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Thank you so much for participating in the awards. The entries all had something truly unique or special about them. However, there can only be one winner and just like a good steak, our judges must trim the fat.
Below, are the first round results for Horror and Paranormal.
Good luck to those continuing and thank you for your efforts to those who didn't make it through.
Blood Brothers by MelisandeScott Judged by MermaidAriel13 Title: 5/5 Cover: 4/5 Blurb: 5/10 Hook: 10/10 Total: 24/30 Title: very fitting for a vampire story.
Cover: beautiful, though I have to admit, I don't relate the full moon to vampires. If I hadn't read the blurb, I would've guessed this to be a werewolf story. Consider placing a vampiric element to the cover, like for example, bats flying across the moon (enlarge the moon first, if you can, so you clearly see the silhouettes) or maybe a litte dark red.
Blurb: I'm left wanting. You introduce the main characters but not much else. Remember that the blurb is what makes the reader check out your story. Give the inciting incident, give the stakes they have to overcome.
Hook: what a great intro to the main characters! You give enough background on Aidain without it feeling like info dump, and that meet-cute was just perfect, and very fitting for two vampires.
Alturon: Time of Darkness by elsewhither Judged by SarahQuinnMcGrath Title: 4/5 Cover: 4/5 Blurb: 8/10 Hook: 7/10 Total: 23/30 Title: If it just said Time of Darkness, I think it would be a little too vague, so I like the addition of Alturon, which specifies things. However, in conjunction with the blurb, I don't know what Alturon refers to! It's not the village name. Hm.
Cover: I like the simplicity of the cover, with the flowers below and the black above. It gives the impression of darkness descending upon innocence. I don't know how I feel abnout the red font, though; it's very stark. That could be purposeful on your part, but it's a but jarring for my eye.
Blurb: There are definite ominous vibes, here, with the opening line and the diction: evils, horrors, desperation, etc. I am going to nitpick a little, here, but the verb "refrain" is used incorrectly (I think you want the noun, but you're using it as a verb), and there's something about the word "obscure" at the end that doesn't quite work for me . . .that might just be a preference, but the word has connotations of "murky" or "cloudy," and I just think there's a better word that could go there. I also don't feel quite like I understand the hook: I get that there's a town dealing with evil and a werewolf watching over it all . . . but there feels like it needs more conflict . . .
