"I imagined Azazel wearing a dress that was simple, but at the same time funky and elegant. I chose to make my dress red because red is the color of passion, which completely suits Azazel. The dress is tea-length because I just couldn't picture Azazel wearing a formal floor-length gown. This dress has some layers, along with some gathering along the asymmetrical seams, adding just a touch of funk to an otherwise formal dress." -Melinda's contest entry
Melinda is a twenty-two-year-old with a bachelor's degree in music performance. She majored in applied voice, but she also plays piano. "Really," she says, "I only majored in voice because I was too lazy to learn all of the difficult pieces required to be a piano major." Since graduating, she's biding her time slinging mochas at Starbucks and teaching piano lessons, but she hopes to return to school to get her master's in music theory.
When she's not concentrating on music or work, Melinda enjoys reading, singing, listening to music, watching movies, and hanging out with friends. "Sometimes," she says, "I make attempts at writing but so far I've been unsuccessful."
She also plays with Photoshop, which she claims she isn't usually so good at. (But we don't believe this supertalented gal, do we?) Melinda was actually working on this dress for fun before she even knew about the contest, using a drawing tablet for computers that one of her graphic designer friends let's her use. "Now," she says, "if the contest involved drawing a person, I would have been useless... I can't draw people to save my life."
Melinda's dress won by a landslide of twitter-votes. Certain readers were so taken with the dress that they twittered her name hour after hour. She definitely inspired loyalty amongst people she hasn't even met. A description of Melinda's dress will appear in Tortured, and the back cover of the book will feature its image.
Melinda claims she's not a terribly exciting person, but I beg to differ. And the dress is really lovely. I couldn't have imagined a better one for Azazel's prom. Thanks so much, Melinda. And thanks to all of you for voting for her dress!