12th March 2010
I’ve had a few computer- and guy-related issues recently (the latter involving a bloke who likes me but I don’t like him – why can’t guys just take a damn hint?), hence the lack of new stories. We’re slowly working through the list of suggested stories, and – fingers crossed – there will be some shiny new ones on here in a few days. :)
3rd March 2010
It occurred to me earlier how many stories there are on here that really belong in several categories – ones that contain both vampires and werewolves, for example, or magic and ghosts. I’m wondering if perhaps it would make sense to add an extra category to support this. They would still exist in their current categories, but also be added to the extra one. Or perhaps I should just put stories like this in all their relevant categories. Whatcha think?
Also, when recommending a story, please remember to say the category it belongs in. It makes my job so much easier. Cheers, m’dears.
26th February 2010
Call me picky if you will (it wouldn’t be the first time), but is it just me, or are there a lot of truly appalling stories on FictionPress? There are some absolute gems, of course, as proved by the ones on here, but most FP stories are a bit rubbish, really. I’m still working through people’s recommendations, but I decided to take a look at the newly updated stories on FP just for the hell of it. It took me approximately twelve seconds for me to begin regretting this decision.
Maybe I am being too picky, because I’m immediately dismissing any stories with misspelled or grammatically incorrect titles, ’Please R&R!’ in the summary, lame titles (to use an actual example: ‘Another Vampier [sic] romance? Maybe maybe not’), and overly cliché summary plots (to paraphrase about fifty of the stories: ‘Like, oh my gawd, vampires are real and I’m totally falling for this really hot one, but I think I kinda like a hot werewolf dude too!’). Others sound deceptively promising...until I get as far as reading the first sentence of the first chapter and realise they were penned by two-year-olds. Sigh.
I guess the point of this rant is that if you do happen to find one of the good stories, please please please suggest it to us!
12th February 2010
We have three super duper new affiliates: Infamy, A Drop of Romeo and the prestigious SKoW Awards. Go show them some love.
P.S. Does anyone watch The Vampire Diaries as obsessively as I do? Is it completely sacrilegious to say I like the TV show more than the books...? (L.J. Smith is one of my favourite authors, and has been since I was fourteen, but TVD is her least amazing series.) Also, I love Elena/Stefan as a couple and I wouldn’t want them to break up, but I’m so Team Damon.
6th February 2010
I’ve been busy processing people’s recommendations (thanks, by the way) and trawling through FictionPress to find more fabulous stories for you to read. I have to say I’ve found some absolute gems – but if you want to know exactly what they are, you’ll have to subscribe to the mailing list. If you’re going to do it the hard way, though, I suggest you start with werewolves.
We also have a new affiliate, the lovely YA Fiction Awards. I strongly recommend you check out their amazing and beautiful site.
Finally, I’ve done a bit of rearranging and revamped the About page. It now has separate sections, including an FAQ – if you have any questions about the site, I can add them to this (or if you just have suggestions for the FAQ). The Affiliates section has also been moved here from its previous place on the Links page.
30th January 2010
Some of you have pointed out that the three-star rating system would be rather mean, so I’ve scrapped the idea. I’m still thinking of doing something similar, though – maybe where you can vote for the ones you like most yourself? You know how Amazon allows you to rate books and leave reviews? Something like that, maybe, if I can figure out how on earth to do it.