Sunday, September 13, 2015

The Winners! - Fan Fiction Contest 2015

Dear Imps, it was quite the epic contest this year, with some of the longest, most intricate and intriguing tales ever, not to mention a much greater emphasis on poetry than we have yet seen. So much love for both Goldstone Wood and storytelling itself . . . it's quite a wonderful sight to behold!

The time has come to announce the winners. This year, rather than first, second, and third places, we have three FIRST place winners in three separate categories. The first of those categories is . . .

POETRY

 And the winning poet of 2015 is: Sarah Grace with, "All My Love."


This beautiful poem--depicting the heart and heartbreak of Queen Anahid of Arpiar, mother of Rose Red, wife of Vahe, and tragic heroine after her own sad fashion--is well deserving of this prize. The lyrical verses left readers with the sense of a classic style mingled with very present emotion. A lovely depiction of a mother's love.

Well done, Sarah Grace! The Bard of Rudiobus himself would be proud to write verses such as these.

And now moving on to our second category, which is . . .

PROSE:
Short Stories and Novellas

 The winning author of prose for 2015 is: Melanie J. Morgan with, "Seabreeze."


The voting was very close in this category, but Melanie's novella, "Seabreeze," won by a nose, ultimately impressing readers with its epic scope, its heartbreaking climax, its romantic enchantment . . . not to mention Melanie's stunning illustrations, which so perfectly depicted the scenes and characters she described with her words. A labor of love which left an unmistakable mark upon the eager Imps.

Congratulations, Melanie!

And now for the final category, which is . . .

MY PERSONAL FAVORITE OF THE YEAR

 This new category is a tough one, and I took my job seriously. I read first for pure enjoyment--How caught up was I in the tale being told? I read second for proficiency--How polished was each writer, how confident in her way with words and narrative construction? I read thirdly with an eye for series understanding--How well did the author demonstrate comprehension of Goldstone Wood's world and characters, and how did she blend her knowledge into an appealing tale? While there was much talent and passion demonstrated in this year's contest among all of the competing authors, I felt there was one author who really stood out in the crowd, combining great storytelling, skill, and understanding of my world.

So it is my great pleasure to announce the winner of My Personal Favorite of the Year Award: Meredith Burton with, "Black Powder."


I was so impressed by Meredith's exploration of themes from my most recent novel, Golden Daughter, providing interesting narrative background to various characters and story elements. And I absolutely loved how she expanded my use of the story of Joseph to explore the story of Dinah as well, connecting that part of the Biblical narrative to the world of Goldstone Wood. The results were impressive and engrossing.

Congratulations, Meredith!
Journal Cover

All three of our winners have earned their gorgeous prizes--hardbound "Goldstone Wood Imp" journals with the titles of their winning stories/poems and their names engraved upon the back. So, Sarah Grace, Melanie, and Meredith, feel free to email me (aestengl@gmail.com) to let me know your mailing addresses!

I cannot thank you enough, contenders, for your wonderful submissions and all of your creative efforts. You have no idea how close the voting was in each of these categories. And I feel safe to tell you that EVERY ONE of the authors who submitted had several votes on her or his work.

But in the end, I feel these three winners truly deserved their places on the top, and I hope all of you will join me in offering them heartfelt congratulations!

20 comments:

Unknown said...

Congratulations, all! : )

Becky said...

Congratulations, Sarah Grace, Melanie, and Meredith!

Savannah P. said...

Congratulations, Melaine, Sarah,and Meredith! You all totally deserved it, you did an amazing job! ~Savannah P.

Becky said...

I just want to add that I really enjoyed this year's contest. The heartfelt stories and the thought process behind them was really impressive. Sarah Grace, Melanie, and Meredith, your submissions were shining examples.

Thank you, Anne Elisabeth, for being so supportive of your readers. Your stories inspire so many, and I'm thankful for the gracious role model that you are.

May God bless you all.

Sarah Pennington said...

Congratulations to Sarah Grace, Melanie, and Meredith! You all certainly deserve your awards!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to Sarah, Melanie, and Meredith!!!!!!! :D Totally deserved it y'all!!

This was my first Goldstone Wood Fan Fiction Contest to both read and participate in and just let me say that I had a fantastic time! I loved reading everyone's stories and poems! Such talent! Keep it up everyone. :)

Thank you so much for hosting, and letting others build and play your world, Stengl!

God bless you all.

-Rebekah K. Lawrence

Anonymous said...

Ohhhh my GOSH! I won something! I did not expect that at all :D Thank you so much! Also congratulations Melanie and Meredith!!

-Sarah Grace

Therru Ghibli said...

Congratulations everyone! Great job! There were so many amazing stories this year!!
Abby

Unknown said...

Congratulations to the winners! You've earned it.

Thanks everyone for a fantastic contest!

Hannah said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!! All three of these are beautiful and enchanting! Sarah, that poem is so lovely, and Melanie, your romantic epic was truly an impressive feat! Meredith, I loved Black Powder most of all your entries this year! The parallels to Dinah were wonderful, but not till now did I remember the connection to Joseph, and thus Jovann!

Fantastic work, everyone!

Meredith said...

Just saw this. Wow. I am very touched and grateful for the kind encouragement. Congratulations as well to Ms. Sarah Grace and Ms. Melanie Morgan. Both your poems and stories were magnificent! Congratulations to everyone, as we all love this time of year to express our love for such a gifted writer and such a phenomenal series! God bless you all.

Sarah J. said...

Congratulations ladies!!! You all did a truly fantastic job! <3
Sarah Grace, I absolutely loved your poem!

Unknown said...

-strides into the house whistling after the end of church-

Welp, might as well check email and such before I start more job applications! -clicks link-

.....

-blink blink- -rubs eyes- -stares for a good five minutes- -blink blink-

......

......

....Whut just happened?

-silence-

HOLY MOTHER OF THEIVES AND STALLIONS! Wait. Wait wait wait wait wait....you guys...you LOVELY BEAUTIFUL AWESOME people...voted for MEEE?? You finished my absurdly long monster then VOTED for me? But--Wha- I mean--um...-ahhh--oh my goodness....words....

UGGHHH I want to come through the screen and hug you guys so stinking much. Honestly, to have other people like what I've had the privilege to create....to have them see the piece of my soul that made it to the paper (with the HUGE help of the Big Guy) and like what they see...there's really nothing like it. It's a true honor...and--for the love of flaming horseshoes, I think I'm going to cry...as if I didn't cry from you all's comments alone...

I feel so honored...you guys are so amazing and so talented....I read all your stuff, I'm so sorry I didn't have time to comment on every single one, but you all are so incredibly talented. It's quite honestly intimidating at times, how talented you folks are. I can't tell you how much of an honor it is, just the fact that you guys liked my stuff... Thank you....so much.

Sarah Grace, dear, your poem was absolutely gorgeous, beautiful and tragic and beautiful....Well done, dear, congrats!!

Meredith, I LOVED Black Powder and its Biblical parallels, I had actually forgotten for a good bit while reading it if Golden Daughter mentioned a sister and I had just forgotten. Bravo, congrats indeed!

Again...thank you.

Hope you guys are having an amazing week!!

Blessings and Prayers, darlins!
~Melanie

Unknown said...

Yay for All! Great jobs, everyone! Congratulations to Sarah Grace, Melanie J., and Meredith!

Unknown said...

Congratulations everyone! You all wrote fantastic entries!

Meredith said...

To Ms. Melanie: Thanks so much. No, Golden Daughter actually doesn't mention a sister, but Dinah's story in Genesis has always fascinated me. She was the only daughter of Leah and Jacob. Leah was not Jacob's choice for a wife and felt unloved, (the names of her children reflect this. She hopes, by having sons, that she will gain Jacob's attention. I can't imagine what Dinah's life must have been like, (the only girl with all those boys!) I hope that she was loved, and Scripture seems to indicate that she was. Interestingly, Dinah's name means justice, which is very appropriate given the circumstances of her life. God is amazing in that way, isn't He? I don't agree with what her brothers, Simeon and Levi, did to avenge her, but they did take action, which is more than Jacob did! I like to think Jacob was thinking of her welfare, but I simply don't know. I originally thought of sticking more closely to the biblical account, but the story was already dark enough, and I wanted to explore Dok-Kasemsan's role as a Crouching Shadow a bit. He'd killed in the past, (as Golden Daughter implies), so it was interesting to think about that. Also, Golden Daughter mentions that Jovann had had several visions, so it was fun to explore that aspect as well. God bless, and thanks for the encouragement.

Savannah Jezowski said...

Congrats, everyone! Meredith, I'm particularly excited for you! Bravo, my dear!!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!

Caitlyn G.

Jonathan said...

Congratulations to all the winners! You deserve it. Black Powder, Seabreeze, and All My Love were definitely terrific. The style and presentation in each one was impressive.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations ladies on your amazing pieces!

Rosalee