Well, the web site visitors have voted for the winners of the 2007 Chase the Dream contest. The winners are as follows:

• 1st Place - Designs on the Texas Tycoon (Week #10) - by Leslie Marshman
• 2nd Place -  Curse of the Dragon’s Spell (Week #7) - by Robin Haseltine
• 3rd Place -  Dyad Quest (Week #5) - by Ann Hinnenkamp

There are other winners, too. Connie M. is the lucky winner of a first chapter critique by Leigh, while Bob W. won a copy of Rachelle’s book, SEX LOUNGE, and Leigh’s  book, THE CORPORATE MARRIAGE CAMPAIGN.

Also, as an added bonus, several of our Panel of Experts have posted comments on the Finalist entries. Please stop by the entries page and read their feedback.

Speaking of feedback, we’d still really love to have your comments so that we can make the contest work for YOU. Please take a moment to complete a short survey.

Don’t miss out on the next Chase the Dream contest – or monthly news, contests, and more by Leigh Michaels and Rachelle Chase. Click the links below to join our mailing lists:

• Leigh Michaels’s Newsletter/Mailing List
• Rachelle Chase’s Newsletter/Mailing List

Once again, we’d like to thank everyone who participated - entrants, voters, and our Panel of Experts! We look forward to an even better contest next year.

Happy Writing,

Rachelle & Leigh

Now that the entry period is over and voting has begun, we wanted to take this opportunity to remind you about the prizes which will be awarded.

Submitting work to a contest takes guts, and we want to reward everyone who entered.

Every person who submitted an entry to the contest has been entered in a drawing for a critique of a first chapter and synopsis from Leigh, through her manuscript evaluation and critique service, A Word’s Worth. Though similar in nature to the mini-critiques we’ve posted here, the first chapter and synopsis critique goes into much more depth.

Everyone who submitted to the contest is also eligible for a $50 discount on any manuscript critiquing service available from A Word’s Worth. This discount is good anytime in the next six months. You can claim it on your information form by simply including the email address you used for the contest and making a note that you entered Chase the Dream.

And to encourage voting, we’ve added a couple of new prizes. Stop by and vote before November 30, and your name will be entered in a drawing for an autographed copy of Rachelle’s book SEX LOUNGE and Leigh’s book THE CORPORATE MARRIAGE CAMPAIGN. You do not have to have entered the contest to be eligible for this drawing – so vote for your favorite finalist here .

Of course, the top three vote-getters will get some lovely goodies, including things like a Gotham Writers Workshop class for the first place winner and manuscript critiques for the other top winners. And all the finalists’ entries are now being read by our panel of agents and editors.

You can see the full list of prizes here. Winners will be announced December 12.

Thank you for helping to make the second Chase the Dream contest a success!

The contest has flown by and we cannot believe that the entry period is over. We want to thank those of you who entered, those of you who have visited the site and/or commented and, those of you who will stop by to vote and give us feedback (hint, hint).

To cast your vote for your favorite finalist, please visit:
 http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=0pwu9Pn63FtqiXszW5qcxA_3d_3d

To give us feedback on how we can make the next contest even better, please visit:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=26X3E36MZ6xgXpQBLwItcg_3d_3d

But first, check out this week’s finalist (plus, a bonus finalist!) and mini-critique winner. The ‘bonus’ finalist is an entry that was submitted in a previous week that Rachelle enjoyed so much, she just had to select it as a finalist, too.

We’ll still be around, so feel free to continue to post any comments you may have. And we’ll announce the winning finalists on November 30th.

Best,

Leigh & Rachelle

Last night, I was at a screening for Love in the Time of Cholera . It’s an interesting plot, centering around a man who loves - and waits for - a woman for the more than 50 years, despite the fact that she rejects him consistently.

So the tagline for the movie, how long would you wait for love?, was accurate and thought-provoking. Not only did the movie make me think about the answer to that question, it made me think about the hero. He’s an unassuming man, whom the heroine refers to as a ’shadow’ several times throughout the movie. He lives with his mother, he has no ambition (early on), he sobs after being rejected by the heroine (and gets teary-eyed throughout), he refuses to leave the area, always waiting for a glimpse of the heroine … and I could go on, but I don’t want to spoil it for those of you who might see it.

The point is, he defies nearly every trait one looks for in a romance hero. And yet, as I continued to watch the movie, I found myself liking him, laughing with him, and cheering for him, wanting him to win.

Which made me marvel at how it really is possible to take any un-hero-like trait and make it heroic. It’s all in the skill of the writer. Something to think about tackling some day …

So, without further ado, here’s this week’s finalist and mini-critique winner. It’s hard to believe that there’s only one week left of the contest - there have been so many wonderful and entertaining submissions. We look forward to reading this week’s entries!

Best,
Rachelle

Chase the Dream has been running for eight weeks now – though it’s hard to believe, because the time has galloped by, and we’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

One of the unique things about the Chase the Dream contest is that the contestants can start fresh each week - sending a completely new entry, or revising a previous one.

This week we’ve noticed a number of entries that aren’t exactly new – contestants have submitted them before – but they’ve been rewritten and fantastically improved. We’re delighted to know that the mini-critiques are helping so many of you take a fresh look at your work, perhaps start telling it in a little different way or at a different moment, and make it stronger. And we hope that the finalist entries – and the comments on why they were chosen – have provided insight into what makes an entry work. We wish we could name you all winners … Speaking of winners, here’s this week’s finalist and mini-critique winner.

There are still two weeks to go. Let’s make them great ones!

Best,
Leigh & Rachelle

Hello from sunny Iowa, where it’s going to be 70 degrees and slightly breezy today, the perfect day to be… out on a ladder painting the trim on my house. What’s wrong with this picture? Let me think….

However, before getting into my grubbies and going out to splash in the green paint, I managed to choose an entry and write a mini-critique. And let me tell you, it wasn’t an easy choice this week.

I’d noticed several possibilities during the week, but there was nothing really new to say about them. One seemed to start in the wrong place, with the heroine winding up an old life before starting a new one. One started off with nice intrigue but then absolutely nothing happened – the heroine settled down peacefully to sleep. Both of those problems I’ve commented on before, in the minis, so I felt going over those things again wasn’t likely to be a light-bulb moment for anyone.

So I started through the entries again, and … well, here’s the resulting mini-critique winner for this week. See what you think, and let’s talk about it.

Oh, and Rachelle picked a winner, too. Minor detail, there.

Happy writing,

Leigh

Last week Rachelle told you some of what it was like to spend a week in Iowa. This week it’s time for the other side of the story – what it was like to have her visiting.

In short, it’s wonderful. This woman is the ultimate houseguest – always up for an activity, always cheerful, always a delight. She even does dishes. The days flew by and we didn’t do half of what we’d planned.

And here’s what a couple of our friends emailed me afterwards:

“We completely liked your guest. She was so nice, and I felt later I had blabbed so much I wished that I had asked her more about her life and ambitions. Anyway, a really nice and also very attractive woman.”

Of course, neither of us got a lot of work done but we had a great time. And we have plans for a book or three (like a popular-history book about a nearby coal-mining camp which flourished in the early 20^th century but is mostly gone now) and terrific ideas for the next contest.

In the meantime, check out this week’s finalist and mini-critique winner!

Happy writing,

Leigh

Well, the actual Finalist is not in Iowa but I picked this week’s winner from Iowa – I’m excited to report that I’m visiting Leigh!! And, boy, am I having a blast! My trip began with a train ride from San Francisco that snaked through glorious countryside in California, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, and Iowa. Then, 49 hours later, I arrived in Ottumwa, IA.

Thank God I had a chance to rest on the train because running around with Leigh and her husband, Michael Lemberger, takes LOTS of stamina. On my first day, our 400 mile road trip took began in Eldon, IA, where we posed in front of the house Grant Wood used in his famous painting, American Gothic.

Then, we were off in search of Fall foliage along the Mississippi River. Only, human navigation error (the cause of which is still being debated) resulted in us taking a different route. We were too early for Fall colors but Michael, a professional photographer, got fantastic shots of a covered bridge somewhere between Gladstone and Oquawka, IL, as well as old houses, dilapidated barns, cornfields, and more.

Several hours and 300 photos later, we arrived in Rock Island, IL at Hunter’s Club, for half-pound burgers (made behind the bar) and fries. After waddling to the car, a quick drive took us to The Source, a fantastic used bookstore in Davenport, IA, where I picked up Opium, a book that I didn’t need, for a story I’ll probably never write, to our ultimate destination: An exhibit at the The Iowa Welcome Center, featuring 34 awesome photographs from Michael’s collection.

Can you believe we did that all in one day? Check back next week for more of Leigh and Rachelle’s Iowan Adventures.

Oh, and in between eating and traveling, we did manage to pick this week’s finalist and mini-critique winner.

Best,
Rachelle

I’m back from Italy (though not caught up) - thanks to Leigh for keeping things running smoothly while I was gone.

I brought some good news back with me - a few new agents and editors for our Panel of Experts. Check them out. And, of course, check out this week’s Finalist and Mini-Critique Winners!

Ciao,

Rachelle

It’s time for the weekly announcement of our finalist and mini-critique winner.

(Here’s hoping that this week I’ve got it all working properly. Rachelle, who’s the experienced half of this contest partnership when it comes to fine-tuning websites, is still in Italy, but she’ll be back in a couple of days. And she tells me she will have some exciting news about our Panel of Experts, the editors and agents who have promised to read all the finalists, as soon as she gets back to a more-reliable Internet connection.)

 I hope you’ll enjoy reading this week’s finalist and mini-critique. And remember to enter each week!

Happy writing,

Leigh

Read all the finalists

Read all the mini-critiques