January 2004

January 22nd, 2004

Most Cherished Dreams by D
html version - for those of you on dial-up, beware this is a 2mb file!
A Pirate on a treasure hunt...for a lovely pair of green eyes.

Just Like Jesse James By Amanda Calkins [alt/über/complete]
When Jesse James hears a rumor that her old flame is in a near by town she finds the love she has been searching for for six years has changed very dramatically, but then again so has she, the question now is, will it work?

Blue Mountain Smokies by Koda Graystone
Taken down for re-vamping. The author says it will be back.

January 21st, 2004

Stories

Many Happy Returns by Annaria [classic/alt/complete]
A first time story about a special birthday gift the bard has in mind for the warrior, who hates surprises.

Playing with Fire by Annaria [classic/alt/complete]
A first time story about a (not so) naïve village girl that wants to learn everything a certain warrior knows.

Most Cherished Dreams by D
[this is available in .doc format only due to 'funky, pain-in-the-a** formatting'. <g>]
summary pending

Announcement

I'm very proud to announce the following from one of our bards, Ali Vali (her email is terrali20@yahoo.com if you want to write to congratulate her)-

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: publicity@liquidfilmworks.com

FanFiction Writer Collaborates on Screenplay for Lesbian Short Film(Park City, Utah) -
The Los Angeles based digital and film production company, Liquid Filmworks, in collaboration with New Orleans fan fiction writer Ali Vali, has completed the screenplay for a lesbian based short film, tentatively titled "Right to Know".
"Right To Know" is a quirky story of one woman's journey to open the doors of her heart and confront the choices from her past.
Gillery Poiencot returns home for her 20th year reunion, where a young woman seeking answers to her lineage approaches her. That discussion raises questions as to what a past love has neglected to reveal after eighteen years. To find peace within, Gillery must first make peace with her past, Bernadette Smith, but this reunion will uncover hidden secrets and fears In an intimate confrontation, Gillery and Bernadette face the circumstances that threaten to hold any chance at a renewed friendship, hostage.

"Right To Know" is a stylish story about forgiving one's self for past mistakes while embracing lost relationships and finding home again. Initial fundraising is scheduled to commence in early February.

Liquid Filmworks
www.liquidfilmworks.com

January 20th, 2004

Forbid the Flesh by TZ [classic/complete]
In this comedy set after "A Tale of Two Muses," Xena and Gabrielle find themselves in another town where another Greek goddess isn't depicted the way Gabrielle would prefer.

Inevitable Destiny 6 - I Think I'm in Trouble by Ken Rogers [alt/über]
A frightened Samantha calls for help from someone who's life she once saved and learns that she is in more trouble than she thought. Angel finds out that in spite of her anger, Samantha has managed to spring her from the bowels of hell, where her brother arranged to have her tormented before her death.

Crossroads of Destiny by Saul Trabal [complete/post-FiN]
A series of circumstances put Gabrielle in a position where she must face one of her most challenging, dangerous missions ever. It will push her to the brink of her abilities, and the fate of milllions hangs in the balance.

Added part 3 of Intuition by KM
Intuition is the next sequel after the stories Undeniable and Considerable Appeal.

January 19th, 2004

A Healing Time by Ri [alt/complete]
Poor Gabrielle hurt her back luckily the best healer in the world is her best friend.

Family Aboard by Ri [Über/alt/complete]
Waiting to pick up her best freind at the Airport after a year of seperation she get the shock of her life, will their freindship survive the surprise her best freind brought back with her?

Out of the Darkness into the Light by Ri [alt/complete]
Gabrielle searches Chin for her missing freind the last thing she expected was to find her as a slave with no memory of who she was or who Gabrielle was, will she recover?

Soul Searching at Twilight by Saul Trabal [complete]
Meg is on her deathbed. Her two children, Virgil and Maria, are at her bedside. They reflect back on the life they had together. Final Meg/Joxer fanfic by the author, once again dealing with Meg and Joxer as serious, three-dimensional characters.

January 18th, 2004

In From the Cold by Cephalgia [Über/alt/complete]
Saxon has had bad timing in her relationship with Daley. Can that change on a snowy Christmas Eve?

Added part 2 of The Day After by Insane Englishwoman

Added part 2 of The Youth of the Nation by Kialon

January 17th, 2004

Inevitable Destiny 5 - The Pain of Parting by Ken Rogers [Über/alt]
Angel watches a coldly distant Samantha leave then recalls why she left Samantha, until reality brutally interrupts her thoughts. Samantha calls for help.

A Switch of the Role (revised version) by Saul Trabal [complete]

January 16th, 2004

Is there a quote from a story on our site that is so romantic that it turns you to a bowl of jello? Is there one so hot you couldn't wait to be able to use it? Send us your favorite lines by January 26th so we can see if we agree :) Type us a note to academy_contact@yahoogroups.com with the subject 'romantic lines'

Stories

A Switch of the Role by Saul Trabal [complete]
Three warlords want to gain access to the last ambrosia on Earth. In order to do so, they need the help of a god or demigod.They bring the Sovereign-Hercules' evil twin-back to life to help them. Xena must stop the three warlords, and return the Sovereign to his own dimension.

Too Much by DS Bauden
Short Vignette

Added part 10 of Lois Kay's Heart's Choice

January 15th, 2004

The Way of Destiny by TZ
In the aftermath of the battle against the Greeks, Xena must deal with some changes brought about through Divine intervention. (#13 of The Way of Life Series)

A Meditation by Emily Duncan [short story/complete]
Some thoughts.

January 14th, 2004

Welcome to the Academy, Kialon

The Youth of the Nation [alt/original/unfinished]
Xena and Gabrielle meet a young girl on their way to the Amazon village. Soon it is visible to women that she does not belong in her small village and would make a valuable addition to the Amazons. On the way to the village they find her sisters' bloody horse, alone in the path.

Added part 30 of Hidden Desires by Vertigo

Announcements

-from Cavelier Press

Cavalier Press will be in the dealer's room at Creation's Official Xena Convention in Burbank. Authors Blayne Cooper, T Novan, KG MacGregor, Verda Foster, and Taylor Rickard will be available for autographs on Saturday and Sunday. A schedule will be released closer to the convention.
http://www.cavalierpress.com

January 13th, 2004

Added part 6 of Irresistible Flame by DJWP

January 12th, 2004

A Taste of Deja Vu by Saul Trabal [classic/complete]
Joxer, Autolycus and Meg confront a dangerous enemy from Meg's dark past. This story is the sequel to BRAVING THE INNER STORM, and focuses mostly on Meg's past life. As with INNER STORM, the focus is on making Meg and Joxer more complex, three-dimensional characters. This story is very dark and intense -and is not recommended for children.

New Year, New Beginnings by Lessa [original/alt/complete]
New Years isn't always about resolutions - sometimes it's about beginnings.

A Word to the Wise by Pat Winterburn [original/alt/complete]
Summary pending...

Inevitable Destiny 3 - Fickle Fate by Ken Rogers [Über/alt]
It's been a few years since Samantha and Angel met and parted. Samantha has gone on with her life with a vengeance, blocking Angel out completely, or has she. Angela's life had gotten completely out of her control.

Inevitable Destiny 4 - A Different Meeting by Ken Rogers [Über/alt]
Samantha tracks down her latest client against her will. Only the threat of losing her position with the firm made her accede to her bosses demands. In the course of trying to protect her client she discovers she is in trouble, maybe more than her client.

Added parts 5 & 6 (combined) of Wild by Kim Pritekel & Alexa Hoffman

January 11th, 2004

Announcements

-from the Academy
We are back to about 90 percent of our former strength. please bear with us while we complete getting all the files back in place.

-from Lynne Ames

"I am overjoyed to announce that The Price of Fame will be available in print very soon from StarCrossed Productions (that's www.StarCrossedProductions.com).
Now, before you go asking why you should bother shelling out money you could be spending on half a nice dinner somewhere when you can read the story right here, let me count the reasons why: First, there are 23 new scenes in the print version that you can't find anywhere else, including here. Second, a good book lasts a lot longer than a good half dinner. Third, buying the book will save eye strain (hey, I'm just looking out for your best interests here...sitting in front of your computer screen to read 300 pages is hell on your vision). Fourth, my dog likes to eat, and I confess that it's a nasty habit of mine every now and then, too. So, if you want to take the story out for a test spin here, be my guest; I hope you love it. And if you're like me and you just can't resist the feel of a good book in your hands, I hope you'll go out (or surf) and buy it. Thanks for your support, Lynn Ames.

-from PD Publishing
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS P.D. Publishing, Inc. Seeks Submissions

P.D. Publishing, Inc., a lesbian owned and operated publishing company, is currently seeking fictional novels for print publication.
Authors do not have to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (GLBT), but submissions should be of interest to the GLBT communities. At this time we are not accepting novels intended for children or young adults.

Submission length guidelines: 60,000 to 100,000 words.
Additional guidelines can be found at www.pdpublishing.com/submissions.html

Submissions should be sent to: submissions@pdpublishing.com

Questions? Contact Barb and Linda Coles-Daniel at publisher@pdpublishing.com

Welcome to the Academy, Annaria!

Out in the Open [classic/alt/complete]
Out in the open (XWP alt) is a first time vignette in which the bard struggles to voice her feelings for a certain beautiful warrior princess. Not very explicit.

The G-Scrolls [classic/alt/complete]
The G-scrolls (XWP alt) is a first time story about a certain bard that writes down her most intimate fantasies.

Giving Birth [classic/alt/complete]
Giving birth (XWP alt) is a story about the loving couple having a baby.

Getting Rid of Joxer [classic/alt/complete]
Getting rid of Joxer (XWP alt) is a first time story in which Gabrielle tries to get a message across to both her friends about her feelings towards them. Not very explicit.

Braving the Inner Storm by Saul Trabal [classic/complete]
This story takes place one month after Joxer's murder of Criton. Overwhelmed with guilt, Joxer is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Meg finds him unconscious near her brothel, and tries to nurse him back to health, physically and mentally. This story is meant to show Meg and Joxer in a more serious light and as three-dimensional characters-something that was lacking in the television series. It is a dark piece-not meant for children.

The Dreams and the Reality by Monkey[alt/finished]
A short PWP...

Added part 3 of The River's Edge by Denic

January 10th, 2004

Announcement from the munchkins:
Apologies for the missing files - everything is being worked on frantically and we hope to be back to normal soon! And now back to our usual schedule <g>!

Announcement from Oz:
The 2003 Winter Solstice Bard Challenge (#10 for those keeping track <.g.>) Do You See What I Hear is over... whew and what a contest it turned out to be.

After thinking that only a handful of people wanted to play...we had a bazillion (okay, maybe not quite that many) late...like right at the deadline...entries. I'm pretty sure I did actually hear Steph scream. And we only live 2000 miles apart. But it all worked out...just like it always does...thanks to all the hard work the Mighty Munchkins do.

Anywho...the premise, I thought was fairly simple, just work some song titles into the story. Okay, sooooo some of the song titles were gonna need a little more help getting in there than others AND there was that pesky roool about they couldn't be used as titles. There has to be a challenge in the Bard Challenge, doesn't there?

31 bards bravely took up the challenge and readers got some pretty diverse stories. Here is a perfect place to tell you again:

FEED THE BARDS...if you read'm, feed'm.

And so we now get to the part y'all want to hear...the winners or actually, in this case, the WINNER. The story voted as Best (top votegetter) is also the one that had the most song titles worked in

A Moment Like This by Nalysia

CONGRATULATIONS!

Since we have a double winner, we will also be giving prizes to the honorable mentions. Those are also listed below.

Category 1: Best Story A Moment Like This by Nalysia

Honorable Mention:
Noel, Noel by Dabkey
In The Eyes Of A Child by Trish Kocialski

Category 2: Most Songs
A Moment Like This by Nalysia

Honorable Mentions (with over 200 song titles each):
Do They Know Its Christmas by sHayCh
Noel, Noel by Dabkey

Now for the graphic contest...yes folks, we tried to be a little bit tricky but a few of you saw through us. The 18th song title was the background image...Pretty Paper.

Graphic Winner:
4 people submitted correct (all 18 titles) entries:
Winner by random draw is: wolfpup1103@aol.com

Now, I have one more thing to say before I wrap this up and ask all the winners and honorable mentions to contact me with their shipping info so I can get their prizes out to them this weekend.

For the first time I am using my BC creator prerogative (my one perk...it's not like I have a company car or anything <.g.>) and awarding Oz's Special Recognition (aka I Have Many Skills) Award: To Rab Donald for Ordered Chaos.

I don't usually single out a story for special recognition, but I just had to here. This story is the single best representation of MY intent of the premise. The holiday song titles are worked in absolutely seamlessly and, impressively, in list order as well in this quirky little story. Besides which, I think he turned the story in the same day the premise went out. Well done, Rabster. OZ salutes you!

So CONGRATULATIONS to Nalysia, Dabkey, Trish, sHayCh, wolfpup1103 and Rab. Please contact me with your shipping info and I'll get your prizes out to you.
Great Job Y'all.

Thank you Bards, Thank you Readers, and THANK YOU Munchkins.

January 9th, 2004

Welcome to the Academy, Insane Englishwoman!

The Day After [unfinished/original/alt]
Summary pending

Added part 2 of Opening Doors by J. S. Connolly
Tanner is a lawyer who years ago suffered the loss of her partner and child. Meg is her assistant and has secretly been in love with Tanner for years. Can she help Tanner open the door of her heart once more or is it too late.

Added chapter 9 of Lois Kay's Heart's Choice

Emily Duncan has posted a bunch of new stuff on her 'online workshop' but it's mostly poetry for those who are poetry fans. http://www.emilyduncan.com/ramblings/.

January 8th, 2004

The Academy of Bards would like to extend good wishes and congratulations to Vertigo and her new wife, Stacey. You can send them notes at teejames@netzero.net

Stories

Added part 15(conclusion) of Hammer and Nails by Lucid Dreamer

Reminder

Voting ends tomorrow night...which is also the deadline for turning in your guesses on the graphic challenge. 5 people (so far) have turned in correct entries, so we will be picking a winner by random draw.

The BEST STORY race is quite close...soooooooo, if you haven't voted yet...get your votes in.
And if you have voted, thank you.

Oh, one more reminder...please remember to feed the bards once their identities are revealed. This challenge produced 31 wonderful stories. Let them know you appreciated their efforts.

Bard Challenge #10-Do you see what I hear?

January 7th, 2004

Welcome to another new bard at the Academy!
An Elf for the New Year by BluDreamscape[alt/Über/finished]
Kay came home for the holidays looking for change. She couldn't have known the changes that would find her.

Added the conclusion of Tonya S. Coley's Murder Has Two Faces

January 6th, 2004

Added part 29 of Vertigo's Hidden Desires

Updated the Ultimate Über List by Eileen Marks

Announcement from Jules Kurre

Jules asked me to send a note to everyone that relayed her appreciation for all the kind notes she's gotten in recent days. While her site has indeed gone down, she said that the readership over the years has meant a lot to her. Jules is moving on to other projects but still can be reached at juleskurre@aol.com

January 5th, 2004

Welcome to Monkey, a new bard at the Academy!
The Watching River [alt/finished]
A short piece of fluff...

Clonefic Part 2 by Phantombard [alt/finished]
(124 pages, part 2 of 3). The TV show, Xena Warrior Princess provided a few glimpses of the Destroyer of Nations. She was portrayed as a creation of Alti, and was, perhaps, a more extreme version of the Dark Xena, who had existed since her betrayal by Caesar and the killing of M'lila. Like much else, the TV show misrepresented those accounts of the Destroyer of Nations that actually appeared in Gabrielle's scrolls. In fact, this "alter-ego" was a product of the increasing attentions of the God of War. He gifted Xena with a superior ability to harness her battle-mania, her katalepsis, to become an unrivaled killer. After becoming Ares' Favorite, Xena allowed this full-blown aspect of herself free rein on the battlefield, making her a terrifying celebrant of war. She complimented and outlived the "Evil" Xena, and then persisted, submersed by the will of the "Good" Xena, the Warrior Princess. Still, the Destroyer of Nations peeked out of Xena's soul, making brief appearances to exercise her wrath. Perhaps the truest test of who the clones were lay in whether or not Xena still hosted the Destroyer of Nations. Had Alti succeeded and recreated this aspect of the warrior? (Completed 12/20/2003).

Added part 7 of The Retreat by Phair

Added parts 3 & 4 (combined) of Wild by Kim Pritekel & Alexa Hoffman

Added part 14 of Hammer and Nails by Lucid

January 3rd, 2004

New eBooks
Baby new Year Missing ? Debbie Dee
Camp Reunion ? Kim Baldwin
A Gift From the North ? Debbie Dee
Rising Phonexa ? Paully Adams
The Way of Treachery ?TZ
The Way of Intrigue ? TZ
Desperately Seeking Clark ? Mavis Applewater
Saving For Tomorrow ? Mavis Applewater
I?ve Always Known ? Mavis Applewater
Just an Ordinary Day ? Mavis Applewater
First Solstice ? Linda Crist
You Looked At Me ? Amanda Calkins
Turning Tides ? AK Naten
The Way of the Regent ? TZ
The Way of the Family ? TZ
Comic Book Life ? Zee
The Meeting ? Hermes
Nine Minutes ? Lois C Hart
If Only in My Dreams ? Zuke
Devil?s Advocate ? Nene Adams
Kara?s Moon ? Gerri Hill

January 2nd, 2004

I'm pleased to announce that Gerri Hill has allowed us to re-post Kara's Moon at the Academy. She also informed me that Gulf Breeze is 'in the can' and is being published March 2004 by Bella Books.

Kara's Moon by Gerri Hill [alt/original/complete]
Ginny Harrison wasn't ready for marriage so she left Seattle and Phil behind to live with her grandmother in the Wenatchee mountains of Washington, hoping to figure out what was missing in her relationship with Phil. There, she meets up-and-coming artist Kara Morgan, who is renting a cabin for the summer.
An unlikely friendship develops between the two. Kara, a loner by nature, intends to spend the summer sketching and painting. Instead, she finds herself increasingly attracted to the younger woman. Ginny, too, is drawn to the quiet artist and finds her thoughts moving in an entirely different direction than friendship. She finally finds what's been missing in her life.

Here are four more from Mavis Applewater's Wednesday Afternoon Series

I've Always Known [the follow up to Who Knew?]
Reunited as adults Anya and Colleen are finally free to explore their feelings for one another.

Just An Ordinary Day
A woman recalls her first love and deal with the present.

Saving For Tomorrow
A bank employee finds romance in the most unlikely places.

Desperately Seeking Clark,
A halloween adventure turns interesting when a young woman discovers that Clark Kent is a woman.

January 1st, 2004

What's New - January 2003	What's New - February 2003	What's New - March 2003
What's New - April 2003	What's New - May 2003	What's New - June 2003
What's New - July 2003	What's New - August 2003	What's New - September 2003
What's New - October 2003	What's New - November 2003	What's New - December 2003

What's New - January 2002	What's New - February 2002	What's New - March 2002
What's New - April 2002	What's New - May 2002	What's New - June 2002
What's New - July 2002	What's New - August 2002	What's New - September 2002
What's New - October 2002	What's New - November 2002	What's New - December 2002

What's New - January 2001	What's New - February 2001	What's New - March 2001
What's New - April 2001	What's New - May 2001	What's New - June 2001
What's New - July 2001	What's New - August 2001	What's New - September 2001
What's New - October 2001	What's New - November 2001	What's New - December 2001

What's New - April 2000	What's New - May 2000	What's New - June 2000
What's New - July 2000	What's New - August 2000	What's New - September 2000
What's New - October 2000	What's New - November 2000	What's New - December 2000