I Voted

It wasn't easy.

The voting part is easy. All the entries now fit into a single thread so it is by far the easiest process in the whole contest.

The not-easy part was choosing the entries I would support.

In the premise contest, some of my favorites were knocked out. Of those that remained, I found three (other than Star of Justice, of course) that held my interest and seemed to know how to put a sentence together. Jeff compared me to a copy-editor in one post. I wouldn't have the patience to be a copy-editor. Or the fan base to support me. On the other hand, I could be known as "The Dragon Lady." That sounds nice. Better than "Crazy Cat Lady."

I started a thread for Star of Justice with this reasoning: I promised I would start some in this phase, thinking I would be knocked out. If I didn't start some, people would know I was still in. This is assuming anyone is paying any sort of attention to me at all, which is beyond arrogant at this point. Rationally, if I didn't make it, I should have started a "Why Did You Hate My Book?" thread. Since I didn't, I'm either a coward or I'm still in the contest.

I didn't want to start threads on premises I didn't like, and fortunately two of my picks remained "open for discussion." So I started two threads, one for my book, one for someone else's. I haven't promoted either since starting them. My secret identity is intact. Maybe. Mwahahaha!

The nice part is hearing from a few people who liked it. One even went back and changed her votes to be sure she had voted for it. That was nice. Made me feel all warm and tingly.

In the main contest, boy howdy! The difference 30 pages makes!

I'm keeping The Last Apostle, but only because I can't find another one that I would want to read more. It was a little boring in the first 30 pages. I hope the next 30 give me a reason to go on.
Vinnie's Diner has returned to my list, much to my surprise. I don't like first person writing, but this first person is hilarious. I enjoy being in her head. She reminds me a lot of Kiven, one of my characters from Past Ties. This may end up being The One I vote for in the end.

Sword of the Patron continues to hold my interest. As a fantasy, it reminds me of Star of Justice, although the story is completely different. Caissa doesn't live in an occupied land, for one. The characters seem more fleshed out to me than some of the others, and for the most part, believable in their actions and reactions. I'm all about the characters. I also like some of the word choices. This author isn't afraid to use words out of the norm.

I did try to read through the remaining five entries when I realized I wasn't as happy with the Apostle John as I hoped. They just didn't hold my attention. Altar has potential. The emotions are there. The skill seems a little lacking yet. Maybe that could be improved with copy editing. I wouldn't know.

I almost voted for H20. I hadn't been interested in it until I got the 30 pages, but the main character is interesting. High-powered exec yet rides a motorcycle. Maybe that's true of all execs. My biggest fear? After reading the synopsis, I know she swears off water for a while, and I didn't want to read about her all grungy and gross in first person. A little too Crime and Punishment for me.

So, there are my three votes in the main and my reasons. We're only allowed to vote for three this time.

Polls close 11 PM Dec 15. Don't forget to vote!

I hope you're enjoying the contest so far. I think I am.