Blog Alliance | Marji Laine

Get Ready to Spar!

Dust off those swords (in the Spirit, of course) and put on that literary armor,

because Clash of the Titles has an announcement.

The Laurel Award is expanding, and we know you’ll be excited about it.

We are creating a NEW annual literary contest, and it’s strictly for unpublished writers!

Also, authors will no longer need to be a previous Clash Champion in order to compete for the crown.

Submissions for this contest open October 29, 2012,

but first we must name it. That’s right! We want your help naming this exciting, new branch of Clash of the Titles. After reading about it, please take a moment to click on which name you think most fitting for this contest—The Spartan OR The Olympia. (Use survey below.)

About this new contest:

All never before published writers of Christian fiction may submit their work.
$10 Entry fee.

First two chapters will be judged.

Final scoring by a select panel of beta-readers.

Prizes:

Special feature on Clash of the Titles’ blog.

Tour through COTT’s Blog Alliance.

Page on our site for a full year.

Podcast interview with Author and CAG board member, Cynthia L. Simmons.

A beautiful plaque.

The outcome is in the hands of readers, not industry professionals.

You’ve written the book of your dreams, now what do readers think? Enter the arena and find out.

Stay tuned for further dates and details by
subscribing to our blog and “liking” our Facebook page.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool.

**Guest post by Michelle Massaro

In the recent Leading Ladies Clash, Life on the Edge by Jennifer Comeaux and High Desert Haven by Lynnette Bonner went into the ring on Clash of the Titles.

After the public vote, the winning title was….

HIGH DESERT HAVEN by Lynnette Bonner!!

We’re happy to announce that High Desert Haven has been added to the list of COTT Champ titles! And we also want to extend our congratulations to the author. I’m sure we’re all eager to add this book to our summer to-be-read pile!

In response to her win, author Lynnette Bonner said:

It was an honor just to have been chosen as a clasher, in the first place, and then to have won… wow, I’m totally blessed by that. I’m still fairly new at this, and putting my stories out to the public is, to say the least, a daunting experience. So every little bit of encouragement and affirmation gets tucked away for days ahead when I will need to draw strength from them. I so appreciate COTT for giving me this opportunity to interact and connect with their readers.

Some of the comments left by readers were:

Great job!!
Both excerpts make me want to read the rest of the story. It was hard to choose!
I think they both did a good job of presenting their books.
Both leading ladies were believable and presented with skill.
Looks like a whole lotta fun!
I found it very hard to select only ONE excerpt. They were both great! Keep up the great work!
Both excerpts have great leads! Would like to read both books!

Curious to read the winning excerpt? You can both contenders’ entries here.
An interview with the winning author can be found here.

Want to congratulate the author? Leave a message in the comments. Have a question about future Clashes on COTT? Email them at contactCOTT@gmail.com

Thank you!

**Michelle Massaro is the Assistant Editor for Clash of the Titles, a mother of four, and a wife of nearly 17 years. She bakes, crochets, cross-stitches, sings, writes, and cries during movies. She champions for Biblical authority, leads a Jr. High girls’ Bible study, and plays a mean game of backgammon. She spends way too much time on the computer, but makes it up to her family (she hopes) with prayer coverings and chocolate chip cookies. The best place to connect with her is on Facebook, naturally.