Lie or Die Winners!!!!!!

We just wanted to pop in real quick to let you know the voting is over, the winner has been chosen, and to thank everyone who voted! The five authors wrote some seriously kick butt stories but in the end there could be only one (love the Highlander reference hehe) and the winning story just happened to be the one we hosted right here on our blog!!!! That story was......


                                              Splitsville by GP Ching


Congrats G.P your story was awesome and we're elated that you won! :D


The winner of the prize pack is Larry Kollar!!!!!! Larry has been notified and Kathleen Tucker will be in touch soon.


We also wanted to take a minute to thank all the awesome bloggers that worked with us we love you all dearly! Rachel from Fiktshun, Mindy from Magical Urban Fantasy Reads, Lisa from A Life Bound by Books, and Jessica from Taking It One Book At A Time! Hugs :)

LIE OR DIE – The Flash Fiction Reveal is Finally Here!

The day has finally come! We held a contest for the best flash fiction idea, we chose a winner, and we sent five authors out to spin the fabulous idea in their own direction. What was the winning idea? An awesome one from Aeicha Matteson:

The characters: 
Ryder - female, human, teenager, short in height, long brown hair w/blue streaks, bright green eyes, smart, sassy, tough.
Ax - (short for Aximander), male, demon (but was once human before being sent to hell), as a demon he has no permanent form, thus he possesses humans. He's cunning, vindictive, but incredibly charismatic.

The conflict: Ryder is a supernatural hunter (she hunts demons, monsters, evil baddies), but she has been possessed by the demon Ax, who has essentially bound himself to her...meaning no simple exorcism will release him. Ryder must find a way to break free of Ax while fighting for control of her own mind, body, and actions.

Their abilities:
Ryder - as a hunter she is skilled in weapons, fighting, and supernatural knowledge/lore but does not have "supernatural or magical" abilities of her own.
Ax - can shift/shimmer (teleport anywhere, including hell) and has enhanced/heightened abilities (strength, speed, hearing)...when possessing someone these abilities are transferred into them while Ax resides within them.

The authors have plotted and toiled for many hours to create their unique flash fiction version of Ryder and Ax’s tale.  Now you’ll all get to read them! Each author is hosted on one of the below blogger sites:

Fiktshun - hosting Tiffany King
Two Chicks on Books - hosting G.P. Ching
A Life Bound By Books - hosting K.A.Tucker
Magical Urban Fantasy Reads - hosting Megan Duncan
Taking It One Book At A Time - hosting S.M.Reine

So, go visit each site above and VOTE for your favorite! Why vote? Because on October 24^th, a Grand Prize winner will be drawn. What could you win? A pile of signed print copies of the authors’ books and some swag. Check out the official page HERE for a list (grand prize winner contest open to U.S. residents only but anyone can vote; one vote per person and you can vote on any of the blogs.) Want to earn an extra entry into the grand prize? Tweet the following and paste the link into the form with your vote!:

“I voted in the #LieOrDie Flash Fiction Showdown at http://bit.ly/rnwEtL . Why don’t you?”

So… GO check out the 5 fabulous versions of 1 amazing idea and GO VOTE for your favorite one!

Here’s our story from the fabulous G.P. Ching! It’s soo awesome!!!

Splitsville
by G.P. Ching

A year ago, when I recorded my little sister singing Tomorrow in her middle school’s production of Annie, my only intention was to embarrass her by posting it to YouTube. By an ironic twist of fate, her off-key rendition, blaring from my iPod, is the only thing preserving my ability to control my limbs.

Ryder, you keep this up, you’ll blow your eardrums. We have über hearing, doll. You’re pounding your temporal with 150 decibels, the demon says inside my head. His name is Ax, Aximander actually, and the only thing keeping him from completely owning me is that I did my research.

“It must suck being a metalhead stuck in the body of a girl who loves show tunes. All show tunes, all the time! I’ve got the entire soundtrack of the Sound of Music on here and I’m not afraid to use it.”

An approaching jogger crosses the street to avoid me. I don’t blame him. It’s 5 a.m. and I’m covered in graveyard dirt and bruises. Not only am I yelling at the top of my lungs, but I have more control over my right leg than my left. The resulting shuffle-drag, shuffle-drag of my gait would make Frankenstein look like a ballet dancer. Plus, my left hand keeps slapping the side of my head—Ax, trying to remove my headphones. Only, I have earbuds in, and since I’m fighting him with every ounce of mental energy I have left, he doesn’t have the dexterity to pull them out. He is, however, extremely strong. My head aches from the blows.

Turn down the music and I’ll leave.

“Bullshit. You’ll get full control and I’ll be your host for the remainder of your cruise. Not buying it, Satan's spawn.”

Flattery! If you keep saying nice things about me, I’ll stay forever.

I reach the Pinewood apartment complex and stumble up the urine stained stairwell to the second floor. I pray Michael is home. Ax is too close to chiseling through my mental barrier. I won't make it another block.

Michael...Michael...Oh there’s tons of stuff floating around your brain about him. Seems you had quite a crush on him junior year. Haven’t spoken since your friendship went splitsville over you becoming a demon hunter. What’s it been, Ryder? Two years? This should be a riot.

I pound myself against Michael’s door, relieved when it opens and there’s no one inside but him. I plunge my face, earbuds and all, into his fish tank. Ax’s hand slaps the glass instead of my head.

“Ryder!” Michael's voice cuts through three inches of water, glass, and fish. He grips my shoulders and yanks me out.

“Possessed,” I say. My body drops to the floor, writhing.

“I told you this would happen. You mess with demons, they mess with you.” Michael drops to his knees next to me.

Who is this guy? Ax laughs. You’re seizing and he’s lecturing you on the merits of your occupation. Great choice, Ryder. Why don’t you just hand yourself over to me now?

“Help,” I whimper.

It's true. I haven’t spoken to Michael in years. But he’s brilliant and his apartment was closest. Not to mention, I’ve always thought he might secretly have a thing for me.

“Show tunes?” Michael eyes my iPod incredulously. He straddles my body. My hand whacks him in the head of its own accord. Wrestling my arms straight, he pins them under his knees. “What the hell do you have inside you?”

“Singer. MetalCrush. Overdose. 1985.” I give Michael Ax’s human history. I hope it helps him more than it helped me.

Relax baby or I’ll have to do some damage in here. A facial tic? Blindness? Give in to me, Ryder, before I have to ruin you. Ax’s voice is a velvet caress against my skull. It would be a relief to surrender.

“Don’t give up, Ryder.” Michael shakes me by the shoulder. “Ax, from MetalCrush. I remember reading something about him in People’s greatest a-holes of history edition. I got something for you, Ax honey.”

Michael kisses me. Not like a little peck. He plants a major, total make-out, tonsil-hockey kiss on me that under different circumstances would rock my socks off.

EWWW. Fine. I’m outie.

And just like that, I’m alone in my head again. “He’s gone!” I say. “How did you do that?”

“I didn’t." His words brush my lips. "Ax was a total homophobe. I knew kissing a man would literally freak him out of you."

“Well, it worked,” I say. “Now, let me up.”

“Not yet,” Michael whispers. “That one was for Ax, but this one is for me.” He kisses me again.

My heart thunders in my chest. I surrender to his mouth like sinking into a hot bath.

Maybe, I realize, I was safer with the demon.

Great story right??? Now go VOTE for our author and do us proud! 

Lie or Die Flash Fiction: The Winning Idea

The judges have met, deliberated, and after much debate, decided. It wasn't easy. There were some really amazing ideas. And we would have loved to see all of them written by all five authors. But that wouldn't be very fair. Not really, anyway.

So, after a few punches, kicks, screams and much pulling of hair, we quietly sat down and agreed that the winner should be....

Aeicha Matteson

Congratulations Aeicha your idea was absolutely awesome. One that we think will result in some very different story ideas by the authors, one that can pose a bit of a challenge for them, and ultimately one we could all agree upon!

So, here's the idea that is being revealed live, at this very moment, to the authors. They've had no previous knowledge or peek at the winning idea, so they're all getting it at the same time. No unfair advantage here. For the authors who don't stalk our blogs early, well, they get that much less time to toy with this.

THE IDEA 

The characters:

Ryder- Female, human, teenager, short in height, long brown hair w/blue streaks, bright green eyes, smart, sassy, tough.

Ax- (short for Aximander) Male, demon (but was once human before being sent to hell), as a demon he has no permanent form, thus he possesses humans. He's cunning, vindictive, but incredibly charismatic.

The conflict:

Ryder is a supernatural hunter (she hunts demons, monsters, evil baddies), but she has been possessed by the demon Ax, who has essentially bound himself to her. Meaning no simple exorcism will release him. Ryder must find a way to break free of Ax while fighting for control of her own mind, body, and actions.

Their abilities:

Ryder- as a hunter she is skilled in weapons, fighting, and supernatural knowledge/lore but does not have "supernatural or magical" abilities of her own.

Ax- can shift/shimmer (teleport anywhere, including hell) and has enhanced/heightened abilities (strength, speed, hearing)...when possessing someone these abilities are transferred into them while Ax resides within them.

Awesome, right? We are all super excited to see what these five incredibly talented authors come up with!

The authors will have until October 18th to write their 800 word flash fiction story. And on October 19th, all five stories will be revealed on all five of the participating blogs.

You will have a chance to vote for your favorite idea and enter to win the grand prize.

For more details in the meantime, be sure to check out the Lie Or Die contest page, HERE.


Don't forget to stop back on October 19th. Author GP Ching will be posting her short story based on the winning idea here! We're very excited to see what she comes up with and you'll have a chance to vote for her, or any other of the participating author's stories!

Lie or Die Flash Fiction Showdown: Step 1: Submit Your Idea Now!

Here is your chance to come up with a story idea and have not 1 but 5 authors spin it into an 800 word flash fiction tale! That’s 5 different YA paranormal authors with their own style and their own creativity taking your idea in 5 directions! Where will they go? You’ll have to wait until Oct 19^th to find out.  
 

But, for now, get your story idea in! You have from Sept 29, 2011 12:00am to Oct 8^th, 2011 11:59pm EST to submit your ideas by choosing characters, conflict and abilities. Details are in the form, which is linked at the bottom of the post. Only entries into the form will be considered.

  Anyone can enter their idea (open to international) and the winning idea will win a print book of their choice from one of the participating authors. What should you enter? Well, seeing as all of the authors are YA Paranormal writers, chances are anything to do with a hot, young heroine/hero of the non-human type will spark their interest. But, so could a grotesque villain…Should it be regular old Earth or a dystopian world? Should unicorns frolic and mermaids flap about? Should there be a love triangle? YOU DECIDE!

Example: 

Characters - "Bill" - a male vampire, tall, dark and boring, prefers computers to good times, over 150 years old. "Sookie" - a female human, blond, barmaid, perky, Southern, sweet and hospitable but will resort to extreme violence when provoked.

Conflict - Someone wants Sookie dead. People she knows are being killed and it looks like Sookie is next. AND, there's a new vampire in town. He's tall, blond, sexy and powerful. While Bill may be old reliable, there's just something about Eric that she can't resist.

Abilities - "Bill" - speed, strength, can heal with his blood. "Sookie" - telepathic, good with a shotgun.

On Oct 9^th, our 5 expert judges a.k.a fabulous bloggers Fiktshun,Two Chicks on Books (Us), Magical Urban Fantasy Reads, A Life Bound by Books, and Taking it One Book at a Time, will choose THE IDEA, based purely on what sounds like the most fun to read about and announce it at Sunday, 6pm EST. 

From there, the authors will have 10 days to take the idea and run with it.

****UPDATE****

Starting Friday, 9/30, for a daily chance to win an eBook from Amazon of one of the participating author’s books of your choice, submit your idea and tweet the following:

“I submitted my story idea for the #LieOrDie event! Go submit yours!”

You only need to submit one idea, but you can have a chance to win an eBook each day through October 8th, by tweeting and spreading the word. The daily winners will be announced on Twitter.

For more details about the Lie or Die event, CLICK HERE to visit the official event page.

Want to know a little bit more about the authors participating?

S.M Reine

SM Reine is a writer and graphic designer obsessed with werewolves, the occult, and collecting swords. Her YA fantasy books, "Six Moon Summer" and "All Hallows' Moon," have been praised as "fresh and fast-paced" and "captivating." Sara spins tales of dark fantasy to escape the drudgery of the desert, where she lives with her husband and the Helpful Baby. Visit her at 

http://www.smreine.com/

G.P.Ching:

Author of "The Soulkeepers" and "Weaving Destiny" (DarkSide Publishing,) and rebel suburbanite who makes wicked cookies, kicks patootie at Guitar Hero, and thinks guinea pigs are the perfect pet. Visit her at www.gpching.com.

Tiffany King:

Hi, my name is Tiffany King the author of the Paranormal/Romance YA novel “Meant to Be” and "Forgotten Souls" and I’m practically a native Floridian. My family and I have been here for the last fourteen years and have gotten quite used to the mild winters and scorching summers. I went back to school when I turned 31 and will finish up this spring. I wrote my book “Meant to Be” two years into my degree program and put it on hold while I finished school. Of course my degree has nothing to do with writing *drat* but that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to keep writing. You can find Tiffany at 

http://authortiffanyjking.blogspot.com/

Megan Duncan:

Megan Duncan, author of "Released" and the soon-to-be-released "Savor", is a lover of all things paranormal, fantasy, sci-fi and anything just out of the ordinary. She is continually fighting her addiction to chocolate and living in her overactive imagination. 

http://meganduncan.blogspot.com/

K.A.Tucker: 

Born in small-town Ontario, Kathleen published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She is a voracious reader and the farthest thing from a genre-snob, loving everything from High Fantasy to Chick Lit. Kathleen currently resides in a quaint small town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures. Asylum, the sequel to Anathema,  will be released January, 2012. Kathleen's website... 

http://www.katuckerbooks.com/index.html

Want to enter you idea in this amazing flash fiction contest??? Fill out this FORM to have your idea’s added to the voting!!!! Remember to use the hashtag #LieOrDie on twitter to help spread the love :D

Lie or Die

Ever wonder how two authors can take an idea and bring it to life with their own style and creativity? What about FIVE authors?!

Well, the Lie or Die Event is your chance to see it in action, only better… they may use YOUR idea!

How it works:

STEP #1: Between Sept 29th and Oct 8th, you’ll have the opportunity to enter your flash fiction idea at participating blog sites. Your entry will consist of answering three easy questions to help formulate the story.


STEP #2: on Oct 9th, the 5 “judges”  will pick one entrant’s idea as THE idea that all five authors will take and spin into their own short tale, independent of each other. The entrant will also win their choice of 1 print book from the authors (open to International) and two entries into the grand prize!


STEP #3: On Oct 19th,  each blog will host one of the versions of the story idea. Readers will have 5 days to vote on their favorite one. Casting their vote will also enter them into a grand prize draw! (open to U.S. entrants only)


STEP #4: On Oct 24th, the grand prize winner and winning author will be announced.  The author wins bragging rights. The grand prize winner wins autographed print copies of:

Anathema  -K.A.Tucker
The Soulkeepers and Weaving Destiny  - G.P. Ching
Six Moon Summer  - SM Reine
Meant to Be and Forgotten Souls - Tiffany King
Released, Savor - Megan Duncan

Meet the "Judges"

You'll need to WOW these fabulous bloggers with your creativity so they'll choose YOUR story idea!

Fiktshun

Two Chicks On Books

A Life Bound By Books

Magical Urban Fantasy Reads

Taking It One Book At A Time

Meet the 5 Authors!

These 5 authors will spin the winning idea into an 800 word flash fiction tale like none other! 

G.P. Ching

Megan Duncan

Tiffany King

SM Reine

K.A. Tucker

Stay tuned for more details & entry forms go live on Thursday!