August 7th.

That leaves you about a month to either fix up the appropriate sample of an existing piece of work, or create something unique. Write the date on your calendars! The only guideline is that you keep your post to 500 words or less. *Update - I've relaxed this restriction as it seems that good drama is hard to squeeze into such a small box, but please try to keep your submissions under a 1000 words so our readers can visit all of the entries.*

At the bottom of the page is the famous Mr. Linky. Please sign up! Spread the word! I hope you'll participate.

But like I said, there are gifts that go along with this Blogfest. Being a mystery/suspense writer, I’ve been able to obtain three excellent books from three outstanding novelists to offer as prizes. Just look and see.

Michelle Gagnon is the best-selling author of The Gatekeeper as well as two other gripping novels. She is a former modern dancer, dog walker, bartender, freelance journalist, personal trainer, model, and Russian supper club performer. To the delight of her parents, she gave up all these occupations for an infinitely more stable and lucrative career as a crime fiction writer. Michelle also contributes regularly to the The Kill Zone blog, the musings of 7 top thriller and mystery authors covering a wide spectrum of topics.

Rys Bowen's mysteries have been nominated for every major mystery award, including the Edgar for best novel, and she has won nine of them. She currently writes the Molly Murphy Mysteries, set in turn-of-the-century New York City and featuring a feisty Irish immigrant woman. Her book, In a Gilded Cage, Molly becomes involved in a suffragists' march which brings her into the high society world of Vassar graduates and leads to her being hired for two cases: to discover a young woman's true identity and to check on a wandering husband. When one of these young women dies, supposedly of influenza, Molly is again caught up in a murder investigation. Rhys has recently started her own solo blog: Rhys's Pieces. Check out her news and musings, some funny, some thought-provoking.

In addition to writing novels and short stories, Kelli Stanley likes fedoras, classic films (particularly film noir), Golden Age comic books and listening to cool jazz and big band swing. She is also an award winning writer of crime fiction who makes her home in Dashiell Hammett’s San Francisco. She loves to hear from readers, so drop her a line. Her latest book, City of Dragons, is a sprawling, visceral novel of San Francisco in 1940, a world of race wars and class wars, a world in which sexual threat is as casual as a five-cent cigar.

Each respective author has personally signed their novel and I can’t express how hard it will be to let go of them, but let go I will…to three lucky winners. But wait, that’s just in group A. Group B contains three $15 gift cards. One from Barnes & Noble, another from Amazon, and the final from Borders. Six prizes in all! Good golly Miss Molly!! Oops...sorry Rhys.  :)

Everyone who takes part in my Blogfest (actually posts a story) will receive two points if your a follower and one point if not. If you put a blurb about it in your sidebar, you’ll receive another point. If you tweet about it (make sure to use @dl_h) you’ll receive another point for each separate day you tweet (up to a maximum of five tweets), and if you a post a blog entry exclusively about the High Drama Blogfest/Giveaway…you’ll receive a whopping five points. That’s a grand total of 13 possible points to place into the virtual hat. On August 8th I’ll draw six numbers (three from Group A, and three from Group B) using a random number generator. If you forget to post your entry on August 7th, all points are forfeited.

Come on, show off your writing chops with some high drama. It will be a blast!!!