May 31st, 2005

Added part 2 of When We Met by BSoiree

Added part 15 of In an Age Before by PhantomBard

Added part 9 of Fourth and Goal by Strong Souljah

Announcement:
Alrighty then...the BC#13 is officially over.  Apparently this was our toughest assignment yet.  BUT...Six chefs persevered and submitted their gourmet entrees...I mean...entries for your eating...ummm...reading  enjoyment.  

Same roools as always apply to voting.  Pick what you think was the tastiest story.  Vote only once.   Voting ends on June 15th.   There will be two winners...one for the most food references used and one for the people's choice best story.  Both winners will get a really nice prize packet including a gift certificate for some tasty treats.  Bon Appetit.
http://www.academyofbards.org/contest/2005/cooking

OZ

May 30th, 2005

Announcement from Barbara DaviesThe site known as The Writings of Barbara Davies is no more. (Indeed Midgit's site, which it was part of, is finally no more.) Any webmistresses who see this announcement please change your broken links to this page instead? http://www.academyofbards.org/authors/barbara_davies.html Ta muchly. Welcome to a new bard at the Academy - Moon Dancer!
My First Time by Moon Dancer [original/alt/complete]
Amid the chaos and din of noise in my head, my silent smile greeted most everyone, husband, family, friends. I knew, oh my god, I knew who I was. The more I accepted that part of myself, the louder the din in my head grew. Meeting this woman, this beautiful strong woman, I finally met the answer to every question, every thought, every fantasy I had ever had. In a few short months, most of them spent in chat, she and I had gone from friend, to crush, to lovers.
Now I Know Why...my first time, deals with the indecision, the denial, and the ultimate truth so many women stay closeted with in their daily lives. This short story is part of a collection I am writing, both fiction and non-fiction, hoping to someday have published. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my work. This opportunity has reopened dreams in my heart I had thought so long gone.Assembly of Souls by JM Dragon [alt/complete]

May 29th, 2005

Added Part 2 of Iditarod by D. Jordan Redhawk [original/alt/unfinished]

May 28th, 2005

Traveller's Tales by Evecho [original/alt/complete/short story] Added part 3 of Twilight by Kim PritekelAdded part 14 of Coward by Phair

May 27th, 2005

Added part 2 of Twilight by Kim Pritekel

May 26, 2005

Part 14 of In An Age Before by Phantom Bard.
part 14 of my continuing story, "In An Age Before", in which Helluin and Beinvir arrive to a hostile greeting in Lorinand, where a new king and some old friends are suffering as the butts of an old joke of Helluin's that has backfired. (Complete with shocking revelations, LOL). Part 2 of Black Cherry's Pushing Ink.
Pushing Ink is the 5th story in the Skin Deep Series.Part 8 of A. K. Naten's Second Son.Part 4 of Cruise's Double Play.Part 3 of Sandra Barret's Damek Keep.Part 22 of Harley's Dance with the Devil.

May 24, 2005

Third Time's the Charm by B.Soiree [original/alt/unfinished]
Sequel to "The One." Sometimes finding The One is only the beginning of a dangerous journey. Especially when the Fates take two intangible superstitions and weave them into their garment, leaving Time and Death to toy with the strings.Twilight by Kim Pritekel [original/unfinished/alt]
Summary Pending Added part 7 of Blood and Honor by Windstar and Zee Updated the Ultimate Über List by Eileen Marks

May 23rd, 2005

Iditarod by D. Jordan Redhawk [original/alt/unfinished]A revised version of Grey Steel by Evecho [alt/complete/short story]

May 20th, 2005

Added part 3 of Daonnan by Tara CullenAdded part 21 of When you Dance with the Devil by Harley

May 19th, 2005

Added part 2 of Hindsight by Lois Kay AnnouncementHello all, I hope you are getting excited about the GCLS Literary Convention. We're working on the final plans for the activities as we come into the home stretch. If you haven't already done so, please remember to make your hotel reservations by Monday, May 23 to take advantage of the GCLS group rate of $95.00/night. These rates will return to the normal hotel rack rates on Tuesday, May 24 - So don't delay; Make your reservations this week.Reservation Phone No: 1-888-364-1200
Ask for the group block: Golden Crown Literary SocietyThe final touches have been put on the Track II Sessions (Reader's Track). We have lots of interesting topics of discussion planned. To see the updated schedule visit the following web address http://www.gclscon.com/Schedule.htmOur list of attending authors is growing every day. To date we have 35 authors from around the world registered to attend. If you haven't already done so - REGISTER TODAY!
www.gclscon.comYou don't want to miss this exciting and eventful weekend in New Orleans. Kathy Smith,
Co-Director GCLS Literary Convention

May 18th, 2005

Welcome to the Academy, Aurelia!Gladiator by Aurelia [finished/classic/alt]
An alternate timeline Xena, which changes direction from "Destiny". Caesar has sent Xena to Rome for punishment instead of crucifying her. Birthday Gifts by D. Jordan Redhawk [alt/original/complete]
Part 6 of the Slow Movin' seriesThe Devil in the Dark by Crystal Michallet-Romero [alt/original/complete]
A horror story which shows that not all nightmares are reserved for the mind. Sometimes they exist in quiet, sleepy suburban towns.Added part 3 of Phair's From the Manor Taken

May 17th, 2005

AnnouncementThank you to all the people who bought Telltale Kisses from me in Seattle. I took a load of books up there and came home with only four. Not bad for not having anything official set-up. By the way, it was pointed out to me that StarCrossed has on their front page the top ten selling books and Telltale Kisses made the cut! We're currently number eight! This is a neat thing, especially with all the profits going to the kids. I'd like to give a special shout-out to the person who gave me a nice sized donation too. You know who you are, thank you! I also appreciated all the kind words about the Academy. Thank you again. - steph StoriesRock Hard! by Rain [alt/über/complete]
Kiera Aigner's third and final rock climbing course is about to begin and Theran Ryan has been preparing for and anticipating it eagerly. Five days to complete a climb, no ropes and no room for error... Will she have the courage? Bleedin' Hearts by D. Jordan Redhawk [original/alt/complete]
Part four in the Slow Movin' series Grey Steel by Evecho [alt/complete/short story]
Continuation of Grey Ice. Added part 20 of When you Dance with the Devil by Harley

May 15th, 2005

Posted a revised version of Chapter 1 of Damek Keep by Sandra Barret

May 14th, 2005

Just a Love Story by D_Exphagus [alt/original/complete]
Valentine's Day in the life of Ashley and Sidney and the title pretty much explains it all. Need I say more? Added Part 19 of When You Dance With the Devil by Harley.Added part 13 of In An Age Before by PhantomBard

May 13th, 2005

Remembrances by KG MacGregor [alt/original/complete]
In the 2005 Valentine's Day story, Leo Simms overcame her Expectations to fall in love with Claudia Galloway.  Though circumstances force them apart, their love refuses to die.  But will either dare to reveal her heart? Damek Keep by Sandra Barret [fantasy/original/alt/unfinished]
Taryn, magical Healer-Adept at Damek Keep, fights against mutated creatures that are attacking the local villagers. After the arrival of a half-breed slave woman, Taryn has to balance her attraction to the stranger with her distrust of the woman's immense telepathic powers, powers capable of creating the creatures Taryn has been hunting. When a traitor betrays Taryn's family to an outside invader, the two women must learn to trust each other to escape the fall of Damek Keep.ReviewsThe Mysterious Reviewer has started off strong with two new reviews of a couple of great stories - Finding Honor by Windstar and Passion's Fool by Kim Pritekel. Read them at http://www.academyofbards.org/reviews/

May 12th, 2005

Hindsight by Lois Kay [über/alt/unfinished]
Hannah Jensen's life was calm and uneventful, something she treasured after years of struggling, until that one, unfortunate event, that changed everything.... Added part 2 of Daonnan by Tara Cullen Note from OZ:
We have a had a few folks ask for an extension on the Bard Challenge <http://www.academyofbards.org/contest/2005/cooking/> deadline, since I made the big boo-boo of forgetting about Seattle.  Teach me to check event calendars before randomly picking dates.  So how about we extend the deadline an extra week?  Those who turn in their stories by the original deadline (5/13) will get a couple of points bonus (to go with the X/G and Amazon bonuses available--OZ's prerogative y'know <.g.>) but let's set the new deadline is 5/20.  Good luck y'all and happy writing.

May 11th, 2005

AnnouncementAnnouncing Blue Feather Books!Blue Feather Books, Ltd. is pleased and excited to announce that they are now open for business. Blue Feather is a 100% woman-owned publishing house that focuses on books written by women, for women. That doesn't mean that we won't publish high quality books that are of general interest (children's books, for example), just that most of our titles are woman-centered. We've got stories of lesbian romance and adventure; non-fiction speculative "herstory" books; quirky, off-beat books and everything in between!Many of our current titles may look familiar to you, and there's a good reason for that. Blue Feather Books acquired its current catalog by purchasing the assets (including catalog of books in print) of Limitless D2D Publishing. With that purchase, we also acquired the rights to the D2D logo. So, for the first few months that we're in business, you'll see that logo on our book covers and title pages. We'll change those over the course of this business year, and of course new titles will be released with the Blue Feather logo.Please look at our website, www.bluefeatherbooks.com, to find out more about who and what we are, and what books we offer. You can also subscribe to our announcements-only Yahoo! group, Bluefeatherbooks, and get all the latest information about upcoming releases and special events delivered right to your mailbox.If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please contact us at info@bluefeatherbooks.com or emilyreed@bluefeatherbooks.com .We hope to hear from you soon!Emily Reed
Caitlin d'Aguiar
Blue Feather BooksAnnouncement 2
Bold Strokes Books is pleased to announce that Ali Vali has joined our list of authors. Ali is the author of "Unveiled", published in Infinite Pleasures, Stacia Seamen & Nann Dunne eds. 2004 and "Throwing Heat", in Telltale Kiss 2005. Her original short story, "Calumet", will be adapted for the screen by T.M. Scorzafava and Ali Vali under the title "Gillery's Little Secret", produced by T.M. Scorzafava and Liquid Filmworks, Studio City California.   2006 will feature three new works from Ali Vali: The Devil Inside: Book One of the Cain Family Saga, winter, 2006; Carly's Sound, a romance, summer, 2006; and The Devil Unleashed: Book Two of the Cain Family Saga, fall 2006. Watch the Bold Strokes Books website for more news about these and other exciting new works upcoming in 2006.

May 10th, 2005

Finding Honor by Windstar
revised versionGrey Ice by Evecho [alt/pwp]

May 9th, 2005

Added Part 18 of When You Dance With the Devil by Harley.

May 8th, 2005

Still Life by Devize [original/alt/complete]
There are nights that change your life. This one includes piracy, captivity, private investigation and a very vivid imagination. Amy's Eyes by JM Dragon [alt/complete]
The Radicals by JM Dragon [alt/complete]

May 7th, 2005

Announcement I'm looking for some Sacramento-area fanfic writers for a possible arts & culture feature in the Sacramento News & Review. Can you get the word out for me, and ask locals (greater Sac area) to contact me if they're interested in being interviewed? I've included a link below to my SN&R archives so that writers can check me out if they'd like to before agreeing to an interview. I've done quite a bit of arts writing, and recently did a very good interview with lesbian pulp-fiction icon Ann Bannon. I'd appreciate the help. I also appreciate the work you do to maintain the quality of the site, which has been a favorite of mine for some time. Thanks so much. Best, Kel Munger
Editorial Assistant
Sacramento News & Review
916-498-1234 x1358
kelm@newsreview.com
www.newsreview.com/issues/sacto/authors/kelmunger.asp

Rock Me by Rain [alt/complete but 1st part of a trilogy]
Kiera Aigner is a world renowned rock climber and Theran Ryan has come to learn from her. Will the mixture of darkness and light work? Reunion by Kim Pritekel [alt/complete]
Message in a Bottle by sHaYcH [original/alt/complete]
Lyran Allar is a low casted Wilder seafarer in the Kithranai Empire. Lost at sea during a terrible storm, she now ekes out a living on a tiny set of islands surrounded by coral reefs. Her life is simple, yet lonely. Into this life comes Tyshanara, a Solinori woman with a terrible past. This is their story.

May 6th, 2005

Welcome to the Academy, Jackson Leigh! Bareback by Jackson Leigh [alt/complete]
A devastating accident that claimed the life of her Olympic-bound mount lands a recovering Jessica Black and her new stallion at Cherokee Falls Equestrian Center where her godmother, Kate Parker, pairs her up with a womanizing, blacklisted trainer, Skyler Reese. The sparks that fly at first between Skyler and Jessica are anything but friendly, but the heat between them changes to passion as Skyler helps Jessica prepare for the upcoming Olympic Eventing trials. Rock On by Rain [alt/complete but 2nd part of a trilogy]
Theran Ryan is about to attend Kiera Aigner's second rock climbing course, done on location, in realtime; ten days of intensity and death defying heights...

May 5th, 2005

A Beautiful Addition to the Neighborhood by Littlespit
This is the third installment in the "Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" Series.   In the third encounter with Darleen, Teri, and now three year old Lucy, old wounds are re-opened and healing finally begins as a new addition brings family and extended family together in a most unusual way.
When We Met by bsoiree [alt/über/unfinished]
Sometimes when a day starts out poorly, the results can be surprising.

May 4th, 2005

Welcome to the Academy of Bards, Tara Cullen. This sounds like a good one! Daonnan(Forever) by T. Cullen. [über/alt/unfinished]
They say good things come to those who wait, and Evan does a lot of waiting. She once held everything she wanted in her hands, only to watch them taken away before her very eyes. This is the story of Evan and her refusal to accept that her time for happiness has passed. It is about wanting and willing to wait out the return of you anam cara, or soulmate, regardless of the distance and time that separates you. Entwined with modern beliefs and legends of Ireland, join Evan on her quest for her anam cara, even if it takes her forever.Added part 13 of Coward by Phair AnnouncementAll of us involved with planning the convention have been working on different areas of interest. As the convention draws ever nearer and we continue to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, it seemed to us something was missing in the program track, and then we got some valuable feedback from readers that gave us all sort of a head-slapping "I cannot believe we did this" reaction. Although some absolutely wonderful panels are being offered for authors, editors, reviewers, and aspiring writers, we really have nothing for people who do not write or do not plan to write someday. The vast majority of our GCLS membership is made up of readers and supporters, and I offer my sincere apologies for not having noticed this oversight sooner. It was never intended that this be only writer's conference. Rather it is intended to be a convention where ALL supporters of lesbian literature can come together to have a good time and further the genre.

As such, it is with great pleasure that I announce we are adding a 2nd program track for readers and avid supporters. The track is being put together by Carrie Carr and Lori Lake with help from some of the membership. We will feature round tables and panels on topics of interest for readers and fans of lesbian literature. By the end of the first week in May, we plan to have a complete listing at the GCLS Convention website. If you have specific ideas to put forth or if you want to volunteer to help with a panel, presentation, or round table, please write Lori at LoriLLake@comcast.net

Perhaps it is not too late for some of you to make plans to join us in New Orleans that last weekend in June. We hope to see you there!

Cathy LeNoir
C-Director, GCLS Literary Convention

May 3rd, 2005

Added part 5 of Persian Encounter by WiseRooster and Xanjaa Added part 12 of In An Age Before by PhantomBard

Winner Announcement

We have a wiener...ummm...winner in the Bard Challenge Now You're Cookin' Food PUNzle Contest.

http://www.academyofbards.org/contest/2005/cooking/foodpuns.html

There was a possible 51 points and I did accept alternate answers to some and gave partial credit on some.    

Our winner
(and boy, did she whip up on the competition) is:  
Friend/Jo   (friend_2u_@hotmail.com)

Now for the answer key: Top to Bottom/Left to Right

1. Brownies or Kisses
2. Punch
3. RED beans and rice  
4. Broccoli (Albert or "Cubby" of 007 fame)
5. Cocoa (Coco Chanel)
6. Ale
7. Lager
8. Mustard or Mutton Chops (Col. Mustard of Clue)
9. Banana Split
10. Hushpuppy
11. Strawberry Shake
12. Orange Juice (OJ Simpson) or Buffalo Wing
13. Chili
14. Plum (Prof. Plum of Clue)
15. Toast
16. Bread
17. Lambchop
18. Meatloaf
19. Noodles (Nude Ls)
20. Hotdog
21. CLUB Sandwich
22. Swiss steak
23. Cauliflower
24. Beef Stew or Red Bull or Spam
25. Strawberry Shortcake
26. 3 Musketeers
27. Submarine Sandwich
28. Peking Duck
29. Popcorn
30. Red-eye Gravy
31. Poundcake
32. Black-eyed Peas
33. Spaghetti Squash or Won Ton Noodles (one ton noodles)
34. APPLE pie
35. LIME Jell-O
36. Cookies
37. Bundt Cake or Cake Batter
38. Twinkies (Twin Keys)
39. Chili Pepper
40. Fish (Abe Vigoda)
41. Tater Tots
42. Chuck Roast (Chuck Norris)
43. Snow Peas or Frozen Peas
44. Hamburger (HAMilton Burger of Perry Mason)
45. Doughnut or Collared Greens
46. Pepper (Pepper Anderson/Police Woman)
47. Rose Wine (ROSEanne Whine)
Background:
48. Dough
49. Cabbage
50. Clams
51. Lettuce

I hope everyone had fun playing.  I'm sure we can rustle up another PUNzle in conjunction with the annual Solstice Challenge later this year.  We still have some EVIL left in us. <.bg.>

OZ

May 2nd, 2005

The Stranger by J Rosestar [original/alt/complete]
PWP - A woman goes home with a seductive stranger for a night of new experiences.

May 1st, 2005

Top Down by Evecho
Two women meet for a long overdue hot encounter, but jealousy and pride hold them back from more.