2016 Silmarillion Awards: Voting

Good morning and Happy Fourth of July! I hope you are all having a beautiful, relaxing weekend. My in-loves are in town, and we are having an absolute blast with them. We went to see a waterskiing stunt show last night and also inadvertently found a really nice little park and beach with a swimming area. Will definitely go back!We set off some firecrackers last night, and are hoping to catch a fireworks show this evening (first time for the kiddos seeing "real" fireworks, so hopefully that will be fun).But, in addition to the Fourth of July festivities, today is special because we're kicking off the final phase of the Silmarillion Awards Voting process! The nominations are in and the Top Five finalists have been chosen for each category (and some of the categories were very close and had to have some 11th hour tie-breaker votes). Thank you so much to everyone who participated.

You can learn more about the nominees for the other awards by visiting the other hosts of the 2016 Silmarillion Awards:

Best Fantasy Mount Best Riddling and Poetry Best Redemption Story Strangest Character Best Fantasy Weapon Most Epic Hero Most Heartwrenching Death Wisest Counseler Most Nefarious Villain

Here on my blog I am hosting the Most Heart Wrenching Death scene (and an unanticipated by-product was that the nomination list was full of spoilers! Whoops!) We had Thirty-Seven Nominees, all extremely worthy, heart-breaking deaths.But in the end, only five can be part of the final vote. So, without further ado, this year's Most Heart Wrenching Death Scene Finalists are:Aslan - from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Noble, wise, compassionate, and strong, Aslan is the King of Narnia and all the lands and seas surrounding it. He is also a representation of Christ in that he sacrifices himself for the traitor, Edmund Pevensie, and takes his place when the White Witch demands blood for Edmund's betrayal of his siblings.Janner - a character from the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. Janner is a young boy, the oldest child of his parents, and expected to look out for his younger siblings. Though life has been fairly normal, Janner discovers that he and his family are the center of a great mystery.William - from the Ilyon Chronicles by Jaye L. Knight. He is a faithful follower of Elom (the allegorical God of Ilyon), and a captain in the emperor's army. He is kind and fatherly and whenever he's around in the story it feels like everything will be okay. He's the father of the heroine, Kyrin.Esben - also from the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. He is the father of Janner and was killed in the Great War when Janner was only 3 years old.Sirius Black - from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Sirius is Harry's godfather and a bit rash at times, but his heart is truly in the right place. He is one of the first people to truly act as a parent to Harry.And there you have it. According to the nominations, I really need to read this Wingfeather Saga, as well as the Ilyon Chronicles (which I have on my book shelf but haven't gotten to reading yet!) Below you will find the voting form for ALL the categories. Have fun! The Voting Period will close on July 14th, and then we will begin presenting awards.