Beth Groundwater's Blog, page 18

Publishers Weekly Reviews FATAL DESCENT

I am so, so thrilled with the great review that Publishers Weekly just published of Fatal Descent , the third book in my RM Outdoor Adventures series that will be released on June 8th (though you can order copies now).

"The tension runs high in Groundwater’s absorbing third RM Outdoor Adventures mystery … Scenic descriptions and folklore add atmosphere to a suspenseful tale." -- Publishers Weekly (for full review, go HERE)

Today's Mystery Author Guest: Dorothy H. Hayes

As promised yesterday, fellow mystery author Dorothy H. Hayes is visiting my blog today. To read her bio and see her photo, please page down to yesterday's post. Also, Dorothy is running a contest for a free autographed copy of her latest release Murder at the P&Z , the cover art for which appears above. Dorothy will select the winner tomorrow evening from among those who leave a comment today or tomorrow.

In the book, a local reporter, Carol Rossi, turns amateur sleuth when the secretary to the town planner is murdered. The police suspect that it is a random crime. Rossi, however, suspects that the murder is connected to a real estate project that was approved by the Wilton Planning and Zoning Department. She launches her own investigation and is soon in over her head. She's being stalked and her life is threatened, but she doesn't know why.

"Dorothy Hayes has seduced her readers with a splendidly fast-paced and immensely readable thriller containing a cast of well-drawn characters, particularly her protagonist, Ms. Rossi."     —Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com


Sounds like a suspenseful read! Below are Dorothy's answers to my interview questions. Please leave a comment, and if you have a question of your own for Dorothy, ask it!

1. Who or what inspired you to start writing and when did you start?

I’ve been writing all my life. When I was a kid, if something important happened, such as our cat had kittens, I had to write it down. But since I didn’t write stories, I didn’t think I was a writer. I professionally started writing as a newspaper reporter. I wanted to learn my craft. I had two unpublished books in my closet by then. I was 47.

2. What tools and process do you use to “get to know” your characters before and while you’re writing the books?

Characters are inspired by real people. My protagonist, however, is usually courageous, smart, sometimes foolhardy, and strong willed. Others are bits and pieces of different personalities. I place them in situations and then I play out their emotional life. I spend my whole book learning about them, what they’ll do or won’t do. I am often as surprised as the reader.

3. How do you construct your plots? Do you outline or do you write “by the seat of your pants”?

“By the seat of the pants.”  I have a vision and work from there. In this case, it was a giant black spruce tree in my backyard, which I thought someone could hide a body under. A dead woman’s body is found under a black spruce in the second chapter.

The plot is organic. In Murder at the P&Z, I never expected the plot to go in the direction that it did. When the book is finished, I do an outline that encompasses every scene, so I can actually get the whole picture of my own book.

4. In the age-old question of character versus plot, which one do you think is most important in a murder mystery and which one do you emphasize in your writing? Why?

I like the character-driven mystery. Viewing the book through the eyes of the protagonist weaves a web that insulates the reader and the story. The reader is interested in the protagonist’s backstory and his or her inner dialogue. An intriguing plot to be unraveled by the protagonist is the best of all possible worlds.

5. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a writer and what inspires you and keeps you motivated?

I spent 12 years on my first book, Animal Instinct, in living the story and then writing it, but couldn’t get a publisher. So I self-published. It was an incredibly satisfying experience. It was so well received. But I had a crisis of faith. I questioned whether I should write another book if I couldn’t get a publisher.

I then realized that I needed to write. Whether anyone was going to read it or not didn’t matter. This time, however, I wrote a mystery because of the genre’s popularity. I thought the chances of getting published would be higher. 

6. What is a typical workday for you and how many hours a day (or week) do you devote to writing?

When I’m writing a novel, I write as soon as I wake up. It’s the most creative time of the day. I’ll write from four to six hours a day. I realize that it’s best not to wear yourself out because the next day you’ll be exhausted. I fill the rest of the day with reading or writing, the other business of producing a novel, and I always workout. I don’t write on the weekend for balance, and I find I’m inspired come Monday morning. But, there are exceptions, deadlines and desire.

7. What advice do you have to offer to an aspiring author?

Join a group like Sisters In Crime nationally and on a local level. You’ll learn your way around the whole writing and book publishing biz. It will make all the difference. Also join a local writers’ group. Have people read your work. Find a good editor.

8. Now here’s a zinger. Tell us something about yourself that you have not revealed in another interview yet. Something as simple as your favorite TV show or food will do.

We, my husband and I, are fans of PBS. Sunday nights and Tuesday nights are spent watching shows such as Downton Abbey or a mystery series, like Inspector Lewis or Morse.

9. What are you working on now and what are your future writing plans?

I’m very attached to the characters in Murder at the P&Z; newspaper reporter Carol Rossi, turned amateur sleuth, and her sweetheart, Det. Jerry Stevenson. I’ve begun another book where a Wilton teen goes missing. They are determined to find her.

10. Is there anything else you would like to tell my blog readers?

It’s been a pleasure, Beth. I’d love to hear from your fans. I can be reached at hayes@dorothyhayes.com. They can find out more about me at my website. For those in the area, I will be speaking at the Wilton Library, in Wilton, CT, in the evening, from 6 to 7, on April 29. I certainly am available for book clubs. More speaking dates will be published on my website.


 Thanks, Dorothy! Now, who has a comment or question for Dorothy H. Hayes? Good luck in the contest!   

Tomorrow's Guest: Dorothy H. Hayes

Tomorrow, fellow mystery author Dorothy H. Hayes will guest on my blog. Also, Dorothy will run a contest for a free autographed copy of her latest release Murder at the P&Z .  She will choose the winner from among those who leave a comment.

Dorothy H. Hayes, a graduate of Western Connecticut State University, taught Language Arts, was a staff writer for the Wilton Bulletin, and The Hour and received an honorary award for her in-depth series on Vietnam Veterans from the Society of Professional Journalists. She also worked as a staff writer for a national animal protection corporation and wrote Animal Instinct published by iUniverse in 2006. She writes for Women of Mystery and Criminal Element and is a member of Sisters in Crime.

In her guest post tomorrow, Dorothy answers my interview questions, and I'm sure you'll be intrigued by the answers. Then, please make a comment or ask a question in the comments, and good luck in the contest!

Celebrating Libraries

I'm blogging today about National Library Week at Inkspot, the blog for Midnight Ink authors. I hope you will read the blog, then share in a comment how YOU intend to celebrate National Library Week at your local library!

The Squeaky Bean

I don't normally review restaurants on my blog, preferring to focus on my writing life and mystery author guests, but I recently had an exceptional experience at a Denver restaurant and just HAVE to share! Last Saturday, my husband and I drove our daughter down to Denver to spend the night at her brother's apartment, so he could take her to the airport early in the morning for her return flight to Portland. We wanted to celebrate having the whole family together before she left, so we asked our son to recommend a special restaurant. Being Head Baker at Grateful Bread, a wholesale bakery that supplies artisan breads to upscale restaurants and hotels in the area, our son knows which restaurants are the up-and-comers.

He recommended The Squeaky Bean and made a reservation for the four of us to sit at bar seats overlooking the food preparation area, so we could watch the fascinating show all night long as chefs hand-decorated works of art on a plate or in a bowl. Grateful Bread supplies some of the breads to The Squeaky Bean, and our son knew one of the two prep chefs who entertained us all night. The beet salads in particular took a lot of work (shown below). On to the food!


The Squeaky Bean is known for its use of super-fresh seasonal produce and application of ultra-modern culinary techniques (we saw lots of uses of the liquid nitrogen tank!). The restaurant has its own organic farm, the Bean Acre, in Lakewood, Colorado. One of the many appetizers/first courses we consumed shows this attention to freshness and detail (items were individually placed on the dish with long tweezers), the "Roots and Leaves" of green garlic custard, charred root vegetables, and spring greens (see below).


 Below are our four main courses.The first two (son's and hubby's) are the Pork Loin with lardo, peas, and steel cut oat risotto and the Colorado Lamb dish of whey poached leg, braised shoulder, hand rolled couscous, pine nut, roasted cauliflower, ras el hanout, and olive.



My daughter opted to have another first course as her main, the Open Ravioli with sweetbreads, egg yolk, duck liver mousse, gremolata, and hunter’s sauce. I had the Kale Agnolotti with vegetable brodo, goat cheese gnudi, and charred baby artichokes. All of the dishes were absolutely scrumptious!



And then there were the desserts! Even though we were pleasantly full, we managed to share two desserts between the four of us. The first photo below shows the Chocolate and Caramel Torte with flourless chocolate cake, caramel budino, pine nut marshmallows, and macaroon. The second photo shows the Citrus Dessert with yuzu curd, cashew shortbread, grapefruit and blood orange slices, candied lime and lemon peel, and grapefruit snow. The photo shows mist still coming off the liquid nitrogen poured into the dish.




The Squeaky Bean received The Denver Post’s first four-star review since the paper started its current rating system in 2005. It received five-star reviews from the four of us! I highly recommend it.

Today's Mystery Author Guest: Bonnie Biafore

As promised yesterday, fellow Colorado mystery author Bonnie Biafore is visiting my blog today. To read her bio and see her photo, please page down to yesterday's post. Also, Bonnie is running a contest for a free autographed copy of her latest release co-written with James Ewing, Fresh Squeezed , the cover art for which appears above. Bonnie will select the winner tomorrow evening from among those who leave a comment today or tomorrow.

In Fresh Squeezed, Anthony “Juice” Verrone, former Mafia enforcer and guest of the Witness Security Program, is trying to hide from the Family he sent up the river. When a giant hot dog, a fiberglass bass, and a plummeting corpse put the squeeze on Juice, he thinks he’s been found out. Juice teams up with Rudy Touchous, a forensic accountant, and Police Chief Dickie Gordon, to track down the killer. Instead, they run head-on into a public utility in desperate financial straits, a local troop of NASCAR-addled, bass-fishing rednecks with odd literary aspirations, and a vegetarian commune, which, in its dedication to the well-being of plants, is tossing more than lettuce into its salad bar. And what is that secret ingredient in their all-vegetarian hotdogs? The Utility’s plans leak, so they bring in a strange parade of hired guns to make sure the people who know too much can’t say anything. When these players mix it up at the Asparagus Festival a conflagration ignites that changes everything.


Sounds like a juicy read! Below are Bonnie's answers to my interview questions. Please leave a comment, and if you have a question of your own for Bonnie, ask it!

1. Who or what inspired you to start writing and when did you start?
 
Back in 2001, my husband and I were working as contractors for a Washington State power utility that managed power generation along the mid-Columbia River. Listening to the usual water cooler chat eventually spawned (salmon on the Columbia River, get it?) the idea of having two incompetent groups both trying to blow up the same dam. While we were living in Washington State, we would talk on the phone with a very funny friend of ours, James Ewing, and riff on ideas about stupid criminals. I wisely kept notes. Fast forward to late 2008. I called James and suggested that we write the book as a tribute to my husband who passed away in 2006. We got to work. Three and a half years later the book was published.

2. What tools and process do you use to “get to know” your characters before and while you’re writing the books?
 
The characters didn’t give us a choice. They knew what they were like and told us what we needed to know. I remember the morning that Rudy Touchous, the sidekick forensic accountant, introduced himself to me. I was visiting James for two weeks to work on the novel. I woke up with a crystal clear image of Rudy and a scene in my head. It took me a couple of hours to write the chapter, and that was that. Later, as we revised the manuscript, Rudy grew and changed; he became more confident, but never lost the puppy-like enthusiasm I first saw. Closer to the end of the revision process, we would make changes because we had the characters doing things they wouldn’t do. Even with two authors, the characters are who they are. We’re just the medium for them to come into our world.

3. How do you construct your plots? Do you outline or do you write “by the seat of your pants”?
 
James and I are both Capricorn engineers, so we are VERY organized. We spent a week brainstorming the story line. We created a spreadsheet with scenes in chronological order. Scenes moved around during revisions, but that spreadsheet acted as our guide as we wrote our first, second, and third drafts.

4. In the age-old question of character versus plot, which one do you think is most important in a murder mystery and which one do you emphasize in your writing? Why?
 
Plot is a bit more important than character, but a good mystery needs both. Fresh Squeezed isn’t a classic murder mystery; it’s a wacky crime comedy. The novel is driven more by the characters and humor with the criminal hijinks underneath to hold everything together.

A crime comedy also has a balance and transitions between humor and tension. Both require a good sense of timing, so they are more similar than you might think at first. Many people turn to humor to help them through difficult times, so a tense scene can include humor. On the other hand, some tense scenes need to stand on their own and some funny scenes are too crazy to share the stage with tension. It’s like yin and yang.

5. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a writer and what inspires you and keeps you motivated?
 
The biggest challenge is paying the bills. I have to do that first, so I can write fiction.

Inspiration for crime comedy isn’t an issue. The world is a funny place. I remember when I found out that Costco sells coffins. I find that funny and have all sorts of ideas about how to work that into a story someday. I grew up with cantankerous elderly relatives, who inspired several characters and scenes in Fresh Squeezed. The biggest challenge writing stories about stupid criminals is beating real people to it.

6. What is a typical workday for you and how many hours a day (or week) do you devote to writing?
 
When I was writing the first draft of the novel, I would write for about two hours and produce 1500 to 2500 words. Another hour of editing and a first draft of the scene would be finished. That’s the fun and easy part.

From start to finish, completing a book requires all sorts of work that consumes a lot more time and can last for months. James and I spent a few hours each morning (for months) talking on Skype, while we revised the manuscript.

Outside of fiction, my career is primarily writing about business, finance, and technology. The books, training courses, and articles I author share many of the same work components as writing fiction. My typical work week including both fiction and non-fiction is 6 or 7 days a week, anywhere from 6 to 12 hours a day.

7. What advice do you have to offer to an aspiring author?
 
If you’re going to juggle earning a living and writing fiction, start by figuring out when you’re most productive and most creative. Try to arrange your schedule so you work on fiction at that time, even if it’s only for an hour at a time.

Learn the discipline to continue working even if you feel like quitting. At the same time, learn to recognize when you need to take a break. If you’re spinning your wheels, sitting in the chair longer doesn’t help. Get out for a walk. Usually, the answer comes to me while I’m taking that break.

If you feel overwhelmed, carve out a small task that you know you can do and then do it. The energy boost you get from finishing that one small thing helps you start the next small thing. Before you know it, you’ll have a boatload of stuff done. Think about a 90,000 word novel. All you have to do is write 500 words a day for 180 days and that first draft will be done.

8. Now here’s a zinger. Tell us something about yourself that you have not revealed in another interview yet. Something as simple as your favorite TV show or food will do.
 
My favorite guilty food pleasure is *crunchy* Cheetos (puffy Cheetos are just ridiculous). I don’t eat them very often. When I do, I don’t think about the fact that I’m addicted to a bright orange snack that has absolutely no nutritional value and is probably made from petroleum, cow hooves, and salt. (I’m too busy crunching.)

9. What are you working on now and what are your future writing plans?
 
I have ideas heading in several directions. I have some ideas for stories based on some of the characters in Fresh Squeezed. A newspaper article I read recently gave me an idea for a suspense story. And some other possibilities further off the trampled path.

10. Is there anything else you would like to tell my blog readers? 
 
Please visit my website. I don’t have a blog yet (unless you want to read the one I write about project management), but my co-author, James Ewing, writes a very entertaining one.

I live in Conifer, Colorado. James lives on Bainbridge Island near Seattle. We are both happy to talk to book clubs, if you’re nearby. We also love to hear about stupid criminal stories you’ve heard about or made up.


 Thanks, Bonnie! Now, who has a comment or question for Bonnie Biafore? Good luck in the contest!   

Tomorrow's Guest: Bonnie Biafore

Tomorrow, fellow Colorado mystery author Bonnie Biafore will guest on my blog. Also, Bonnie will run a contest for a free autographed copy of her latest release co-written with James Ewing, Fresh Squeezed. She will choose the winner from among those who leave a comment.

Bonnie Biafore is the author of more than 25 award-winning technical books including Project 2013: The Missing Manual, Successful Project Management (award-winner at the 2012 STC International Competition), QuickBooks 2013: The Missing Manual (Intuit’s Official Guide to QuickBooks), and several popular courses for Lynda.com. Her novel, Fresh Squeezed is a screwball crime comedy with corrupt officials, incompetent hit men, stupid criminals, and an alcoholic pet ferret with a penchant for women’s lingerie.

When unshackled from her computer, Bonnie hikes in the mountains with her two Bernese Mountain Dogs, cooks gourmet food, and hangs around with fiction writers. In addition to her website (link above), you can find Bonnie on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

In her guest post tomorrow, Bonnie answers my interview questions, and I'm sure you'll be intrigued by the answers. Then, please make a comment or ask a question in the comments, and good luck in the contest!

Cover Art for A Basket of Trouble

Drumroll!

I am very pleased to show off the cover art for A Basket of Trouble , the third book in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery series. This book will be released on November 8th, just in time for holiday gift shopping. And notice the bright red and green colors on the cover! Wouldn't it make an excellent addition to a Christmas gift basket for a mystery lover? What do YOU think of the cover?

Photos from Left Coast Crime 2013

Last weekend, I attended the Left Coast Crime 2013 conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I drove down the day before to meet with the Mystery Book Club at the Cheyenne Mountain Library branch of the Pikes Peak Library District. They had read my Wicked Eddies novel, a finalist for the LCC Rocky Award, and had a boatload of questions for me about my writing life. Then, I headed over to the conference location, the Cheyenne Mountain Conference Center, to put together honored guest gift bags with my fellow committee member, Cathy Dilts. We delivered the bags to the front desk, then I was off to BJ's to have dinner with most of the members of my former Colorado Springs critique group (shown below). What a fun evening!


At the opening night reception on Thursday, plaques were awarded to all the finalist nominees for the various awards to be given out at the conference--the Lefty, the Rocky, the Watson, and the Historical. I'm in the middle of the group of Rocky finalists below, wearing Craig Johnson's hat. The rest of the finalists are Craig, fellow Midnight Ink author Darrell James, Chuck Greaves, and Margaret Coel. I was very honored to be included in their company!


Here's my first panel on Friday, "Authors with Altitude", with fellow Colorado authors and friends, Mark Stevens, Laura DiSilverio, Robert Spiller, Leslie O'Kane, and Denise Dietz, who was also my editor when I was publishing with Five Star.




And here's fellow new MInker (Midnight Ink author) Shannon Baker (the blonde) on her panel, "You Say Teepee, I Say Hogan: Writing Other Cultures" panel with Margaret Coel, Craig Johnson, Curt Wendelboe, and R.J. (Robin) Harlick. Check out Shannon's brand new release, Tainted Mountain ! Below that are two photos of me on the "Writing the West: the Rocky Nominees" panel with Chuck Greaves, Darrell James, Craig Johnson, Margaret Coel, and moderator and conference director (and good friend) Christine Goff.




Now, on to the Saturday banquet. We had a raucous and fun table of MInkers, including Acquisition Editor Terri Bischoff (seated on the far left in the first photo), and Janet Rudolph (seated on the far right), the "Mistress of Murder" and editor of Mystery Readers Journal . Look for an article written by me in the upcoming Environmental Mysteries issue of the journal. Below the group photo is one of me with fellow Minker Rocky nominee Darrell James. The last of this group is of live auctioneer Robert Spiller (who had us all in stitches!) and Special Guest Lou Diamond Phillips (actor in the Longmire A&E TV series based on Craig Johnson's mystery series) auctioning off a spiral-bound ARC of Craig's upcoming short story collection, Stay Calm, Have Courage and Wait for Signs.




On to the awards! We were all thrilled when fellow MInker, Catriona McPherson, won the Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award (first photo below). And I was so pleased to see fellow Sisters in Crime Guppies chapter member Rochelle Staab (in the second photo) win the Watson Award for best sidekick in a mystery. Craig Johnson, of course, won the Rocky Award, and Brad Parks (last photo) won the Lefty Award, for most humorous mystery. After accepting the award, he proceeded to serenade Guest of Honor Laura Lippman, putting a fitting cap on a very fun banquet.

Today's Mystery Author Guest: Heather Graham

As promised yesterday, fellow mystery author Heather Graham is visiting my blog today. To read her bio and see her photo, please page down to yesterday's post. Also, Heather is running a contest for a free autographed copy of her latest release, Let the Dead Sleep , the cover art for which appears above. Heather will select the winner tomorrow evening from among those who leave a comment today or tomorrow.

In Let the Dead Sleep, the centuries old bust of a demonic man was stolen from a New Orleans grave. It's an object desired by collectors and by those with wickedness in their hearts. One day, the current owner of the bust shows up at Danni Cafferty's antiques shop on Royal Street, the shop she inherited from her father. The woman is desperate to rid herself of the object, but before Danni can buy the statue, it disappears, the owner is found dead...and Danni discovers that she's inherited much more than she realized. In the store is a book filled with secret writing: instructions for defeating evil entities. She'd dismissed it as a curiosity... until the arrival of this statue, with its long history of evil and even longer trail of death.

Michael Quinn, former cop and now private investigator, is a man with an unusual past and a former colleague of Danni’s father. He believes that doing the right thing isn't a job-it's a way of life. And the right thing to do is to find and destroy this object weighted with malevolent powers. He and Danni are drawn together in their search for the missing statue, following it through sultry New Orleans nights to hidden places in the French Quarter and secret ceremonies on abandoned plantations.


Sounds like a spine-chilling read! Below are Heather's answers to my interview questions. Please leave a comment, and if you have a question of your own for Heather, ask it!

1. Who or what inspired you to start writing and when did you start?

I was doing dinner theater when we suddenly had three children. (Okay, yes, we noticed!) But I really couldn't afford the time to audition anymore. I loved reading--which I think is the element that gets most writers writing!) When Derek was born I decided to try writing and bought Writer's Digest Writers' Market--still think it's a phenomenal tool for writers!

2. What tools and process do you use to “get to know” your characters before and while you’re writing the books?

Life usually inspires what I write--something or something that I've seen or a situation that I've heard about. Or a place! Once you have one element, you find the others that fall in with it. Sometimes the characters create the situation and sometimes it's the other way around.

3. How do you construct your plots? Do you outline or do you write “by the seat of your pants”?

I start with an idea, or sometimes, once I'm in a series, the situation. I write up an outline or proposal. Not that I have to stick with it but--especially if I'm dealing with series or the paranormal or world-building in any way--it's there to give me a pathway to follow while I work. I might find a detour somewhere along the way, but I know I have somewhere to go.

4. In the age-old question of character versus plot, which one do you think is most important in a murder mystery and which one do you emphasize in your writing? Why?

I will always think characters lead plot--if you don't love/hate/become involved with characters, you won't be invested in what is happening.

5. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a writer and what inspires you and keeps you motivated?

Writing a good solid story that is still a different good solid story. Which comes back to characters. Everyone of us is different; if our characters become as real as friends or people we know, we can work on making them as different as they are in real life.

6. What is a typical workday for you and how many hours a day (or week) do you devote to writing?

I work whenever and wherever. Our children helped to keep us on schedule for years--up, and off to school, and then work. But then their lives become involved and I'm glad. I can work anywhere, on planes, trains, and in automobiles, day or night. My children were noisy so I don't need quiet! Their lives are still involved, and I'm now trying to see them all over the country, so I'm grateful again!

7. What advice do you have to offer to an aspiring author?

There's the standard--sit down and write! And perhaps, more than that, remember that you're going to need to follow through. I know many good writers who sit down and begin but lack the discipline to follow-through. When you really want it, remember it's a profession. Be smart, keep reading what you love to keep your passion for books alive, and then write, write, write--with discipline!

8. Now here’s a zinger. Tell us something about yourself that you have not revealed in another interview yet. Something as simple as your favorite TV show or food will do.

Ah! I have become a massive Miami Heat fan. I love what the team has done for my city. Yep, even in Miami, you can meet strangers at a sports bar and you're suddenly best friends.

9. What are you working on now and what are your future writing plans?

I'm working on the second book in the Cafferty and Quinn series. It involves a painting that was created during the same summer in which Mary Shelley began Frankenstein. Love doing the research on it!

10. Is there anything else you would like to tell my blog readers?

 I'm very lucky in that I get around a lot. Only one of five children is still in this area--they are literally in every time zone! We also go to dozens of conventions. I try to reflect where I've been and what was so wonderful about it on Facebook and my sites. You can visit me on Facebook, or at my website or theoriginalheathergraham.com. I'm also doing a blog right now on my 30 favorite things to do in NOLA (Cafferty and Quinn are based there on Royal Street)!

 Thanks, Heather! Now, who has a comment or question for Heather Graham? Good luck in the contest!