In the last four days, just over 200 stories have been submitted to the Hint Fiction contest, the majority of those done via the alternative submission form. I haven't really sat down and read the stories closely yet, but I've been glancing at them as they come in, and it's interesting to note that a good portion don't include titles. Granted, in the guidelines I say that titles are encouraged but not required, but still, this is Hint Fiction, right? But honestly, it doesn't matter much to me. I've learned my lesson over the course of two years. I could talk about how titles are important in Hint Fiction, or that writers would be best to stay away from focusing their stories on murder, but what's the point? The only people reading this post are regular readers of this blog, and I suspect most of you skim through it on your Google Reader anyway (yes, I'm talking about you). If any writer wants a serious shot of winning this contest, he or she will do their research. Or they'll get lucky. Either way, I think I've gotten to the point where I've said all there is to say regarding Hint Fiction. Except that the University of North Texas has released a few more mock covers. Here's one of them:
Speaking of covers, I forgot to mention that the cover for The Dishonored Dead was illustrated and designed by Jeroen ten Berge. Jeroen's clients include Blake Crouch, Brett Battles, Marcus Sakey, and Lee Goldberg. He does excellent, excellent work, and I'm thrilled with what he came up with for my zombie book.
Speaking of which, have you bought a copy yet? If not, why? Make sure your answer is 25 words or less.