Chelle, Sassy & Rex

We’re thrilled to announce the winner of the Pepe Prize: Chelle Martin of New Jersey whose short story was titled: “A Chihuahua for All Seasons.”

In this story, Pepe receives a request for help from a Chihuahua named Rex who lives in New Jersey. Rex’s sister, Sassy, is one of several dogs who have disappeared off the Mansasquan beach on the Jersey shore. Geri and Pepe fly to New Jersey and begin interviewing people who have lost their dogs, including Chelle Martin, the human who lives with Rex and Sassy. Pepe meets an attractive Shih Tzu, tells Geri a new story about his past, and convinces Geri to buy him a new jacket, all the while tracking down clues. When Sassy escapes from her kidnappers, she is able to help Geri and Pepe find the missing dogs, just in the nick of time.

One of the things that elevated this story above the second place story was the sweet opening and ending, where we see Geri and Pepe working as a team.

We had no idea when we chose Chelle as the winner that she is currently working on the Dog Mom Mysteries, featuring her two Chihuahuas, Rex and Sassy. She is also the past vice-president of the New Jersey Sisters in Crime. Her short stories have been published in many anthologies and she has won awards in several writing contests. You can learn about her writing projects at her website or her Amazon author page.

The Pepe Prize is on its way to Chelle and we will post the entire story, “A Chihuahua for All Seasons,” later this week. We are grateful to all those who entered the contest and thank all of the four finalists for agreeing to let us publish their stories who you will get a chance to read the runners-up one a month for the next three months.