The Grand Prize Winner of the SECRET CIRCLE CONTEST is
Marisa Vanzant, who began by just being an autographed book winner but was randomly chosen from among the book winners when the original Grand Prize Winner didn’t check in within a week (and still hasn’t.) She says:

"Wow. I thought I was lucky when I found out I'd won the autographed book, and now I'm the Grand Prize Winner. This is so unreal, and so amazing that I would be chosen out of thousands of entries were submitted. Two of my favorite things ever are stories and accessories. Now I've won both of them from my favorite author! This prize is absolutely perfect! I've hardly ever won anything in my life (I'm 16), let alone anything good, or nearly as good as this. I would like to thank L. J. Smith for not only this wonderful prize, but also the wonderful stories she has created. I love every one."

Before announcing the winners of the ASPIRING AUTHOR’S CONTEST, I’d like to quote some lines from Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten”—a song that would have been most appropriate to give when the contest started, but what the heck.  Here’s to each and every one of the nearly one hundred contestants who entered this competition.  You are each a winner in that you’ve completed a book—some at the tender age of twelve or thirteen.  And as for the rest, who are still working on their manuscripts, here are the words in “Unwritten” that touched me.

I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned.

No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins!
The rest is still unwritten . . .

The two winners of the ASPIRING AUTHOR’S CONTEST are Christina Strobel, for her supernatural page-turner, TAKEN, and Becca Reed for her devilishly delicious THE GAME OF SIN.  They each won an editing and query letter from Scribendi.

If you didn’t win this time, don’t fret—I promise to have another competition like this again in the not-too-distant future.  And I want to whip something together with Figment.com as well—a contest for poetry or short stories, perhaps.  Let me know if you would like something of the kind.