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s I mentioned back on February 19, me and a dozen and a half other authors joined up once again under the auspices of the amazing Ari Marmell to run a multi-author contest called Crossing the Streams. We did this back in 2012, and after taking a year off, Ari spearheaded the effort once more, to a rousing success. The contest ended on March 19, but I’ve been too overwhelmed with work and family stuff to do much about it–until now.
(You may have noticed a drop-off in posts on this site that coincided with that period. There are lots of details to share, but the big one was driving my entire family–all seven of us–out to Las Vegas for the GAMA Trade Show. We had a fantastic trip and stopped at the Grand Canyon on the way back home. But we capped it off with a 29.5-hour drive straight through the night to get back in time for the kids to make it to school the next day.
Soooo, I was a bit tired. But anyhow!)
As you might recall, to enter my contest, you had to tell me who your favorite monster was and why he might wind up in detention, much as you might find in my latest novel, Monster Academy: I Will Not Eat People. I picked my favorite out of the many excellent entries, which included such creatures as Godzilla, Hedorah, the Weeping Angels, Sully (from Monsters, Inc.), dragons, and even the Cookie Monster. I picked one winner at random and one whose entry best tickled me. The random prize went to Jesse Rodriguez.
The winning entry came from Mike Castiglia, which you can read below. Both he and Jess will get autographed hardcover copies of Monster Academy: I Will Not Eat People, just as soon as I can get more copies from the printer. The mega-grand prize also went to Karl Kloeden, who was drawn randomly from all the entries in every one of the Crossing the Streams contests.
Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks to everyone who entered and gave me so many great laughs throughout the month!
Day 1: I’ve decided to keep this journal as the rest of my friends and I explore this “dungeon.” Locals say a strange and deadly beast lives within, but likely it’s just more kobolds. The wizard is once again complaining about having to go into dirty and dank areas. What did you think would happen you signed up to go on quests for the greater good?
Day 3: Sure enough, we found Kobolds, but there was something strange about them. They all seemed to be fleeing from the cave system, which is much larger than we initially thought. Kozek the Ranger says there are other tracks in the system as well, something with large paw prints, like a big cat. Great: kobolds, a whiny wizard, and an oversized house cat.
Day 7: We’ve been down here nearly a week. Sadly we lost the Bard along the way. We told her to knock off the singing, but it wasn’t until the trolls happened upon us that she learned we were right. We managed to burn one to a crispy bit, but the other two were too much, and we had to run. Barely escaped.
Day 9: Haven’t seen much in the way of living creatures, though Kozek still picks up tracks now and again. The odd thing is that they aren’t consistent, like this thing is moving around. Perhaps a flying cat? I’m starting to feel like we are being watched.
Day 12: Kozek didn’t make it after our first encounter with the “cat.” Turns out the darned thing wasn’t a cat at all, but some kind of teleporting creature. The wizard called it an ethereal something-or-other. It’s down to myself, the wizard, and Amalia the Priestess of Gaia. Not sure how we’ll get out of here.
Day 13: Turns out these things are decent trackers in their own right. “Ethereal filcher” Grandal called it. Too bad he lost his spellbook in the last encounter. Supplies are dwindling. Wishing we had decided to skip this dungeon in favor of gambling at the Red Dragon Inn.
Day 15: After moving constantly, we’ve been pushed into what seems to be a dead end. Grandal used the last of his scrolls and then went missing. Amalia and I assume the worst. If I were a betting man, I’d roll dice that this adventure shouldn’t have gone this way.
Day 16: Amalia managed to put up a barrier and has made food to sustain us. It’s a waiting game at this point. Her mole friends tell her we are not far from the surface and if we can make a break we can still make the surface. Of course, now I can’t find my magical sword or shield. Some fighter I am. A good night’s rest and then we make a break.
Day 17: It’s morning and we are preparing to go. If you are reading this, hopefully it’s because I made it out, otherwise you may be in for a similar fate. Here goes nothing….
I put a couple of monsters into this little journal entry, but the obvious detainee is the ethereal filcher. The kobolds were likely sent to detention for pulling pranks on the Professor of Planar History, the trolls for destroying the school’s furnance (they face expulsion too)–something about Trolls not liking fire. It’s the ethereal filcher that takes the cake. With a Jaunt ability, he is known to come and go from school, but the staff has always had a hard time catching him–until the newest headmaster found a way to ward the school and prevent teleportations IN and OUT of the school. He is now in detention for two attempts to leave school grounds unauthorized, as well as for a week’s worth of truancy.
