The Lodestar Contest

This was a tough one to judge! Each of the four qualifying stories had its own draw. "Coffee and Tragedy"   by Amethyst Snow Angel tugged at the heartstrings with the strained relationship between father and son. The mysterious and eerie atmosphere of "Sabine Pass"   by Surgec68 reminded me of some of my favorite horror stories. "The Lighthouse Keeper's Secrets"   by StephBee had mystery, too, but with romance and adventure. And it's been a long time since historical fiction drew me in with its richness like "Beacon to Nassau"   by Rick Dean - Dinosaur did.

Thank you so much to all four of you--and Dawn Embers , too, with "The Lone Lighthouse with No Light" ! It might not have quite made the word count minimum but it kept us up-to-date on Hazel!

In the end, I had to go with the story that felt the most complete and fleshed out altogether, with second place going to the story that surprised me the most (by absorbing me in historical fiction.)

Winner:

STATIC

The Lighthouse Keeper's Secrets  (13+) It's the 1930's, and Damian meets Esther for the first time. #2350762 by StephBee

Runner-Up

STATIC

Beacon to Nassau  (E) The new Governor battles to arrive and tame the Pirate Republic of Nassau #2350083 by Rick Dean - Dinosaur