Dear friends,
A quick update – I’m off in a few hours to spend 12 days living in a laboratory of the University of Washington Sleep and Performance Research Center. I am participating in a paid study on Individual Differences in Response to Sleep Deprivation. This is a good chance for me to see how well I am actually doing in the recovery process. I will not have access to any outside contact (email, phone, visits) until the lab study ends on March 9. I’ll be back to give you a further update at that time.
In the meantime, there’s something I’d love for you to do. I’ve entered a fiction writing contest put on by Gather.com and Borders called First Chapters. As the name explains, there’s a lot of weight on chapter one! The story I’ve written, Skeletons, intertwines the childhood stories of a mother and daughter as family secrets are brought into light. I’ve included the information below so that you can read, rate, and comment on my work. The prize in this competition includes a publishing contract with Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, a $5,000 cash prize and promotion by Borders.
My Round 1 Unique URL: http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976918887
During Round 1, the first chapter of my submission (link provided above) will remain live on the site at Firstchapters.gather.com for fourteen (14) days from the date it was published (Monday, Feb 26 – Monday, March12). At the end of that voting period the chapter will be removed from Gather and votes will be tallied.
If you would like to read and rate my submission you must:
1. Join Gather.com so you can vote on my chapter. Click here to join.
2. Click on my chapter’s unique link. Fraud detection systems will monitor rating and vote patterns as well as member account validity. Please vote fairly and vote only once. Comments are much appreciated, but please keep them free of personal notes – save those for email.
Thanks for your support and I hope you enjoy chapter one!
- Jessica
