EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!! Third annual R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Challenge an overwhelming success! Final contest winners and prize announcements and much more more to be had in this third annual edition of the Grave Times Newsletter.
Read on!
As they say, all good things must come to an end and I believe I can honestly say, without fear of rebuttal, that this year’s R.I.P. Challenge was definitely a good thing.
Records were shattered with the R.I.P. III Challenge and I have all of you wonderful people to thank for it. We had:
–162 registered participants
who reviewed:
–504 r.i.p.-related books
We had fabulous interviews and giveaways with artists Anne-Julie Aubrey and Lisa Snellings.
Author Alexandra Sokoloff donated books for giveaway prizes.
We participated in the 24 Hour Read-a-thon.
and much, much more. It was all quite amazing to me and my sincerest thanks go out to each and every one of you who joined in the fun with your reading, the comments left on the various posts, and in your participation in the contests. The biggest joy of doing these challenges, aside from reading great books, is the community spirit that is promoted and you all are the bomb!!! You should give yourselves a hand, a pat on the back, and raise a glass in honor of you! My heart is full to bursting with the joy that you give to me in watching you participate and interact with each other during these challenges. Thank you all so very much.
Well now, we had some contests that remain unresolved and it is time to remedy that. First up, the R.I.P. III Tiny Stories Contest!
It is always a pleasure to share everyone’s entries, so without any delay allow me to present you with this year’s offerings (the line between each story indicates a new story):
Beneath the Bed
They have always been here with us. Not just symbiotic to you or me, but humans in general. Imagination gave them form. Darkness confers life.
Tonight there come sounds. Raspy voices carried on forked and barbed tongues. I wonder about their purpose. Listening intently, understanding follows quickly.
âOur man should taste good,â one says.
âHe has surely matured well,â another.
We are livestock. Bred for this moment, by creatures that reside beneath the bed. A hairy arm reaches out from under thick box spring. Monsters emerge, no longer afraid, nor needing to hide among dark shadow.
It is my time.
Story by Stuart Clark. Not included in the contest as Stuart is one of our judges.
________________________
The Eighth Life
Listening down a dark and solitary windowless hallway
there are noises like wee beasties running
with nails scrabbling on tiles.
Intrigued, curiosity trumps caution.
Drawing nearer, Mina discovers nary an exit;
slate squares spotless without even dust motes,
much less evanescent creatures.
Still she can hear them.
Eyes closed, tiny scratchy shivers
begin to tell tales of something in the dim.
Chill breezes caress cheeks, ears;
whisker tendrils quiver.
Peering lower, at floor level, yellow orbs glow brightly,
long pointed teeth glint, diminutive claws hold wicked scythes,
blades shining wet.
Red seeps unnoticed from her paw, glazing slick paths underfoot.
Story by Stacey
____________________
The Tower
A
frail
wizened
old
man
creeps
up
winding
staircase
towards
source
of
sudden
noise.
CRACK!
He
pauses.
Ear
tilted.
Straining.
senses.
Staring
towards
collapsing
ceiling.
Glimpses
moonlight
between
tiles.
Heart
pounding.
Silence.
Shaking
hands
reach
for
handrail.
Gone.
Takes
Deep
Breath.
Steadies
his
rapidly
failing
nerve.
Continues
upwards,
footsteps
echoing.
Something
gently
brushes
skin.
Gasps.
Fearing
worst
extends
wrinkled
arm.
Touches
unexpected
wet
substance.
Flinches.
Determinedly
shuffles
further.
Too
late
to
turn
back.
Can’t
look
down.
Courage
dwindles.
At
last
top
of
tower.
Abrupt
violent
shove.
Body
tumbles
downwards.
Red
stain
appears
and
spreads
slowly
across
floor.
Story by Peta
____________________
Dodge Viper
Driving home after work on a lonely stretch of road, past midnight, snow coming down hard. Thank god there’s no traffic. Center line’s gone, headlights bounce off whirling snowflakes. Can’t even tell if I’m moving. Could be parked in some field, or rocketing through space.
Leaning forward now, face mere inches from curved glass and flapping wiper. That rubbery blade looks strange, the way it moves, beating hypnotically, measuring time. Curving, twisting. Uncoiling.
Alarmed I try brakes, gas, steering. All unresponsive. Door’s glued shut. What’s wrong with this damn car?
Speedometer needle flickers, tongue-like. Upholstery ripples.
Something pierces my cheek.
Story by Steve Zipp
____________________
THOMAS HARDY
Hardy depressingly dead. Sitting, legs akimbo, lifeless.
I advance; open armed, towards his gruesome, rotted body.
“Loved your work!”
“Why?”
He starts laughing. The sound chills.
“Depression makes me sad, you see!” my voice replies, “Deep, dark mysteries stir unknown depths inside!”
“Ah” laughed Thomas, cheerily “Got ya! Hah! Was all made up; complete nonsense. Rubbish. Twaddle. An amusing game. Madding crowd’? Liked that? Bollocks! Jude? Tess? Ridiculous! Casterbridge? Copied Shakespeare! What joy to get people going! Pretending seriousness. Shocked ’em. Bloody load of crap, really. Still, grabbed meself some dosh!”
Yes, if death could happen twice it would!
Story by Peta’s mother, BibiAlih
____________________
Alice’s Real Dreamtime
Terrifying last minutes. Just standing there. Waiting, listening. Evil scraping sounds echo about walls of steel-grey granite making escape impossible. Those night killers are crawling fast. Whooping and screeching, knowing blood is near.
Then silence for some moments.
Something creaks further. Vile slitherings come close. Right behind. Whirling heebeejeebies swirl in murky air. Satanic gusts whip her body. Hideous whistling through space; wretched girl stumbles; weeping, fearful. Terror rising, she runs down the corridor; blackness ahead. Seeing nothing. Nowhere to go. Soundless screaming inside.
“Open your eyes, scream, do anything. Breakout!” my dream cries, “Save yourself!”
Alice’s heart stops.
Dead.
Story by Peta’s mother, BibiAlih.
____________________
The Kiss
Endings.
All the young witch needed to use? A kiss, just one.
Nothing else.
Single, solitary, unexpected.
Enjoyable? Certainly.
Memorable? Depends. She? Yes. Him? Not so much.
Unsurprising really, as with that meeting of lips and souls, memories were taken, stolen, removed. No longer required.
Sixteen years worth gone.
“We’ll make new,”
Lies, promises.
Beginnings
Introductions.
“I’m Jayne Smyth, age seventeen.”
Bewilderment.
Simple, clear, instruction.
“You love me.”
Blinks, smiles.
Identity changes.
David Anthony Jones, is wiped clean.
“You’re Jasper Cole, now, okay?”
Nods head happily.
Contentment.
Takes hand, walks, hums.
He, was hers, forever.
Literally.
Story by Bart
_________________________
The Book
She, sat alone inside Jake’s cafĂ©, with her latest find.
New, crisp, unread.
Leather. Fresh paper. Scent.
Perfect.
Must be luck.
First line: amazing.
Utterly, thoroughly, completely, engrossed.
Half eaten bacon buttie: ignored.
Mug of tea: cooling.
Afternoon work shift: forgotten.
Next day. Bread: curled.
Drink: stone cold.
Following week: mould.
Still there. Immersed, enraptured.
Spellbound.
Unseen. Unknown. Unmissed.
Lost in a good book.
Claimed.
Eventually death claims one more.
Only bones.
Then dust.
All that’s left.
Pages.
Bound.
Waiting.
Found.
Circle, life, decay, all-consuming. Unrestrained.
He picks it up, grins at his fortune, opens the cover. Begins to read.
Story by Bart
____________________
Cold sweat trickles along back; ice dimples skin. Terror freezes limbs; cannot move. Darkness swirls, sight clouds. A growl rents the night behind me; these legs shake. Will not turn, this body slowly shuts down. It comes closerâŠ
nearerâŠ
still have no command of myself. Feel thoughts fade now as claws scrape on cement. Screams die within throat, stomach contracts. Almost over,
finished;
a lastâŠ
stifled sob escapes. Eyes glitter, muzzle sniffs, death rapidly approaches.
Laughter escapes as Lucifer crouches, jumps for arms. Hug him close as horror fades. Sigh escapes as blood flows, e slashes with claws sharp.
Blackness.
Story by Heather F.
____________________
Zombies Donât Take Sunday Off
They sit quietly in the corner staring at nothing. Their eyes blank, dead, sending chills through those who watch them. Hands clasped tightly, knuckles white. No movement discernable except for random muscle twitches. Greasy hair stands on end as if electrified. Ragged, dirty clothing smells of feces, sweat, vomit.
Fear permeates the air around them. Tears run down cheeks of children, women, and men cowering behind fallen pews. An occasional whimper escapes someoneâs lips.
âWhat do we do?â whispers Jake.
âI donât know,â cries Mary.
âRun,â says Natalie. âScatter. One may get away.â
âOr all die.â
âItâs our only choice.â
Story by Mari
____________________
King Cocoon
Yes, it was horrible, that unhatched chrysalis; football-size, unpleasantly
fat*, twitching*, if you watched, ever so pregnantly. Disgusting! But too
high up in the cherry tree to knock off with sticks, even on a stepladder,
and before I could call an exterminator King Cocoon emptied unnoticed. We
found only shreds – gray, papery things, like wasps’ work – under empty
branches.
“Probably just pranking,” my husband said. “Some stoner’s stupid
piñata.”
“Something natural, maybe? Bugs? Hey, spiders might-”
“Oh, calm down, panicky lady!” Then, after going inside: “Not
moths, for sure.”
Next day our cat disappeared, leaving her kittens behind.
Story by Ella
____________________
The Filming Ends
Quartet in studio.
Cue spooky music – Cameras roll.
Actress screams, blood trickling down her delicate white throat.
We have a problem Huston â red stuff not scripted.
More unearthly howls from woman, eyes bulge, gasping for breath.
Dead.
Oops.
Sinister figure disappears into darkness.
Looks exchanged, knees quiver, what is it?
Projectile arrives; chest bursts open, man deceased. Two left.
Terror, fright, dread, panic.
Run to door, exit locked
Laughter echoes around building.
Female faints, sheâs caught by male.
Fearful mirth louder, closer
Gulp
Chap slings limp colleague over shoulder – leaps through window.
The menacing shape follows
Both very soon lifeless.
Story by Sally906
_________________________
(A picture was sent with this story)
Evermore…
To dwell within the glass, one must be at peace.
Inside there is neither breath nor pounding of heart,
Only silence throughout ages resides.
Do you remember what life was like?
Happy, sad, laughter, sensation?
Now, sitting without end, hands unmoving, unfeeling, eyes open yet unseeing,
Memory gone, forever departed, jumbled amid a perpetual misty black void.
Rest contented, protected where no vampire or werewolf can possibly tread.
Sleep effortlessly beyond any reach, eternally enticing their quest.
All pursuit useless, they will watch endlessly, never attaining prey.
Moonlight brings Nightmare Creatures though every prospect prove futile,
Watching, eagerly scheming evermore.
Story by Deslily
____________________
CHRISTINE
Dark wings taking flight
Into seamless air of night
Escaping our chaos, this perilous plight
Casting away mortality, shaking off fright
Touching, kissing, then you bite
Passionate adoration, stealing sight
Soulless arias soar like feathered black kites
Up beyond clouds past dizzying heights
We. Are. Done.
Find your own salvation, Iâm no white knight
Stand on solid ground, prepare the fight
Knowing here within me resides enough might.
Whatâs ahead? Glowing light.
How distant? Far, but not quite
Rediscover original persona, feels a bit tight
Growing from inside, soon it will fit. All is right.
I thrive.
My future awaitsâŠ.
Story by 5elementknitr
___________________________CHRISTINE
Dark wings taking flight
Into seamless air of night
Escaping our chaos, this perilous plight
Casting away mortality, shaking off fright
Touching, kissing, then you bite
Passionate adoration, stealing sight
Soulless arias soar like feathered black kites
Up beyond clouds past dizzying heights
We. Are. Done.
Find your own salvation, Iâm no white knight
Stand on solid ground, prepare the fight
Knowing here within me resides enough might.
Whatâs ahead? Glowing light.
How distant? Far, but not quite
Rediscover original persona, feels a bit tight
Growing from inside, soon it will fit. All is right.
I thrive.
My future awaitsâŠ.
_________________________
Even though it was one story per entrant I went ahead and included them, and Stuart Clark’s, for your reading pleasure. Our judges, artist/author Lisa Snellings and author Stuart Clark had the task of reading your stories and trying to pick their top three out of the lot. Not an easy job!!! (Which is why I am thrilled that others are willing to assist me in this aspect of the contest!). They rated their top three and I assigned a point value to their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd entries. And….
We ended up with a tie. So, each of the winners will receive a R.I.P. III Tiny Stories Prize Pack. And those winners are:
Stacey with The Eighth Life
and
Bart with The Book
Congrats to you both and I thank each and every one of you for your entries. The judges asked me to pass on the fact that you are indeed a very creative bunch! This contest is a real challenge and I applaud you all!!!
Bart and Stacey, please email me your address at cvincent68 (at) comcast (dot) net.
____________________
The next contest was the Something Sinister II photo contest. Here are the entries:
Deslily sent in–
JP sent in–
Lynda sent in–
(Sinister Face)
and Janet sent in–
(Cold Bones)
(Being Stalked)
(Keeping Watch)
(Datura Scarecrow)
If you recall, there were two categories: the Sinister category was for images which told a story, hinted at action, etc. The Creepy category was for any eerie images you wanted to submit. Suzanne (the creator of this contest last year) and her sister Mosker once again agreed to be the judges. And, after much deliberation, the judges have spoken.
The Sinister winner is:
Janet with her image, Being Stalked.
The Creepy winner is:
Deslily with this wonderfully creepy image. Looks perfect for a R.I.P. banner, doesn’t it?
Congrats to both of you and thank all of you for your entries. As I said above, please shoot me an email with your address so that I can get those prizes out.
_________________________
And finally we had a wonderful, super-fantastic artist interview with Lisa Snellings to end our R.I.P. festivities. I am thrilled that so many of you participated. Lisa donated some wonderful prizes and the winners, via random drawing are:
Qugrainne! Congrats, you are now the proud owner of your very own Neil rat!!!
Astaryth and Debi!!! Congrats to both of you as you’ve won copies of the Peter Beagle/Lisa Snellings collaboration, Strange Roads!
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, please email your addresses to me at cvincent68 (at) comcast (dot) net. When your prizes arrive I will get them out in the mail to you!!!
_________________________
(Autumn Pond by A guy with a Camera)
As we leave behind the creepy thrills and gothic chills of another R.I.P. season and ride off into the delicious melancholy of November nights, please allow me to once again thank each and every one of you for your gracious and enthusiastic participation in this year’s challenge. Each year I make efforts to streamline and improve the process and I hope to see you all back for R.I.P. IV next September.
Don’t forget that March 21st, 2009 will begin the Once Upon a Time III Challenge and for those of you who want an ‘experience’ rather than a ‘challenge’, I plan on hosting the second annual Sci Fi Experience from Jan 1, 2009 through February 28th, 2009. More details on both will follow at the appropriate time.
Also thanks again to Anne-Julie Aubrey and Lisa Snellings for the generosity of their time in answering interview questions and for donating items for giveaways. Thank you Alexandra Sokoloff for your book donations. Thanks Dewey and Trish for allowing me to hook up with your 24 Hour Read-a-thon. I look forward to doing it again for the Once Upon a Time Challenge next spring. Thanks to Lisa Snellings, Stuart Clark, Mosker and Suzanne for being judges of contests. And if I have missed anyone, please shoot me an email to remind me. It would be devastating to have forgotten anyone in this process.
The rest of November promises more artist interviews, particularly with Etsy artists who might just make your Christmas shopping much, much easier! November is LOTR time for me and I’ve been immersed in Tolkien for a few weeks now so no doubt talk of that nature will follow. Next up though, a very Christmas-y post that you simply must read. Why? Because some fellow bloggers are doing some wonderful things that you must get in on!!!
Stay tuned and thank you all again. You made this challenge a success and you fill my heart with joy.
Oh, wow! I won? Ever so slightly awed here :0 there were some awesome stories there.
The entire challenge was a joy to take part in Carl, so thank you for all your hard work!
Carl, thanks for hosting this. As always, it was fun participating in both the photo challenge and the RIP challenge. I finally found a Neil Gaiman book to love to boot! I can’t wait to get home and thank Max (the poor dog being “stalked” in the picture) for posing so realistically for me! Also, thanks to Suzanne and Mosker for choosing me as the Sinister winner LOL!
Heyla & congrats to all the prize winners! Lucky Buggers!
Enjoyed myself immensely with your R.I.P. Challenge Carl and looking forward to next year!
cheers, later – susan
Congratulations to all winners – and thank you Carl for the huge effort you put into running your challenges.
I will most certainly be in the challenges next year – and already have suitable books for all challenges – even the Science Fiction one!!!
once again, thank you carl for hosting this! it was brilliant! each year gets better and better.
now you can finally take a well-deserved rest đ
woohoo! one of my photo’s won! I’m glad I did photo’s early on or I wouldn’t have had any to enter! I enjoy dinking with pictures in psp!
Thanks for everything Carl! As always, you oversee one awsome challenge! (make that 2 awsome challenges!.. or 3? ummm… YOU’RE awsome! hehe..)
OMG!! I -never- win anything! I’m thrilled..
I loved the whole R.I.P. Reading experience. I just wish I had time to join in… still, I’ve loved reading the reviews and adding books to my wish list.. (Like I needed to add books to that lengthy list)
Brilliant tiny stories and wonderful photos! Deslily, I’m rather scared that you managed to find a human skull! Thanks so much Carl for hosting such marvellous things, I had a wonderful time doing the RIP reading challenge. Congratulations to all the winners and participants!
Wow! My very own rat…. just what the doctor ordered! Thanks, Carl. All of the challenges were fun, I read a bunch of books I would not have otherwise touched, and the Lisa Snelling interview was great. It is way cool to get inside such a talented person’s brain.
It is so nice to hear you are immersed in LOTR – the simple pleasures in life are grand, aren’t they? And Thanksgiving and Xmas coming up – my favorite time of year. We could use a little snow, soon, don’t you think?
Carl, thank you so much for hosting this horrific challenge. I throughly enjoyed my tromp through scary books with everyone this fall season. I look forward to the fourth annual edition.
Carl, thank you for hosting the third RIP Challenge. I loved joining in! You are full of creative ideas, and the participants rose to the challenge with inspiring stories and photographs. They were a delight to persue. Congratulations to all the winners: you deserve it!
Congratulations to all the winners! It was a fun challenge and I’m looking forward to next year already!
I’m so excited!!! Thanks you guys for liking my story! Love the pictures too, next year I’ll have to get hooked up with that one. đ Thanks again for the challenge, I’m deep into book 4 of the Dark Tower series, which I may never have read without the impetus of RIP III.
Loved those stories and totally creepy pictures!
Thanks for hosting RIP III. Such a chilly yet enjoyable challenge. Maybe next year I’ll join in the other challenges that you host. They sound like fun as well đ
Wow – what a great bunch of entries. Thank you so much for hosting this challenge. You got me reading some books that I would probably not have read otherwise and I’m already looking forward to R.I.P. IV! Thank you.
First of all, it’s you Carl, who deserve thanks! HUGE THANKS! There are no other challenges out here that come even close to being as fun as yours always are! You are always so giving of your time (not to mention prizes!) and are so good at building that spirit of community.
I think you were wise to get yourself some guest judges…man, I don’t know how they do it. I’m not sure if I could have chosen a favorite story or a favorite photo if my life depended on it. Talented people, one and all!
And can I just say WOOHOO…I was really hoping you would have the Sci-Fi Experience again. I have to admit I was quite surprised by how much I thoroughly enjoyed my reading for it last year…had never really thought sci-fi was for me. Not the first time I’ve been wrong about something, and surely won’t be the last.
And finally, thank you, thank you, thank you! I can’t tell you how excited I am to have won Strange Roads!!!
Like so many others, I can’t wait for RIP IV!
AAAAAARGH. When will I learn?!! Sorry…above was me.
I’m so glad you shared the stories and photos! It’s amazing what stories can be told in so few words. Congrats to all of you lucky winners!
Carl, thanks for a wonderful challenge!
Rachael: It is indeed. I am always astounded at the talent of people.
Debi: I figured it was you, but you can use your alter ego if you want. đ You are very welcome! I too am glad that the difficulty of judging doesn’t fall solely on my shoulders. The sci fi experience should be really fun again this year. I’ve already got a bunch of books piled up just waiting.
Peta: You are welcome. Thank you and your mother for such excellent tiny stories. I was thrilled to read them and share them with everyone else.
Lightheaded: It would be great to have you in the other challenges as well.
Stacey: Congrats! It does my heart good to hear of people reading various books that they would not have if not for the challenge. I know that is the goal of all of us who host challenges. I’ve certainly read books this year for other challenges that I may not have picked up otherwise.
Robin: Thank you for joining in.
Bellezza: Glad to have you on board. My creativity is inspired by all of you on the blogs so I certainly don’t take any solo credit for this. Like I’ve said, it is successful because of all of you.
Jessica: “horrific challenge”…I love it! đ
Quigrainne: Congrats to you. The Neil rats are great, I have one myself. It is fun to hit this time of year and feel the call of Tolkien. My wife gave me an early birthday present last night: the new collection of Tolkien stories: Tales from the Perilous Realm. All of these stories exist in other books but it is great having them all together in this new edition with illustrations by my favorite Tolkien author, Alan Lee.
And yes, I am all for snow!!!
Stormfilled: I think the true story behind Deslily’s skull is one that she’s keeping a tightly locked secret!!!
Astaryth: Congrats again! I think we are all in that same boat. We don’t need more books to add to our lists and yet we all love adding them just the same.
Deslily: All of your photos were great fun, and I loved the tiny story you put together to go with that specific photograph. Very cool. Thanks so much for being an enthusiastic participant.
JP: I am indeed very worn out. It is surprising how much these challenges tire me out by the time they are done. I love doing them but they wear me out as well.
Sally: glad to know you’ll be having a sci fi experience with us in January! Thanks for participating this year, I really appreciate it.
SG Taylor: Thank you for joining in. I appreciate your emailed updates and reviews and am glad that you don’t let not having a blog get in the way of you participating fully in the challenges.
Janet: Well deserved congrats, it was a fun picture! I’m so glad you joined in.
Bart: Congrats again. Thanks for participating both in the contest and in the challenge in general.
oh wow! Great tiny stories and amazing photos! I don’t envy the judges their task. It must have been hard to pick. Congratulations to all the winners!
And thank YOU, Carl, for another great challenge. I had a blast.
THANK YOU CARL! for hosting such a wonderful challenge again this year. I was able to read more RIP material during this year’s challenge than ever before and I loved it. Here’s to some Tolkien reading and LOTR viewing over the next two months ( along with Bond material as well leading into the Scifi Experience in January which I already have a half dozen books lined up for. đ
I am glad that I joined this challenge. I hope to join the challenge next year. I might even attempt a Tiny Story. That’s a great idea btw–it’s great writing challenge. The Tiny Stories posted here are really fascinating. Writing in miniature. Excellent!