#ThursThreads - Week 26 - Winners

Week 26 of #ThursThreads had some great tales! Thanks to all who entered this week. I'm honored to see all of you and read your stories. And it was great to have some new "faces" join us along with our returning regulars. Great thanks also goes to judge Jalisa Blackman for reading all the tales.

Entries:

• Eli M. Clark | @EliMClark
• Angelica Dawson | @AngelicaDawson
• Mark Ethridge | @LurchMunster
• Kimberly Gould | @KimmyDonn
• Jo Day | @JoDay77
• Angelique Rider | @Angelique_Rider
• Sheilagh Lee | @SweetSheil
• Wakefield Mahon | @WakefieldMahon
• David A Ludwig | @DavidALudwig
• Miranda Boers | @PurpleQueenNL
• Miranda Gammella | @MLGammella
• Goran Zidar | @GZidar
• Charles W. Jones | @ChuckWesJ
• Cara Michaels | @caramichaels
• Rebekah Postupak | @postupak

Jalisa says: Thank you so much for having me. It was great to be on the other side and pick through all the great writing. It was also really hard to narrow it down to these few!

Winners Announcement:

Honorable Mentions

Eli M. Clark | @EliMClark

  Jalisa says: I liked this piece because of the fantasy elements and court intrigue that we got a peek at. We can see that this is a tradition in this world, some sort of sacrificial virgin deal and that's always interesting. But the king's guard with the head of a lion really pushed me over. Some awesome imagery.

Angelica Dawson | @AngelicaDawson

Jalisa says: Angelica described it best when she said it was a "burning need" in this piece. And she painted that tale so well--there are great details here and it's simply enjoyable to read such a well laid out moment of abandon.

Wakefield Mahon | @WakefieldMahon

Jalisa says: I've always liked takes on star-crossed lovers, so this got my attention quickly. The story grew desolate quickly and that decline had me intrigued, but it was the last line, as everyone noticed, that really sucked me in. It gave everything else a more significant meaning. A really killer ending.

Week 26 Winner

Cara Michaels | @caramichaels

  Jalisa says: Cara's piece was the overall winner for me, because it gave a great snapshot of what I felt like would have been a good full length novel. I'm a big fan of Urban Fantasy and Cara used a lot of elements that I enjoy. The opening about the training, the sceadugenga and lycan as guards, the process of her  laying wards: great details to craft a lasting impression.

I’d learned to set wards early on in my training. Hanging out by myself in the high rise, without my backup of supernatural badassary, setting some wards seemed a very practical idea. After wishing only for a few moments alone last night, I missed having a lycan and a sceadugenga as my personal guard.

The simplest method of warding acted as a psychic intruder alarm. The spectral color of anything that crossed the barriers I made flashed right inside my brain. The green energy of humans was good. Anything else, I prepared to shoot first and ask questions later.

I dug through kitchen cabinets for salt and ran to the elevator. I drew a thin line across the outside of the sliding doors, whispering the incantation to set the ward. The salt sank into the floor, invisible to the eye and untouchable. I retreated to the penthouse door and repeated the process before closing and bolting the door.

Alone in the penthouse, a prickling paranoia settled over me.

I didn’t normally mind the state, but alone felt abruptly lonely.

Weak. Vulnerable.

Something pushed against the ward I’d placed at the elevator.

“Shit,” I breathed. “That didn’t take long.”

They stepped across the threshold in waves of jagged black energy.

I retreated through the penthouse until my back pressed against the cold, thick glass separating me from the pavement thirty stories down. The glass at my back shivered even as the front door trembled.

“Oh shit, oh shit, I’m in trouble.”


Congratulations 3 time winner Cara, Eli, Angelica, and Wakefield! Claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it! :)

Pass on the great news on Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the stories here and I hope to see you all back next week for #ThursThreads. :)