Dear all,
This is it! The authors, the winners, the judges' favorites –it's all revealed here!
We'd like to start with the Thank Yous, because without these people, Pop the Question would have never happened. First, thank you, G – by proposing to Stickybuns you inspired this contest, which became a lot bigger than we ever imagined and hoped for.
Next, thank you to our amazing judges – Abstractway, Jada Pattinson, Stickybuns, Sydney Alice, TKegl, WhatsMyNomDePlume, and Windchymes. Each of these ladies spent so much time and effort reading, scoring, caring about those stories. They also probably got a lot more than they bargained for, considering the number of entries we had! Ladies, thank you!
The same gratitude goes for our banner maker, Rose Arcadia. She's the creative mastermind behind our banner and the prizes for the winners. Rose, you're wonderful!
Thanks to Katinki, whose help was invaluable in the making of the contest.
Now, this is important. To each author who submitted an entry – THANK YOU! Your talent, your efforts, and your enthusiasm are what made PtQ what it is. There are no words to tell you how grateful we are for your stories.
Finally, the readers, the voters, the ones who left reviews, the ones who tweeted, pimped, talked about PtQ – you're all lovely and we thank you for everything!
Ok, ready? HERE ARE OUR WINNERS:
PUBLIC VOTES:
1st Choice: The House That Love Built by MrsSpaceCowboy Twitter: MrsSpaceCowboy
2nd Choice: Sinking into a Dream by Vampire Extraordinaire Twitter: ordinary_vamp
3rd Choice: Game On by theladyingrey42 Twitter: theladyingrey
*special mentions*
4th place: Our Happy Ending by Isannah Twitter: Isannah228
5th place: You'll Never Know Unless You Try by Cullenboyz Twitter: Cullenboyz
JUDGES' VOTES:
1st Choice: Game On by theladyingrey42 Twitter: theladyingrey
2nd Choice: Sinking into a Dream by Vampire Extraordinaire Twitter: ordinary_vamp
3rd Choice: The House That Love Built by MrsSpaceCowboy Twitter: MrsSpaceCowboy
*special mentions*
4th place: Rules of Engagement by IngenueFic Twitter: LaVampIngenue
5th place: Why and What If by Walkingwithgiants Twitter: marianazapata_
JUDGES' FAVORITES:
Abstractway: Sinking into a Dream
What I loved about Sinking Into a Dream is that I wanted to meet this Bella and Edward in a coffee house and talk and hang out for an afternoon. When you get past their awkwardness they're so interesting to me. As I read the story, I feel like I'd stepped into their minds and I liked being there a lot.
The descriptions and turns of phrase were artful. Every sentence made me see or feel something in a new way. Some phrases I would stop and read over again a few times. I rarely do that normally, but this story not only made me think, it made me feel everything...not just their growing affection but every small gesture and moment. As for the proposal, I would have loved to have been proposed to from a hand-written sign nervously dangled from a boy in a treehouse...that's true blue romance. I loved it.
JadaPattinson: Game On
Game On was definitely my favorite. The challenge of a one-shot is that you have a limited amount of time and words to endear these two characters to us. I thought this Edward and Bella were delivered simply, but with power. I really enjoyed the balance between the conflict & the fluff as well as the resolution. It was cute, sweet, a dab of angsty and a lot of hot. I always enjoy a strong-willed Bella who swoons for her Edward, but fights to keep herself as well. And this Edward? *fans...well, everything* Awesome job! I loved it!
Stickybuns: Game On
My fave is Game On... I love it because we fall into the story and even though we don't get the full background we know what's going on. We don't need a resume to understand what's happening, you know?
I loved that it started off all funny and goofy and that it ended up getting serious. We really feel for Edward when Bella lashes out. You hurt for him, you know? And all he wants is to be with her... to have her... always.
I think it was the perfect combination of funny and sweet and tender and angsty. He helps her get over what's holding her back and makes her see that everything will be ok.
SydneyAlice: The House That Love Built
My favorite was "The House That Love Built." It was such a pleasure to read a well-written story with a good mixture of drama and romance. It felt like a complete story, with a solid flow and comfortable style. The Lego house at the end was a lovely nod to their history and tugged at my heartstrings. It was an absolute pleasure to read.
TKegl: Sinking into a Dream
It was so difficult to pick a favorite story among all the amazing entries, but I think I have to go with Sinking Into a Dream. The author's writing style really does make it feel like a dream, with quirky turns-of-phrase and compelling imagery that just pulled me into the story. I loved that her Bella is an independent and edgy, but also has a softer, swoonier side when it comes to Edward. And who could blame her for swooning? With his peeping-Tom text messages and adorable treehouse signs, Edward is her perfect match. It is so much fun to see their relationship develop, and the proposal - when it comes - is perfect and fitting for these two wonderful characters. I can't wait to find out who wrote this entry so I can thank him or her for such a fantastic story!
WhatsMyNomDePlume: Dance Little Jean
I have a lot of reservations about canon Jake/Nessie, but this was AH and caught me by surprise. Everything about this story was lovely, from the way it was actually three love stories, to the way the main one, with Jake and Ness, was written so well. The connection between the two was so strong, and through the ups and downs, you could still feel it. The author really nailed how childhood love grows and was never cliche. And the song motifs/lyrics were just perfect. Don't miss it just because the pairing might not be something you read. This one is truly lovely.
Windchymes: Love Trilogy
Love Trilogy was so good - and it was specifically about the proposal. It was succinct, well-written, kept my interest in every line and was very romantic. And the characters were well-developed and were described cleverly without going into specifics like hair colour or eye colour. We knew Bella was curvy, and Rosalie was "every bit a woman with a man's brain". I liked that.
Just a few details about the votes. In the public vote, it was a very close call. Each vote mattered until the very end, so thank you to those who voted – you did make a difference. As for the judges' votes, each judge had a scoring sheet with 10 categories of 10 points each, 100 points per story. So in total, each of our judges gave 390 different scores – 39 stories x 10 categories! Wow! These were calculated and the stories with the three highest marks out of 700 (7 judges, 100 points max per story) became the winners. Hopefully, that left no room for subjectivity.
Now, let's see who wrote what:
Blossoming Love by Laurie Whitlock, Christy-85, cloemarrie Twitter: LaurieWhitlock, Mrs_Reese85,cloemarrie
Blue Lines and Black Satin by Afonz Twitter: afon23
Crossed Wires by ChloeCougar Twitter: ChloeCougar
Cyberchondriac by Edwardsfavoritebrunette Twitter: runflippyrun
Dance Little Jean by TGBMcCray Twitter: BabiesBrown
Eighth Time's the Charm by Kr2009 Twitter: KelleyRachelle
Every Day of My Life by Duhitsangie Twitter: duhitsangie
Forget Hollywood by Livromaniaque Twitter: bookworm415
Four Little Words by TwoTwiMoms Twitter: Kare831 & twimom817
Fourth Time's a Charm by Mcgt Twitter: mcgt2008
Full of Hot Air by Nachos4Children Twitter: Nachos4Children
Game On by theladyingrey42 Twitter: theladyingrey
Hamburger Helper by Lady of Spain Twitter: LadyofSpain7
In a Hopeless Place by Jezzeria Twitter: Jezzeria
In the End by Twilightladies Twitter: Twilightladies1
It's all about the Cake by deebelle1 Twitter: deebelle1
Just Another Proposal by BeautifulMessenger Twitter: B_Messenger
Love Trilogy by Gabby1017 Twitter: Gabby1017
Love you Life a Love Song by Eddiebell69 Twitter: eddiebell60
My Beloved by BeautifulMessenger Twitter: B_Messenger
My Way by Rbsschess Twitter: N/A
Of Lust and Hope by Jasperslittlesnack Twitter: Cutiekittenpie
Officer and a Gentleman by TG81 Twitter: TG81_
Once Upon a Time in Hanover by Ange de laube Twitter: ange_de_laube
Our Happy Ending by Isannah Twitter: Isannah228
Our Story by Lilsstr Twitter: amshuman
Perfect for Me by earthprincess4 Twitter: graffiti4
Rules of Engagement by IngenueFic Twitter: LaVampIngenue
Sinking into a Dream by Vampire Extraordinaire Twitter: ordinary_vamp
Stealing the Bride by Randommama Twitter: randommama
Stumbling into Forever by Star03074 Twitter: star03074
The House That Love Built by MrsSpaceCowboy Twitter: MrsSpaceCowboy
The One and Only by Rebadams7 Twitter: Rebadams7
The Only One that Mattered by Jadedandboring Twitter: jadedandboring
Unable to Wait by k8ln713 Twitter: N/A
When in Rome by Packy2.0 Twitter: Lady_Packinson
Where It All Began by Lizmondaine Twitter:Mslizabeth
Why and What If by Walkingwithgiants Twitter: marianazapata_
You'll Never Know Unless You Try by Cullenboyz Twitter: Cullenboyz
That's all. One last, big THANK YOU to everyone! We hope that PtQ was as much fun for you as it was for us! Who knows, maybe next year it'll be time to do a "This is our wedding" or "Honey, I'm pregnant" contest... Stay tuned! ;)
Love,
Chrisska