It’s so hard to say good bye… to Sookie and Eric in Dead Ever After, the last full novel of the series, and to our “Celebrating the SVM” quotes tournament. Of course we still have a few months to go till those last words are in our hot little hands. But our journey to crown the winner in our tournament has reached its conclusion.
What a journey it has been. We started out with 128 Eric and Sookie quotes/moments from the first 12 books. And after 52 days, 7 rounds, and 8,306 votes, we are ready to reveal the quote that has won the honor of being our champion.
Our final round pitted 2 quotes from Dead in the Family in a duel to the finish. Fittingly, both quotes were about the love Eric has for Sookie. It was a really tough choice. In fact, there were several requests asking if we could declare a tie! But there is room for only one at the top.
And, thanks to your votes, the winning quote is…
While you were with Neave and Lochlan, I suffered with you. I hurt with you. I bled with you… not only because we are bonded, but because of the love I have for you.
*throws confetti in celebration*
I swear, I am getting goosebumps every time I read that line. For if memory serves me right, this is the first time we see Eric use the word “love” in the novels.
Making it a very fitting winner to our Eric and Sookie Lovers tournament… quote wise that is 
When we first introduced you to our version of “Bracketville”, we raised the stakes by offering a prize; 2 copies of Deadlocked signed by the Maker herself, Charlaine Harris!
One copy to be awarded to one who filled out all of the brackets and was the most accurate in predicting which quotes will move on round by round.
For our second copy, names were entered into a drawing for those who correctly predicted which quote would win in their match ups. Meaning the more you were right, the more chances you had to win. We had close to 1000 entries 
Please join me in congratulating our winners!
Amy L. for having the BEST bracket in our field. And the winner of our drawing: jerseygirl72!
*throws more confetti across cyberspace*
Thank you all for making this tournament a success as we continue to “Celebrate the SVM”!
We will be “Raising the Dead” and “Cooking Southern Comfort” as May 7th inches ever closer.
