Writing Prompt: Here's the thing...

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

This round, our writing prompt is extra special in that you have a choice between two:

Here's the thing about Valentine's Day. I always

or

Here's the thing about Valentine's Day. I never

Think of this as the opening line of a novel. Your job is to write the next 100 words as if they're the opening paragraph. It's not a short story, it's the next 100 words. And he prompt sentence never counts toward your word count.

After you've written your 100 words, please e-mail them to me at: Stephanie(at)StephanieMorrillBooks(dot)com. (No attachments, please!) Make sure to include your full name and e-mail address. Send me your prompt by Monday, February 21st at 11:59 pm Kansas City time.

And I always send confirmations when I receive your entry. If you don't receive one within 24 hours or so, please check back with me.

For a longer explanation and a list of answered questions, click here.

This round's judges are:

Carla Stewart

Carla Stewart’s writing reflects her passion for times gone by as depicted in her first highly-acclaimed novel,Chasing Lilacs. Carla launched her writing career in 2002 when she earned the coveted honor of being invited to attend Guidepost's Writers Workshop in Rye, New York. Since then, her articles have appeared in Guideposts,Angels on Earth, Saddle Baron, and Blood and Thunder: Musings on the Art of Medicine.

In her life before writing, Carla enjoyed a career in nursing and raising her family. Now that their four sons are married and they’ve become empty-nesters, she and her husband relish the occasional weekend getaway and delight in the adventures of their six grandchildren.

Carla enjoys a good cup of coffee, great books, and hearing from you, her readers. You’re invited to contact her and learn more about her writing at her website.

Erica Vetsch

One day a few years ago, I turned to my husband and said, "I don't know if you know this, but I spend an awful lot of time in my own head." He patted my hand and gave me his this-is-not-news expression. I had just verbalized something my parents, teachers, friends, children, and spouse had known about me for years.

Though I have set aside my career teaching history to high school students in order to homeschool my own kids, my love of history hasn't faded. My favorite books are historical novels and history books, and one of my greatest thrills is stumbling across some obscure historical factoid that makes my imagination leap. I'm continually amazed at how God allows me to use my passion for history, romance, and daydreaming to craft historical romances to entertain readers and glorify Him.

Whenever I'm not following flights of fancy in my fictional world, I'm company bookkeeper for our family lumber business, mother of two terrific teens, wife to a man who is my total opposite and yet my soul-mate, and avid museum patron.

Diana Sharples

Diana Sharples is the former editor of an online speculative fiction magazine, Electric Wine, (no longer in publication) and currently moderates a critique group for Christian YA authors. She was a double-finalist in the 2009 ACFW Genesis competition, and won the 2010 MORWA Gateway award for her Contemporary YA novel, Running Lean. Diana lives in Georgia with her husband and daughter and a house full of rescued pets, and can often be found riding her motorcycle around the north Georgia mountains.