Editor Jennifer's November Writing Contests - Including Cash Prize

Thank God for November - the one month when writers know they're not alone!

Editor Jennifer wants to do her part to motivate all you writers who intend to slave away through the month of November and get their daily word counts done.

So come on over when you're ready for a break and enter my weekly November Novel Writing Month contests!

There will be four contests in all. Each week I'll be giving out a terrific book on writing as the prize. The winner of week four's contest will get a book AND $20.00 USD cash!

IMPORTANT - I will put up a new post each week. Contest entries should be posted in the comment section of those posts. (Don't worry - I've seen the entries below and will collect them!)

Week One: Best First Line Contest - because that might be the only thing we've written so far. Prize: Getting Into Character, by Brandilyn Collins. Contest opens Nov. 1, 2009, Deadline 11:59 pm Pacific time Nov. 6, 2009, Winner announced Nov. 7, 2009.

Week Two: Best Character Intro Contest - send me the three paragraphs during which a character first appears in your novel (750 word limit). Prize: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, by Renni Brown and Dave King. Contest opens Nov. 8, 2009, Deadline 11:59 pm Pacific time Nov. 13, 2009, Winner announced Nov. 14, 2009.

Week Three: Best Dialogue Contest - submit a terrific dialogue between two or more characters (750 word limit). Prize: Plot & Structure, by James Scott Bell. Contest opens Nov. 15, 2009, Deadline 11:59 pm Pacific time Nov. 20, 2009, Winner announced Nov. 21, 2009.

Week Four: Best Novel Pitch - submit your pitch and see if it's an attention-getter! (300 word limit). Prize: Writing the Breakout Novel, by Donald Maass and $20.00 USD cash prize! Contest opens Nov. 22, 2009 Deadline 11:59 pm Pacific time Nov. 27, 2009, Winner announced Nov. 28, 2009.

Rules and Regs:

All entries must be original work by the author. Entries must appear in "comments" section of contest post before the cutoff date and time. If I can't see your comment, it isn't in the contest. Prizes shipped free to contestants living within the United States or Canada. Contestants outside Canada or the United states will be asked to pay shipping costs above $10.00.

Best of the Best Ebook Contest - 30 days/30 semifinalists

Can you believe October is over already?

We've had thirty days and thirty semifinalists. I hope everyone had a chance to check out the books, descriptions and links to all these wonderful novels. I think we've proved epublishing has a great future.

Come back tomorrow to find out who took first, second and third place!

And have a very happy Halloween!

To all you Nanowrimo participants, check out my November contests. We'll be having fun competitions each week with great prize giveaways.

See you tomorrow - I can't wait to unveil the winners!

BOTB Semifinalist - Conspiracy: The Trial of Oliver Lee and James Gililland, by W. Michael Farmer

Conspiracy: The Trial of Oliver Lee and James Gililland, by W. Michael Farmer

Albert Fountain—tough frontiersman, respected attorney, newspaper publisher, and Republican Speaker in the territorial legislature—and his eight-year-old son Henry vanished on a cold winter’s day in the desert near White Sands, New Mexico Territory in 1896. They were never found. Within two days after learning of the Fountain disappearance, Republicans claimed Oliver Lee, a leading Democrat and deadly gunman, murdered the Fountains. The territorial governor brought Pat Garrett, killer of Billy the Kid, out of retirement, hired the Pinkerton Detective Agency to gather evidence, and contributed to rewards that totaled $20,000 to catch the killers. Three years later, Oliver Lee and his friend James Gililland went to trial in Hillsboro New Mexico.

Conspiracy: The Trial of Oliver Lee and James Gililland shows the trial from the perspective of a young reporter, Quentin Peach, one of many from national newspapers attending the trial. He finds a madam certain the defendants are innocent, powerful businessmen certain they are guilty and the little village where the trial is held filled with blood enemies. It is Pat Garrett’s last big case, a case where he fails to arrest the defendants after a dawn firefight and his key witness disappears at the start of the trial. It’s a case filled with political warfare where Yankee Republicans accuse Texas Democrats of conspiring to murder an eight-year old boy and Democrats accuse Republicans of conspiring to hang innocent men. It’s a case that can stop New Mexico from becoming a state for the next fifty years. It’s a case that will change Quentin Peach’s life forever.

For more information, or to purchase Conspiracy: The Trial of Oliver Lee and James Gililland, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Balant: A Beginning, by Sam Smith

Balant: A Beginning, by Sam Smith

The first in a 5 book SF series, Towards the unMaking of Heaven, Balant: A Beginning is the tale of three young spacemen - Dag Olvess, Malamud Bey and Pi Pandy (the narrator) - who get marooned on a planet. To survive, not only do they have to adapt to a cave-dwelling planetary life, but they also have to deal with wild creatures, savages, slave traders and the other space species on the planet, the Nautili.

A boy's own adventure.


Sam Smith is the editor of The Journal (once 'of Contemporary Anglo-Scandinavian Poetry'), publisher of Original Plus books. He is also proud to be Poetry Editor of BeWrite Books. Born Blackpool 1946, now living in Maryport, Cumbria, freelance writer, most recently employed as an amusement arcade cashier, he has also been a psychiatric nurse, residential social worker, milkman, plumber, laboratory analyst, groundsman, sailor, computer operator, scaffolder, gardener, painter & decorator........ working at anything, in fact, which has paid the rent, enabled him to raise my three daughters and which hasn't got too much in the way of his writing. He now has several poetry collections and novels to his name. (See his website here.)

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Balant: A Beginning, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - The Matchmakers, by Jennifer Colgan

The Matchmakers, by Jennifer Colgan

Two wrongs don’t make a right, but they just might make a perfect match…

Nick Garret is flypaper for females, and he likes it that way. Women stick for a while, and when it’s over they fly away. So does he. Then one rain-slick night a young woman steps in front of his pickup truck, and his jaded, cynical life takes a sharp swerve toward trouble.

Calliope did the only thing she could think to get Nick to steer his truck—and his life—in a new direction. Banished from the Fae realm for granting a wish gone bad, her punishment is an impossible task; redeem the unredeemable Nick Garret. If she fails to help him pair three couples in everlasting bliss, he’s doomed to never experience real love. And she will share his fate—as a mortal.

Nick can’t decide if this charming, exasperating woman is a dream come true, or a saucy, sexy nightmare sent to drive him insane. Yet something about her makes him want to rise to her challenge. He’ll do anything to make her stick around a while.

Besides, how much trouble can one half-naked, seemingly wingless faerie be?


An avid reader all her life and an aspiring writer since the age of ten, Jennifer Colgan was inspired by the romance novels she devoured as a teen as well as the science fiction classics. Since beginning her career, she’s branched out from science fiction romance into paranormal, contemporary and even historical genres. Jennifer currently lives in the NY-NJ Metropolitan area with her husband of seventeen years, two creative children, a slightly neurotic Dalmatian and two spirited black cats. When not hard at work on a novel or short story, she spends her time reading, quilting and haunting the local craft stores.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of The Matchmakers, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Ready to Take a Chance Again, by Rita Oberlies

Ready to Take a Chance Again, by Rita Oberlies

Turning to Barry Manilow for inspiration seemed desperate, even to Grace Winston. Nevertheless, a warbled rendition of Ready to Take a Chance Again, chased down with an overabundance of cheap chardonnay, leaves Grace primed for an extreme life makeover. Step one of her transformation requires her to put aside her lingering fantasy of former lover Jake Magee, that brought a single night of passion followed by years of bitterness. He might be convinced that they deserve a second chance but Grace knows history would likely just repeat itself. Neither her head nor her heart is interested in another knock out punch.

After a decade in the military, Jake Magee is finally ready to settle down with the woman he's spent years dreaming about. Unfortunately past mistakes threaten to derail his plan to show Grace he can be the man she always wanted. To win her heart he must first find a way to win back her trust. But now instead of a geographical hurdle he faces competition for Grace's affection.

Neither can deny that the passion between them burns even stronger than before. Jake knows that what lies beneath that attraction is a once-in-a-lifetime love. Now he just has to find a way to prove it.


Rita Oberlies was born in Boston, the youngest of six children. Raised in a home where books were tucked in shelves everywhere, she developed a love for reading soon after learning the alphabet. After years of working as an Employee Development Manager, Rita now resides in Western New York with her husband and their two young book addicts.

Visit Rita at Rita Oberlies

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Ready To Take A Chance Again, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Living History, by Ben Essex

Living History, by Ben Essex

The Salmon Corp owns the future, and Jacob White works for the Corp. It's an easy job, provided you do what you're told and don't ask too many questions. Jacob is told to start bringing historical figures back to life, somehow- the details are up to him. He doesn't ask too many questions.

For a little while, it all seems straightforward enough. With the help of an old friend and some highly inaccurate history, White tries his best to answer the Corporation's whim. But the harder he works, the more White comes to realise that his latest task is actually impossible. Naturally, the Corp isn’t interested in hearing this- they're very pointedly not interested. Faced with a choice between failure and the most elaborate bluff in history, White opts for the latter. Unfortunately for him things are more complicated than they appear, and his lie will have terrible consequences. Allies will be hurt, cities will be burnt, and White will be left with nothing- not even his own body.

A lot of great men lived a long time ago. But this is the city-state of America Little, and great men are no longer tolerated. White begins the story with no enemies. He ends with many, including himself. In this future every lie has its price and every dream comes with a fee. For his great illusion, Jacob will find the cost laid out in blood and revolution.


Ben Essex is a twenty-one year old student of moderate laziness. He can currently be found enjoying a bout of unemployment in the sedate English city of York. Aside from blissfully whiling away his youth, his hobbies involve crime-fighting, ghost-busting, time-traveling and an ongoing feud with the colour blue. He is entirely real, but has aspirations toward becoming fictional.

He does not often talk about himself in the third person, but occasionally relapses into the habit.

For more information or to purchase a copy of Living History, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Verdant Skies, by Steve Jordan

Verdant Skies, by Steve Jordan

The four giant satellites in Earth orbit were considered oases for humanity, the first of the habitats humans would move to and escape the growing environmental pressures and hazards of living on the ground.

But when a volcanic eruption threatens to finally ruin Earth's already-collapsing ecosystem, the remaining peoples of Earth demand access to the satellites, and threaten to overwhelm them, thereby dooming all of humanity.

And as the satellites are under siege from below, a desperate gamble for the survival of the satellite Verdant is taken...


Steve Jordan is a graphic artist and web developer who originally took up writing as a hobby. Thirteen books later, he has developed a devoted following, and has become a prominent voice in e-book circles. He is devoted to his wife, spoken well of by his friends and family, and tolerated by his cat.

For more information, or to order a copy of Verdant Skies, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Moonstone, by Marilee Brothers

Moonstone, by Marilee Brothers

Allie Emerson, the girl voted least likely to save the world may have to do just that. She has problems: Life in a crummy travel trailer with a malingering mother. High school bullies and snarky drama queens. Bad guys with charming smiles. And then, there’s that whole thing about fulfilling a magical prophecy and saving the world from evil.

Welcome to the funny, sad and sometimes scary world of fifteen-year-old Allie Emerson, who’s struggling to keep her act together (not to mention her mom’s) in the small town world of Peacock Flats, Washington. A zap from an electric fence sets off Allie’s weird psychic powers. The next thing she knows, she’s being visited by a hippy-dippy guardian angel, and, shortly after, her mysterious neighbor, the town “witch,” gives her an incredible moonstone pendant that has powers only a “Star Seeker: is meant to command.

“Who me?” is Allie’s first reaction. But as sinister events begin to unfold, Allie realizes she has a destiny far bigger than she ever imagined…if she can just survive everyday life, in the meantime.


Marilee Brothers and her husband of many years live on the dry side of the Cascade Mountains in beautiful Central Washington state, known as “the fruit bowl of the nation.” Unofficial motto: “We never met a fruit we didn’t like.”

Having survived teaching high school students and raising three sons, Marilee now writes full time for Bell Bridge and Medallion Press. Moonstone may be purchased from the Bell Bridge website, www.bellbridgebooks.com, or your favorite bookstore.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Moonstone, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - In Good Faith, by Regina Andrews

In Good Faith, by Regina Andrews

Haley Hawthorne is a successful Art Director at a high-powered greeting card company in Manhattan. Designer clothes and expensive material luxuries are what she uses to try and fill the emptiness inside -- but it wasn't always that way for her. Orphaned at a young age, Haley was raised in rural Dunbar Falls by her Uncle Nelson amid pasture lands and a clear sense of the things that matter most in life, including her joyful relationship with God.

One day Aaron Carrier, her old friend from Dunbar Falls pays her a surprise visit to her office at Sterling Greeting Cards with devastating news about Uncle Nelson. When she returns home to Dunbar Falls, Haley is faced with a professional decision upon inheriting Uncle Nelson’s air-conditioning company. More than that, she faces a crossroads in her heart. It is a crisis of faith, of loyalty and of love.

What does God want her to do? Will she be able to return home to Dunbar Falls and all that it has meant for her? And will Aaron Carrier be more than a friend?


A resident of Providence, RI, Regina grew up in nearby Barrington and still belongs to her church family in that town. After graduating from Providence College she attended the University of Delaware, eventually earning her Master’s Degree in American Civilization from Brown University. She is inspired by the seashore and the song of the birds…anything to do with nature, and she and her husband enjoy visiting nearby Cape Cod.

Regina’s hobbies include Travel, Museums, Theater, Classical Music, Choral Singing and Gardening.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of In Good Faith, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Ready for the Defense, by Mike Langan

Ready for the Defense, by Mike Langan

First-year associate Hank Fisher is not your typical criminal defense lawyer. Acting more like Sherlock Holmes than Oliver Wendell Holmes in the courtroom, he exonerates clients by catching the real bad guys. His unconventional victories come at the chagrin of his larger-than-life boss, John "Mac" MacPherson, who prefers to pull the twelfth juror from the brink of conviction the old-fashioned way, through an artful cross-examination and an impassioned closing argument.

But before the dysfunctional duo can rescue their new client, U.S. Senator Victoria Serling, from the jaws of an apparent IRS investigation, a hit-and-run accident rips their law firm apart, killing Mac and putting Senator Serling in the hospital. To find the killer, Hank must defend the senator by himself in a criminal investigation that soon spirals out of control.

Hank learns the senator is being blackmailed because of her activities on the Senate's Select Committee on Terrorism. It seems she has asked one too many questions about an unconfirmed report that an a Saudi businessman has transferred to al-Qaida a genetically engineered biowarfare virus that makes the Swine Flu look like a head cold. As the mystery virus hits Los Angeles and a federal grand jury prepares to indict the senator for a campaign violation she did not commit, Hank is fired for incompetence.

With the help of the senator's charming niece, Dr. Amelia Fuentes, and an ethically challenged ex-cop named Roger Lynch, Hank tries once more to find the culprit. But to crack this case, he must risk losing his law license . . . and his life.


Mike Langan writes novels that draw on his experience as a former litigator in Washington, D.C., and Syracuse, N.Y. He received his J.D. from George Mason University School of Law, where he was an editor of the George Mason Law Review. Before becoming a lawyer, Mike received his M.F.A. in creative writing from George Mason University, where he was a graduate fellow, and his B.A. in philosophy from Colgate University, from which he graduated cum laude. He has taught college courses in both law and English, and has published several legal articles and short stories. His first novel, Dark Horse, was published in February of 2008. His second novel, Ready for the Defense, was published in May of 2008. He lives with his wife and two daughters in the Syracuse area, where he works as a career law clerk to a federal court judge.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Ready for the Defense, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Jake's Return, by Liana Laverentz

Jake's Return, by Liana Laverentz

The last person small town bad boy Jacob Donovan expects to find when he returns home in disgrace after serving time is Rebecca Reed, head librarian. Rebecca had always had much bigger ambitions. Jake hadn’t wanted to stand in her way, so after one night of passion with his former best friend, he’d hit the open road.

Rebecca refuses to believe Jake is guilty of murder. The boy who’d been her friend and protector when they were town outcasts together could never have killed a woman. Not to mention the tender, loving man who’d given her their daughter, Katie.

But who is Jake now? That’s what everyone wants to know, including the town council chairman, who is determined to send Jake back to prison, by any means available.

Jake’s been running from love for all of his life. Will he find the courage to defeat his demons and stay this time?



Liana Laverentz is the author of three contemporary romances with The Wild Rose Press, Thin Ice, Jake’s Return, and Ashton’s Secret, a murder mystery romance. Thin Ice is a 2007 New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf Award winner, a 2008 EPPIE winner for best contemporary romance, and was a nominee for Best Romance of 2007 at Long and Short Reviews. Jake’s Return is a 2008 NJRW Golden Leaf Award winner. For more information, go to www.lianalaverentz.com

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Jake's Return, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Peckerwood Twist, by Nathan Lichtwar

Peckerwood Twist, by Nathan Lichtwar

“Heat is something I never seem able to escape. It’s not just about climate. Heat comes in many forms and follows me wherever I go, or maybe the truth is that I’m drawn to it like the proverbial moth to a flame. Like in this small town on the east coast of Florida. Nighttime in Port Selerno is as hot as if it were midday. If you frequent some of the places I do, it can get even hotter.” -- This first novel of Nat Lichtwar's has reviewers calling it a rollercoaster ride and clamoring for the sequel.


Captain Nathan Lichtwar began his over 45-year life on the sea as a young sailor for the U.S. Coast Guard then moved to tug boats, including a stint as a New York Harbor ferryboat operator. Lichtwar is the owner-operator of Cielo e Mar Charter Service and New York Boat Charter, and is publisher-owner of Cross Up, Long Island’s Motorcycle Scene. Called the Old Man of the Sea, he has traveled extensively throughout the world, on and off the beaten tract. He’s been a guest on Oprah twice. His travels and adventures inspired the writing of Peckerwood Twist, and is, as Nat likes to say, “…either 90% true and 10% false, or just the opposite.”

For more information or to purchase a copy of Peckerwood Twist, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - The Centurion and the Queen, by Minnette Meador

The Centurion and the Queen, by Minnette Meador

Marius has been stationed on 60 AD Britannia for sixteen years. Once a celebrated hero and a famous Praetorian Guard, he still clings to the old traditions as a fair but tough leader to his men, despite the shame that drove him from Rome.

Delia is sister to an uncaring Corieltauvi tribal king. Powerless, she watches as hundreds of Britons succumb to their suicidal pride and throw themselves against the unstoppable Roman machine. The last thing Delia expects is to find her body craving the touch of an enemy. The sudden intensity of their desire could change the history of an empire.

Separated by fate, they are thrown into the clash between 80,000 angry Celtic warriors and a clever Roman general with only 10,000 soldiers. Marius and Delia find themselves on opposing sides, in love, and unable to stop the future. The revolution that sparked their desire...could now destroy them both.



MINNETTE MEADOR: Somewhere between thirty and dust...red hair, blue eyes...six kids, one slightly used husband, and any number of pets from time to time... wanttabe hippy... wanttheirmoney yuppie... pro musician and actress for 20 Years... native Oregonian... lover of music, beauty, and all things green. Willing slave to the venerable muse. Minnette currently resides in Portland, Oregon with her husband, having replaced the children with one dog. The dog, Pierre, pretty much runs the show.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of The Centurion and the Queen, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Sky Seeds, by Grayson Moran

Sky Seeds, by Grayson Moran

EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT THE HISTORY OF LIFE ON EARTH IS WRONG

And the only one who knows the true story is a teenaged Mexican streetpunk who deals dope, smuggles wetbacks, and breeds gamecocks in Tijuana. But he wishes he didn’t know.

Ben has a hard time coming to grips with his long absent Papá showing up…and being an alien from hyperspace out to rebuild the infrastructure of the planet that his people built in the first place-- while they were creating human beings. Earth will be a strategic base for some vague powerplay and he wants Ben to run it for him.

After he gets through Yale and private classes in The Sky, a non-existent, hyper-projection where his father’s people--who think of themselves as the the only human race--now live. In the timeless, immaterial realm of the Sky, with its “Tubes” that transport people instantly from planet to planet, Ben is learning languages, arcane technology, and martial arts based on transporting people around as if by sorcery.

Which he and his old street gang use resume their smuggling and crimes on a universal scale. Which only brings him to the attention of the poorly-understood government of “The Race”, to whom his father is an outlaw.

Ben is quickly trapped into making decisions that weigh loyalties to his blood, his friends, his people, and his planet against his own needs and desires.


Civil engineer turned security consultant, smuggler, grave robber, and investigator, Grayson Moran brings a unique perspective to his work.

A hard-core SciFi fan who claims not to have read any fiction outside the genre, Moran nevertheless takes a highly social, cultural, individual approach to writing. SKY SEEDS is his first attempt to write for young people, who he sees as the purist audience for SF/F.

For more information or to purchase a copy of Sky Seeds, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Bitter Tree, by Frank Altobelli

Bitter Tree, by Frank Altobelli

Eleanor could not have known the effect the handsome, idealistic archeologist, Rene, would have on her. She gave him her heart, but did not easily give up her secrets. She knew the mystery hidden under the desert sands; one of the Bible's most intriguing stories was not the miracle that would bring clean safe water to the world's thirsty poor as Rene believed. She knew it was instead, a weapon that could humble the world's industrial powers and they would kill to keep it hidden.

Trapped between the longings of her heart and the danger she has unleashed, Eleanor finds herself on the run and separated from the man she loves. She must do the impossible, overcome her mentor and former CIA boss, Steve Clarkson as well as the men plotting to destroy the strategic oil reserve, poisoning the US economy's lifeblood. To Steve she is a traitor who joined his nation's enemies. To the terrorists she is the one person who can stop them.


Frank Altobelli is a software engineer living outside Austin, Texas with his wife, Kathryn, four daughters, cats, chickens, and horses. Frank enjoys writing software and telling a good story.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Bitter Tree, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Chasing the Light, by Steve Jordan

Chasing the Light, by Steve Jordan

Tom Everson, forced to flee his home during the 2011 oil riots, returns eight years later to find the girl he had to leave behind, start a business and make a life for them both. But he had to sneak into the country illegally, the energy situation has only gotten worse, and the country may break out in more riots at any time. Did Tom arrive at exactly the wrong moment?


Steve Jordan is a graphic artist and web developer who originally took up writing as a hobby. Thirteen books later, he has developed a devoted following, and has become a prominent voice in e-book circles. He is devoted to his wife, spoken well of by his friends and family, and tolerated by his cat.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Chasing the Light, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Hong Kong Stopover, by Margaret Pearce

Hong Kong Stopover, by Margaret Pearce

Josie Sutherland is a computer journalist and her quiet stopover in Hong Kong is thrown into chaos when she witnesses a failed robbery. She suspects the victim, Carey Court, is involved in software smuggling when they are both kidnapped.

The instant attraction between them complicates everything. The police suspect the pair of being the couriers involved in a smuggling racket with industrial espionage using software. Can Josie prove they're wrong?


Margaret Pearce started off her writing life as a copywriter in an advertising agency. She took up writing instead of drink when raising children. Did an Arts Degree at Monash University as a mature age student. She is a compulsive writer and reader with a weakness for fantasy and science fiction novels. She writes mainly children’s and teenage novels, and currently lurks in an underground flat still writing.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Hong Kong Stopover, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Lucky, by Beth Henderson

Lucky, by Beth Henderson

Harte Favre will do anything to protect those she loves, but disguising herself as a boy and playing poker to watch over her cousin Yancy has landed her on the eastbound train from Nevada to her uncle’s home in Chicago, where it is hoped she will find a proper husband and cease searching for adventure. Harte isn’t interested in a “proper” husband, but the mysterious Richard Thorton who helps her rescue Yancy repeatedly in the days ahead is a man she is quite interested in. Thorton is leery of women from Harte’s strata, although he can pass as one of the elite himself. He remembers all too well the stews in which he grew up, remembers the years of reinventing himself, of what he has had to give up in becoming the most successful covert Pinkerton operative alive. Alive being the operative word. It is a situation that his cover as a gunman named Thorn, and association with Harte Favre, makes tenuous at best. Particularly when saving Yancy will earn him Harte’s undying love at the same time it sends him back into the world he thought he’d managed to escape: the vice laden district of Chicago known as Hell’s Half Acre.

Sweeping from Virginia City, Nevada, and east along the Central Pacific rails to the saloons and poker tables of Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory, then to the slums and ballrooms of Chicago, Illinois in 1877, Lucky is a cross-country trip where love and honor win hands down.


Beth Henderson went the route of self-publishing out of frustration. Although she has had 25 titles published by various New York publishing houses, LUCKY kept getting turned down with comments like, “Love the hero but western settings simply aren’t selling right now.” And yet, every reader she foisted it on loved the book. Rather than put a larger head-sized hole in her office wall, she turned to Lulu.com and reformatted the manuscript as well as created a cover for trade paperback and e-book publication early in 2009. A native of Ohio, she spent 22 years living in the deserts of Arizona and Nevada, and collected a bachelors in History before returning to Ohio to add a masters in English Composition and Rhetoric. Although she has worked as a data entry clerk, a radio traffic director, a graphics layout artist, a retail manager, and a college level professor, when asked her profession the answer is always WRITER.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Lucky, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Faking It, by Elisa Lorello

Faking It, by Elisa Lorello

What happens when an uptight writing professor and an escort become friends?

Thirty-four-year old professor Andi Cutrone has broken up with her fiancé in Massachusetts, moved back to her native New York, and wants to be a better lover. So after meeting Devin, a handsome, charming escort, she proposes an unusual arrangement: lessons about writing in exchange for lessons about sex. When Devin accepts Andi’s proposal, he draws up a contract in which the two are forbidden to see each other socially. There’s just one problem: Andi also wants Devin.

Halfway into their arrangement, Devin and Andi break the rules of their contract and begin spending time together outside their weekly tutorials of drafting essays and dancing while stripped down. As they grow closer, Andi struggles to hide her feelings from Devin and accept herself as just another client while Devin attempts to maintain a “business as usual” attitude. Enter Sam, a New England professor with whom Andi begins a long distance relationship.

As their protective layers peel away, Andi and Devin discover each other ‘faking it’ and hiding their true selves from the world. However, once fully uncovered, both must decide how (and with whom) they will honor these truths. Will she give up her New York life for Sam? Will she hold out for Devin? Is it even possible to be in love with two men?


Elisa Lorello was born and raised on Long Island, New York. In 1995, she moved to southeastern Massachusetts, where she attended University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth for both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Her career in rhetoric and composition studies began in 2000, and since then she has been teaching first-year writing at the university level. Currently, Elisa lives and teaches in North Carolina, and is working on her third novel. Her second novel, Ordinary World, is a sequel to Faking It and is due later this year. She is happily single.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Faking It, click here. Also available for the Kindle here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Front Page News, by L.K. Campbell

Front Page News, by L.K. Campbell

Jess McElroy has always wanted to write front-page news, but she becomes front-page news when a stalker disrupts her life. The suspects include her ex-boyfriend who can't seem to let go of her. Then again, her new boss Parker Montgomery has a secret past that might spell trouble for Jess. When the person hounding her becomes more dangerous, Parker insists that she move in with him for protection. Both Jess and Parker are determined to keep their growing attraction in check, but as the peril increases, so do the sparks between them.


L.K. Campbell began writing fiction in her early twenties, choosing the romance genre because that was what she enjoyed reading. From 1986-2007, she worked at her hometown daily newspaper. In 2000, she became the paper's composition supervisor. In 2007, she left the newspaper and now freelances as a newspaper, magazine and book layout designer. She still lives with her husband in her hometown, because they both enjoy the pace of small town living.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Front Page News, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Disappearance Creek, by R. J. Luce

Disappearance Creek, by R.J. Luce

Conducting wildlife surveys in a remote mountain wilderness east of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, wildlife biologist Whip Sawtell uncovers a series of mysterious disappearances. A pack of northern gray wolves vanished, then a small plane sent out by the government to look for the pack crashed without a trace. An elk hunter
disappeared in the same area.

Sawtell follows the hunter’s trail looking for his body, but instead finds a dead wolf, one shot from an airplane. Before Sawtell can leave the area a sniper pins him down behind a tree miles from a road. His ex-girlfriend, wolf biologist Cat Bonner, tracks Sawtell into the wilderness before he connects the dots.


R.J. Luce was a wildlife biologist in Wyoming for three decades. He worked on deer, elk, pronghorn, moose, and bat management; and several endangered species recovery programs. He has traveled the Wyoming backcountry extensively: cross-country skiing, backpacking, and snowshoeing; and explored hundreds of caves and abandoned mines. Mr. Luce has authored a number of technical wildlife publications, supplied wildlife photographs for several books, and written wildlife-related articles for outdoor magazines. Disappearance Creek is his first outdoor mystery novel. He now divides his time between Lander, Wyoming; and Sierra Vista and Bisbee, Arizona.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Disappearance Creek, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Making Dead Ends Meet, by Jen LiMarzi

Making Dead Ends Meet, by Jen LiMarzi


Cara Peroni is an unemployed, dateless, city-dweller who thinks a job offer from The Ion Group is the silver bullet that will jumpstart her life. But one day of working for the mysterious medical education company has her thinking that the only jumping she might do is out of a conference room window. Her boss speaks in circles and challenges employees to feats of strength; her coworkers hoard office supplies like squirrels do acorns; and her office manager spits so much venom that Cara clamors for an antidote. Unfortunately, her love life parallels her career and dating disasters lurk in every corner. In spite of dining with a man who confesses to be missing a stomach, and finding out that the guy who says he loves pets actually breeds rats and snakes in his apartment, Cara's optimism somehow prevails as she hunts to find a needle in a haystack under the very last straw.Dodging barbs from her parents and bayonets from her boss, Cara navigates the road less traveled without using a map. But with the help of her friends and someone very special she realizes that she just may be her own best compass.


Jen LiMarzi is a medical writer by day, humor writer by nature. In addition to her first novel Making Dead Ends Meet, Jen's short stories and essays appear in the book Fingers Crossed, Legs Uncrossed and on the pages of local New York media including The Woodside Herald, The Subway Chronicles, NYNewcomer, New York Moves, and MrBellersNeighborhood. After living in New York City for a decade, she headed north and currently resides in Burlington, Vermont with her husband Eric and black Labrador Guinness.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Making Dead Ends Meet, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Redeeming Stanley, by Bodie Parkhurst

Redeeming Stanley, by Bodie Parkhurst

Meet Weldon Frame, self-diagnosed shrewd businessman, babe magnet, and mail room clerk extraordinaire. Meet Annie, Weldon's ex-girlfriend, mother of his unexpected child, and recently-identified gold-digging stone-cold bitch. Meet Stan and Babe, Prince of Demons and Whore of Babylon. Meet Angela, born-again Christian with a jones for Stan. Meet Grandma, a ghost who liked the family dog a little too well. Meet the Freak...well, maybe not. Meet the Coppess, a gum-snapping state trooper who has Weldon's sterling piece of American automotive engineering towed, leaving him afoot and furious in the middle of the Southern California desert night. And Annie, the stone-cold bitch, won't come pick him up. Clearly, Payback is in order. The rest is inevitable.


Bodie Parkhurst is writer, designer, and illustrator Sherry Wachter's alter ego. Her designs and illustrations have appeared in publications world wide; she has written columns and features for national and regional publications. She has written and illustrated numerous picture books for children and adults; Redeeming Stanley is her first novel. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her son and small, friendly cat ghost. Her work is available on amazon, and at www.magicdogpress.com

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Redeeming Stanley, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Talgorian Prophecy, by Ariana Dupre

Talgorian Prophecy, by Ariana Dupre

Megan Cassidy, a world-renowned psychic, must fight a serial killer to save her six-year-old son Robbie. But she can't do it alone. She needs help from the best tracker and ranger in West Virginia, her ex-fiancé Brody Phelps.

In a psychic vision Megan sees her own death during a battle with the murderer whom the police have dubbed the Mountain Mangler. She soon discovers that the Mangler is also psychic and is presenting a challenge the first six victims couldn't meet.

While Brody and Megan search the mountains for the Mangler and Robbie, Megan is drawn to Talgor Ridge where a Talgorian Elder tells them an unbelievable story. They discover their destinies are intertwined with the immortal Talgorians and they must fulfill the first Talgorian Prophecy. Acceptance is the only way to save Robbie, and the Talgorians, from total destruction.


Ariana Dupré is the pen name for Melissa Alvarez, a multi-published, award-winning author of paranormal romantic suspense. She is also an internationally known clairvoyant advisor and writes metaphysical nonfiction for The Lotus Circle. Melissa hosts the online radio show, The Reader’s Round Table and is the co-host of Celtic Seers on Blog Talk Radio. She owns Friesian horses with her husband and together they are successful breeders of champions. She enjoys reading and spending time with her family and horses when she’s not writing. Melissa lives in sunny South Florida where the weather is wonderful unless a hurricane is on the horizon. Visit her online for updates on new releases, contests, and more.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Talgorian Prophecy, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Sherwood Charade by Mimi Riser

Sherwood Charade, by Mimi Riser

Some are born to greatness. Others have it thrust upon them. Marian Allanson would prefer to avoid it, period. Emotionally scarred, and haunted by nightly dreams of the mythical Robin Hood, Marian is just limping through life till a mysterious quirk of fate tosses her and twelve-year-old street kid Orlando Konstantinos centuries into the past.

Now she's on a full-scale run through medieval Sherwood, threatened by the Sheriff of Nottingham, and discovering there may be truth to the myth, after all. A forest phantom appears out of the shadows to rescue her from death, then disappears again, leaving her to a different danger in the form of a forced marriage to Lord Roland of Hunterdon, a man hot enough to melt a maid's skivvies (despite the fact underwear hasn't been invented yet). To make matters worse, when the old sheriff is murdered, Roland steps into the job with plans to kill Robin Hood, unless Marian can stop him. Or will Roland be the one to die?

With the questions striking deeper than Robin's arrows, and a sudden uncertainty as to who's the villain and who's the hero, "Maid Marian" has much more to worry about than her missing unmentionables. And speaking of missing, where the devil is Orlando?... Before the secrets crack open and the dust clears, an unlikely heroine will rise from her own ashes, a legend will be rewritten, and a love will be forged strong enough to conquer time.


Mimi Riser has been an actress, model, clown, belly-dancer, jewelry designer, editor and publisher, but her first and foremost love is writing. She specializes in offbeat tales where laughter reigns and good always triumphs—but she makes her characters really work for their happy endings. She refers to herself as a blend of both Yankee and Southerner, city-chick and country-gal, and says that if folks think her stories are crazy, they should see her life. Mimi has had six novels published to date, plus numerous novellas, articles and short stories. She currently lives in the rural southwest with one husband, three dogs, and more cats than anyone wants to know about.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Sherwood Charade, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Saga of Sourdough Red, by Pinkie Paranya

SAGA OF SOURDOUGH RED combines adventure, mystery, suspense and a love story set in Alaska during the gold rush period of 1880s. Twenty-five year old Jennifer Kileen, an Ohio farm girl, journeys to Alaska during the 1901 gold rush, to search for her twin brother Jeremy. He had sent a torn map and a plea for help to their father, unaware that both parents had perished during an influenza epidemic. Jenny has no choice but to take her kid brother with her, but to travel more freely, she disguises herself as a young man. Jenny and David start their journey surviving a storm at sea, make a harrowing trip up the dreaded Valdez Glacier, and are pursued by an unknown villian throughout their journey. She is held captive in their cabin by a wounded wolverine and later attacked by a giant grizzly. Jenny gradually learns how to cope with hardships and earns the admiration and respect of the rough miners and her baking abilities both earn her a living and the nickname, Sourdough Red.

Two men fall in love with Jennyone a dashing, handsome ship's captain and the other, a doctor who mysteriously gave up his profession to do survey work in the wilderness. This is a hard choice for Jenny because she cares deeply for both men and each one offers her a different path in life.

Will Jenny choose the right man? Does she find her long-lost brother?


Born in Phoenix, Arizona, I’ve traveled all over the U.S. and most of Mexico. Ever since I can remember I’ve loved to write. After having written 12 novels to find the genre I loved, I still didn’t know, so I decided maybe it was time to try and sell some of them. I’m on my 12th published book now and #13 comes up 2/10. Mostly romantic books, I also have published a psychological suspense, a cozy mystery and an Early American
trilogy.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Saga of Sourdough Red, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Ashton's Secret, by Liana Laverentz

Ashton's Secret, by Liana Laverentz

From the moment he’d caught her snooping on his property, Meghan Edwards knew Nicholas Hawkinson was the man she’d been looking for. But would this dark, secretive stranger help her solve the mystery of her sister's death?

Nicholas Hawkinson wanted nothing to do with the city-girl photographer who asked too many questions. Five years ago the people of Ashton had been all too quick to accuse him of murder. They still considered him the town’s black sheep, a bad boy at best and a killer who got away with it at most. The smartest thing for both of them would be to never mention Heather again.

Her sister was dead, and Meghan knew it wasn't suicide. So did Nick. Whether he liked it or not, Ashton’s most dangerous man was the only one who could help her now. And Meghan wasn't leaving until she'd unraveled this sleepy little town's secret--or died trying.



Liana Laverentz is the author of three contemporary romances with The Wild Rose Press: Thin Ice, Jake’s Return, and Ashton’s Secret, a murder mystery romance. Thin Ice is a 2007 New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf Award winner, a 2008 EPPIE winner for best contemporary romance, and was a nominee for Best Romance of 2007 at Long and Short Reviews. Jake’s Return is a 2008 NJRW Golden Leaf Award winner. For more information, go to my website.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Ashton's Secret, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Kindred Spirits, by Marilyn Meredith

Kindred Spirits, by Marilyn Meredith

Tempe Crabtree is the resident deputy of Bear Creek, a small mountain community in the southern Sierra. Her continuing interest in the spiritual side of her heritage often causes unrest in her marriage to her minister husband.

Kindred Spirits is about a troubled marriage, a "perfect" murder, a murder victim whose spirit won’t rest until the murderer’s identity is revealed, the genocide of the Tolowa nation, and two dangerous trips for Deputy Tempe Crabtree as she searches for answers


Marilyn Meredith is the author of over twenty-five published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, including Kindred Spirits from Mundania Press. Under the name of F. M. Meredith, she writes the Rocky Bluff P.D. crime serie. No Sanctuary is the newest from Oak Tree Press. She is a member of EPIC, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. She was an instructor for Writer’s Digest School for ten years, served as an instructor at the Maui Writer’s Retreat and many other writer’s conferences. She makes her home in Springville CA, much like Bear Creek where Deputy Tempe Crabtree lives. Visit her at Fiction For You.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Kindred Spirits, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - The Lens, by Steve Jordan

The Lens, by Steve Jordan

In the midst of local labor squabbles and strange phenomena on a planet being terraformed, Captain Carolyn Kestral and her crew arrive on Shura Dva to help out a friend in need...and discover that the planet itself may not allow them to leave.


Steve Jordan is a graphic artist and web developer who originally took up writing as a hobby. Thirteen books later, he has developed a devoted following, and has become a prominent voice in e-book circles. He is devoted to his wife, spoken well of by his friends and family, and tolerated by his cat.

For more information or to purchase a copy of The Lens, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Cowgirl Dreams, by Heidi M. Thomas

Cowgirl Dreams, by Heidi M. Thomas

Defying family and social pressure, Nettie Brady bucks 1920s convention with her dream of becoming a rodeo star. That means competing with men, and cowgirls who ride the rodeo circuit are considered “loose women.” Addicted to the thrill of pitting her strength and wits against a half-ton steer in a rodeo, Nettie exchanges skirts for pants, rides with her brothers on their Montana ranch, and competes in neighborhood rodeos.

Broken bones, killer influenza, flash floods, and family hardship team up to keep Nettie from her dreams. Then she meets a young neighbor cowboy who rides broncs and raises rodeo stock. Will this be Nettie’s ticket to freedom and happiness? Will her rodeo dreams come true?


Raised on a ranch in isolated eastern Montana, Heidi M. Thomas has had a penchant for reading and writing since she was a child. Armed with a degree in journalism from the University of Montana, she worked for the Daily Missoulian newspaper, and has had numerous magazine articles published.

A tidbit of family history, that her grandmother rode steers in rodeos during the 1920s, spurred Heidi to write a novel based on that grandmother’s life.

Cowgirl Dreams is the first in a series about strong, independent Montana Women.

Heidi is a member of Women Writing the West, Skagit Valley Writers League, Skagit Women in Business, and the Northwest Independent Editors Guild. She is an avid reader of all kinds of books, enjoys hiking the Pacific Northwest, where she writes, edits, and teaches memoir and fiction writing classes.

Married to Dave Thomas (not of Wendy’s fame), Heidi has no children, but as the “human” for two finicky felines, describes herself primarily as a “cat herder.”

For more information or to purchase a copy of Cowgirl Dreams, click here.

BOTB Semifinalist - Checkmate, by Rita Y. Toews and Alex Domokos

A chess game spanning half a century threatens the reputation of the British monarchy. Then a Winnipeg RCMP officer goes on holiday, and soon it is checkmate for more than the original players.

When Stan and Sonja travel to Hungary on their honeymoon they are looking for more than a cultural experience. Sonja is determined to find the brother who sold her into the sex trade in Canada. Stan, an RCMP officer, wants answers to more than one question but a Gypsy, a mobster and a meddling journalist get in his way.


Rita Y. Toews and Alex Domokos are Canadian authors who have been published in numerous magazines. Their co-authored work includes "The Price of Freedom", "Prometheus" and "The Centurion". Their novel "Body Traffic" has been published in print and was short-listed for the Margaret Laurence Book Award.

For more information or to purchase a copy of Checkmate, click here.