A Thousand Extras -All Things Salty

Our Westcountry Winner

Hey everyone.... It's finally time to announce the winner of the Westcountry Fantasy contest! I want to sincerely apologise that it's a few days late. This is an unfortunate lapse this side, and in no way the judges'.

SO, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, here's a wonderfully detailed write up from our lovely celeb judge Vic aka JayVictor, on who won and why!

"This was SUCH a tricky decision. I was presented with some magnificently polished, evocative storytelling, that excelled at capturing the West Country sense of place. All the finalists had their own very distinctive take on familiar legends, and I loved reading all of them.

I've picked as my winner what might be the least-polished of the five finalists, but it's a work that has lingered in my mind since I first read all the finalists last week: THE TROUBLES OF LIGHT (poem) by The_eighth_halfblood. There's some iffy use of metre in there, but also some lines that I can still quote from memory now: "The light is back / Our spirits whole, / If only I still / Owned my soul" gave me the shivers when I read it. And the closing couplet is just gorgeous. This poem also reminded me of the greatest 20th-centry West Country poet, and a personal favourite, Charles Causley. Bravo!

I'd like to give a runner-up honourable mention to THE MERMAID IN THE FOG by talkingflowers  - this is a delicious slice of West Country Gothic that creatively blends Cornish mermaid lore with that other West Country classic, DuMaurier's REBECCA, to marvellously creepy effect!It was SUCH a hard choice. krazydiamond brought a tear to my eye with JENNY OF THE MOORS, a note-perfect rendering of a classic West Country trope. nevertrustaduck kept me guessing to the end in her diabolical tale of a dubious bargain sealed at Stonehenge. And Pulse_Baby used no fewer than three narrative voices to tell a potent and poignant tale of why ladies with beautiful singing voices should *never* be trusted. Congratulations to all five finalists - it was an absolute pleasure to read your work. And thanks to Jos1eDemuth and OwainGlyn for inviting me to judge this fabulous competition!xx"

Congratulations @The_eighth_halfblood! We shall all give your book of poems a huge shout out, plus you win fifty coins for new fiction app Radish.  All finalists, thank you so such for your entries. They have been amazing, and so varied. More coins available for all other winners, so do get in touch if you'd like to claim them.  Also, absolutely massive thanks to all our  judges! It's been a real pleasure.