Cheryl Kaye Tardif's debut romance Lancelot's Lady is #1 Most Popular (so far) in the Dorchester/Textnovel "Next Best Celler" Contest

    NEW YORK, NY, July 08, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Although a winner has yet to be selected for the "Next Best Celler" contest on Textnovel.com, Cheryl Kaye Tardif's entry Lancelot's Lady has remained a frontrunner as the #1 Most Popular entry. Tardif's novel, a romantic suspense, has received over 190 votes to date, numerous subscribers, and plenty of reviews from fans. Tardif has been a member of Textnovel for many months and describes it as "a unique and fun site for authors and avid readers, one that utilizes the technology of cell phones in both the creation of works and as a tool for reading".

The fad of writing via text message or email on cell phones started over 6 years ago in Japan. Many young writers became virtual overnight sensations and bestselling authors. Textnovel.com, based in Park City, Utah (home of the 2002 Winter Olympics and the Sundance Film Festival), was the first site like this to take off in North America. Much of its success could be attributed to the quality of writers who have signed up and to the creative enticement of contests. To date, Textnovel has held three contests--two completed, with winners acknowledged.

Stan Soper, literary agent and founder, commented, "We have experienced a significant amount of interest and increased traffic as a result of the Dorchester Next Best Celler Contest. It's gratifying to see experienced authors like Cheryl Kaye Tardif participating. Textnovel.com was designed to help authors take their writing to the next level and to help publishers validate the market potential of new fiction. This sponsorship helps validate our model and gives authors the reassurance they need to participate in our unique writing format, which encourages publication of new chapters in serial form and reader input as the story unfolds."

Recently, Textnovel partnered with US publisher Dorchester Publishing in what's being called the "Next Best Celler" contest. Writers must write a novel in the romance genre, with chapters of approximately 500 words (for easy reading via cell phone) and with a minimum 20 chapters submitted between June 1st and November 1st, 2009. Judges will then select the top 20 semifinalists based on novels with the most votes and subscribers. They'll then vote for the top 10 finalists based on votes, subscribers, and story quality and publishablity. Finally a winner will be selected. The prize? A nice cash advance and a publishing contract from Dorchester Publishing.

You must be a member of Textnovel to read these works, so sign up first. And don't worry, there's no spam¯just one email to confirm. To read the contest entries, scroll to the bottom right box: "Dorchester Contest -- Most Popular". That's where you'll find Tardif's #1 Most Popular novel entry, Lancelot's Lady.

• Voting is fast and easy. Just click on the blue thumbs up icon (circle) at the top of any novel page. If it turns gray, you've voted.
• You can also subscribe to receive an email when a new chapter has been posted. Click on the blue cell phone icon to subscribe.
• You can leave the author a review by clicking on "Comment".

"I'm determined to win this competition," Tardif states. "Dorchester is a respected publisher and I have many more novels to write." Although she's the published author of 4 novels, she and her New York agent Jack Scovil recently began looking for a new publisher to take on her new works and her backlist. The day Cheryl Kaye Tardif entered the Dorchester contest, her novel rose to #1 Most Popular for the contest and has stayed there. Please check out Lancelot's Lady in the "Next Best Celler" contest and give it the 'thumbs up'!

Vote for Lancelot's Lady: http://www.textnovel.com/stories_list_detail.php?story_id=928

For more information and contest rules, visit: http://www.textnovel.com/contest.php

To learn more about Textnovel, please go to: http://www.textnovel.com

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