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Congratulations to all the winners!!!

That's so cool! I didn't realize the lack of chlorophyll was considered albinism in trees! Look at me, learning something new. Thank you! :D

This was the first story I read this week, and it stayed my favorite throughout. I really liked the idea of an albino pine, lending something specific to animals and humans into a tree, and melanin to chlorophyll. So clever! I also liked a lot of the language you used throughout. Sugar-messages...

Thanks, Rose! Definitely a good idea to open that up and show it more fully. Thank you! :) And I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm always a little amazed when people like reading what I write. LOL

Thank you, Leslie! :) Yes, I thinking moving some things around so the story ends on that line is a great idea. I appreciate all of the kind words and great feedback.

Thanks, Jim! I liked your idea, and plan to swap the end of the story around so that this is the last line, since as you pointed out, it's a good ending line. Appreciate the thoughts and suggestion! :)

Good opening line. You use the word "life" close together first two lines. Might want to change one of them up. Love the line "A shade drawn across his warmth." This was a chilling glimpse into irony. Or karma.

I’m trapped in death as I was trapped in life. Stuck spectating someone else’s life. We all make our choices, I suppose. And then we must lie with them. My choice… was Aro. # “You’re so beautiful.” I don’t know what melted me more. Aro’s smooth talk or his velvet hands. They lit fire along...

Photography is another creative outlet I've always enjoyed. Glad you liked the pic! :)

Wow - I really enjoyed this story. I didn't expect the twists, which is always a refreshing thing to say. I enjoyed what you did with the prompt of my photograph. Your writing voice is captivating, and I really enjoyed some of your descriptions -- such as the trees compared to steepled fingers...

Howdy - I'm a spec fic author, too. I'll have to check out your work. Like you, I really struggled through Covid to get anything productive going. So I can commiserate. Also like you, I'm a singer-songwriter and have written a lot of my own songs and even a couple of musicals. I'd started to get...

Wow - thank you! I'm so pleasantly surprised - there were so many good entries!!! I took the day off yesterday (Friday) and completely missed voting, but hopefully everyone knows how wonderful I thought the stories were. I was so impressed!!!

Yes, I meant to leave it a bit ambiguous as to whether she really had died and gone to heaven to be with him, or if the road had actually somehow taken her somewhere "else." :) Past? Parallel universe? 2024? I've been watching too much Twilight Zone lately. ;-) But I'm glad you liked the...

Celestial Beach The sound of the trunk closing, enveloping my single suitcase, rang with an odd finality. I stared at my warped reflection in the rear window. “I shouldn’t go.” Sandra, my best friend since high school, put an arm around my shoulders. “You need this, Dee.” Her smile managed to...

I agree that you want to hook readers with your opening, and want to avoid back-story, but I enjoyed the glimpse into Toni's youth with the information about the era she graduated in. This resonated with me. As a suggestion, changing to first-person might be a great way to make it more immediate...

I'm always drawn to stories about soldiers. I feel they're heroes, and the closest representation we have to Christ here on earth, giving their blood, their bodies for the rest of us. You captured this sentiment for me. I would have liked to be able to be in the action rather than just told...

Thanks, Rose. :) I always look forward to what you'll have to say on my stories. For this one, having a 7th grader of my own gave me an inside glimpse into what this might be like, and what a kiddo might be thinking in such a time. I didn't want to go too dark with it, after all - it was about...

Thank you so much, Pearly! That means a lot to me. :)

Thanks, Jim. I meant the POW! POW! to be gunshots (not the footsteps), as sensory of what a child would experience. When I pasted into the post, it lost something in the translation, so I had the idea to bold those spots. It was an impulsive choice, but I rather liked putting an extra emphasis...

A very poignant glimpse into a life. I wish part of it had been active vs. all narration so that we could experience the events along with the character(s). But I particularly enjoyed the idea that her mother was communicating with her somehow in the form of the new sapling growing in the ashes...