By By Adrienne McKenzie
Atmore resident Bonnie Latino has made it through the first round of an online contest where people could vote for the first chapter of her book, "Your Gift to Me."
During the first round, "Your Gift to Me" finished in first place out of 296 entries.
The novel is now going through the second round of voting, which ends Oct. 8. All the votes from round one are wiped out and "Your Gift to Me" must gather new votes and comments.
"My co-author and I are deeply grateful to the people in Atmore who helped put us in the semifinals," Latino said. "Unfortunately, we don't have half the votes we had in round one and voting ends Monday night, Oct. 8. We will need everyone in Atmore who voted in round one to vote again, this one last time. But, we also badly need new voters."
To vote for Latino's romantic and patriotic novel about a woman from a town called Williams Station, visit www.yourgifttome.net and watch the minute and a half long video that tells the whole story of the book. At the end of the video there are directions on how to vote.
It is important to leave a comment after voting, even if it is just one word, in case there is a tie. If there is a tie, the author with the most comments will be the winner.
Latino is vying for publication with publishing company Simon and Schuster.
"Anyone who can spare a moment to help, please go to our newly created Web site at
www.YourGiftToMe.net where you will find full voting instructions with clickable links to the voting area," Latino said. "We realize this is an imposition and wouldn't ask for help again if it weren't absolutely necessary for our manuscript to stay viable."
Those who have been commenting on chapter two of Latino and her co-author Bob Vale's novel "Your Gift to Me" at www.gather.com have had nothing but good things to say.
"In this chapter you simply reaffirmed what I already knew you to be, a creative, imaginative writer who deserves to have the chance to publish your work and share your talent with all of those who have not been as fortunate to know you as I have," Atmore resident Tray Smith said. "I wish you well on this project and I will work hard to recruit all my friends to support you."
"As in chapter one, your characters and conversations prove very real," Arline M. Wilson said. "The ready can actually 'hear' the conversations taking place because they are so believable. The vivid imagery in the chapter does two things. It takes us from where we are and relocates us to where the characters are. Second, it gives us insight into the lives and minds of the characters, making them three-dimensional."
Latino's novel is currently in the top 5, however it must be in the top 3 to be considered for publication.
For more information, email Latino at BonLatino@aol.com.