[ALL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25]

If your story is listed in the top 5 below, congratulations, you are among the 125 writers moving on to the 2nd Round kicking off at 11:59PM EDT this Thursday, April 11th!   Congratulations to everyone that submitted a story, narrowing down a top 5 in each heat was incredibly difficult and everyone should be proud for rising to the challenge and creating a story outside your comfort zone from scratch in 8 days.  We hope the challenge was inspiring and hope to see you in our next challenge!

#1 'Bound' by Karen Yin SYNOPSIS - A Chinese girl raised as a boy comes of age at the turn of the 20th century.

#2 'Sarah Ann Tyler' by Suzanne Eckl SYNOPSIS - After finding the remains of an old farmstead, a Comanche princess imagines another woman’s past.

#3 'Whispers of the Dying' by Jessica Clark SYNOPSIS - A nurse romances a WW1 vet through a tuberculosis infection, but his illness soon evokes memories of her deceased brother.

#4 'The Chappaquiddick Incident' by Lisa Frischhertz SYNOPSIS - Dave Snodgrass and his dog, Grimm, have recovered one too many bodies, but now that they are both officially “retired”, Grimm has added a macabre dimension to his keen sense of smell. Can Grimm now identify a victim before they actually die, and if this is true is it Dave’s fault that he didn't warn the victim?

#5 'Family Secrets' by Corenne Taylor SYNOPSIS - At twelve years of age, Lillian has witnessed her first murder. Her father has killed Mr. Wallace, the husband of her boss. As her father and his friends plot on how to dispose of the body, Lillian thinks back on her time with the Wallaces’ deciphering how and why Mr. Wallace was killed.

#Honorable Mention 'Hush' by Bridgette Burgess SYNOPSIS - Deep in the South, a little girl loses her voice to the secrets she keeps and learns that sometimes even silence can’t keep Bad Things from happening.

#Honorable Mention 'Ice on Fire' by Pamela Sweet SYNOPSIS - At the end of the 19th century a small-town Ohio youth faces the consequences of a careless decision that costs him a friendship and pushes him along the road towards manhood.

#Honorable Mention 'Ignis et Aqua' by Kimberly Scott SYNOPSIS - Two friends struggle against fires and their own slavery in ancient Rome.
 

---