A Contest Conundrum and a Blog Award

Last week I promised you all a fabulous contest here at Jello World... you may have noticed that I haven't posted said contest. Here's why:

I can't find the prize book! I know it's here, somewhere, shoved in one of the boxes still left from the move. Since I couldn't find the book I wanted to use, I figured I'd use a different erotic short story collection that I recently purchased. I just had to read it first. It's not that long, so I read it over two days. But although most of the stories were good, they weren't all as great as the book I can't find. And I don't want to give an inferior prize!

Then I thought of this other book I have that might work. It's not erotica, but I think anyone considering writing erotica should read it. It is, quite frankly, shockingly gross in some parts. I have to admit, though, that it was a pivotal book for me in terms of my attitude about writing erotica and my thoughts on what is sexy, and so forth. It's a book that challenges you to examine your thoughts and beliefs about women's bodies, standards of beauty and hygiene, and how those types of things may or may not affect the way you write about sex and sexuality.

So where's the conundrum? It's here: Do I give away a short story collection that is good, but not necessarily great, or do I give away a book that is NOT sexy, and that some may find downright distasteful, but that I think could prove valuable to an aspiring writer of erotica?

What do you think? I'll be thinking on it a little more before I post the contest. If I find the other book in the meantime, I'll continue with that as the prize, as originally intended.

Next order of business: I've been graced with the Liebster Blog Award! It was bestowed upon me by my friend Dean at The Write Time. Thanks, Dean!

What is a Liebster Blog Award, you ask? It's an award to spotlight up and coming bloggers who currently have less than 200 followers. The rules of the award are:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.
5. And most of all - have bloggity-blog fun!

In the spirit of the award, here are my top five picks for blogs/writers you should all check out! There are a couple here that I'm shocked don't have 200 followers yet!

1. Join Riley Redgate In the Jungle as the talented teen gives her take on everything writing, with wit and wisdom beyond her years. We share a bizarre affinity for Rebecca Black's "Friday", and that should be reason enough for you to check out her blog!
2. Author Maxwell Cynn muses on the art and business of writing with tips for writers and reviews for readers. I'm two-thirds of the way through his steamy sci-fi novel Cybrgrrl and it is HOT! He's slowing it down on the social media front at the moment, gearing up for a fall release of a new book, and working on Cybrgrrl 2.0.
3. Go Crossing the Helix with R.C. Lewis to learn about her adventures in YA and more. Chances are you'll learn something interesting, as her posts often draw from her non-writing life as a math teacher to deaf students. Math geek + word nerd = R.C. Lewis
4. Peruse The Elephant's Bookshelf, where Matt Sinclair discusses his cherished books and stories, and invites you to share yours as well.
5. Let Calista Taylor guide you through A Steampunk Reverie. Cali has plans to release her first novel, Viridis, in the near future, and I assure you, you do NOT want to miss it! If you like steampunk (even if you don't know what that is, you'll love this) and steamy romance, this is for you.

Go forth! Visit and follow these blogs! Tell them JLo sent you ;-)