Winners for February and May, 2005, short story contests Titles in blue can be clicked for reading February, runner-up : Codependency by Jeania Parrish May, first place: Cars by Michael Moore May, runner-up: Ghosts by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy   Judge's comments here

Winners of the second short story contest Alien Presence by Gene Woolcott was the winning story in May's contest.  Ordinarily, I shy away from stories using aliens (gray or otherwise) as a vehicle.  But, I couldn't stop reading this one, even got chills  in certain places.  When I cannot stop reading a story because the story won't let me go, I know I've found a winner.  This is how Gene describes himself: I'm married to a lovely lady named Sändra, who is my third wife. I have grown children and grandchildren. I started writing in 1991, more on a whim than to prove a point. To date, I've published four short novels, all sci-fi, and I have three more books in process. I write every day, or at least try to do so. I'm officially retired, so my hobbies are singing and writing.  I sing in a barbershop quartet called Talismen, and in a very good barbershop chorus called The Brotherhood of Harmony This story proves one of the biggest rules in writing:  there are no rules and if there are, they're made to be broken.  However -- learn the disciplines first writers, so you can consciously chose when, why, where and how to break them.   Keep writing,   Melody Click the title to read First place: Alien Presence by Gene Woolcott Runner-up: Previously Engaged by Amanda J. Mianecki

Winners of the first short story contest Click the title to read First place: Phoenix House by Bill Asenjo Second Place: A Different Path by Susan Machnica Runner-up: Guessing Where to Look by Anita Skinner Anita Skinner, who took third place in the First Short Story Contest, decided to pull her story from the competition because she felt that she wasn't able to protect the anonymity of the real-life people who inspired her fiction story.  Congratulations anyway, Anita, for good writing and congratulations for your ethics. A sincere thank you to all of the entrants. The number and quality of stories submitted made it a challenge to choose the winning entry. Stay tuned for judge's comments.

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