I’m delighted to report that my short story Who is Rudolph Fentz? has won 3rd prize of the winter issue of Scribble magazine. This story was the first of the Million Eyes Short Stories to be published.
Who is Rudolph Fentz? was one of 19 stories published in the winter issue. The way Scribble works is that the readers vote on their top 3 stories, and the winners are announced in the following issue.
So, as announced in the spring edition that arrived yesterday through the post, my story was 3rd out of 19. I also got a lovely little cheque for £15. It’s not much, but for a writer, every little helps! 🙂
What’s also great about Scribble is that I received comments and feedback from some of the readers. Here are some of the comments I received:
“The runner-up spot I gave to Who is Rudolph Fentz? A good plot with a descriptive setting and pacey dialogue, although the ending appeared to have been a bit rushed.”
“The 1950s setting appealed and also the naming of the characters. Good build-up to a chilling conclusion.”
“Third place went to Who is Rudolph Fentz?, an interesting tale that caught the imagination, but was let down by the last two lines.”
“In Who is Rudolph Fentz? the mystery evolves slowly but surely to the end. Very convincing.”
Other readers called the story “gripping” and said it contained “very intriguing ideas”, while others were disappointed by the ending.
Seems the ending has certainly divided opinion! While I don’t want to spoil it here for anyone hoping to read the story, I have thought about whether I could’ve done it differently. In truth, no other ending would’ve made sense to me (particularly given the world the story is set in).
I’d love to hear what others think of course. If you’ve not read it, you can purchase a copy of the winter issue of Scribble through the website. (Now that the spring issue is out, you’ll need to specify by sending an email that it’s the winter issue you want.)
You can also read a sneak peek here.
I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!
Next week: story updates and advice for writers on point of view
C.R. Berry 