Debra unties the ribbon around the mysterious box and slowly opens it. Her puzzled look doesn’t leave her face when the side door rams open and two men enter. (https://roughwighting.net/2018/09/28/strangers-in-the-dark/)
“If you want to help your friend,” the stockiest man growls, “empty the box and show us the rest.”
Debra laughs, but not with humor. “Are you kidding me? You must be the agent Eugene told me about last week.”
The man’s face falls as flat as a bad soufflé. “He told you about me?”
The second man, tall and thin, walks into the kitchen with a scowl and sits in one of Debra’s mom’s old pine chairs. “How much did he tell you?” he asks.
Debra reaches for a bottle of Zinfandel in the corner wine rack and three glasses. “What kind of game are you playing with Eugene?” She pops the cork and pours a half glass for each of them. The two men shake their heads no, but they both take a large sip of the dark red wine.
Debra continues: “At first your firm acted interested in the six chapters he sent you, and you asked for the full synopsis and the rest of the book.”
“Which he didn’t send us,” the first man retorts.
Debra raises her eyebrow. “And your name is … ?”
“Frank, president of ‘Frankly Frank Agency’ in New York. This is Bud, my assistant.”
“Well, Frank and Bud, you’ve wasted a trip. Eugene is not interested in your firm. He’s decided he doesn’t need your services.”
Bud leaps out of his seat and grabs the pink-ribboned box. “Is this the rest of the manuscript?”
Debra grabs it out of the man’s hands. “I’m guessing it is. Two weeks ago Eugene gave me the first ten chapters to read. Strangers in the …”
“… Dark,” Frank finishes for her.
“Yes, and Eugene promised to give me the rest of the chapters when he completed the book. The suspense is a page-turning masterpiece. The twists and turns are brilliant. My advice to him is to self-publish. With the right promotion, the book will sell like marshmallows at a cook-out.”
“We want to be the graham crackers and chocolate bar to sell the whole package,” Frank retorts, swallowing the rest of his wine and staring at the box in Debra’s hands like a dog eyeing a treat.
“You don’t get it,” Debra explains with triumph in her voice. “I’ve worked in marketing for years. Granted, my products are usually food-related, but I’ve been waiting for a chance to dig my teeth into more satisfying merchandise. Eugene’s manuscript fits my new portfolio perfectly.”
With perfect timing, the author-in-question arrives through the front door.
“Eugene!” Debra exclaims, surprised at her own exuberance. Hmm, over the course of a day and a half, her neighbor has become more appealing with his black-rimmed glasses, half-smile, and unruly blonde hair. His jeans are wrinkled and worn thin at the seat.
Ignoring Frank and Bud, Eugene stares at Debra and blurts out, “I was up all last night finishing it. What do you think?”
“I don’t need to think a second more. I accept your invitation to be your publicist,” Debra answers. Then she turns to her two uninvited guests. “This party is over, gentlemen. See you at the Frankfurt Book Fair next October.”
As they depart dejectedly, Debra pours a glass of Zin for Eugene, and they clink glasses.
“To Strangers in the Dark,” they say simultaneously, realizing that THE END is far from over.
Congrats to the TWO winners in my “What’s in the Box?” contest. The first person to guess a manuscript was Robbie of Robbie’s Inspiration. Robbie was part-way there, wondering if it was Debra’s ms. (Kudos to Anneli ,Leslie, and Barbara C. for their quick-witted book/manuscript guesses in later comments.) Second winner is Kathy of Lake Superior Spirit, who guessed “words” in the box because I’m a word woman. Honorable mention to Harula of wordsthatserve, who soon after guessed the box contained Eugene’s book!
yay! i was way off, congrats to the winners!
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I enjoyed your guess! 🙂
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Brilliant! 😁 Congratulations to the winners. 🌼
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Really fun guesses!
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I love a happy ending! Congratulations to the winners!
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Anyone who reads stories by you and me know there’s gonna be a happy ending, Jill. ❤
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Definitely! ❤
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Fantastic Pamela and well done to Robbie for guessing correctly… in the blogger daily later..hugs xx
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Thanks for reblogging, Sally. Robbie was so ‘right on’ with her guess of a manuscript. She said later “of course, that’s the first thing that came to mind, since we’re all writers here.” 🙂
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Oh dear… guess we all got carried away….😆xxx
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Haha. That’s what’s make these mystery blog stories so much FUN. I LOVE the imaginations out there. 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Had me baffled. Love the story.
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So glad you enjoyed my two-part tale, Allan. Thanks so much for joining me here.
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So much for plane tickets and diamond mines then I was way of base…Well done, Robbie 🙂
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Sometimes the biggest mysteries (and treasures) are those right next to us. ❤
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Loved it!! … so much better than a box full of marshmallows 🙂
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Personally, a box of marshmallows sits unused until mid-winter when the hot cocoa comes out. 🙂 Thanks for enjoying my mystery, Joanne. xo
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“…the book will sell like marshmallows at a cook-out.”
Welp, that there is saying something! Congrats to the winners who are s’more lucky than most people. 😋
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Who doesn’t like a gooey s’more, or a happy-ending manuscript-mystery? 🙂 Thanks for reading along, Ally.
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Terrific title, Pamela — and a great story. 🙂 TGIF hugs!
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Thanks for enjoying my “Indie” tale, Teagan. Happy Weekend to you. ❤
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Lots of fun, Pam! Congratulations to the winners!
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I kind of made the “agents” the bad guys here, didn’t I? Maybe that’s why it was so much fun to write. 🙂
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🙂
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LOL! Great story. Had me guessing.
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I suppose I didn’t give enough clues in the first part of “Strangers in the Dark,” but if I mentioned that Eugene was a writer in the beginning, too many clever readers here would have guessed it right away. 🙂
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Awesome ending, Pam, and I wasn’t so wrong after all [smile].
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I am quite surprised everyone didn’t guess a manuscript actually. We are all writers and writing fame and manuscripts are always on the brain. This really was fun!
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So true, Robbie. That’s why I kinda “cheated” and didn’t mention in the first part of the two-part tale (Strangers in the Dark) that Eugene was a writer. Good thinking on your part! xo
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I always click the LIKE on your posts even before I read them. “Why is that,” you ask. I am always surprised, delighted, or intrigued here, often with word plays Thank you, Pamela!
Yes, the END is far from over . . .
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Well, please, LIKE me forever and ever. I surely do the same on your posts, Marian. Mutual admiration society. ❤
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What great fun Pamela. I don’t know why I didn’t see that coming. Congrats to Robbie and Kathy!
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To be fair, Brad, I didn’t leave many (any?) clues in the first part of my two-part mystery. I was surprised when Robbie and Kathy came up with “manuscript” and “words.” Thanks for playing along!
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My pleasure Pamela!
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Congrats to the winners! You really left us with a cliffhanger. Great story.
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Thanks, Patricia. I love writing cliffhangers, as long as the cliff is not TOO high. 🙂
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Well, so much for mental telepathy! ♥
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I’ll give you another chance to try in a few months, Billy Ray. 🙂
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Fun ending! Have a great weekend, Pam.
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To be honest, I knew there was a manuscript in the box when I wrote the first part of this mystery, but no idea WHOSE it was or why. So I had fun letting Eugene and Debra show me the way… Happy Happy weekend to you. Here in NE we’re walking under orange and red trees.
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Congratulations to the winners. I’d never have guessed! Great story.
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I didn’t leave many clues in the first part, Mary. But maybe it’s better that way, because the guesses were so much fun. 🙂
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Love this! I had missed the first part, glad I got to go read it. Perfect ending, love how you related it to marshmallows at a cook out and the chocolate and graham crackers! So cool! 🙂
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Debra started talking to the agents and she’s the one who blurted out the fun marshmallow comment (thank goodness our characters come alive when we write and let them talk). Or, on the other hand, maybe I just have marshmallows on the brain as the weather cools here and we start thinking of hot chocolate. 🙂
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LOL! Yes, our characters make us look so good! And marshmallows and hot cocoa are lovely things about Fall. 🙂
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Ho fun. Congrats to the winners.
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Thanks for reading and enjoying my two-part mystery.
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Reblogged this on Robbie's inspiration and commented:
Pam over at roughwighting blog has written a fabulous short story. Last week it was opened up to the blogging world to guess what was in the box and I got it partially right [and that isn’t half bad – giggle]
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Pingback: Smorgasbord Blogger Daily – Meet the #Reviewers – Friday, October 5th, 2018 – Jenny in Neverland #onlinefriends, Pamela Wight #shortstory and N.A. Granger #review | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine
A great ending to the tale, but…where the hell is the teacup pig? Come ON!
Oh, and if I may get a bit fact-checky with you, men don’t drink Zinfandel.
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The teacup pig ran away when I tried to catch him; he just wouldn’t stay in that box.
And, ahem, my guy would like to dissuade you of the notion that real men don’t drink ZInfandel. He just uncorked a bottle last night! 🙂
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Nice ending Pam, you are indeed a wordsmith! Congrats Robbie and Kathy.
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I was so nervous when writing the second part of this mystery, Balroop. Didn’t want to disappoint anyone. I mean, jewelry and airplane tickets and gold coins would have been a fun box mystery, but in the end, what’s better than the manuscript of a book-in-progress? 🙂
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Great story Pam, many emotions in a short piece of writing, I like that.
Congratulations to the winners, bet you had fun guessing. I missed the beginning I am afraid.
miriam
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I DO like to show the emotions of my characters, Miriam. I mean, without emotions, our lives are just motion with no meaning. ❤
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Congrats to the winners. As usual, I wasn’t even on the same planet. 🙂
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John – I’m on a different planet often, also. Maybe we’ll see each other up there (on whatever planet we’re visiting) one of these days. 😉
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Ha ha ah. I hope so
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🙂
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Excellent surprise. Never even contemplated a manuscript! 😉
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I must have “manuscript-on-the-brain” with one halfway complete and one in the hands of an illustrator! And you must admit, we kinda had fun here dissing the agents. ;-0 🙂
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Lol. Spot on Pam!!!! 🙂 x
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Hurray! This is the perfect ending. I’m glad it wasn’t diamonds, cash, or drugs.
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Oh good, glad the boxed contents were a bit different. I mean, who needs diamonds, cash or drugs? As long as we have a story, we’re RICH! 🙂
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Great story! I was so far off-base I wasn’t even in the same ballpark. Congrats to the winners!
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Good analogy, but be kinder to yourself. My clues were basically non-existent. But wasn’t it fun to see what other readers came up with? THANKS for playing along.
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Well done! Great story.
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Thanks for reading the two-part mystery. I’ll admit, I was holding my breath about the ending. Glad it all turned out okay. 🙂
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David Kanigan took the words right out of my keyboard.
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I believe I “met” David on your blog, Anneli. His posts are so thought-provoking and deep. Thanks for enjoying my two-part mystery. I must admit, I loved your guess, even though it wasn’t quite right. 🙂
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I thought you might approve. 😉
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I was way too, simple in my thinking.
Do you do these riddles often? It was a neat thing.
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I love writing romantic suspense, Resa, as short stories as well as novels (I’ve published two of them). For some reason, when I start a story, it always ends up with a bit of a mystery and some fun romance in there. Love DOES make the world go round, after all! 🙂
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True! 😀
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Very nice ending. Thanks for not killing off anyone in the story. Great ending to a super plot. I bet you had fun with this one and I hope you continue to have fun as you write more suspenseful stories.
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Whew, glad you liked the ending Yvonne. Yes, I DID have fun with it, and I must admit, when I wrote the first part, I knew it was a manuscript in the box, but I didn’t know why or whose. This is why I like writing suspense – I let the characters tell me as I write their story. Thanks for enjoying, and yes, I’ve got many of them hidden in my writers’ well. 🙂
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-grin- Love a story with a strong moral. Indie! 😀
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HaHa. You are the FIRST one to mention the “self-publish” Indie moral to this tale. I’ll admit, it felt good to get this suspense out with a point – write with freedom and on your own terms. ❤
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High Five! 😀
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Mystery solved – very clever Pam and congratulations to Robbie and Barbara C. for figuring it out!
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A rather convoluted mystery, but I sure had fun with this author-centric theme, Barbara. 🙂
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Awesome conclusion… ❤
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YAY! So glad you liked the ending to my box-mystery, Courtney. xo
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Well done! And congratulations to the winners. You leave me wanting s’more, Pam!
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You are clever even at the roasted marshmallow end, Molly. Hey, are you enmeshed with colorful trees there now? Here in the Boston area, just about 20% trees of red and orange. A bit late this year because of our warm, wet Fall. xo
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We are nearing peak foliage here, Pam. It is gorgeous!
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I was completely distracted by the marshmallows. Great story. Love the twist (to self-pub). Oh yeah!
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Tee hee. I had fun with that Indie twist, Jacqui. 🙂
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Well this was the coolest thing that’s happened all weekend–if not all week! So fun reading the Mystery Ending. Who would have thunk? Looking forward to seeing your words up close and personal. 🙂
Thank you!
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Thank YOU for guessing and being part of the mystery contest, Kathy. And for knowing me so well. Book in mail tomorrow. ❤
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Love the story, Pam and it’s so obvious with the manuscript … once I read it! Great story and writing and how true it is never The End with self-Publishing! 😀Well done to Robbie for her spot-on guess! Have a lovely week! ❤️🌺
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I was a bit stressed about getting the 2nd part of the story “just right,” Annika. But then I just had too much fun writing to worry about it. 🙂 Agents and Indie publishing and wine, oh my! xoxo
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Well done! Kept me engaged. And isn’t it nice to see agents getting their fictional comeuppance!
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Haha. I know, Cynthia. When Debra led me there with her dialogue, I chuckled all the way through the “rest of the story.” I love it when our characters do that for us. 🙂
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Love it! I was so way off with my guess that I’m glad I never wrote it down for the world to see!
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Oh no, believe me, Amy. I most enjoyed the “way off” guesses. We prove to each other how much imagination we all have. SO. MUCH. FUN. 🙂
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🙂
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I was WAY off as well. Good thing I was able to read both posts back to back. And good thing that I didn’t need to reveal my guess. It was incredibly lame compared to the real thing. Great story!
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Awww, come on. You must admit, the guesses were almost more fun than the real “treasure” in the box. Almost. 🙂
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Oh, I definitely agree that the guesses were fun. But mine was lame — very!
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OMG! I was only kidding around. Congrats to the winners though. This was fun.
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Your guess was so “right on” that you’ve become the 3rd winner!! xo
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Love it Pam! Your sense of humour, and the pace of your writing is such a joy! And I appreciate your empowered indignation at the treatment some writers receive from their agent – good on you the courageous self-published! Bless you for the honorable mention 🙂 Love and blessings, Harula x
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Hey, how many times does an Indie writer/author get to make up a fun story with agents-gone-bad and authors gone wild? 🙂 Thanks for enjoying and playing the guessing game, Harula. ❤
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Love it, Pam. Those two “bad guys” were pretty funny. “We want to be the graham crackers and chocolate bar to sell the whole package.” ha ha ha. Debra has the right idea, and Eugene will be very happy!
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Isn’t it fun to let the dialogue just flow and come up with …. s’mores? 🙂
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I forgot to say CONGRATS to the winners! Will do so on their blogs. 😀
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Fabulous Resa. Thank you!
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Ha! Great ending … or not … hard to know … !!
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You’re funny, Kate. But true – if the end is just the beginning, who knows what Debra and Eugene get up to next? Since I’m an optimist, I’ll say that Eugene has a bestseller on his hands, with the help of his publicist Debra.
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Congrats to the winners! LOL, I was picturing Eugene tied up in his own house. Great story, Pam!
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This is why I love these literary guessing games. The IMAGINATIONS of the bloggers out there..! Totally terrific. 🙂
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Took me a while to get here but it was a fun read. I’m never much good with contests anyway. 🙂
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I’m so glad you enjoyed Eugene and Debra’s story. So neat how people like quick little two-parters like this. Glad you came by.
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Sh*t! How did I miss this post?
D’oh!
Congrats to the winners – I think we all were with the crazy imaginations of your readers out there…
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I’ll do another flash fiction contest in 2019, Dale. Like you said, the imaginative guesses of these readers were so much fun to read!! 🙂
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Woot!!
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