1st place: The Second Letter, by Malin James (inspired by HappyComeLucky)
Prize: Fantasy Bondage Kit from Cara Sutra; and a $15 voucher for Dreamspinner Press
Between Thursday and Saturday, I whittled the competition entries down from 28 to 10, and by Sunday afternoon I had a pretty clear shortlist in my head. Over the next few hours, this achingly powerful piece of writing from Malin James bounced up and down between just about every position on that list. I know from the various bits of feedback I’ve had over the last couple of weeks that it’s a piece which divides opinion, and for a while I couldn’t quite decide what I thought of it either.
There’s pain in almost every paragraph, and a yearning that’s not so much erotic as it is tormented. It’s the written equivalent of watching a couple go through a tearful break-up in a bar: you can’t bear to see it happening, and you can’t bring yourself to look away.
The words though…the words themselves are HOT. The thick, black ink on her skin, and the way she’s reduced to ‘an arching back, a curving neck, a gaping, needy cunt.’ The catharsis in her recollection of every exquisite, erotic, emptying mark he left upon her is both haunting and compelling, but as a reader you’re left with no doubt that beneath it all, there’s this explosive sexual connection between them.
Malin’s story was one of the first I read, and I’ve gone back to it several times since then. It’s a truly superb piece of flash fiction, inspired by a very sexy photo. Each time I read it, it feels fresh, and each time I linger over a different sentence or image. I understand why it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but in a very strong field, it’s the one story that I ultimately felt happy elevating above the rest.
So congratulations to Malin, who wins the amazing Fantasy Bondage Kit from Cara Sutra, and a $15 voucher for Dreamspinner Press! I’m sure she’ll put both to good use…
Finally, thank you so much to everyone who donated a prize – you’re all fucking awesome, and I was blown away by the generosity you all showed. And thanks to Molly (also fucking awesome, btw) for letting me tie this in with Sinful Sunday.
Till next time!
C
8 replies on “Sinful Stories: winner!”
Congratulations, Malin James, with winning the competition. Fabulous!
Rebel xox
Thank you! With a field this full of incredibly strong entries, I’m especially honored to have won… And now I’m going to stop before I slide right into a fantastically emotional gush 🙂
Congratulations! I must say, Malin James’ story was one of my favourites to read. So glad she won it!
Well done to Malin, a well deserved win. I truly loved this story and so am delighted that it got the winning spot.
Also it was lovely to witness the collaboration between Sinful Sunday participants and writers and see how different people were inspired by images. I hope in the future that similar collaborations continue to take place as I think it is rich and rewarding ground for both parties.
Mollyxxx
I love it when people do what I tell them to 😉
Beautiful work, Malin!
[…] last time I ran this contest, picking a winner proved to be, if not easy, then at least relatively clear-cut. It was always unlikely that things […]
[…] chance to do various cool things on/with my blog. Things that have made me happy. Things like short story competitions…and guest posts from fucking amazing writers…and audio excerpts from […]
[…] on the experience of a very sexy experience. The other two are stories that I wrote in response to Exhibit A’s Sinful Stories competition. I still have no idea how but ‘If you go down to the woods today…‘ […]