Winners in a race against crime

Yay! Time to announce the winners!!!!!!

Firstly with my humble apologies for the delay (no excuses on offer), I have at last read through the entries with a view to selecting a winning storyline and author.

Announcing the winners of the Where is the Snow challenge which asked creators to write an alternative episode or thread to the then ongoing crime series: Telltale Crimson Trail

Let me say that all of the stories that were written in response to this challenge were brilliant in the way they developed their own thread of the tangled web that began with Telltale Crimson Trail. And there were three top stories awarded by Vocal for entries in this unofficial challenge. I am delighted, so proud and pleased, and grateful to all of the brilliant authors who participated.

Without further ado, I am over the moon to announce the winner:

What I liked most about this story was the way it moved the action along, increasing the tension, while introducing its own original narrative. I would love to read how the story develops from here. What does the Captain ask about John's brother? Does this incriminate John further or allow him to talk his way out of it? What does Stevie have to say when the Captain calls her in? So intriguing, and this is the essence of writing a fictional series. Always leave the reader hungry for what happens next.

Mackenzie, I have sent your $25 prize

The other entries were of course brilliant too and I would happily have chosen any of them. They are all winners and I am grateful to each of the authors for joining in the fun. For me, the best bit of this whole enterprise was the collaboration. Those authors who participated were able to demonstrate the possibilities for collaborative writing. Getting together to map out how a story should progress.

This is what happens in real life, when a team of writers sits down to plot an episode of any drama, comedy or other series. They take a joint approach to looking at the opportunities, exploring new story ideas, and generally working as a team to create a thoroughly believable make-believe.

Really well done to Kageno Hoshino, Scott Christenson, Lamar Wiggins and, of course, ultimate winner Mackenzie Davis. Congratulations are in order, too, for Lamar's and Kageno's top story awards for their entries.

I have listed each of the entries here, followed by the complete story thread web below, showing each of the episodes in the original storyline, with each of the contributed episodes listed according to their place in the overall story. I started by writing a single 250-word flash entry to the Vocal Snow Micro challenge and a number of fellow authors kindly suggested I should continue the story as a series. After a few more episodes, I thought it would help to ask for an injection of new ideas. These were forthcoming and I cannot express how grateful I am for the help and encouragement I received.

List of all entrants and their submissions

Kageno Hoshino: Loose Threads

This picks up the action after episode 5 of Crimson Trail and has made use of a suitably atmospheric cover image. Kageno is our first $5 winner, as you will see if you read his story.

Kageno went on to write further episodes:

• Tainted coffee
• Ashes to Ashes

A stylish and equally atmospheric episode that picks up the coffee theme that runs through the story, as any self-respecting detective fiction should.

CONGRATULATIONS on the top story

Next came Scott Christenson, writing two episodes at about the same time as Kageno. His first offering is: The Encore (Part 1)

Scott has also written another episode:

The Encore (Part 2)

This story takes the action on a ride to Boston so well done to Scott for picking up on the clue about where the story was originally located.

The inimitable Lamar Wiggins introduced some original and thought-provoking developments in: A rat in a cage

This story features new evidence in the shape of a surpise witness, reminiscent of the the nosey lady in Chandler, Farewell My Lovely. I hope Lamar considers developing this theme further.

CONGRATULATIONS on the top story

Our fourth participant is the wonderful Mackenzie Davis whose focus is the interview with the squad Captain: Interrogation

Not sure what is is about car parks (parking lots to my American friends) but I find them fascinating. So any action that takes place in one in any suspense story is fine by me. Even if it is only pulling into the lot purposefully then pursuing another perfectly pleasing pulse of action.

These are all of the alternative episodes.

THE ORIGINAL STORY THREAD

Here are the episodes from the original story of the nefarious antics of John, the Massachusetts homicide detective. I have tried to weave in the alternative threads into the story in the approximate place they seem to fit. If I grew a family tree, it would of course start with the Telltale Crimson Trail and branch out at various points. Not even going to attempt it, but hopefully what I have tried to do will be clear enough.

O ~ 0 ~ o ~

• Part one: Telltale Crimson Trail
• Part two: Ten Minutes to Mask a Murder
• Part three: Meltwater
• Part four: Chain of Evidence

Alternative thread: Scott Christenson, B4: The Encore (Part 1)

The Encore (Part 2)

• Part five: Work to Do
• Part six: Long dark night

Alternative thread: Kageno Hoshino, A6: Loose Threads

Alternative thread: Kageno Hoshino, A7: Tainted Coffee

Alternative thread: Kageno Hoshino, A8: Ashes to Ashes

• Part seven: Pretty miss trouble

• Alternative tread: Lamar Wiggins, C7: A Rat in the Cage

• Part eight: Comeuppance

Alternative thread: Mackenzie Davis, D8: Interrogation

• Part nine: Well earned break
• Part 10: Promising career
• Part 11: Final Act
• Part 12: Epilogue

O ~ 0 ~ o ~

Back to the beginning: Telltale Crimson Trail

Thanks for reading

And, once again, many, many thanks and congratulations to all who participated.

Ray