19th December 2010
I've been MIA for a long time and I'm really, really sorry. Things got crazy for a while and I had no free time, but fortunately my situation has changed and I now have time to devote to this website again. :) So expect a new look and some new stories in the next few weeks...
13th June 2010
I’ve had a crazy couple of weeks – among other things, I did some work experience with a publishing company, which was hugely exciting. I was mostly in Sales – I spent my time creating spreadsheets and writing press releases for new books – but I also had a look at Editorial and Production. I really feel like I’ve gained a deeper insight into how the publishing industry works; how a book goes from conception to design to publication. (I also learned that this site looks rubbish in Firefox! Oh, well...)
More stories are on their way, so look out for them very soon. :)
19th May 2010
So apparently I meant the phrase ‘this weekend’ loosely; it is now Wednesday and I’ve only just added the three new stories. Better late than never, eh? You know the deal: I’ll only reveal the names to those of you on the mailing list, but for you determined souls, I will tell you that the stories are in Angels & Demons, Ghosts and Werewolves. Enjoy.
We also have a shiny new affiliate called Chalk, run by Lynn from Infamy. Show her beautiful site some love. :)
P.S. I went into my local bookshop today and discovered Rachel Caine – author of The Morganville Vampires, which is an excellent young adult series I highly recommend – is going to be in England doing book signings. Not only that, she will be in that very bookstore. Squee! I’m so there!!
14th May 2010
Raise your hand if you’ve watched the season finales of Supernatural and/or The Vampire Diaries. Raise your hand again if the former had you in floods of tears for half an hour and made you scream loudly enough at a certain part (Amsay in the ortalpay) to make your mother think you were either being attacked or had just seen a really huge spider. It is a cruel and unusual punishment that I have to wait four months to find out what happens next in both.
Getting on topic, I’ve been somewhat AWOL recently as real life has kind of taken control, but I promise to finally add a bunch of new stories this weekend. It is also the site’s first anniversary this month, so keep your eyes peeled for some exciting new content to celebrate it.
P.S. How much did I love Damon in the season finale of The Vampire Diaries? He was actually – gasp! – nice.
4th April 2010
Happy Easter! Please don’t forget what the true meaning of this day is all about...eating too much chocolate. ;) I’ve been busy adding new books to the list, mainly young adult ones like Alyson Noel’s Immortals series and Kelley Armstrong’s Darkest Powers (only two days until the last book in the trilogy is published! Squee!). I’ll be adding new online stories later today, if I don’t get sidetracked by all the Easter eggs awaiting me.
Also, we have two lovely new affiliates: Fire Me Up and the FPSSA. Show them some luuurve. <3
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.