The Great "The Hollow" Giveaway!

It's a beautiful morning here in New Orleans, but the heat index is supposed to top out at about 105 degrees. That's the "feels-like" temperature for all you weather channel fans. So what better way to cool down my blog, than by holding a contest for Jessica Verday's chilling debut novel, The Hollow?! See my review here.



It's easy to enter:

Just commenting on this post will earn you 1 entry.
If you are a follower of my blog, or you become a follower, that's +1.
If you blog about this contest that's another +1.
Post a link in your sidebar for +1 more.

And finally for a whopping +5 --that's five, count 'em, FIVE-- entries, either post on your own blog, or email me (see my profile for my email) the opening to your own retold story. Any entries emailed to me will be posted on my blog through the week. Unless you'd prefer not to share your entry with the world seeing as no one's actually getting judged on the content of their entry, just that they participated, in which case simply tell me not to post it.

Your entry can be anywhere from 100 to 350 words, whatever flows. I'll even write my own and post it tomorrow. For inspiration, see Tuesday's post. I really enjoyed writing little snippets. Let's see if I can pull off a first page. You have until Friday, October 16th to enter, at which time all entries will be numbered and drawn randomly out of my bathtub.

When I read The Hollow, it was like getting a second chance to enjoy The Legend of Sleepy Hollow all over again, but it was a different experience from seeing movie versions. Even versions like Tim Burton's where the plot deviates delightfully from the original. Hollywood takes its liberties with classics, with legends all the time: Clueless/Emma, 10 Things I Hate About You/Taming of the Shrew, Drive Me Crazy (or Can't Buy Me Love)/The Frog Prince, A.I./Pinocchio. And who could resist Bill Murray in Scrooged?


For a little added chilling inspiration, I leave you with a link to Neil Gaiman's frightful retelling of Snow White, Snow, Glass, Apples. It's darkly imagined, sexually graphic and lyrically beautiful.

Enjoy, and good luck with the contest!