That's right! Our contest winner @19upendi97 has graced us with an interview and a copy of her winning short-story Animated Affection.

1. Congrats on winning the contest! Is this your first time writing a romance piece or have you dabbled in the genre before? What genres do you typically write and read in?

Hello!

Thank you! Well, I've had previous accounts, having been on Wattpad for nearly four years now and within that time I've tried to write romance but hit snags along the way. It's either not felt right, or I've worked myself up about it too much for it to work and flow correctly. Generally, I try to stick to a group of genres, since I love all of them; Vampire, Werewolf, Paranormal/Supernatural, Teen Fiction, all with Romance thrown in somewhere. With reading, I kind of just read what I like the sound and look of. So, if there's a Science Fiction novel on Wattpad or in the shops that I like the sound of then Bam! It's going home with me. I don't have a particular favourite, I just read and write what I love :)

2. What inspired you for Animated Affection? Was it a spur of the moment topic decision or something that'd been waiting for the right time to rise up ;-) ?

My inspiration was, at first, Enoch from Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children which I had seen at the cinema a day or two before my decision to join your competition. With competitions I don't generally plan them out or have an idea waiting, I just like them to be spontaneous, which either works or it doesn't but it's always a fun thing to do if your looking how to get out a rut or just want a break from the usual.

3. Tell us about yourself! What projects are you currently working on? Do you have any upcoming projects you are hyped up about?

I'm an 18 year old girl from the North West of England and ever since my friends told me about Wattpad four-ish years ago, I've been addicted! Right now, I've just completed my first proper book -mind you, it's only 13 chapters long!- of the Vampire variety. It's Epilogue may spin off into a sequal but I can't really say as of yet but I do know that there are going to be some bonus chapters, so people can look out for them!

And, a crazy decision I've recently made was to join NaNoWriMo of 2016 and having never done it before, thought it could be immensely fun to do! I'd never really thought about it before but my vamp book, 'The Sanguine Effect' gave me the confidence to have a try! It's a Science Fiction novel about a genetically mutated Special Task Force who have children under the noses of the government and only twenty years later do they realise that their soldiers aren't loyal anymore.

So, it focuses on the journey of one of those children, Gene Ivanov and his chance at trying to free the Mutants from the clutches of the evil government, all the while trying to fight off falling for Theodore, who might or might not be a very special person himself ;) And since I'm English, all of my works are set in England, so I'm sorry if some of you get confused!

And lastly, one little thing more is that I may or may not have an idea on how to expand this little 1000 word entry that was originally for your Haunted Romance competition! But we'll see :]

4. Lastly, do you have any advice for future writing contestants on how to snag the top spot?

My advice would be to not work yourself up about it. If you do that, it starts becoming a chore rather than the fun it's meant to be. Also, if you focus on the winning aspect of it, like people sometimes do, then you can forget about winning and you can forget having a nice time, meeting new people and making new friends because an attitude like that gets you nowhere in the brilliant community of Wattpad.

Thank you for your answers, @19upendi97 ! Lovely. And now for the story....

Animated Affection

Smiling tenderly at the body on the steel table in front of me, I take a few minutes to make sure that his features are etched into my brain forever, just like the rest of them. His eyes are closed, for now, but I know underneath his eyelids, there are the bluest of eyes. Framing those sapphires are two thick rings of dark brown eyelashes, more full than any other man's I'd ever seen in my life.

I bite my lip as my eyes fall from his high cheek bones and chiselled jaw, landing hungrily on his sculpted chest, shoulders and torso. This time, I'd picked all the right parts to stick together and hopefully, they'd be the perfect match once he woke up too. Respectfully, I'd covered him from the waist down, so I couldn't really gaze at that part of him, but honestly, I already knew what he looked like and by now, I'm just prolonging the inevitable. It will work this time.

Turning slightly, so that I could check over my shoulder, I glance at all the monitors and find that everything is as it should be. Good. Last time, I hadn't checked all the systems before turning him on and due to my eagerness, I'd not realised that he was set to self-destruct five minutes after waking up. The last one had not been manufactured properly and his head had fallen off in the most spectacular of ways, it had simply rolled down his body and stopped next to the bin. So in the bin he went. Unfortunately.

I take one last deep breath and bite my lip painfully as my finger presses the important, big, red button at the end of my circular desk. My blacked out goggles do their job as I'm protected from the blinding purple and blue flashing coming from the tesla coils, putting energy into my latest work of art and love on the table. I'd used a wooden surface so that my boy actually got all the power he needed to wake up successfully.

If I had calculated this correctly, like I think I have then I have another ten seconds before I can stop the tesla coils and watch my beauty awaken from his deathly sleep. I hold my breath as I count down slowly, releasing the carbon dioxide at six seconds and I squeal with glee when I get to one. Quickly, so as to not mess this up, I end the travelling energy and shuffle over to the table.

My eyes lock in on the body's chest and it rises once, twice and then it's compressing in a steady rhythm. Thank god, I got that part right. Next, I watch his eyes and see movement, probably meaning that he was trying to figure out how to open them. Poor baby, so new and vulnerable! Isn't he lucky that I'm here to help him?

I keep my hands at my sides as they itch to help him wake up, my heart constricting and slowly opening again when his pale blue lips twitch, opening slightly. Yes, yes, do that! Come on, you can do it! Now, open those ey-

Gasping, I stare at his magnificent blue eyes and I'm transfixed. How can two eyes be so perfect in their existence? Sighing in an almost dreamy way, I feel a hope blossom in my chest as my baby glances around the room. It's not too great to look at but I'm wishing for him to overlook that minor flaw and focus mainly on me for the rest of his wonderful existence.

"Hello."

At the sound of my quiet voice, he jumps and puts his eyes on me instead of the gloomy ceiling. I grin at him and move closer, wanting to feel the now animated skin of my new lover. His lips try to copy my own and slide up into an almost smile, causing my heart to stutter at the beautiful sight. What a specimen he is. I really had the luck of the Irish when picking his parts back at the graveyard in Dublin.

"I know this must be scary for you but, I'm not here to hurt you. Do you understand?"

His head jerks in a sudden movements, creating a nod like move and I clap my hands together excitedly. My eyes take in his unclothed state and I realise that he must be chilly in this cold, homemade basement. It'd taken me quite some time to dig out this snug room, directly underneath my back garden. Obviously, I'd had to buy supplies to keep the garden up and it wasn't cheap but it was worth it when my projects wake up like this.

I grab the stack of clothing I'd bought yesterday, brushing the flecks of dirt off and pass them to a curious Gabriel. Obviously, that wasn't the name on any of the grave stones that had topped any of the ones I'd exhumed but I wanted to give him a meaningful name. Gabriel is my saving grace, my angel on this godforsaken planet and he needs to know it.

"Gabriel, you need to put these on. You'll be cold otherwise." Not that you'll be warm if you wear them.

Because he was created with dead limbs and had been deceased long before I got to him, he was never going to gain or lose body heat, forever the chilling temperature of a freezer. Which, when you think about it, is quite handy on those summer nights and during Indian Summers.

Clearing my throat, I wait until he's looking at me and then I grab his hand, making him drop the jeans he'd been holding in wonder. I smile at him, my whole body warm at the thought of having this man next to me for the unforeseeable future. He grins back, a warm light filling his eyes and making them sparkle. Involuntarily, my heart skips a beat and I know my fate is sealed...

I love him, now and forever.

-the end-