Story Contest Poll

[Aravis Kenobi]

Lol, maybe I should get you to interview the winners (or nominees) in the Crossover contest; I'm not good at interviewing.

 

[Shadow_Kitty]

Interveiwing's fun!!!!!!!! It's easy if you think up the questions ahead of time.

 

[Miss.SunFlower]

How is it I got to number 1? Seriously...

 

[Shadow_Kitty]

Because your amazing.

 

[GondorGirl]

How is it I got to number 1? Seriously...

Because your amazing.

Exactly what I was going to say

 

[Lost Dreamer]

Lol, maybe I should get you to interview the winners (or nominees) in the Crossover contest; I'm not good at interviewing.

Aww! I'm sure you'd do fine. I could help you come up with the questions

 

[BarbarianKing]

Congratulations to Maggie for winning this poll!!!

 

[Lucy but Taller]

How is it I got to number 1? Seriously...

Because your amazing.

Exactly what I was going to say

same here.

 

[Lost Dreamer]

Okay, sorry people, I haven't been on the ball here. But the poll is closed. And, dun dun dun, Miss Sunflower is the TDL ultimate story contest WINNER!!! Which some of you have already realized

Yay for Maggie!

 

[Lost Dreamer]

Going to try and post the rest of the interviews...sorry to everyone who didn't get in when I said they would! This interview is with Copperfox.


Hey Copper! Your stories “The First love of Alipang Havens” and “The tale of Sophia Renee” BOTH made it into the Ultimate Favorite poll, which is pretty awesome. Are you excited?

Of course I am! As a middle-aged author who's been struggling to find an audience for decades, I confess that I love getting some recognition!

Could you tell us about “Alipang Havens”?

It originated with Nightcrawler_Fan's very creative idea for a roleplay which would portray homeschooled kids having to start going to a public high school. I was one of the main contributors to this, and when the RP thread was cancelled, I set out to make the story live on and bring it to completion. Note that there are still two or three chapters to be written. I can truthfully say that over ninety percent of the plot action is entirely of my own imagining, though the three most important female characters were initially created by Dayhawk68, Peace Maker, and Nightcrawler_Fan. My hero, a boy adopted from Asia, is a distant male counterpart of my real-life adopted Asian daughter Annemarie.

How about “The Tale of Sophia Renee?”

This one is absolutely my own invention, and the only book-length poem I have ever composed. It is a love story set in late Victorian England, depicting an older Christian working-class man who falls in love with a young orphaned woman. I desired in this story to depict vividly the way a man ought to treat a woman, and I wanted to show romantic attraction arising from something other than just what people look like.


What’s your inspiration for these stories?

Apart from what I already said about the roleplay origin, I was spurred to write "Alipang Havens" because it would enable me to illustrate a Christian viewpoint on such topics as adoption, multiculturalism, pacifism, and the process of growing up. Much of society pressures men to be wimps, and my hero Alipang is a revolt against this pressure, being tough and brave without thereby failing to have love and compassion in his heart.

"Sophia Renee" was written for what its leading characters represent. Duncan MacBrae, my hero, is near enough to representing me. Sophia Renee, my heroine, is a combination of several real-world persons: mainly my own deceased second wife Janalee (because of her tender heart, and certain adversities she endured in her earthly life), and another woman whom I will not name, who had an immense impact on my life at a time when I was single and unattached.


Can you show us a cool snippet from one of them?

The following excerpt is from "Alipang Havens." In this scene, he is with his friends-only female pal Summer Heron, the character Nightcrawler_Fan played in the Homeschoolers roleplay. They have been talking about martial arts....

For a moment their eyes met, and neither knew what to say next. It was Summer who broke the awkward moment. "My Mom needs me to do things for her so often, she wouldn't want me making a commitment to regular lessons. But Sergeant Costamesa did something nice during the winter: he brought Mom and me to the sheriff's-police gym that our city cops also use, and taught us some self-defense moves."

Alipang smiled, but not mockingly. He didn't have it in him to be cruelly mocking to a friend. "Should I be scared?"

A sudden impulse took charge of Summer. Why on Earth _shouldn't_ she be allowed, just once, to enjoy some of the same gently boisterous fun with Al that Al's sister enjoyed with him? She put the Escrima sticks down well out of the way before answering his question. She placed herself so that he was between her and his bed. Her attractive features were brightened by an impish smile. "No, you shouldn't be scared...unless you're afraid of THIS!!"--and she dived into Alipang with head lowered, throwing her arms around his waist in the hardest tackle she could manage.

If he had been ready for this, she would have had no more chance of knocking him down than she would have of bench-pressing four hundred pounds. But he was totally surprised, and her tackle bounced both of them onto and off of his bed. As they tumbled to the floor, Alipang recognized the invitation to play, and play he did, wrapping his own arms around his friend-who-was-a-girl for a lively bout of hug-wrestling.

Only while they were tumbling and rolling on the floor did Summer fully realize just how easily such play _could_ change into something else. But almost as quickly, she realized that Al wasn't _letting_ it make that fateful change. He could have pinned her beneath him with ease; instead, he kept them turning over and over in each other's arms, letting her be on top at least half of the time...and _never_ coming to a complete halt that would find them in a tight embrace on the floor with their faces close together.

Even as she continued wrestling with Al--and the realization of how he was handling it made her enjoy the affectionate struggle even more--Summer thought inwardly, For a boy who's never had a girlfriend, he has amazing alertness against letting things go too far. How is that? Of course! He has no girlfriend; but what he _does_ have....is a sister.

Eventually, Al made a "tremendous effort" which "violently" set her down on his chair, a safely neutral position for her. Then, pretending to gasp and pant with exhaustion, he said, "What a....tremendous...battle.....Can we...call it...a draw?"

Making sure her clothes weren't alarmingly mussed, Summer nodded. "Hey, Al...have I told you lately that you're an awesome guy?"

"If you did, I'm sure I would have replied that you're an awesome girl."

One more warm glance passed between them; and then they went back downstairs, their friendship intact.

 

[Lost Dreamer]

This interview is with SimonW


Hey Simon Your story "Couldn't Do it Alone" is one of the winning stories in the Most Creative Story Idea category. How cool is that! Are you excited?

Yes, I am fairly excited. I never dreamed any of my stories, let alone that one, to be nominated.

What’s your story about?

My story is a basic story, or at least I think it is. It is a story about a boy who just turned 13 and has to deal with his life, however comical the situation may be.

What’s the idea behind Couldn't Do it Alone? What inspired you?

Nothing really inspired me really. I just thought it would be a funny idea of a boy who wants to break free of his overbearing mother and the community he lives in.

Have you written any other stories on TDL? Do you plan to write any more?

I have written several, most of which are not yet completed. Those that are finished have been given good praise by readers on here.

Can you show us a cool snippet from your winning story?

Sure...This is the part where Henry (the main character) goes over to his friends house to get some advice about the situation he is in.

I found Tom on his front porch. He was gazing out at the street with eyes that were so serious it was scary.
He was leaning against the wooden post, wearing a black jacket and white shirt underneath. His blue jeans were slightly torn and his black trainers looked scuffed. He seemed to smile as I rode up his short driveway, which looked in need of a trim.
I stopped my bike up against the porch steps and got off, walking over to my best friend.
“Hey, Henry, how are things?” asked Tom with a wry grin.
He pushed back his mangy black hair fringe slightly away from his eyes.
“Nothing much, just my birthday,” I stated as casually as I could.
Tom’s eyebrows seemed to rise slightly.
“Well, in that case, how bought a smoke?” he offered as he took out a packet from his jacket pocket and put a cigarette between his lips.
Tom Eccles is a year older then me and I respected him deeply as a friend but when he offered me the cigarette I merely shook my head.
“Nah, man. You know I don’t smoke,” I stated with a smile on my face.
I recalled a time when I had asked Tom why he smoked. He responded to me that if God wanted him not to, He had better do something about it. This seemed to make sense, though Tom never smoked in front of adults, meaning he at least knew it was wrong.
Tom shrugged and put the pack back into his jacket pocket. I watched him as he tried looking for his matches.
“Hold on, I got it,” I stated to him.
Tom seemed confused until I pulled out the lighter my dad gave me for my birthday and tossed it over to him. He caught it as it landed in his hands and inspected it before flicking open the lid.
“Cool,” he merely stated before igniting the small flame and lighting his cigarette.
Tom threw back my lighter to me and I caught it. I put it back in my trouser pocket and watched him as he took a long puff on his cigarette and blew the smoke out of his mouth after taking the cigarette out from his lips in between two of his fingers.
He looked tired to me but in a cool way. He was my best friend and I could tell him anything. So, I told him the whole situation as he listened silently, only smoking his cigarette in a thoughtful manner.
After explaining everything I stopped talking to await Tom’s answer. Sometimes he gave the best advice ever.
“Well Henry, you’re basically screwed, man,” stated Tom simply.
I was a little upset by this advice from my friend.
“You got to be sh*tting me! Is that all the best advice you can give me??” I asked him in an almost desperate voice.
“Hey, I call it like I see it, pal,” muttered Tom plainly, shrugging his shoulders.
“But what about tomorrow?” I asked him.
“What about it?” he asked then after the look I gave him he seemed suddenly sheepish. “What’s tomorrow?”
”Tomorrow is Sunday, Tom. You know, church day,” I stated.
“Sunday’s the worst. It drives a kid nuts it does,” stated Tom as he adjusted his black jacket slightly.
Tom was a part of our Church community, possibly the only redeeming feature of Tom to the other members of the fold.
“Yeah, man. I know that, but my mum makes me go anyway. It isn’t like I can just not go. It will make it worse that my dad will be there, I’m sure of it,” I stated, feeling a little down at the turn of events a mere hour or so ago.
“Dude, I said it before and I’ll say it again, you are screwed. Best to deal with it and get it over with,” stated Tom.
“Gee, thanks,” I muttered sarcastically to Tom before leaving his front porch and riding back home on my bicycle.