Winner of the Dark and Stormy Night Contest
 

Judged by the English Dept at San Jose University, this scintillating bit of prose won first place:

"The sun oozed over the horizon, shoved aside darkness, crept along the greensward, and, with sickly fingers, pushed through the castle window, revealing the pillaged princess, hand at throat, crown asunder, gaping in frenzied horror at the sated, sodden amphibian lying beside her, disbelieving the magnitude of the frog's deception, screaming madly, 'You lied!' "

Sadly, they didn't identify the author of this blue-ribbon entry. Just as well, I suppose.

Hair on end with fearful excitment, I read Lumberjim's thread promising creative writing classes, each post bringing me closer to the first thrilling assignment, thoughts dancing with fanciful dreams of latent talent blossoming toward the sunlight of fame and fortune with only a few grammatical pointers and an elaborate spell checker standing between myself and the Pulitzer Prize, while bookstores everywhere cleared their shelves of excessive Clancy and King drivel to make room for the stunning new voice of literature and Oprah scheduled a special two hour show.

My hopes are dashed! Crushed against the jagged rocks of despair, even as Ohio innertubes are shredded on the razor scales of the Mad River rapids and my morning of hope ends with the mundane sound of Dr. Phil's voice coming from the family room.