November 29th, 2005

Added part 4 of Alphabet Soup by Alexiares

Added part 40 of In an Age Before by Phantombard

November 28th, 2005

Announcement from Irish Bard

I am Overjoyed to announce that Readers Retreat has contracted the entire Amazon Tale serial story for Ebook publication.

This would not have happened without this wonderful Academy of Bards! (and Cavalier Press for recommending it!)

http://www.thereadersretreat.com/html/romance1.html Amazon Tale is listed at the bottom

and my *&^%* photo..(.did 45 minutes of cardio yesterday !! ) Note - I'm keeping the Irish Bard Handle~~a permanent salute to the Academy!

http://www.thereadersretreat.com/html/leya__irish_bard.html

The Nipple Factory by JLNicky and HunnyBakedHam [Original/Alt/Complete]
Major Sheila Patton has her life in control as the head honcho of her military warehouse. Control begins to slip through her fingers when a pallet of goods from Babies 1st Nipple mistakenly gets dropped at her door. Anger, embarrassment and a shy blush is just the beginning. Her heart skips a beat when she meets with a red headed spitfire and owner of the Nipple Factory, Bobbi Dellicroix.

Aunt Charlotte by Robin Alexander [Original/Alt/Complete]
Ever doubt your own sanity? Tracy Hoyt never did, until she visited the quaint town of Altoona. A strange conversation leads Tracy to the love of her life, and to other things that are not so sweet.

Added part 10 (conclusion) of Mickey's Organi

November 27th, 2005

Welcome to the Academy, Cheyne

Renegade by Cheyne [Über/alt/unfinished]
Trace Sheridan is a dirty cop in trouble with time running out. How can a dead woman walking get her life back?

November 26th, 2005

Added part 9 of Mickey's Organi

November 24th, 2005

Added part 6 of Lissa's The Journey of Love and Life

Added part 2 of Lissa's The Return of Unity

Added part 3 of M.E.Tudor's Outfitter

Reposted Full Circle [complete] by Michael Dobler to correct editing errors.

November 23rd, 2005

Contest Announcement

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse...
yadda yadda yadda...
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.

Sugarplums?

SUGARPLUMS?

What in tarnation are sugarplums?

I WANT CANDY!


The Royal Academy of Bards
is proud to present
Bard Challenge #14: The 2005 Winter Solstice Challenge

I WANT CANDY!!!!

The Challenge is to take a minimum of 20 names of popular candy products and insert them in your story. The CATCH: you cannot refer to them as candy.

There are two categories of competition.

Category 1: Best story (voted upon by the public)
Category 2: Most overall candy names crammed into your story (highest count/verified by the Academy Roools Committee)

You will find the complete ROOOLS on the contest page here:
Please read them carefully. There are provisions if you only want to participate but not compete. We aim to please. WOW! And
I even give you bonus hints to help you combine stories and chocolate. Sh'yeah right, like y'all NEEDED those hints. LOL

Entries go to: academy_contest@yahoogroups.com?subject=BC#14 Entry
Deadline is December 17th (midnight, Steph's timezone or any
timezone you like <.g.>). I will acknowledge receipt of said entry within 24 hours. If I do not, please send it again...it's a good chance it's flying around cyberspace after taking a wrong turn at Pluto. All that sugar will do that to an entry. ;o)

Nifty prizes available to winners and runners up.

Good Luck All.

OZ

November 21st, 2005

IFMHISF Book 15 Osmosis by SX Meagher [Original/Alt/Complete] (Single File)

November 19th, 2005

But We Are Cheerleaders! by Irish Bard [Original/Alt/Complete]
This is a short story based on a recent news story about two cheerleaders in a bathroom. These are my imaginary cheerleaders only,.....

The Bounty by Michael Dobler [Classic/General/Complete - Action/Adventure]
Gabrielle said yes! Before they can make plans, however, they first must deal with the price on Gabrielle's head, complements of the enigmatic warlord, Gurkhan. Second Story in the "Gabrielle: The Ancient Scrolls" series (GTAS#2)

Added part 9 and the epilogue Full Circle by Michael Dobler

November 18th, 2005

The Return of Unity by Lissa [unfinished/post-FiN/alt]
Set after Friend in Need 2 Gabrielle is falling apart without Xena so Eli and Abba(aka the God of Love) return Xena to the land of the living after having her soul released by the Japa Gods, and that is only the beginning of a tale of love, intrigue and the little gifts love can bring our two heroes.

Announcement
- from Mark Prebble
(Mark told us that he had more hits listing his site then through the Academy than any other publicity form he received whether TV, Radio, print or internet. Way to go guys! He appreciates our support and his plan worked, the film is finished and now available.- steph)

Sometimes love is a four letter word.

Futile Attraction is an anti-romantic comedy about a film crew making a Reality TV Show about a couple brought together by a dating agency. Unfortunately, the couple are so incompatible that the film crew has to manipulate the relationship to get the footage they need for their show.

Director Mark Prebble largely funded Futile Attraction through international donations to his website www.makemarksmovie.com. Strangers from around the world made online contributions and got their names in the credits. These ranged from "thanks to" to "Executive Producer" depending on the contribution, which ranged from 70c to £1,000. It is believed to be the first film completed using this method.

Familiar faces in Futile Attraction include Alistair Browning (Lord of the Rings, Vertical Limit, Xena, Rain) and Michelle Ang (Akemi in the final 2 episodes of Xena, Neighbours, The Tribe). Some of New Zealand's hottest comedians perform hilarious cameos, including Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Chonchords, Humourbeasts, Tongan Ninja), Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Chonchords, The Black Seeds) and Taika Cohen/Waititi (Oscar nominated director of Two Cars, One Night and Tama Tu).

The rest of the cast is filled with New Zealand's hottest up and coming actors - Peter Rutherford, Danielle Mason, Glenda Tuaine, Lee Donoghue, Desiree Rose Cheer, Paul McLaughlin, Jeremy Randerson, Bevin Linkhorn, Richard Chapman, Lauren Jackson, Dra McKay, Christopher Brougham and Adam Gardiner.

Packed with special features, the dvds of Futile Attraction are available exclusively at http://www.makemarksmovie.com/purchase.htm for US $24.95 + postage. They are posted from New Zealand with the option of official King Kong stamps and packaging. Watch the trailer at www.makemarksmovie.com.

November 17th, 2005

Full Circle by Michael Dobler [Classic/General/Complete - Action/Adventure]
One year after the death of Xena in Japa, the spirit of the Warrior Princess sends the young bard on a quest to recover a powerful artifact. The journey takes Gabrielle two thousand years into the future, and pits her against an old enemy, hungry for revenge.
First in a new, post FIN series entitled Gabrielle: The Ancient Scrolls.

Added part 39 of Phantombard's In an Age Before

Added part 4 of Evecho's Feel Like a Woman

November 16th, 2005

Hell for Pastime IV: Hidden Depths by Nene Adams (commissioned by Rohan)[original/alt/complete]
Winter in New England gets even colder when Rohan Tarnach swears she sees a submarine as she almost drowns in a frigid lake. Her partner Trudie as well as Anne Bonney and Amelia Emerson are caught up in subterfuge, intrigue, assassins and the weather as they try to puzzle out what Rohan really saw under the ice.

Added summary for Triangles by Dreams2fly [alt/original/unfinished]
Lee is a self-made man – literally. Dubbed “The New Mr. Rogers” for his work on public access children’s shows in the city that birthed the original especially for the new one he produces and appears on, he’s at the very beginning of a promising career. He’s even in the early stages of producing a feature film based on his popular TV show, a step that could open all kinds of doors for him.
However, someone out there has taken an exception to his success and begun threatening to reveal the secret that is his identity to the world. And, in this day and age in conservative America, there are definitely public opinions about some things that are very hard to overcome – especially when children are involved.

Announcement
-from debra

I know you've all been waiting and wondering if there's going to be an Addicts' calendar again.

Of course there is; we wouldn't let you down.

The 2006 Canadian Lesbian Fiction Addicts calendar is now available for purchase from our Cafe Press shop.

This year's calendar features Anne Azel, Kim Baldwin, Jane Fletcher, Roselle Graskey, Alex Mykals, Radclyffe (returning as our Ms "Pride Month" June), Lynn Ames, Jessica Casavant, Linda Crist, Trish Shields, Deb Barry and Lori Lake. Each is beautiful colour photo specially selected by the author and includes a "Did you know ..." , a fun-facts tagline that reveals something about the author never-before-disclosed.

Stephanie Solomon-Lopez did her magic with the layout and it's a beauty.

All proceeds from this year's calendar will be going to the University of Western Ontario Pride Library. You can learn more about the Library and the newly-established CLFA Collection, at www.uwo.ca/pridelib <http://www.uwo.ca/pridelib> . Click on Donor Collections and then follow the link.

(So far, due to the move, the summer break and the Library being taken under the wing of the DB Weldon library and so needing all the books to be bar-coded for circulation, the Pride Library has only been able to catalogue about 10% of the almost 150 books sitting on the 'to be listed' shelves. BSB, PD Publishing and Cavalier Press, authors such as Anne Azel, Lois Cloarec Hart, KG MacGregor, Radclyffe as well as individual Addicts have made donations to the Collection. This is a marvellous way to preserve our stories)

This calendar is even better ~ full colour pictures! ~ than last year's and is available now in time for Christmas.

See the 2006 CLFA Calendar at http://www.cafepress.com/cdnlesficaddict

November 15th, 2005

Triangles by Dreams2fly [alt/original/unfinished]
Lee is a self-made man – literally. Dubbed “The New Mr. Rogers” for his work on public access children’s shows in the city that birthed the original especially for the new one he produces and appears on, he’s at the very beginning of a promising career. He’s even in the early stages of producing a feature film based on his popular TV show, a step that could open all kinds of doors for him.

However, someone out there has taken an exception to his success and begun threatening to reveal the secret that is his identity to the world. And, in this day and age in conservative America, there are definitely public opinions about some things that are very hard to overcome – especially when children are involved.

Added part 5 of Lissa's A Journey of Love & Life

November 14th, 2005

Announcement
-from Nene Adams

Once again, we need your help. We've been caught considerably short this month - the economy is slowly healing but unfortunately we aren't there yet - and with the rent due and the electric company threatening to cut us off, I'm coming forward and asking for any assistance that you can give to keep us afloat. Anything you can give is appreciated from the bottom of my heart!

If you were thinking of commissioning a story, or would like to buy some of Corrie's artwork as a gift or for yourself, please contact me at cfkuipers@home.nl or wynna1@yahoo.com

Donations can be made through PayPal (www.paypal.com) for wynna1@yahoo.com

Please accept my heart-felt gratitude to everyone who continues to support us.

Nene

Added part 8 of Gravity by Lucid Dream

November 13th, 2005

Announcements
-from Aurelia

I'd like to thank all those concerned for their interest in the position of Beta Reader. The position has now been filled. My thanks to the Academy for their help in this regard.

-from Lynn Ames

Hi, folks,

I just wanted to drop you a quick note to remind you that I've got two upcoming book signing events over the course of the next week.

Saturday, November 12th--4 p.m. in Albany, New York at the Borders on Wolf Road.

Saturday, November 19th--4 p.m. in Phoenix, Arizona at Comet's Corner Gallery on 3rd and Clarendon.

I hope I'll see some of you there!

November 12th, 2005

Added part 14, part 15 and part 16 of Double Play by Cruise

November 11th, 2005

Inhuman, Immortal, Accursed by Michael Dobler[classic/alt/complete]
Sometimes the most deadly enemy can make the most valuable ally. A foe from Xena's past returns with an interesting proposition.Action/Adventure/Horror set sometime early season three.

Added part 38 of In an Age Before by PhantomBard

November 9th, 2005

Xena and the Terror of Andros Island by Michael Dobler [classic/complete/action]
Xena gives Gabrielle a suprise birthday gift! Two weeks on the beautiful Isle of Andros. She even invites a couple of old friends to join in the festivities.
The vacation takes a sinister turn when an ancient horror begins to stalk the island, and brings Xena, Gabrielle and their friends face to face with their greatest challenge yet!
A Xena/Hercules/ Predator crossover. May be a bit gory for younger readers - be warned!

November 8th, 2005

Purple Irises by Ali Vali [alt/über/complete]
Summary pending

November 7th, 2005

Announcements
- from PD Publishing

P.D. Publishing would like to thank the hard working women of BardCon for another successful event and everyone for their continued support of our authors. Tiopa Ki Lakota, 3rd edition by D. Jordan Redhawk and Threads of Destiny, 2nd edition by J.P. Mercer made their debut at the Orlando BardCon and are available for purchase world-wide. The Amazon.com site has a 32% USD discount, but the Canadian, German, and United Kingdom sites have discounts with their exchange rate.

Also, we are proud to announce that we will be publishing the following books to be available in the Fall of 2006!

October Echoes, 2nd edition by Roselle Graskey http://www.pdpublishing.com/graskey.html .
Hearts and Flowers Border by L.T. Smith http://www.pdpublishing.com/smith.html (a.k.a. Fingersmith).

Please visit our website, http://www.pdpublishing.com , for more information concerning this announcement.

-from Debra Butler
You've noticed that I've announced the calendar is for sale at Cafe Press and that proceeds are going to the UWO Pride where I have established a CLFA Collection.

This is a cause near and dear to my heart. Despite all I do to promote authors, this collection will far surpass anything I could hope to do because it will preserve, for all time, our stories and the writers who tell them, especially now that the Pride Library has been 'adopted' by the University (although it still remains autonomous in it's functioning and content). It's actually fortuitous for us that the University *has* adopted the Pride Library because, as a part of that adoption process, many of the books in the Library will now be able to go out for circulation. That's why donations of duplicate titles are important; one is preserved in the collection and the other goes out to be read..hopefully by future consumers. So you see, establishing the collection serves two purposes: preserving the stories and the authors and promoting them as well.

I'd appreciate if those of you who have websites, mailing lists, newsletters etc would plug in the calendar message. It's not just for sales purposes; the message also promotes the Collection.

I appreciate your support.

Best,
Debra

Welcome to the Academy, Michael Dobler!

Xena and the Flight of the Phoenix [classic/original/complete]
Gabrielle recorded all of her adventures with Xena. These records became known as the Xena Scrolls. But what about the adventure neither one of them remembers? This is a bridge story with a Sci-Fi twist, set between S1 finale "Doctor in the House" and S2 opener "Orphan of War".

Added part 6 and part 7 of S. Derkins' Sinagua Skies

November 6th, 2005

Added part 5 of S. Derkins' Sinagua Skies

Added a revised version of part 4 of A Journey of Love and Life by Lissa

November 5th, 2005

Announcement -from Khimairal Ink

The spyware problem has been solved and the PDF for the October issue of Khimairal Ink is now available. Check out the Indigo Girls inspired stories by Tyree Campbell, T.K. Galarneau, Maritza Smith-Romero and the irrepressible T. J. Mindancer in this edition. Trish Ellis did another outstanding job in capturing the essence of the stories with her illustrations. http://www.bedazzledink.com/khimairal-ink/khicurrent.html

Submissions are currently being accepted for the January and April editions. Have a look at our submission guidelines and blog at http://www.bedazzledink.com/khimairal-ink/khiguidelines.html. Each accepted author and artist also gets free ad space.

Information for purchasing ad space can be found at http://www.bedazzledink.com/khimairal-ink/khiads.html . Khimairal Ink has gotten over 120,000 hits and we are now listed in http://www.justaboutwrite.com.

Enjoy!
Claudia Wilde

www.bedazzledink.com/khimairal-ink

Posted a revised version of Avenging Angel by Aurelia [Über/alt/complete]

November 4th, 2005

Awakening in the Woods by Katie Burnett [classic/alt/short story/complete]
Find out what Lila, Hecuba, and Herodotus see when they stumble onto the camp site of our favorite traveling duo.

Added part 37 of Phantombard's In an Age Before

November 3rd, 2005

Welcome to the Academy, A.C. Henley!

McKee [original/alt/complete]
Just a little story about a PI. She has no special physical skills or supernatural skills. She finds plenty of trouble but in the end everything turns out just ducky.

November 2nd, 2005

Added part 26 (conclusion) of Untitled (working title Iditarod) by Redhawk

Added part 15 of Blindsided by Colleen

Added part 5 of Sausage Sizzler by Weebod

Reviews

New reviews at the Academy:
http://www.academyofbards.org/reviews

LJ Maas, "Meridio's Daughter" and "Rebecca's Cove"
Bard of New Mexico, "Paradise Springs"
Blayne Cooper, "Connections" & "Crimson Snow"
Anne Laughlin, "House Shopping"
Bard of Meta, "Surprise!"
Aurelia, "Reflected Passion"

Announcement
- from Aurelia
I recently lost my beta reader and am in need of a new one. I’m looking for someone who will not only look for the normal stuff like typos, spelling and grammar, but someone who can look over the plot, continuity, can offer suggestions if I run amok, etc., and has their own cheer squad! No, really, I’m just looking for someone who wants to become a bit more involved than just a spelling checker. If anyone is interested, please contact me at aurelia_fan@yahoo.com.au . I’d like to thank RAOB for posting this notice.
Thanks.
Sally (Aurelia)

November 1st, 2005

A revised version of The New Adventures of Xena: Warrior Princess "Welcome To The Neighborhood" by Ernie Whiting [alt/Über/complete]

Added part 4 of A Journey of Love and Life by Lissa