Love Bites 2016 – The Winners

We had some amazing tales of vengeance and passion, fourteen in all, appropriate for Valentine’s Day! It was tough but we came up with three great winners.

THE WINNERS 

Third Place: Ailsa Abraham | @ailsaabraham 

1. Laura – Revenge for Valentines is always good and a 200-year wait made this tale even sweeter.
2. Lisa – When you plan something, make sure you do it right, especially vengeance.
3. Lizzie – Loved the dark humour in this fiery Valentine revenge.
4. Ruth – Aged to perfection, like a fine wine, this tale of revenge is bold and satisfying.

Second Place: Michael Wombat | @wombat37

1. Laura – This took me on the best dark journey. Loved it!
2. Lisa – Poetry, ancient history, and a need to sate vengeful passion with a black twist of fate.
3. Lizzie – A deliciously dark tale right from the poetic start. Loved it!
4. Ruth – Filled with vivid images, poetic language, and bloody vengeance!

First Place: Eric Martell | @drmagoo  

1. Laura – Passion, betrayal, and a dead body. All I need in a Valentine’s tale. Excellent story.
2. Lisa – I was entranced from the title on. A tale of pure evil that teaches me never, ever, to presume. Deliciously dark and twisted.
3. Lizzie – Ooh, I loved the grim and matter-of-fact way he dealt with his betrayer in this brilliant story!
4. Ruth – When this apparent grieving widower goes from bitter to vindictive and embarks on a smartly planned journey of payback, the enormity of his monstrosity left me speechless!

Check out the original post at Ink After Dark for all the stories – a great read if you’re plotting revenge or just letting off steam!

Thank you all who wrote for us, especially Eric, Wombat and Ailsa!

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: 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.