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I'LL BE THE JUDGE
...he said, light-hearted in his youth and innocence. It seems
there is nothing to which I set my hand that doesn't cause me
at some point or other to face my thousand-yard stare in the mirror
and dully ask, "What was I thinking of?" I don't know what madness
possessed me to say this was to be the last contest, beyond that
being then my plan and hence the truth. I didn't know what I was
doing, obviously, or I would have waited until this contest was
over to say it.
Of course I am thrilled, albeit now distantly and abstractly,
that so many people care enough about this to express their dismay
in every sort of term. There was simply no way to answer everyone
individually, and so I will try to explain myself here and now.
The idea here is not to take away, but to add. With a contest
you get a couple or three stories every six months. With an e-zine
you get a half-dozen or more every couple of months. Also, I would
like to be able to take longer work and serialize it, and I would
like to at least have the option of accepting essays and confessionals
in addition to the fiction.
Now I am worn to a veritable nubbin because I have read several
hundred stories in the last month or so, and for the near future
I don't even want to think about reading another one. I know this
doesn't sound like much to the average reader of Internet erotica.
'Hell, man, I read that many in a week!' There's a big difference
between reading for pleasure (or restlessly seeking stimulation)
and reading for content. Because, look, I've been there. I am
there. I treat other people's work the way I'd like mine to be
treated, with respect and careful attention. I read every word
of every entry, even if I don't like them.
This time around I received over five hundred submissions. Fortunately
for me, over a hundred were sent anonymously and I could delete
them without guilt. But as for the rest, first I had to skim through
them to make sure they fit my criteria (which knocked a few score
more out of the running) and then I had to read them word-for-word--and
bear in mind, I do all this in what I light-heartedly consider
my spare time. It may seem as though it takes me forever--well,
it seems that way to me, too.
I don't know when I'll start to work launching the e-zine. I
am due for a rest. But just a few more days for to tote the weary
load. I still have about thirty stories from which to make final
selections. But in the meantime, it is my pleasure to present
to you my personal favorite. This story comes to you from a man
with more guts than a stockyard, a man who asked please to put
his own real name on the by-line. Peter Fraley, this one is by
you, and for you. It's a pleasant diversion from reality called
One Tin Soldier. Words cannot
describe it.
I'll be back in a day or so (ah, famous last words) with more.
Will
First Place Winner: ONE TIN SOLDIER
by Peter Fraley
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