I think I've finally pushed my luck too far with the 'Writer Online' competitions. I've entered two of their regular contests in the past six months, and won both, so when I decided to enter a third last week - The Non-Polysyllabic Short Story Contest - I did wonder how far I could push their generosity before I was officially banned from winning. After all, I haven't even received my cheque for the last contest yet, so it's asking a bit much to expect them to send me another one.

Anyhoo, the results are out this morning, and they've given me a diplomatic third. Of course, that could simply be because there were two entries superior to mine. But having just finished wiping the schmaltz from my computer screen with a damp cloth after reading the winner, I'm not so sure.