<a href="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/?attachment_id=12071" rel="attachment wp-att-12071"><img src="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/photo1-500x500.jpg" alt="truffle contest see&#039;s candy" title="truffle contest see&#039;s candy" width="500" height="500" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-12071" /></a>

I've participated in my fair share of contests over the years. 

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There was the time I ate my weight in tacos (or at least felt like I did): 

<a href="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/2010/09/compadres-taco-eating-contest/46040_437668732912_85786297912_5060847_1634741_n/" rel="attachment wp-att-1830"><img src="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/46040_437668732912_85786297912_5060847_1634741_n-500x333.jpg" alt="Compadres Taco Eating Contest from Compadres Facebook" title="Compadres Taco Eating Contest from Compadres Facebook" width="500" height="333" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1830" /></a>

And the time I cried into my glass of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3895044811761&set=a.1986821707376.2107183.1148295116&type=1&theater">root beer milk</a> with Dave Davis when LeAnne Taylor beat us in a Girl Scout cookie eating contest (which was broadcast live): 

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And the time I took on my friend Holly Wall to fight for a (badly needed) makeover: 

<iframe width="500" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ICXJRAPPavo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

And the time when I (oh-so-courageously) took a spot on the line behind the counter at See's Candy in a truffle-packing race: 

<a href="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/?attachment_id=12071" rel="attachment wp-att-12071"><img src="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/photo1-500x500.jpg" alt="truffle contest see&#039;s candy" title="truffle contest see&#039;s candy" width="500" height="500" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-12071" /></a>

And now, this Friday night, I wage war yet again: This time, it's on the battlefield that is Tulsa's second-ever Literary Death Match. 

<a href="http://www.literarydeathmatch.com/" target="_blank">LDM pits wordsmith against wordsmith in an evening-long throwdown</a> that gives each warrior a chance to protect the honor of the publications where they're used to picking up their paychecks. At the crossroads of fame and shame I, representing <a href="http://www.thislandpress.com/" target="_blank">This Land Press</a>, shall meet Joe O'Shansky of <em>Urban Tulsa Weekly</em>; Jerry Wofford of <em>Tulsa World</em>, Jeff Van Hanken from <em>TulsaPeople Magazine</em>. We're each subject to the whims of a panel of three celebrity judges: P.C. Cast (you know the name from the Oklahoma Writers' Hall of Fame), Guggenheim fellow Geoffrey Brock, and Lou Berney, author of <em>Gutshot Straight</em> and <em>Whiplash River</em>. 

While I assure you that the on-stage slaying of my fellow competitors will be wildly entertaining, I want you to know that there's going to be other entertainment, too: Look for drinks, live music, prizes, and other entertainment about which I've been informed and then sworn to secrecy. Because I am a formidible literary ninja, and formidable literary ninjas are pretty good at keeping secrets. 

The event is hosted by Adrian Todd Zuniga, creator of Literary Death Match, and Jeff Martin, the guy who launched Booksmart Tulsa. 

Where: All Souls Unitarian Church, Emerson Hall (2952 S. Peoria Avenue) 
When: Friday, Sept. 21, doors at 7 p.m., battle bagpipes sound at 8:30 p.m. (there won't actually be battle bagpipes, but I'll still imagine they're there)
Cost: $7 advance tickets (<a href="http://www.literarydeathmatch.com/buy-tickets/" target="_blank">buy 'em here</a>), $10 at the door; or, <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/toddzuniga/literary-death-match-tv-the-pilot" target="_blank">fund the Literary Death Match Kickstarter and get in free</a> 

Come. 