The Little Black Book

When my dearest grandparent, my much loved and beautiful Grandmother, Dorothy, passed away. She left a box labelled, “To my Darling Grandchild with all my love”.

Now you may think that would be confusing, but she only had one grandchild, and that was me. Actually, that is, I am the only one remaining. The rest, the other twelve, all died before they reached adulthood.

So, alone and teary-eyed, I opened the box. With, I must admit, a little trepidation. So, what was in the box? Not much really. A mountain of packing, masquerading as peanuts, and right at the bottom … a little black book, girthed and secured by a tiny patent leather belt.

I spent many a long hour with my new, although quite old, keepsake. Just a glimpse, without actually opening the prized volume, filled me with love and an overwhelming ache, that just couldn’t be mollified.

But she was a wily old fox and within days, that vessel of her life, netted me over twenty-thousand dollars. Oh my! Was I worthy of such a monumental grant …

Dear Curator,

Now is the time, to ease you out of the misery of yet another entry in the Little Black Book Challenge. You hard-working individuals, must be somewhat sick of the fabulous, yet hugely oversubscribed, competition.

Possibly “oversubscribed” is the wrong adjective to use, but you must all be surprised and a little overwhelmed, by the number of stories submitted. The last time I checked there was over 4200 entries!

HOLY SHITE!

Last Minute Strategy

And now, with only about 3 days left, there will no doubt be an influx of last-minute ingress. Those who have waited until the very end, to both: get a feeling for the creativity so far, and to keep their ideas safe and secure.

Is the Scrivener or the Scrivings any different?

Of course, I am no different to the rest, and have penned two missives for the judges. I like to think that my stories are somewhat different to the remainder, as I have attempted to approach the target from a slightly different angle. But at the end of the day, my pair are just two protagonists, in a cast of thousands.

While I would love to give my hard work a self-serving plug, that is not what this article is about. I am more, interested and flabbergasted, by the huge response. But, who knows, I may not be able to resist the temptation before the end of this article.

Why the Huge Response?

So why have so many hopefuls entered the competition? You don’t need to be a scholar or a rocket-scientist to figure that out. Obviously, everyone would love to grab a slice, actually the vast majority, of the eye-opening prize money.

Wouldn’t it be nice!

Twenty G’s is a lot of money. Much more than just the subscription price of Vocal+. Wisely managed, it could really change your life. Possibly, like me, you have some bills that have been weighing you down and making your life miserable. Or your car may require major repairs or a total replacement. We could all do with a little boost of pecuniary delight.

I know my chances of winning are limited. Even though I put days into planning before any penning, it will no doubt not be enough. Illustrations were dreamt, painted and digitally enhanced to add context to the stories But again, will they provide any sway or even joy, to the final judging panel?

Was the Challenge worthwhile?

I don’t know how my tales will be received, but neither do any of us. Is it important? Will I be disappointed when the results are published? More than likely a little, but the prize is not the only reason to enter. I have definitely enjoyed the process of writing for Vocal's, Little Black Book Challenge, and hopefully, that will be reward enough.

So YES, in my opinion the Challenge was unquestionably worthwhile and a great promotion of Vocal's Publishing platform.

An irresistible Promotion

Ok, I just cannot resist the opportunity and temptation. If you have a few spare minutes, please take a look at my yarns.

A Friendship in Image and Prose: A homage to our memories together. A path, a journey, a colorful roll of film laid out before us. Each frame, a day, a year, a page in our relationship.

Black Satin: A Book, Small, Black, slightly Shiny, possibly Leather but more likely Faux.

I hope you all enjoyed contributing to the Little Black Book Challenge, as much as I did.

Good luck to all the Entrants .

👍

Tim Stix March 2021.

Tim StiX is a Software Engineer with over 20 years’ experience designing, developing and maintaining Web Technologies and is the Developer and Site Administrator of www.101world.net and bok.101world.net.

Tim StiX is The Sober Bard on Vocal.