Rachael Ritchey

#BlogBattle 49 “Lollipops” Entries & Voting

#BlogBattle 49 Story Theme: Lollipops

(basic rules at the bottom of the post)

Post your story by 11:59 PM PST on Tuesday! I add them here throughout the day on Tuesday.

Look for stories using #BlogBattle on Twitter, too! Wednesday, the poll gets added. Be sure to read them all. All the links will open in a new window so that you can easily navigate back to this list.

RULES for VOTING: Anyone can vote as long as you’ve read ALL the stories for this week by Midnight PST, SUNDAY. Vote for your TOP 3 favorites. Winner announced on Monday!

Drama/Romance:

  • Change by Tess
  • Will Power by Sarah Brentyn
  • A Moment of Word & Whimsy by Candice Coates
  • Coralina Meets Her Mother by Kristin Elise Garrett (disappeared?)
  • Lord of the Lollipops by Rachael Ritchey

Science Fiction/Fantasy:

Mystery/Crime:

Western:

Action/Thriller/Suspense:

Comedy/Humor:

Inspirational/Contemporary:

Non-Fiction:

PS If I’m missing your story, just leave me a comment to let me know!

Read all the stories & PLEASE VOTE for your top THREE favorites (not all for the same, though!).

Vote by Midnight PST on Sunday so I can announce the winner on Monday. Thank you so much. I enjoy our weekly stories a great deal, and I hope you do, too!

Week 48 Winner: A Smuggler’s Tale Part 4 by Grace Petrelli

****NEXT WEEK’S PROMPT WORD: Pure

Rules:

  1. 1000 words max
  2. fictional tale (or true if you really want)
  3. PG (no more than PG-13) Content – let’s keep this family friendly!
  4. Your story must contain the word(s) from the theme and/or be centered around the theme in a way that shows it is clearly related
  5. Go for the entertainment value!
  6. State the Genre of your story at the top of your post.
  7. Post your story on Tuesday, by 11:59 PM PST
  8. Use the hashtag #BlogBattle when tweeting your story, put a linkback to your #BlogBattle Short Story in the comments section of this page, and/orinclude a link to this page in your own blog post(it creates a “ping-back” which will alert me and our friends to your #BlogBattle post)
  9. Have fun!

Each winner will receive this awesome #BlogBattle Winner Badge to display with their winning story on their webpage:

BlogBattle award 1

Rachael Ritchey

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41 responses to “#BlogBattle 49 “Lollipops” Entries & Voting”

  1. Sam "Goldie" Kirk Avatar
    Sam “Goldie” Kirk

    So THAT’S how it worked. I remember reading about this here and there and it had me curious. I can see pros and cons to both – this and the new models. Happy to have discovered the BBprompt community. Battles or not.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Rachael Ritchey Avatar
      Rachael Ritchey

      Every once in a while I think about going back to a voting model or weekly or both, but the idea is a bit daunting with everything else I’m responsible for and knowing I can’t read all the stories every week. It’s been a challenge or the last few years to do it once a month. I miss the weekly prompt interaction, though. Keeping it at 1000 words is also a good and difficult challenge for most of us. That’s like writing a short chapter. haha If you have ideas or more feedback about the differences, please feel free to share! ❤

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Sam "Goldie" Kirk Avatar
        Sam “Goldie” Kirk

        Kudos to you for trying to make this run smoothly and be as beneficial to the community as possible.

        The competitor in me says that it would be fun to challenge myself against others. However, the skeptic in me that knows human nature is… well skeptical. I think that unfortunately, like in any other group, there are cliques (whether smaller or bigger, more obvious or less), which would render the results biased. I’d say that we could submit without names somehow at first for blind judging, but the participants of this BBprompt have rather distinct writing styles (which is great!) and even without a name, it would be somewhat easy to tell.

        The 1k words is perfect for me as that is challenging yet attainable for me if I put in some work. Sometimes it comes up short, but that’s OK.

        This all might be more than what you wanted to know, but… you asked for it. I think as long as we are all having fun and improving our craft, it’s great!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Rachael Ritchey Avatar
          Rachael Ritchey

          No, this is great! You’ve mirrored so many of my thoughts on the subject and how we do BB. And that clique thing is one of the reasons I didn’t see a lot of point to continuing the voting. I felt like it was becoming a bit of a popularity contest. It was also hard for everyone to commit to reading all the stories (especially when we were writing once a week). I think it’s still difficult for many to read them all during a period of a month! 🙂

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
          1. Sam "Goldie" Kirk Avatar
            Sam “Goldie” Kirk

            Indeed. It takes me quite a bit to read some of the longer entries. Still got Gary’s open from last month. Will get there soon…

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
            1. Rachael Ritchey Avatar
              Rachael Ritchey

              ❤ Happy reading!

              Liked by 1 person

  2. Ellie Maloney Avatar
    Ellie Maloney

    I’m late this time for voting, I was sick this weekend. Anyway, I’m going to read the entries now and if I have time, I’ll vote.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Rachael Ritchey Avatar
      Rachael Ritchey

      I haven’t checked the votes yet! 🙂 I’ll wait until 5pm PST, if that works! Hope you’re feeling better. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Ellie Maloney Avatar
        Ellie Maloney

        Oh I’m great now. It was an odd food poisoning. Watch out for your leftovers, folks 😉 But please don’t feel inconvenient on my account 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Rachael Ritchey Avatar
          Rachael Ritchey

          Not at all. It’s easy enough to wait a bit. I’m glad you’re doing better!

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
  3. Let's CUT the Crap! Avatar
    Let’s CUT the Crap!

    Oy. This is harder every week. It was a close finish for so many. 🙂

    Like

    Reply
    1. Rachael Ritchey Avatar
      Rachael Ritchey

      I know the feeling. 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  4. Rawls E. Fantasy Avatar
    Rawls E. Fantasy

    Kristin’s link isn’t working…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Rachael Ritchey Avatar
      Rachael Ritchey

      Oh man! I will fix it soon. Thanks

      Like

      Reply
  5. blondeusk Avatar
    blondeusk

    Strong entries already, this is getting tough now 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Rachael Ritchey Avatar
      Rachael Ritchey

      It’s a great week! 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  6. cathleentownsend Avatar
    cathleentownsend

    Hi Rachael. Mine is here: http://cathleentownsend.com/2016/02/16/tahoe-trip/. It’s a ghost story, so it probably belongs in action/thriller. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Rachael Ritchey Avatar
      Rachael Ritchey

      Perfect. 🙂 I’ve got chills already. haha

      Like

      Reply
  7. sonworshiper Avatar
    sonworshiper

    Here’s my last minute Action entry, with another episode of Grant and Teagan:

    Lolly-Pops of Peril

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Rachael Ritchey Avatar
      Rachael Ritchey

      Yes! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  8. Andrew Budek-Schmeisser Avatar
    Andrew Budek-Schmeisser

    Didn’t think I would make it tonight, but the dogs are propping me upright to be able to type.

    And here we are…inspirational…

    http://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2016/02/whats-in-name-story-of-viet-nam.html

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Rachael Ritchey Avatar
      Rachael Ritchey

      Sweet, precious dogs. ❤

      Like

      Reply
      1. Andrew Budek-Schmeisser Avatar
        Andrew Budek-Schmeisser

        Syl had to do canine CPR again last week. I think she broke one of my ribs but she brought me back!

        I read her the stories of The Dude; I think that’s WHY she brought me back.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Rachael Ritchey Avatar
          Rachael Ritchey

          haha! Good dog. Sorry about your rib, though. I can see why she’d want to hear more of the The Dude, but it can only come from you. ❤

          Like

          Reply
          1. Andrew Budek-Schmeisser Avatar
            Andrew Budek-Schmeisser

            Oh, I have plenty of ribs. One or two broken isn’t a problem.

            It is interesting that when I read to the dogs, they go very quiet, and they seem to be listening very intently. If they lose focus, I modify. They’re my Beta readers!

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
            1. Rachael Ritchey Avatar
              Rachael Ritchey

              You’re a tough guy, in a good way!
              haha That’s a fantastic beta audience! I should try it with Hashtag. 🙂

              Like

            2. Andrew Budek-Schmeisser Avatar
              Andrew Budek-Schmeisser

              Rachael, thank you…toughness can be rather a mixed blessing, especially to a caregiver.

              Case in point, I fell today, and lacerated my legs rather badly. Didn’t hurt, though; other pain took CNS priority.

              When my wife came home she asked about the bloody gashes, and I said, oh, yes, no big deal.

              To me it wasn’t; she’s learning what living with a former merc is like, but to her it still smacks of either posturing or pretense, and was profoundly irritating.

              Dogs get it; they’re like, oh, blood. OK. Whatever. Can you scratch behind my ears, please?

              Liked by 1 person

            3. Rachael Ritchey Avatar
              Rachael Ritchey

              Good point. toughness and constant pain can be deceiving. I bet she was upset it happened at all, more than that you were nonchalant about it. Of course, if you’ve always been a tough guy, maybe it’s more of an eye-roll from her. haha You tough guys are all alike, always spouting blood all over the floor, acting like it’s no big deal. Blood stains! 😉 Dogs be like, Oh dude, that’s good, ’cause now mom won’t know I peed in the corner. That stain’ll totally distract her.

              Like

            4. Andrew Budek-Schmeisser Avatar
              Andrew Budek-Schmeisser

              Oh, Rachael, you’ve got the dogs TAPED!

              No worries, I won’t tell.

              Liked by 1 person

            5. Rachael Ritchey Avatar
              Rachael Ritchey

              That’s good, ’cause I don’t really want to make the dogs grumpy. 🙂

              Like

  9. Carrie Ann Avatar
    Carrie Ann

    Well Rachael, some time ago you challenged me to write a Western, here it is, better late than never. I have no idea where this came from, YIKES!! Here it is: http://wp.me/pgklb-UT

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. Of Special Delivery | becoming the muse Avatar
    Of Special Delivery | becoming the muse

    […] entry this week for #BlogBattle: Themed […]

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. Ellie Maloney Avatar
    Ellie Maloney

    Congrats Grace! That chapter rocked!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Grace Avatar
      Grace

      Thanks!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  12. Oz’s True Goal #MadnesSolver | Rawls E. Fantasy Avatar
    Oz’s True Goal #MadnesSolver | Rawls E. Fantasy

    […] is my entry for this week’s #BlogBattle challenge by the wonderful author Rachael Ritchey, where the challenge is to write a short story based […]

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  13. Lord of the Lollipops – Chronicles of the Twelve Realms Avatar
    Lord of the Lollipops – Chronicles of the Twelve Realms

    […] #BlogBattle 49 Lollipops […]

    Like

    Reply
  14. Coralina Meets Her Mother – pursuitofanewadventure

    […] week’s blog battle word is lollipop.  How I imagine it if Coralina, the heroine from my first novel, She Hopped Over […]

    Like

    Reply
  15. Like Magic: A Moment of Word & Whimsy #Blogbattle Week 49 – I came for the soup…

    […] a glorious kiss would be. Nevertheless, to read more stories by other Blogbattlers, please click HERE. This week's Keyword: LOLLIPOPS. My Genre: […]

    Like

    Reply
  16. Candice Avatar
    Candice

    Sadly I missed last week. I meant to write something and didn’t realize I hadn’t until Wednesday afternoon. Alas today I am ready! Here is my story of sorts. It is romantic. http://icameforthesoup.com/2016/02/16/like-magic-a-moment-of-word-whimsy-blogbattle-week-49/

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  17. “Million Deaths of Lt. Mazula”. Ep.7 (SCi Fi, Aliens, Mini-Series, #BlogBattle, Short Story Contest) | Ellie Maloney Avatar
    “Million Deaths of Lt. Mazula”. Ep.7 (SCi Fi, Aliens, Mini-Series, #BlogBattle, Short Story Contest) | Ellie Maloney

    […] Tuesdays became a whole lot more fun, because it is the day to post a new submission to the #Blogbattle contest! I decided to enter with the Episode 7 of my ongoing space series. Here it […]

    Like

    Reply
  18. Will Power | Lemon Shark Reef Avatar
    Will Power | Lemon Shark Reef

    […] Read more stories and vote for your favorites here. […]

    Like

    Reply

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