Anybody Up for a Contest?

Those of you who know me through my little bloggy venture here realize what a gentle, giving soul I am. Always one to see the best in every situation. To make sweet, sweet lemonade out of the lemons life bombards me with. The person who would hand you the Crocs right off her feet after first pressure-washing, sun-drying, and gift-wrapping them in gold-plated parchment. The Pied Piper of Backroads, leading gamboling puppies, big-eyed kittens, and fuzzy greeting-card mice to rainbow-ceilinged, unicorn-sanctuary meadows in an effort to inspire sweet stories of success from her writing readership.

Or not.

But I DO have a contest to offer you! Don't sweat the deadline. It's August 30. Plenty of time. No entry fee. And a chance for fabulous prizes. In many categories. This contest is hosted by the host of the blog Author! Author! That's Anne Mini. Mind your Ps and Qs, folks. Ms. Mini is a stickler for proper formatting. But the good news is, she explains her formatting requirements. In detail.

Allow me to paste a bit of information from Author! Author! concerning the contest.

Here are the categories:

Category I: Literary fiction, women’s fiction, and mainstream fiction
Category II: Science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal
Category III: All other genre fiction, including romance and mystery
Category IV: Humor (either fiction or nonfiction, but please do tell the judges which)
Category V: Memoir
Category VI: Narrative nonfiction, cookbooks, and academic books

Here are the prizes:

The grand prize winner in each category will receive a half-hour Mini Consult on a query, synopsis, and first 10 pages of the manuscript from which the winning scene was excerpted, as well as having the winning entry, bio, and an author photo posted on Author! Author!

First and second place winners will have their entries posted and critiqued on this blog.

Third place winners will receive copies of Tulip Season: A Mitra Basu Mystery.

I won an Anne Mini contest myself in 2011. Note that there are two winners on that page. I am one of them. And I don't write serious stuff. This was the first contest I ever entered. Had my picture posted. Even got a video critique of my entry from Ms. Mini and her guest judge, author Heidi W. Durrow. And yes, it was worth the hoops I jumped through to whip my entry into proper Mini shape. Ms. Mini does not suffer scoffrules gladly. I believe at least fifty percent of the entries in that contest were disqualified from the get-go, for not submitting properly.

Here's the link for this contest. The detailed rules are at the bottom of the page, so read on, or scroll down. Good luck and all. I might just be entering myself. Don't cost nothin'.

The Sensual Surfeit Literary Competition of 2012


**********************************
Just a note here...my post was supposed to be up and running Saturday night at 6:30. Thanks, BLOGGER, for messing with Sasquatch.