Will "The Bet" never end?

Image Credit: Virendra Saklani/Gulf News

Apparently not.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of The Bet, it goes a little something like this. Well, actually, it goes a lot like this. Several years ago, Author Brian Farrey read an article somewhere about Steven King making a bet that involved, rather than money, the writing of a short story. The "winner" got to dictate the title to the "loser." (Now I ask you, how can you be a winner if you don't get to write a story and a loser if you do?) He proposed the idea on Twitter to see if any authors were crazy enough to take him up on it. Fortunately for Brian, authors are nothing if not a crazy bunch.

The call was answered by authors Andrew Smith, Kimberly Pauley, and yours truly. As of this upcoming Kentucky Derby, we've answered it five times. Five. Times.

For the purpose of the bet, there might as well be only those four horses running. The winner doesn't need to come in first in the race.He just needs to beat the other players' horses. The person whose horse does best hands a story title (usually torturous) to the person whose horse comes in next, and so on. Winner does not write a story. Big loser does not get to torture anybody with a title. 

This year I have Mubtaahij. Brian has Carpe Diem. Kimberly has Rock Shandy. Andrew has Keen Ice.

If it seems like I've told you too soon, and now you're just waiting too long for stories, you can read my three stories from years past while you're waiting. Last year I chose the winning California Chrome, and so did not write a story. The story links are:  The Art of Being Stuck Here, Uncle Mo Hold a Grudge, and Even Pigeons Can Sing.

Wish me luck. Then again, the stories are fun to write, so it hard to say what luck would look like in a case like this.