RHP Prose Competition Voting Thread Round 2

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Thank you kindly. (Yes, there is an adult version floating about somewhere in my head).

My other (more sensible) entry was 'Lockdown.'

Both of Ghost's stories were brilliant! Very well done!!

From my humble perspective, "This Little Piggy" was the best story submitted. It was as if Franz Kafka had written it while having a good trip on acid. 😀

And the tribute to Turgenev in "Lockdown" would have made Tolstoy jealous. 🙂


Keep supplying the excellence: A true pleasure.

@paul-a-roberts said
Congratulations on regaining your title.

I wrote "Release", so thank you to all those who voted for the story over the two rounds. After a poor showing last year, I was ecstatic to win round 1.

I will discuss the stories in the thread that Ponderable mentioned above.

Congratulations Paul!
"Release" was both tense and sympathetic. On a deeper level, I found it to be rather emblematic of these times.

It's theme adhered to the topic of "escape" in the cruelest way possible. I liked that!

@ghost-of-a-duke said
As always, thank you kindly Ponderable for running the competition and everyone who took the time to read and vote.

Am happy to share first place with my entry 'This little piggy.'

Was a lot of fun to write.

Dear Ghost, I think the joint winners should engage in a virtual arm - wrestling contest, taking into account the average age of each contestant, wind direction, and what each had for breakfast. Who could the other winner be, do you think....?

My congratulations to both winners and my thanks to all writers for keeping us entertained in this traditional cultural competition.

I easily related to A Reason To Live and I'm happy to see that it did well.

Thanks to all!

Beyond the horizon was my entry this year and thank you to the readers who voted for my story. Congratulations to the two winners. Both were truly remarkable and deserved to win. There wasn't a single story I didn't like and I really had a hard time picking my favourite three.
A big thank you to all participants for making this an awesome competition.

Congratulations to the winners. I found it genuinely difficult to vote because of the quality and the diversity and changed my mind a number of times! As per other thread my contribution was just called Escape.

@paul-a-roberts said
Congratulations on regaining your title.

I wrote "Release", so thank you to all those who voted for the story over the two rounds. After a poor showing last year, I was ecstatic to win round 1.

I will discuss the stories in the thread that Ponderable mentioned above.

Thanks Paul. As you know, my top points went to your entry. Really connected with your main character (due to working in social care).

@indonesia-phil said
Dear Ghost, I think the joint winners should engage in a virtual arm - wrestling contest, taking into account the average age of each contestant, wind direction, and what each had for breakfast. Who could the other winner be, do you think....?

I thought it was either Paul or your good self?!

Dogma I had pegged as Moonbus.

@wolfe63 said
Both of Ghost's stories were brilliant! Very well done!!

From my humble perspective, "This Little Piggy" was the best story submitted. It was as if Franz Kafka had written it while having a good trip on acid. 😀

And the tribute to Turgenev in "Lockdown" would have made Tolstoy jealous. 🙂


Keep supplying the excellence: A true pleasure.

'A good trip on acid.' I like that. 😀

Due to the different voting format this year (2 rounds) I wrote what I call a 'Marmite story.' (One that readers would either love or hate). Ordinarily, I'd write something to have more general appeal, as second and 3rd votes add up. This year however that wouldn't have been enough to win the final round. My aim was to at least qualify for the final and then have several voters who had it as their favourite.

It was a precarious strategy.

@the-pickled-walrus said
If it's a tie they can settle it with a chess game!

The two winners are very closely rated. 😉

@the-pickled-walrus said
The two winners are very closely rated. 😉

Very pleased indeed to share first place with Phil. He writes amazing micro fiction so I shouldn't really be surprised.

@the-pickled-walrus said
The two winners are very closely rated. 😉

I think the ghost and I have played 13 games of chess, although mostly during games we just chat or make up stories together, and we've had 8 draws, so you can't really put a cigarette paper between us.

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Very pleased indeed to share first place with Phil. He writes amazing micro fiction so I shouldn't really be surprised.

The feeling is reciprocated in full measure, always glad to share with friends.

Congratulations to the authors, thanks to the readers, and to Pondy.