Zane Vlasova, Contestant Number Two

I received the first three chapters from Zane Vlasova's "Dream"! Two down, eight to go! I'm sure looking forward to reading all of the entries! It's going to be so hard to actually pick only one winner! That's the rules though!!!

Jim Barringer, Contestant Number One

I have my first three chapters from Jim Barringer's "New Life Church"! Good job Jim! I have found your name on my puzzle and circled it. Now we only have nine more to go!

Rogue Bud Writing Competition Finalists

Searching for the WINNER!

I'm excited to announce the ten finalists for my First Annual Rogue Bud Writing Competition in honor of Joel Muska!

It was hard for me to send out letters to the ones that I could not select as finalists. I appreciate all of the interest and the obvious hard work that the submissions relayed.

Here are the finalists, in alphabetical order. Congratulations everyone! I am looking forward to reading your first three chapters!!! Keep in mind that the deadline for your requested material is November 1st, 2010. At that time I will need to know that you have completed your work in progress!

Good luck and God bless!!!

Rose Audrey



Jim Barringer:

“I'm a young pastor doing what I feel God has called me to do and waiting faithfully on him, and I'm writing this letter because I feel that you might be the instrument of his providence. He works in strange ways, but he rarely accomplishes his goals using a miracle when he could accomplish them through another believer instead. If you believe in what I'm doing here in Orlando, then please prayerfully consider if you might be the one God uses to bring his plan to pass in my life.”

Cassandra Nicole Bonde:

“For four years I have been trying as hard as I possibly could to finish what I started. I had huge dreams and plans but no way to put them into action without a completed manuscript. My mom read my stories over and over with always the same comment, "Where did you find this? You didn't copy it from anything, right? You know that's wrong.” And I always replied with the same roll of my eyes and told her I had written it by myself. Then she proceeded to tell me that I needed to finish it before I worried about anything else.”

Benjamin Brindise:

“My life’s ambition is to write something that would influence people to stop for a moment and think about the underlying things in life. The darkness that surrounds us, but also the endless possibilities the world has if you can break free of the mundane and focus on your own course. I believe strongly in something Stephen King once said, “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”

Brenda Hernandez:

“I am a writer. A thinker. A creator. The reason I want to publish my novel is because my dream is to become an author someday. An author who inspires people with their creativity. I like the idea of expressing my imagination on paper. Like many artists say they express their imagination by painting or drawing. Well I express my imagination by writing. It gives me a sense of freedom.”

Adithya Kumar:

“I believe that any story should be enjoyed by both children and adults alike irrespective of any creed, nationality, race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. Apart from carrying any specific theme in a story, I also truly believe that a story should also try to incorporate other innate meanings that are relevant to today’s world and society.”

Marissa McNicholas:

“I have been writing my whole life. The second I could hold a pencil I was writing, and when I could reach the computer I have typed stories then, and all of my life. I am a very dedicated writer. I want to be published young, and I wish that people will enjoy my books. I don’t want to write for the fame, but I love to read books, and I want to bring that joy to others.”

Vivian Kimi Tozaki, Esq.:

“I hope that you select my novel for publication so that my story will reach millions of young girls seeking much needed inspiration. I was born in the Mississippi Delta and learned to survive on my own by the age of 13. Physical abuse, neglectful parents, racism, cancer, and being kicked out of school by the tenth grade, are all pieces of my inspiring true story. Today, I am a high-spirited New York attorney living in Manhattan.”

Julianna Del Vecchio:

“Truthfully I don't deserve this very special opportunity. I haven't done anything to earn it-and I am not any worthier then my next door neighbor. I can’t think of why I deserve it any more then anyone else, but one thing I do know is I would make the most of it. Dreams. Goals. Wishes. Everyone has them, and sadly so few ever actually get the chance to accomplish them. I believe there are three types of people: people who dream, people who do, and people who do what they dream. I know without a doubt the third group is where I want to be. And I will work as hard as I have to in order to get there.”

Zane Vlasova:

“I wanted to write a book not only because I had a story and characters in my mind, that would refuse to leave me at peace. I wanted to challenge myself; I wanted to explore more than just my characters, their relationships or their lives. I wanted to explore things never before done in my Life and places never before visited. I wanted to see, feel and breathe the City I’ve only seen in movies, photos or dreams…anywhere or anyhow else, but not in reality, not with my own eyes, not with my own senses, not with my own foot on the City’s pavement!”

The sun has set upon my writing contest

Thank you for your interest in my writing contest. I will now be taking a little bit of time to consider the entries carefully before I make my final decisions as to whom I will select to request to see three chapters of their manuscripts.

I will personally be contacting each contestant (regarding if they are selected to be a finalist in my competition or not) by email no later than September 26th which is a Sunday night. For those of you whom I am not able to select to be a finalist I will be sending a link for a free upload of a book by an established writing enthusiast.

If you are selected to be a finalist and I request to see your work then you will have a timeline of no later than November 1st, 2010 to submit the requested material. If you are not asked to send more material then please do not. It will be deleted, unread.

I've had a wonderful response to my First Annual Rogue Bud Writing Competition and I've got some really interesting proposals to consider. Again, I thank you and look forward to reading the submissions!