Congratulations to all on the podium, and those who made the top 15 😊! Thank you to Jen, the judges, and moderators who make these competitions happen. I understand the effort that goes into these things and can only admire from afar those who dedicate their time so generously.

I was chuffed to bits to be included on the shortlist and be awarded an RR for my story😊- it made my day and goes a long way towards keeping me writing when the doubts creep in. I'm afraid I'm in a bit of a strange place at the moment and, as a consequence, I have not yet read any of the other entries. I will try and rectify this over the next few weeks - there are clearly some great stories out there!

Quote by Klaus_B_Renner

She did, then changed her mind.

Missed that 🤣 - thank you!

Quote by Jen

I'm kidding myself. Too many visitors at this time of year. Announcement date will be 12th Jan to also give a chance for more judges to be around to support. Thanks.

I'm going quietly mad. I was sure this said the 5th...🙄

Quote by Jen
I'm kidding myself. Too many visitors at this time of year.

I really hope 2026 is kinder, Jen 😊.

So... I had this really great, clever idea for a comp entry, and then, well, it just didn't want to be written 😕 (time was most definitely a factor - I didn't have any, and I don't write very fast at the best of times). So I thought maybe I'd write a Micro on the Monday before Christmas just to have something to publish. Only, it very rapidly decided it wanted to be a Flash story instead. And then it thought maybe - just maybe, it might be suitable for a category as it was heading towards the 1000 words mark. And finally, it thought that it might just be able to adapt to the comp theme. So rather belatedly (and definitely not what was originally intended), I bring you Morning Glory - almost, but not quite, an afterthought... 😘.

Merry Christmas to you all, and here's to (hopefully) a better New Year than the last one. It sucked!

Myyyyy Preeciouuuusss...

Quote by sprite

Have I won yet?

What's your ticket number 🙄?

Quote by CarltonStJames
Finally got my entry in, which is also my 100th publication!

Congratulations! 😊- mine was my 99th - one more to go to reach that milestone!

Quote by Shyexhibitionist
I opted for a non-tropical theme.

Quote by Seeker4
Nothing in the comp description said it had to be tropical, did it? 😊

Well, this is proving a popular competition, isn't it. Somehow, I have finally managed to put an entry together. I'm 76th (right behind CarltonStJames, which is not the first time lol 🤣) on the list with 5 days to go.

Tropical? Um, no.

Marooned? Nope.

Penguins? Could be... (but it's not Madagascar).

I opted for something a little different. I hope it works, and I hope some of you enjoy it 😊.

Two Sisters

Quote by Jen

Just today 🤣?

Rain:

“That’s the one!”

“Thank fuck! Can I get in the car now?”

“Yup. Time to warm you up.”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Damn right! We’ll make a fortune. Jeez, you’re dripping!”

“You wish…”

“It’s posted. Remember the agreement?”

“Yeah. $50 I suck your cock. $100 you get to taste me. $500 you slide inside and if we pass $1,000…”

“…your ass is mine!”

“Remind me why I married you…?”

Well done to the winners and all those in the top ten - excellent choices all 😊! Thank you, Jen, for organising and thanks also to all those involved. I read some fabulous poems and I thought it was an excellent way to pay tribute to Elliot's passing.

Been a very busy few weeks at home - didn't think I was going to be able to submit an entry. But I somehow got there 🙄 (with some encouragement from a friend - thank you, Kimmi 😊). I never claim to be a poet, but I wanted to give it a go in honour of Elliot's passing. So here it is: Still Waters Beckon.

With luck, an audio version should be available soon.

A great idea. I will try and write something and join others in this fitting tribute to Elliot's passing.

Quote by JourneyYoung
We all know TheShyThespian will find a way to win despite not even submitting a story 🤣

If only... 🤣

See, I got as far as a title and pic - it was going to be a story about two Edwardian teens - Jenny and her misbehavin' American brat cousin, Rachael. They were adhering to the Christmas tradition of the well-to-do serving their staff dinner on Christmas Day and were going to get royally spanked, fucked and buggered.

Unfortunately, I didn't get the opportunity to write it - bad timing 🙄 lol.

Never mind - maybe I can write it up for another occasion. Looking forward to seeing which tales triumph 😊!

Quote by Ensorceled
This is a great read! Fast and fun and hot

Or, alternatively, really, really slow, and fun, and hot 🤣!

Quote by WannabeWordsmith
Nothing to stop you recording it in multiple takes and stitching them together in post-production. I do this in Audacity.

Except my appalling technical skills 🤣 - thank you for asking, WW - I will endeavour to find the right software.

That's great news! 😊 - A quick question: If I have a particularly long story, can I break it into two or three audio files?

Quote by sprite
i heard that they just pull names out of a hat... pretty sure it's no more than a rumor, tho

I thought they used Black Magic - it would explain the sharp, stabbing pains I get in my... well, no, to be honest, that could be something else entirely...🙄

Quote by KatieTheWriter
I'm absolutely chuffed to be in the top three. I submitted early and with only like 5 other entries I though I'd have a good chance. That number really grew substantially as we reached the deadline and I thought I was out of the running, especially with this being my first contest and the stories that I had read being so hot. I couldn't believe it when I logged on to see I got third.

You've done incredibly well, Katie 😊! Took me ages to climb the dizzy heights 🤣. I look forward to reading yours, but I'm old and slow lol...

Quote by WannabeWordsmith
Now of course, all eyes will be on TheShyThespian to see if he can become the first (?) writer in Lush history to top three consecutive competitions. No pressure, Jason

TheShyThespian last seen running for the hills at high speed...

Seriously, lightning may possibly strike twice in the same place, but three times? Surely it would be rude to even try? Perhaps I should just take a break and get on with trying to write the novel I have been avoiding for the last 18 months.

Gahhh!

Quote by deviantsusie
Is that two in a row for the Thespian.. can he get a hat-trick?

I do seem to recall, when I was a competition rookie (many moons ago), a certain writer also achieving two wins in a row. I was like 'Damn, how did she do that?' 😊

Three? Ha, right.

😳 Just a little bit speechless (if that's not an oxymoron). Stunned. As usual, I wasn't sure if I'd written something anybody would actually like - or worse, understand.

But am very happy 😊. It was also great to see so many 'unusual' suspects in the top ten - including some late entries which have proven worthy. I hope to catch up with some of those that I missed.

A huge congratulations to all my fellow writers who dared to enter, and particularly those that I am sharing the accolades with. This was an enjoyable and challenging theme, particularly with a word length that has previously left me floundering a bit.

Thank you to all those that helped organise and run the competition (and Lush more generally), in particular Jen, her shortlister and the judges who made this possible. Can I please now go and hide in a corner?

I don't tend to do well with longer stories, but here's hoping my entry will be published sometime today - it was returned to me in the middle of the night because I'd used a word I didn't know I wasn't supposed to use - oops! Back in the queue now, and fingers crossed...

So, with 'Fabian's Folly' I offer something with a historical element, and a character with just a little bit of sass.

Hope you enjoy (assuming it gets published).

Quote by CuriousAnnie
My role model so far is a certain influential Agatha Christie story, but I don't want this to be too English (though it's set in England.) There's a bit of hard boiled Raymond Chandler style in my Aussie narrator.

Whilst, of course, our stories will be completely different, I definitely resemble this remark 😊- mine is (at least partially) set in England.

Quote by sprite
2700 words in and i just shot my main character. perhaps not the wisest of moves...

Of course, shot doesn't mean dead. It's all about misdirection innit. Just sayin'...

Quote by KimmiBeGood

Ewww, I cannot unsee that.

Hmmm - I've eaten sheeps brains, but not cluttered up with the vegetables like that. I guess I'm just a purist...

I'll echo Carlton - I'm in shock 😳! I cannot express how delighted and awed I am to have been considered worthy enough to be at the top of such a talented field. Someone very wise on this site once said that in order to win you have to 'knock it out of the park'. But I confess that I never know if I'm even close to that. Usually, I am full of self-doubt and have no idea if I've just written a pile of rubbish.

Does this mean I get a 'Competition Winner' badge 😊?

Well done to everyone who entered, to those who finished in the top ten, and to Carlton and Visioneer - it's an honour to share the podium with you.

Thank you Jen, judges, shortlister, and all those behind the scenes who work to make these competitions happen. And thank you to those who read, voted and/or commented on my emotional little story. You've helped keep my spirits up. I'm afraid I only managed to read a few this time, so apologies if I have not managed to read yours. I will try and make amends 🙄.

I was just saying to a friend that we'd never had (as far as I can remember) a comp with a 2,000 word limit and how I'd appreciate a shorter one. How's that for mind-reading... 😊

Wow! Chuffed to make the podium. It's especially rewarding with so many fabulous and diverse stories in the competition. Well done to Kat and WW for their podium places, and to the rest of the top 13 - and to all who entered. Thank you so much to Jen, the judges and everyone else involved in putting these competitions together. They are always a bit of a rollercoaster for me and I'm not sure I've got the energy to keep doing this lol 😊- we will see...