As to the tall, curly-haired man, I suppose it was the one who was with me at the last Pop.

Maybe it’s not “American Idol,” but two agentless novelists have been plucked from obscurity and were anointed the winners yesterday of “First Chapters,” a writing contest sponsored by Simon & Schuster, the Borders Group and the social media site Gather.com .

Be grateful for our blessings, Charlie. My name's really Charlene. Sounds like a southern romance, Fabio drooling over Charlene's heaving bosom. I'm no Charlene, even at fourteen.

“It wasn't until after Sept. 11 that most of us realized that for the first time in human history,” Mr. Blacker said, “a nonstate actor, a group of religious extremists at the very bottom of the international system, had the capability to inflict devastating damage on the very pinnacle of the international system.”