Love Bites 2016 – Anti-Valentine Story Contest

I’m teaming up with Ruth, Laura, Lizzie and Cara at Ink After Dark to offer you
Love Bites 2016…
Our Anti-Valentine blog hop, back for a new year!

You know you want to join in…
Open from January 29th – February 12th 2016
So hop over and leave your stories in the comments section of
Ink After Dark’s Love Bites Post (NOT this post).

• Flash Fiction Challenge
• Theme: Thwarted Love OR Vengeful Love
• Submissions Accepted: January 29 – February 12, 2016
• Word Count: 500 Word Minimum / 750 Word Maximum
• Prize Package Announced: February 5, 2016
• Winners Announced: February 15, 2016
• Post stories in comment box on Ink After Dark’s Love Bites Post with word count and Twitter handle (or other way to notify you of victory).

If you want some inspiration…take a look at our previous years stories… 2013 and 2014.

 

Love Bites: Anti-Valentine Blog Hop 2014 WINNERS

We invited you to put Cupid on notice and you met the challenge with gusto! You gave a schmaltzy holiday some kick and some kink. Bravo!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to write, comment, and blast the challenge across social media channels!

If you haven’t had a chance to read the entries, we’ve included the links at the end of this post so you can curl up and enjoy them over the weekend.

Now then, once we put the votes in a hat and let the chocolate gremlins do their magic, here’s how the winners shook out:

First Place = Eric Martell

A tale of pure unfettered revenge served with a huge helping of contempt!

Second Place = Michael Wombat

A story that was going somewhere certain until the baseball bat came into view!

Third Place = Alex Brightsmith

Effortless story telling from the fabulous build up to the final line reveal!

Runner Up = Jeff Tsuruoka

For sheer in-your-face fun and irreverence!

Cheers to everyone who participated!
Choosing winners from such stellar stories wasn’t easy, thanks for making it so much fun!

Winners: please Facebook PM Lisa Shambrook and Laura Jamez to discuss particulars.

Love Bites: Anti-Valentine Blog Hop 2014

February is here and with it comes the influx of red roses, declarations of lurve and schmaltz as well as inflated prices. Yes, February brings Valentine’s Day, the day of love and with that comes our second Love Bites Blog Hop.

This is your chance for revenge on Cupid.
Your chance to stick it to St Valentine.

The rules. Yes, even Anti-Love needs rules to keep us all in check

1. 250 – 700 words
2. Post to your blog
3. Link your post to the Linky tool (between 4th and 11th February)
4. Pimp/share/brag about your story on social net working sites.
5. Pimp/share/brag about the Blog Hop to all who will listen.
6. Judged by Ruth Long, Lisa Shambrook, Laura Jamez and Lizzie Koch.
7. Winner announced on that most lovey dovey day of the year, St Valentine’s Day.

Prizes – oh yes we have prizes.

This year, all the stories entered will be turned into an eBook by the magic hands of Laura James and Ruth Long for the viewing pleasure of 1st, 2nd and 3rd placed winners.

1st place will also win a gorgeous note book
and 2nd and 3rd places will each receive two twig pencils.

So what are you waiting for? Get writing, plotting and give Cupid what for. xx

Add your story to the linky and grab the badge below for your blog if you wish…

Love Bites Badge 200 Pixels

Love Bites: The Winners

LOVE BITES Blog Hop WINNERS!

Last week, we invited you to rain on Cupid’s Parade and to our delight you flooded us with two dozen playful, frisky, mischievous stories! 

Thank you to everyone who participated. You turned a potentially paltry holiday into lots of memorable fun! 

And thank you to everyone who read, commented and voted on the entries. 

Now, without further ado, here are the winners!

Congratulations to you all!!

JUDGE’S CHOICE = “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” by Cara Michaels / @caramichaels 

Prize: One Hour Coaching with Rebecca T. Dickson

Cara gave us a story wrought with heat and tension that left us twisting in our seats, wondering what it would be like to live without love and fervently hoping that Eros would find the love he was looking for!

EMOTIONAL IMPACT CHOICE = “A Wish” by Angela Kennard / @Ang_Writes 

Prize: Personalized Painting by Lee Clements 

Angela gave us a story that was by turns sweet, shocking and downright chilling. As surprises go, this piece delivered in spades and left us stunned – and not-so-secretly applauding the vengeful Emma!

FAN FAVORITE =  “Cupid’s Arrow” by Karen Howard

Prize: Bragging Rights and Bookmark by the Divine Hammer 

Karen gave us the ultimate Valentine revenge in a story skillfully and poignantly told – and proved to be a fierce Fan Fave competitor! 

JUDGE’S FAVORITES 

Prize: Bookmarks by the Divine Hammer 

Elisabeth Koch – “Rome” by Elin Gregory / @ElinGregory – The terrific banter, unspoken depth and character of their relationship, great descriptions and humor all added up to a beautiful and clever story!

Lisa Shambrook – “Buck Wild” by Jeff Tsuruoka / @JTsuruoka – The physical description of Cupid, imagery such as the look a dog gives helicopters, and the over-friendly buck had me laughing! Great writing and brilliant twist!

Laura Howard – “Violet” by Christina Krieger / @cvkrieger – The classic story of a couple on a miserable Valentine’s date is quickly turned on its ear in this story about embracing who you are.

Ruth Long – “The End” by Laura Jamez / @LEJamez – The comparison between old school and modern match-making caught my imagination and the surprise twist, and the way it was delivered, was a knock-out.

Love Bites Blog Hop: Voting Commences…

Sharpen your pencils and cast your votes…
Fan Favourite Contest
Open for votes Friday 15th February through midnight (est) Sunday 17th February.

Vote for your favourite entry in the comments box below by typing in the name of the writer and the title of their story.
You can vote on my blog Below…or Here or Here…
In addition to the stories linked below, we have an entrant without a blog whose story is posted HERE, so please be sure to stop by and read, comment and take into consideration! 

*Please note: stories by Hop Hostesses: Elisabeth Koch, Lisa Shambrook and Ruth Long are not eligible for votes.

Writers get our there and shamelessly pimp your story! 

Voters: one vote per person, please!
Winners will be announced Monday 18th February.

Best in Show wins One Hour Coaching 
with Rebecca T. Dickson
Emotional Whammy wins Personalised Painting
by Lee Clements
Judges Favourites win a Bookmark
by the Divine Hammer
Fan Favourite wins Bragging Rights and a Bookmark

Questions? Contact a hop hostess: @lizzie_loodles / @lastkrystallos / @laurahoward78 / @bullishink

And thanks for joining in it’s been so much fun!

Love Bites Blog Hop: Pillow Talk

Photo by Lisa Shambrook (please do not use without permission)

She watched as he climbed into their bed longing for his hands to run across her body beneath the moonlight, to feel his breath capture hers, yearning to hear bedroom words whispered evocatively, but as he settled he thrust his arms behind his head and began to talk. 

He grumbled, and groaned, and complained from the moment his head hit the pillow to the moment he fell asleep. 

With fury and resentment pumping through her body in response to his perpetual deference, she propped herself up on her elbows and stared at him. She growled through clenched teeth, her fists balling the pillow in her hands and she began some pillow talk of her own.

They lie, their bodies barely touching. The bed sheet crumpled and kicked half to the floor now scarcely draped across their stomachs. The pale moon peeked nervously through the curtains as her eyes roved, taking in the contours of his upper body lit by silvery rays. She watched as he lie beside her, finally still and acquiescent.

She reached across, took his hand in hers and gently stroked it, her soft fingers caressing his knuckles and his rough skin. She eventually lifted the pillow away from his face, and glanced at his expression, calm and serene in the silvered light.

She sighed, it was the quietest he’d ever been at this time of night and she realised despite all his talk, he’d never really offered an opinion on euthanasia…

(244 Words)

Written for the Inklingette’s Love Bites Anti-Valentine Blog Hop 
Go take a look at how to enter

Read the other great entries!

Love Bites: An Anti-Valentine Blog Hop

This Valentine’s Day, we invite you to join us in thumbing our noses at Cupid, Love and the Whole Schmaltzy Holiday!!

Introducing … 

LOVE BITES: An Anti-Valentine Blog Hop

Hostesses: The Inklingettes

Theme: Love Run Amuk, Aground or Otherwise Off Course

Schedule: Friday, February 8 through Thursday, February 14

Word Count: 250 Words

Incentive: Community spirit, inky fun and lots of laughs!
And Prizes: 6 Broken-hearted bookmarks made by the Divine Hammer
A one-of-a-kind painting personalised with a quote from the winner’s piece donated by Lee Clements
A one hour coaching session by Rebecca T Dickson 

How To Participate: 

•Write a cheeky anti-valentine story of 250 words or less.

•Post it on your blog. (If you don’t have a blog, contact any of the hostesses and space will be magically provided).

•Copy the linky html and blog badge from this page and paste them into your post, beneath your story.

•Add your post url to the linky.

•Bop around the interwebz to read and comment on the other entries.

•Pimp out the hop and entries on Facebook, G+, Twitter and anywhere your heart desires!

•Don’t Forget: HAVE FUN!

•Got Questions? Contact any of the hostesses and they’ll be happy to help!If you want the collection of stories to show on your post go to http://www.bullishink.com/2013/02/08/love-bites-blog-hop/ and grab the inlinkz code…(I can’t get it to work on Blogger!)

 Grab the Badge: