Hello romantic writers!
Before beginning the wrap up, I'd like to thank our Guest Poster, Mills & Boon author Kate Walker, for her great guest post on weddings she has created in her novels. Thank you for those who visited and left positive comments. Much appreciated by Kate and your hosts.
Kate was very generous in choosing four winners to receive a print copy of one of her books. The lucky winners were:
SALLY - A Throne for the Taking
DONNA - Sicilian Husband Blackmailed Bride
NILANJANA and REKHA - The Duke's Secret Wife (novella)
Congratulations to each of the above commenters. I hope you've contacted Kate with your details so you can receive your gift in the mail.
The Wrap Up...Well, the first thing to comment on is the dearth of posts for June Wedding. Hopefully it was just life that got in the way of more entries, not something wrong with the challenge. Any comments welcome.Your hosts are spending much more time at RFW, hoping to make it a more fulfilling experience for all writers. Let us know what you think of the changes so far. We are always keen to hear from you.
Those who did post to the June Wedding challenge, we thank you. Perhaps our guidelines were a little too stringent which resulted in some of the entries unable to be considered for the prizes. Both Nilanjana and Yolanda acknowledged their entries broke the 'rules' which was a pity, as both were excellent.
NILANJANA: Poetry, Hennaed Hands, was fascinating. Set in medieval times, this poem resonated with the power of love.
DONNA: Combined The Thrill of it All blogfest with RFW this month. A very modern wedding ceremony presented, replete with cell phones, texting, looking after siblings...and we just missed a dance up the aisle!!
ANNA: Anna's post successfully combined Cat World Domination Day with her RFW entry. Anna's wedding story was told through the eyes of the cats Penelope and Miranda. Their conversation with the church cats was very cute.
YOLANDA: Broken Vows was a very powerful and sensual entry. Told from the male POV it was a very passionate, regretful tale. Is it all over for Steven and Sarah?
SALLY: Gave us a real-life wedding. Very nostalgic walk down memory lane. The lovely original photos remind me of the black and whites of various great grandies on my walls.
ROLAND (linking as VICTOR): Took us to Ancient Egypt this month. An enjoyable creepy story with so many mythological references. I found the female Pharaohs especially fascinating.
CHARMAINE: Shared a grisly horror story of murder/suicide. So well done...some foreshadowing, but still caught me at the end.
DENISE: Took a trip to Venice to showcase a wonderful work of art and recounted the Biblical story of the wedding at Cana. Secondly, she primped the wedding scene from her most recent WIP Fijian Princess. I valued the feedback before submission.
Now, Donna and I have collaborated on the prizes for the month...(((drum roll))):
WINNER: Receives a $5 Amazon Gift Card -- Sally for real-life, creative non-fiction entry. Congratulations Sally. The Amazon Gift Card is yours. Please take the Featured Writer badge, post it onto your blog, and link it to your winning post.
RUNNER UP: Receives a 2-chapter critique from either Donna or myself -- your choice -- don't be shy...
For her grisly murder-suicide, we choose Charmaine. Congratulations, Charmaine. You are welcome to post the Runner Up badge on your site, linking to your story. We shall await your critiquer choice.
Our next challenge...be ready by July 19 to post your entry...we'll let you know when we add this challenge to the Challenges Page
Before beginning the wrap up, I'd like to thank our Guest Poster, Mills & Boon author Kate Walker, for her great guest post on weddings she has created in her novels. Thank you for those who visited and left positive comments. Much appreciated by Kate and your hosts.
Kate was very generous in choosing four winners to receive a print copy of one of her books. The lucky winners were:
SALLY - A Throne for the Taking
DONNA - Sicilian Husband Blackmailed Bride
NILANJANA and REKHA - The Duke's Secret Wife (novella)
Congratulations to each of the above commenters. I hope you've contacted Kate with your details so you can receive your gift in the mail.
Those who did post to the June Wedding challenge, we thank you. Perhaps our guidelines were a little too stringent which resulted in some of the entries unable to be considered for the prizes. Both Nilanjana and Yolanda acknowledged their entries broke the 'rules' which was a pity, as both were excellent.
NILANJANA: Poetry, Hennaed Hands, was fascinating. Set in medieval times, this poem resonated with the power of love.
DONNA: Combined The Thrill of it All blogfest with RFW this month. A very modern wedding ceremony presented, replete with cell phones, texting, looking after siblings...and we just missed a dance up the aisle!!
ANNA: Anna's post successfully combined Cat World Domination Day with her RFW entry. Anna's wedding story was told through the eyes of the cats Penelope and Miranda. Their conversation with the church cats was very cute.
YOLANDA: Broken Vows was a very powerful and sensual entry. Told from the male POV it was a very passionate, regretful tale. Is it all over for Steven and Sarah?
SALLY: Gave us a real-life wedding. Very nostalgic walk down memory lane. The lovely original photos remind me of the black and whites of various great grandies on my walls.
ROLAND (linking as VICTOR): Took us to Ancient Egypt this month. An enjoyable creepy story with so many mythological references. I found the female Pharaohs especially fascinating.
CHARMAINE: Shared a grisly horror story of murder/suicide. So well done...some foreshadowing, but still caught me at the end.
DENISE: Took a trip to Venice to showcase a wonderful work of art and recounted the Biblical story of the wedding at Cana. Secondly, she primped the wedding scene from her most recent WIP Fijian Princess. I valued the feedback before submission.
Now, Donna and I have collaborated on the prizes for the month...(((drum roll))):
WINNER: Receives a $5 Amazon Gift Card -- Sally for real-life, creative non-fiction entry. Congratulations Sally. The Amazon Gift Card is yours. Please take the Featured Writer badge, post it onto your blog, and link it to your winning post.
RUNNER UP: Receives a 2-chapter critique from either Donna or myself -- your choice -- don't be shy...
For her grisly murder-suicide, we choose Charmaine. Congratulations, Charmaine. You are welcome to post the Runner Up badge on your site, linking to your story. We shall await your critiquer choice.
Our next challenge...be ready by July 19 to post your entry...we'll let you know when we add this challenge to the Challenges Page
See you on July 5th, for Donna's introduction to Honeymoon...
Thank you so much Denise and Donna, I am honoured that you enjoyed the real life wedding of June and Nelson.
ReplyDeleteI think I can now tell everyone (if you haven't already guessed) that June and Nelson are my lovely parents.
I will display the badge on my site with pride.
They were all fantastic entries this month, we have a very creative and diverse group of writers and I enjoyed reading every entry. Well done to Charmaine for runner up.
I look forward to next month's challenge - honeymoon theme, time to start thinking creatively.
Sally, I guessed the bride and groom must have been very close to you. It was a delightful, historic story. Well done. Honeymoon should be full of creative activity too!
DeleteCongrats Sally :) I thought the wedding must have been your grand parents, or your husband's grandparents. You don't seem old enough to me to have parents married in this era.
Delete.....dhole
I was really glad to participate, but love that Sally's beautiful true story won, and Charmaine (my hero for writing murder) great choice for runner up!
ReplyDeleteNilanjana's poetry - there are no words for the stories she weaves so beautifully
Everyone did a wonderful job and I enjoyed the journey all the entries took, as always!
A honeymoon - gee, I wonder how can we will screw that up for our dear characters? :)
I'm sure you'll think of something Yolanda. Really looking forward to a wide variety of stories.
DeleteYes, all the entries were creative, and it was hard to choose.
DeleteHmm, I'm thinking also how I can screw up the honeymoon for my characters :)
......dhole
Congrats to both the winners! I too loved the B/W photos from entirely another era, and Charmaine’s flash packed a thoroughly amazing punch, without even using the full quota of words! Hats off!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don’t think the conditions were any more stringent than usual, maybe the entries were less because people are starting up with the vacations etc. Am myself going to be travelling most of the summer and not sure how connected I will be during the window for the Honeymoon post. Will post if there's a net connection within grabbing distance. But will be back certainly to read even I can’t join you all in writing.
Happy summer/season to all of you!
I'm sure we are all hoping you'll find an internet connection Nilanjana. We want our epic poetry fix!
DeleteOne word Nila: scheduling! Write early, schedule when you have a connection, and let us add your link if you can't :) Wouldn't want to miss one of your writings; but you shouldn't miss out on your adventures either.
DeleteI will have to schedule a post too I think; I'll be in Reno for my daughter's Circus Circus wedding - but there will be internet in our suite. I'm sure I'll have to spend my share of time babysitting the grandkids - and what a good excuse they will be to get to do some blogging, lol.
......dhole
Love your attitude, Donna! :)
DeleteWill def try and be there for the challenge if I possibly can, they are kinda addictive! :)
June 29th, 2013
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Sally!
Well-deserved prize. Thanks for letting us know who June and Nelson really are. Send them my love!
There was nothing wrong with the theme of a June Wedding. I liked it very much. It was just bad luck that not everyone had time to submit.
I have no idea if I will be able to submit anything to the Honeymoon theme, which is also a delightful idea.
I just have so many practical problems that need immediate and continued attention. For example: My grey tabby cat, Matilda, gave birth to five kittens last night. This presents a lot of problems that I won't take time to describe here. And this is not the only problem I have to solve. Time to just and write has become a luxury.
Sometimes I feel I'm drowning.
Hope everyone else is happy and healthy and enjoying their summer or winter, depending where you live.
Best wishes,
Anna
Thank you for your feedback Anna. You can imagine we expected more enthusiasm for the prize theme. Everyone's so busy but not everyone has a house full of kitties. I don't envy you. My one little dog takes up enough time. :-)
DeleteHope to see you for Honeymoon Anna, if you find the time.
Best wishes to you
Denise
Eeek; a whole litter of kitties. They are so adorable when small, by my my what a problem when they grow. My rescue kitty is keeping me from finding an affordable place to live, but she is fixed, and pretty much a member of our family now. She came with the house :)
DeleteHave lots of fun with the little ones while you can; they should be inspiration for many more cat stories. We'll see you if you can participate for Honeymoon.
.....dhole
Thanks for your understanding, Denise & Donna.
DeleteI have a long list of things to do. Next Thursday the fathers of these kittens have an appointment with the vet. They are the twin ginger toms who were born on August 21st last year. I should have had this done already in February.
But the kits are so cute. I am almost glad it happened. Almost.
Best wishes,
Anna
Sorry I almost forgot - Congrats to Charmaine too, for the runner up prize. That was quite a strong story!
ReplyDeleteWell done!
Best wishes
Anna
Congratulations to the winners and all who took part. Great prizes too. RFW looks amazing since I last visited! Going from strength to strength. Life for me has either been busy busy or hampered by health probs, so blogging in general has been rather on the back burner, while I've concentrated on other things. otherwise it is easy to burn out.
ReplyDeleteTake care of your health Maddy. We miss you.
Delete.....dhole
I was glad to see you around the ridges this week Maddy.
DeleteBless you both, thank you. Today we are entertaining a niece from Germany and then I must go to a funeral and then a hospital appt. Still busy, but getting there...
DeleteSee what happens when I stay offline for a couple of weeks? THANKS so much for the critique offer, and how convenient, I just happen to be finishing up a draft of Undead Kev as we speak ;)
ReplyDeleteLet us know who you'd like to crit for you Charmaine. Congrats :)
DeleteI've already sent Sally her gift card.
.......dhole
So I see you have a call out for beta readers Charmaine. If you don't want to choose, send us both your ms. :-)
Delete