I think you will be able to see why I couldn't pick just one winner from this. Every single person who entered will be getting a prize...although the prizes are currently back ordered! Apparently the seller didn't expect someone to order fifty at one time! But as soon as the prize is shipped to me, I'll be shipping them back out to you.
And let me also take a moment to say: YOU GUYS ARE THE BESTEST READERS EVER AND I <3 YOU ALL.
Seriously. This contest was just...wow.
That said...I do still have a prize that I'd set aside for the most creative entry. It was just one thing, a secret extra gift from Jennie, who designed the bracelet. I think what I'm going to do is just slip it in the person's envelope and let it be a surprise when s/he opens the envelope with the thank you :) What do you think? Good idea? I do like giving people little surprises and such :)
Meanwhile, I really want to know, which one is YOUR favorite?
Visual Art
Earrings by Anna
(These earrings won the random drawing prize, too)
Purse by Melissa Click for more pics, including the inside that has a lining made with a koi fish print featuring quotes from the Gettysburg Address
Desktop Wallpaper by Lara Definitely click to see a bigger version of this one--it's a lovely desktop wallpaper!
Paper roses made by Amanda
Plastic Amy Doll by Vivien
Henna Tattoos by TheGirlOnFire27
Illustration by Christina
Custom stamp made by Amy
Illustration of koi swimming in stars by Michaela. The illustration was done by "stippling"--adding hundreds of dots, one dot at a time!
Badges by Margaret
"Sea of Stars" painting by Lillian (look closely; there are silver stars in the background)
Too cute charms of Amy and Elder by Lesley
Multimedia
Trailer video by AprilTrailer video by Alayna
Song cover by Kayla
Flag routine by Lauren. Click her YouTube video for a full explanation of her entry! Song recorded by April: click the heart in the top right corner of this page to hear it! Hall of Awesome webpage by Rachel Across the Universe Press Kit by Jess
Written Works
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Short story by Julia:
‘We want the book! We want the book!’ The crowd chanted. The scared booksellers huddled in the store, using the boxes of the book they were supposed to be selling, Across the Universe, to barricade the door.
‘They’re against the doors! GET THEM!’ one man yelled.
The crowd surged forward, using their hands, clubs, pitchforks, other people in the crowd, whatever they could get their hands on to beat on the doors. They slowly moved in. The crowd was no match for the heavy boxes.
‘Yes!’ several people yelled. ‘Autographed copies of Across the Universe!’ They eagerly flipped through the pages, looking for the author signature.
‘What the heck?’ someone hollered.
‘There’s no author signature in here!’
‘Well, um, she was supposed to come in today to autograph them,’ the timid salespeople volunteered.
O O O
Beth Revis, the author of the aforementioned book, huddled in a janitor’s closet at the back of the store. She wasn’t about to go out into the angry mob, no way.
O O O
‘All right, all right We’ll tell you where the author is if you just stop!’ yelled the bookstore’s manager.
The people from the mob stood in the middle of the store, surrounded by a pile of white paper and torn covers.
‘Well, where is she?’ multiple people hollered out.
‘In the janitor’s closet at the back of the store next to the YA novels.’
The mob stormed off. A few people started lagging as they looked at the book displays, but they were quickly herded back in by the rest of the mob.
When the mob reached the closet, everyone stepped back as a large man, who looked like he would be more comfortable in a pine forest then a bookstore, ran against the door.
It moves slightly.
‘AGAIN!’ yelled the crowd.
The man rammed into the door again, and continued to do so until the flimsy wood shattered, exposing the terrified author to the crowd.
‘Don’t hurt me, because if you do you’ll never find out what’ll happen between Amy and Elder,’ squeaked Beth Revis.
‘Hurt you? Why would we hurt you? You are going to go over to that table RIGHT NOW and sign out copies of Across the Universe or else!’ screamed the aforementioned lumberjack-like man.
Beth slunk over to the table and chair, plopped down heavily, and pulled out a pen.
‘Who’s first?’ she hollered.
A collective ME came from the entire crowd.
‘Okay, you,’ she said, pointing at random. ‘You’re first.’
A little boy skipped up to the table, holding the book to his chest.
‘Aren’t you a little young to be reading young adult novels?’ asked Beth.
‘It’s not for me, it’s for Mommy!’ he said. ‘Will you sign it, please?’
So she did.
All day, Beth sat there signing until she thought her hand would fall off. And then she signed some more. The author signed books for small children, old men, teenage girls, mothers, the list goes on. By the time she signed the last book, she had gone through fifteen pens and her name looked more like a scribble then her name.
The bookstore employees came over as the author stood up.
‘You owe me. That was the most people I’ve EVER signed for at a time, and the first time
I’ve ever hidden in a janitors closet!’
‘So… does this mean you won’t be coming back next week?’
‘Heck no!’ exclaimed Beth. ‘Never again!’
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Beautiful Lies by Patrick
The Godspeed,
a beautiful ship fueled by lies.
Those beautiful lies,
other and I believe are not true
But whose’s there,
to telll them the truth?
The water,
full of life and beautiful lies.
It’s life,
died beacuse of Phydus.
They are brainwashed,
mixed with truth’s and beautiful lies.
They don’t know the truth
The ancient Plague,
a time where disorder ruled.
There was none,
but there was Eldest.
The one,
who decieved and lied beautifully to everyone.
For the sake,
of order.
They don’t know the truth,
but Elder and I will tell them.
Beautiful Lies hurt,
but the hidden truth hurts more.
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Ode to Beth Revis by Jade
I’m not good at writing,
I can’t draw or sing
So I’m writing Beth Revis
A bad poem,
In Across The Universe,
We met Elder and Amy,
In a book that was original
And not at all same-y,
In the next book,
Their story goes on,
As they navigate Godspeed
Through A Million Suns
But alas, what is wrong!
(Be aware, spoilers are coming!)
Godspeed is slowing down,
WILL THE SPACESHIP KEEP RUNNING?!
Will Amy ever see her parents,
She was awoken too soon,
One a ship that may never make it through,
All the suns and planets and moons,
The story is compelling,
I was gripped from the first page,
This is a book I’d give to
Readers of any age,
I loved it that much
And I honestly can’t wait,
That’s why I need to win this competition,
I’ll call it, like, fate!
So Beth, take pity on me,
I have no talents to speak of,
I’m just a girl that reads a lot
And with your books, I’m in love!
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The Ship of Lies by Brielle
A beautiful ship
flew into the sky.
They all knew
it wasn’t goodbye.
.
They’d be home soon,
a new home at least.
They had them all fooled
a mystery to piece.
.
Until Amy came along,
this fiery redhead,
she strung it together
like needle and thread.
.
Something was wrong.
A lie was covered.
She saw these “stars”
and the truth was discovered.
.
A beautiful ship
flew into the skies.
Too bad that the ship runs on
nothing but lies.
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Stars Awakening by Nicole
We knew we couldn’t sustain. I think that was the worst part; knowing for so long, but never doing anything about it until it was nearly too late. I wish I could say I was one of those people who went wholeheartedly onto Godspeed, but being dragged unwilling doesn’t quite fit the description. It would be an understatement to say I’m claustrophobic, and my father has known that ever since I was a boy. It mattered little to him, in the long run.
That’s why I’m down here now, I suppose, in the deepest, darkest hull on the ship, with my knees tucked close to my body, shivering uncontrollably. It’s nearly frozen down here; I wonder what they hold in the wall-high containers, why they have to keep the room so cold. I looked for a light earlier, but the motion detector must be malfunctioning. It’s better this way, I think. The last thing I’ll see is darkness, the one thing I’m most afraid of. So many things can go wrong being trapped in a ship that’s on a course to a far-off planet that we’ve never even seen before. When I first got down here, I thought about all of them, until I exhausted myself and my eyes were weak with tears. I think I was hoping they’d be searching for me, check their video footage, and come rushing in. That someone, anyone, would care.
The quiet, distant hum of the machines reminds me that I’m not alone. I press my hands onto the freezing metal and push myself off the wall. I hear a click and I’m blinded by the sudden white light, and greeted by the slight stench of burning. The motion detector must be working after all. One of the long bulbs across the ceiling flickers, goes out, but there’s enough light to see what’s in the chambers.
They’re bodies. Rows upon rows of bodies. My jaw hangs slack. I feel myself stumble over the grated metal floor to the frozen chamber in front of me, placing my hands against the cold glass. It’s a girl. A girl with flowing red hair, full lips and closed eyes. She’s naked, completely exposed–more beautiful than anything I’ve ever seen. She has the strangest look on her face, and I wonder what her last thoughts were. Her face is slack, but her lips look pinched, like she was afraid. Or in pain.
I bang my head against the glass. Get a grip, Kyle. I’m letting a girl that lies immobile in a cryochamber distract me from why I came down here in the first place.
But I can’t help reverting my gaze back to her. Girls never paid much attention to me back home, and I’ve never seen this much of a body at one time, but somehow that matters little. I want to meet this girl, more than anything I’ve ever wanted.
I push myself back from the glass with resolve, my jaw tightening, and scan the panel of buttons along the bottom of the glass. There’s so many, and all unlabeled. I’m about to press my finger to the only green button–when the door to the room whooshes open and I’m knocked to the ground.
I land with a thump and a grunt, feeling the rivets in the floor digging into my back, the air forced out of my lungs. I fight my attacker, but they take their weight off of me almost immediately, pinning only my wrists to the floor. I stop fighting. It’s father.
“What,” he seethes, “do you think you’re doing down here?”
I grit my teeth. “Waiting to die.”
Surprise flashes across his face, but it’s fleeting, replaced quickly by anger. “Don’t be so foolish, boy,” father says. “You know not to be down here. I should have known I could not trust you on your own.”
“Who are they?” I ask, ignoring his conceding tone.
Father starts. “What are you talking about?”
“The bodies in the cryochambers,” I say, unwavering. “Who are they?”
Father clears his throat. “None of your concern.”
“I want to talk to one of them,” I say.
“Absolutely not.” He stiffens. “Out of the question.”
“Will you tell me nothing?” I plead. Secrets are all my father has, but if he tells them to anyone, it’s always me.
Father snorts out a breath, and his eye twitches. “Which one?” he asks, releasing his grip on me. I can hear the defeat in his voice no matter how hard he’s trying to cover it up as I climb off the floor and get back on my feet. I have to stop myself from smiling.
“Her.” I point to the slim, red-haired girl. I’m still looking at her, my heart beating faster unwittingly, when I hear my father suck in a quick breath.
“It can’t be…”
Another crashing sound echoes through the narrow room, and I look beyond father towards the door, just in time to see one of the guards bring his blade down onto father’s back, sliding the blade cleanly through his body before pulling it out again. I hear someone screaming, and I realize it’s me. The sound cuts off when the guard advances on me, stepping uncaring into the pool of blood that’s appeared from beneath my father’s body. I swallow hard and scramble backward. The guard’s expression is cold, hard, unforgiving.
“Please,” I whisper. “Don’t hurt me.”
He smiles then, toothy and ruthless. My head snaps back as he brings back his blade for the strike–
“Stop!”
The guard turns around so quickly that he nearly loses the grip on his blade, the set of his shoulders giving away his surprise. And I can see why. There’s a man in the doorway, dressed in a white lab coat, with gray-speckled short hair and stormy eyes. He’s standing with his fists clenched at his sides, jaw tight, expression hard.
“This area is restricted.” The man’s voice echoes low and deep along the metal walls. “Even to guards.” He eyes the guard, and the murderer’s shoulders sink in submission. The doctor steps into the room, ignoring the dead, bleeding body on the floor. He moves his gaze from the guard, who leaves the room in a rush, over to me, his eyes traveling down the length of my body and back up again. He’s turned curious, less menacing.
“Why are you here?” he asks me.
I don’t answer, and without thinking, my eyes find the girl in the frozen chamber. She remains unchanged. The doctor follows my gaze and a small smile finds its way onto his lips. He looks back at me, eyes sparkling.
“We can arrange that,” he says.
My eyes widen, and I’m about to speak when the doctor lunges forward, stabbing me with a needle. Pain shoots up my arm, but I can’t cry out; whatever he’s injected me with has already slowed my mind.
“It’s better this way,” he assures me. My vision blurs and he manages to hold me up before laying me down on the floor. “You won’t want to feel the pain when I freeze you.”
I wish I could panic, but I can’t feel much of anything now as the poison makes its way through my system. He won’t kill me; somehow I know that. But…
“You’re going to see us land in the new world, child,” he tells me softly. “There’s nothing left for you here.”
Finally my vision leaves me, along with the rest of my senses. And all I can think is that, when I wake up, I get to see the girl with the red hair again.
8 comments:
I vote for the Cover Redesign by Carina: http://www.bethrevis.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/cover-again-204x300.jpg
WOW! Tons of great entries! I can see why it's so hard to pick!
hi! I recognize the value of the works, and these girls were very brave, but I was lying if I say that my favorite isn't the illustration of Michaela :)
My favorite (other than my own :-D ) is the paper and metal collage by Tristyn. I LOVE the colors, the design, the texture, and the creativity.
-Amy in Atlanta
They are ALL amazing!!
The koi illustration by Michaela is my favorite!
I LOVE Cover redesign (dark purple) by Carina :) <3
Wow!!! They're all so incredible. It's so hard to choose! I think my favorite would be "Stars Awakening" by Nicole, though. Beautiful!
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