Alright, I owe everyone an update on the situation.  I'm almost a month behind the end date for the contest I haven't had much opportunity to let people know what's going on.

First off, as of April I'm employed full-time again.  I've got a job downtown (in D.C.) - it's fairly high level but the commute is horrible.  Takes about an hour and a half to get in, so that's 3 hours I'm spending in the car, plus 9 or 10 hours a day at the office.  Then I come home, eat dinner, and do some more work from home.

Still, everyone works and that by itself wouldn't have been an issue, but the other thing that has kept me from updating is that in the past six weeks I've been to 3 different doctors and the emergency room for debilitating back pain.  I haven't gotten a final answer as to why yet, but it seems like the best guess is one or more herniated disks in my spine.  I've been on heavy duty pain killers while I wait for the results of the MRI, but I'm not moving around much.  I'm really hoping to get this figured out and behind me as soon as possible, hopefully without surgery (though I'll take it if it will fix the problem).

Anyway, that's my sob story.  I don't have a guess currently as to when I'll be able to reschedule the contest - thank you to everyone who submitted and I'm very sorry I haven't been able to honor your work as promised.

For years now, with the help of the MySpace community, I have been fighting the stigma of self-publishing – the idea that if you're not with Random House, you're nobody.

We know that isn't true.  I've been saying since I started networking here years ago that the online community is full of talented writers who deserve to be heard.

I believe I've found a way to do just that.

For the next few months, this blog will play host to what will hopefully be the largest writing contest ever put together on MySpace.  Authors of every genre will be welcomed to submit their material, which will be read by thousands.  The MySpace community will chose the winners, selecting the authors they feel best represent the talent that exists in this large network of writers.

After a lot of thinking, I've come up with a prize I believe is best suited to a competition of this nature.

I've been asked many times when I intend to release another book.  I finally have an answer.

At the conclusion of this contest I will collect the winning stories into a manuscript that will showcase the best of the MySpace authors – and I will publish it.

So the prize that I'm offering is every writer's goal – their work in print.

As my endorsement of the work, I will also be lending any credibility I've gained over the years by including several of my own stories in the collection.

You will still retain 100% ownership of your work.

So here are the rules:

All stories must be submitted by May 11
You may submit up to 2 stories.
Stories should contain between 500 and 4,000 words (though this is not set in stone).
Whether you write a new short or submit an old one is up to you, but it can not have been published before (not everyone lets you keep the rights).
Please keep in mind that these stories will be read by people of all ages, so no graphic language/violence/sex (as a rough guide, nothing over "PG-13").

With the last rule in mind, you may write about any topic, in any genre.  You may either place the story online and send me a link, include it in the body of a message (but keep in mind it may lose formating that way) or message me and I'll give you an email address to send a word document.  I will categorize them and present them to the MySpace community (and possible a panel of judges) to select a winner from each.  The winning stories will be compiled and published.

For rules and prize clarification, check out the Short Story Contest page of StevenOliverez.com

Please help get the word out on this.  If you have a website, blog, list of friends/coworkers you can email, an article in a paper you write for, etc., please spread the word.  The more submissions I get the more sub-categories I can include and the more winners that can be selected.

Let's show the MySpace, the readers, and the publishing world what we can do.

My dad is a finalist in a Disney/Careerbuilder contest showcasing his pirate skills.I'd appreciate it if you went and voted for him.  The video itself is worth the click!

http://www.careerbuilder.com/disneydreamjobs/dream-job-applicant.asp?jtid=1&ytid=Syhw6G8vTMM

Alright, it's been awhile since I've written anything, so here goes.

It's definitely a departure from the format of my normal shorts.  I'm getting back into writing with a piece that's a bit more 'experimental', using dialogue as the sole driving force of the story.  I may go back and tweak it a bit, but for now, I hope you enjoy and comment on the latest short story: 

A couple things, first off I promise that I am going to sit down and work on getting you guys some new short stories.  I know it's been a long time since I've put out anything new - I hope you'll understand with the wedding, career change, etc., that it's been on the backburner, but I'm going to work on changing that and hope to have a new short very soon.

For anyone who hasn't had a chance (these things get buried in the blog), here is the complete collection of Oliverez short stories I've published here on MySpace.  As usual, I ask only that if you enjoy them to please send a link to this blog to everybody you know who might enjoy it as well (heck, just send it to everyone in your email address book), or if you have a webpage to put up a link to my site.

...To Present
This is one of my favorite stories I've written, about an elderly gentleman visiting his wife's grave.

Prince Ugly

Tiny Dancer
(Fair warning - upsetting subject matter.)

Faithfully

8600 Wintercreek Road
About moving on

Late Season
Another personal favorite, and a good one to end on.


Again, please send the link to this blog - blog.myspace.com/oliverez - to everyone who enjoys reading (or just anyone and everyone), and leave a comment.  Thanks to everyone who has been reading and supporting my writing and allowing me to acheive so much.

After more than a year of marketing the book and seeing it succeed in so many ways I never expected (thank in no small part to everyone who has come to read my writing through this profile) - from hitting Amazon's Top 100 in Fantasy to all the news articles, both local and national, I've decided that I'm no longer going to sell it.

I'm giving it away.

I want everyone to be able to experience the story of Tyr, and so I am presenting it here in its entirety for all to enjoy.  Please tell anyone who appreciates a fantasy story - this one is a gift from me to every reader out there.

I ask only two things from people who read it:

Love it or hate it, please leave your comments here.  They mean a lot to me.  There's no better gift to a writer than to tell him what you honestly think of his work.

The other thing I ask is that if you do enjoy The Elder Staves, please pick up a physical copy of the book from Amazon.com.  It's the best way to let me know you think the book was worth the effort to write.

So without further ado, I present, from start to finish:

THE ELDER STAVES




(you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it)

Congratulations to Lacy Clagg for winning The Elder Staves Art Contest!  Her piece is number 13 below.

 

The Artwork:

 

David aka Tuti

1 -

 

David

2 -

 

Demon

3 -

4 -

5 -

 

Infamous

6 -

7 -

8 -

 

Amie

9 -

 

Jo

10 -

11 -

 

The Koonie

12 -

 

Lacy Clagg

13 -

 

Ryan

14 -

 

Shi

15 -

 

Jus

16 -

Interested to see what the art is based on?  Grab a copy of The Elder Staves on Amazon.com

(Technorati Profile)

The Elder Staves moved all the way up to number 25 on Amazon's Top 100 in Fantasy yesterday.  Thank you to everyone who grabbed a copy!

Things are really taking off with the book and I'm thankful to all of you for your help.  Please continue recommending it to friends and getting the word out.  If you know anyone who loves fantasy, you know where to send 'em 

Okay, it's been awhile, but here's another story for you:

Late Season

As usual, let me know your thoughts.  I love hearing from you.  Be sure to subscribe to blog if you haven't already.  And if you're new, make sure to check out the previous stories.

Hope you enjoy, and have a great day.

Okay, I've been promising new stories.  Here's one I wrote awhile back:

8600 Winter Creek Road, Apartment C

Hope you enjoy, and as usual, leave plenty of comments.