As far as I’m concerned, everyone who entered is a winner, since all of you helped make it a fun and memorable contest. But I only have two prizes to give out, so let’s get to it.

The art contest:

The criteria I used to select winners in the art part of the contest was pretty simple: a) how well did it fit the contest guidelines (aka was it a cheesy romance novel-type cover), b) how hard did I laugh when I saw it. I thought that would be enough to make for an easy choice, but boy was I mistaken. This was probably the best group of entries I’ve ever gotten for a contest, and I pretty much loved every single one. But after a LOT of consideration, I finally narrowed it down to two, and I just couldn’t choose between them. So they both get a prize.

Congrats go to Austin McCora (who submitted two great entries, but who won for the cheesefest of Cassie, Mircea and the shoes) and the mysterious Lannister, who dared to pair Mircea and Marlowe in the steamiest of illicit love stories! Seriously, you two crack me up!

The written contest:

The criteria I used to select the winners in the written part of the contest was a little more complex (since I know more about writing that I do about art!) It was: a) how well did it explain the image used as a prompt, b) how believable was it (in other words, could I see the characters in this situation), c) how entertaining was it, d) how well did it fit in with the Valentine’s Day theme. And while there were some truly hilarious, witty and just plain fun entries, there was one that knocked it out of the park on all of the above criteria. So congrats go to Mandy Justice for the cutest little story about Cupid ever!

Thanks again to everyone who participated–you guys are awesome! And winners, please send in the address to which you’d like your prize mailed. For any winners who may be overseas, if you’d prefer an Amazon gift certificate to a B&N, please indicate that when you write in. Thanks everyone, and have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!