July is our annual Feed The Bards  <mailto:feedthebards@yahoogroups.com> drive. Read the instructions.

July 30th, 2007

Announcement
-from the Academy of Bards

It's with great sadness and a heavy heart that the Academy of Bards relay the information that Michelle de la Rosa has succumbed to her short battle with cancer. We have come to know and love Michelle in the five years she helped the Academy. She was so many things to each of us here. Words are hard to come by today. I do know this, we - and the Xenaverse as a whole - are much richer for knowing her. It's been really hard this past month and a half knowing that this battle was an uphill fight. I don't think any of us ever really gave up the sliver of hope that a miracle would happen.

Michelle was a lot of times the glue that held us together. I don't know what we're going to do without her to kick our butts when a file was overlooked or her to kick things into gear when we have a deadline. We will miss you very much, Michelle. Rest in peace. I know I didn't give you much peace while you were here :)

On behalf of Michelle - we at the Academy challenge you to do two things. Women (and men!) please check yourself. I don't know that the origin of Michelle's cancer was found but last I had heard breast cancer was being considered as the beginning. The second challenge is for my fellow Americans. Do something to change the health care in this country. No one should ever have to put off seeking health treatment because of money. Ever.

steph

Fanfic

Added part 7 of The Collector by Kim Pritekel

Added part 3 of Rachelle by Onesockbard

Added part 2 and part 3 of BSoiree's The Renegade Lady Sheriff

July 29, 2007

Announcements

From the Academy of Bards
Hi folks, As you know, one of the Academy's own is seriously ill. Michelle De La Rosa is a huge part of the Academy Staff. Not only does she take care of a lot of the daily updates...you've seen her graphics work on some of the 'what's new' pages, the bard challenges/prizes and also gracing the covers of some of your favorite books. She and her family could use not only our prayers but also our financial help.

The Academy is currently planning several endeavors to begin raising money donations.

Starting right now, donations can be made via Paypal to this address: rocky@teleport.com. Please indicate that this is to the MDLR Fund.

In the near future, we will announce an online raffle. Many of your favorite Bards and Publishers are contributing the raffle prizes, some of them will be quite unique and rare. We will announce more about that at a later date.

Also, the Academy Marketplace will dedicate all proceeds from any merchandise sold to Michelle and her family. Many of the designs were created by Michelle. We are always adding new stuff and we'd love any suggestions. http://www.cafepress.com/RAOB

Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.

To raise money for our friend, Michelle De La Rosa, KG MacGregor is offering two special items for bid at her website, www.kgmacgregor.com. They are her last First Edition copies of Malicious Pursuit & Shaken, and the covers were designed by none other than Michelle. Shaken is forever out of print, so this is a rare opportunity to get this book. Bidding ends August 9 at 6:00 p.m. Thanks to everyone for checking out these items.

Added Part 6 of The Collector by Kim Pritekel

Added Part 4 of Unconquerable Heart by Gabrixena
Valeria has to make a decision when the Conqueror attacks the Amazon village.

July 28, 2007

Announcement
To raise money for our friend, Michelle De La Rosa, KG MacGregor is offering two special items for bid at her website, www.kgmacgregor.com. They are her last First Edition copies of Malicious Pursuit & Shaken, and the covers were designed by none other than Michelle. Shaken is forever out of print, so this is a rare opportunity to get this book. Bidding ends August 9 at 6:00 p.m. Thanks to everyone for checking out these items.

Michelle was moved to hospice care yesterday. Please continue to keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

Rearview by Geonn Cannon [original/alt/complete] Alicia Ryan is Mayor Jameson Dugan's personal driver. When she's asked to drive the mayor's wife out on errands, Alicia discovers they have quite a few things in common, brought out by a shared love of certain literature...

The Written Word part 1 by Mickey Minner [original/alt/incomplete] Dillon Carson has put aside a successful writing career to return to small town living with her partner, Melissa Dyne. She spends her days selling knick-knacks in her curio shops to tourists who flood the area during the summer months and visiting with the occasional fans that seek her out. A new tourist season is about to begin and it brings some unwanted attention for Dillon and Melissa.

July 27, 2007

Announcement
To raise money for our friend, Michelle De La Rosa, KG MacGregor is offering two special items for bid at her website, www.kgmacgregor.com. They are her last First Edition copies of Malicious Pursuit & Shaken, and the covers were designed by none other than Michelle. Shaken is forever out of print, so this is a rare opportunity to get this book. Bidding ends August 9 at 6:00 p.m. Thanks to everyone for checking out these items.

Please, everyone keep Michelle in your thoughts and prayers.

Welcome to the Academy, Everett Deane! Dreaming in the Pit part 1 by Everett Deane [orginal/alt/incomplete] An urban tale of Karima Jenkins, a female ex-criminal who clashes with her tenant Sienna Joffe, a dedicated public school teacher who is instrumental in helping Karima to resist the "pull" of Sincere, a man who has returned from the dead to reclaim his most treasured acolyte, Karima.

Added Part 10 of The Last Good Day by Amy Boatman

Added Part 7 of Missing by M.E. Tudor

Added Part 5 of The Collector by Kim Pritekel

July 26th, 2007

Announcement
To raise money for our friend, Michelle De La Rosa, KG MacGregor is offering two special items for bid at her website, www.kgmacgregor.com. They are her last First Edition copies of Malicious Pursuit & Shaken, and the covers were designed by none other than Michelle. Shaken is forever out of print, so this is a rare opportunity to get this book. Bidding ends August 9 at 6:00 p.m. Thanks to everyone for checking out these items.

Welcome to a new Bard at the Academy, Vilia Kinell!
Trial by Fire by Vilia Kinell [Über/alt/complete]
One day I found myself at the local loony-bin after a suicide attempt. During a fire I stole an identity in order to escape. So far all was just dandy, but I didn't expect to find a love interest in the midst of everything, let alone one that remembered my name -and the stolen name at that… This is the story of how I came to find certain truths about myself - all the while by lying to the one I loved most.

Hidden Thoughts by Janine Hilltop [classic/alt/complete]
Hidden thoughts and desires heat the air around the campfire until a Bard decides enough is enough. Will the Warrior Princess be able to defend herself? Will she want to?

Option Number Four by D [original/alt/complete]
Sequel to Three Choices.

Added part 11 of Breathless by Lois Kay

July 23rd, 2007

Announcement from Claudia Wilde
Join Sias Bryant at the Amazon Bookstore Cooperative in Minneapolis on July 24th at 7:00pm to celebrate the release of her book, Remnants of Shadow and Light. If you are in the area, please stop by and say hello! 4755 Chicago Ave. S Minneapolis, MN 612-821-9630. She's going to do a reading and sign books and she promises it'll be a blast.

If you can't join the fun, books can be ordered from BookSense, Amazon.com and SCP. http://nuancebooks.wordpress.com/order-books/

Author's proceeds will go to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. http://www.hrc.org/

"Every living moment houses a story and an author's greatest challenge is to flesh these stories into existence. Sias Bryant pens a collection of beautiful, sometimes humorous, sometimes terrifying, moments experienced by women as they face life's unexpected cr ossroads."

Claudia Wilde www.bedazzledink.com

Added part 4 of The Collector by Kim Pritekel

Added part 2 of Birdie's Song - Rachelle by Onesockbard

July 21st, 2007

Added part 3 of The Collector by Kim Pritekel

55 Word Stories

Girl Talk by IseQween

July 20th, 2007

Read'm and Feed'm

Clandestine by Cheyne [Uber/Alt/Original]
A company burned, ex-CIA operative, who seeks absolution in a bottle, is forced into a situation that could be the defining moment of her life. Burnt-out and long ago thinking herself incapable of feeling, her numb complacency is tested when she meets an innocent woman who must now suffer the ultimate consequences of her bad choices.

The Renegade Lady Sheriff part 1 by bsoiree [Uber/Alt/Original]
She was good with a gun, she was a woman, and she was a sheriff. And she already had a reputation as a fast draw. Very fast. Why, she was even willing to be called a renegade. But if they thought they had a chance to control her, thought they had a chance to run roughshod over her, they'd better think again.

Added part 4 of Licit Cusp by Weebod

Added part 2 of The Collector by Kim Pritekel

Added part 2 of Identity by Lena

AddedPart 6 of Extended Intentions by Jynaki

Announcements

Blue Feather Books, Ltd., is pleased to announce that it is now open for submissions.

We are looking for completed manuscripts, mainly in our core market area of lesbian fiction, but are also willing to consider manuscripts outside that genre that feature strong female characters.

Please review Blue Feather's submission guidelines, at www.bluefeatherbooks.com, before submitting your manuscript. If you have any questions, please contact submissions@bluefeatherbooks.com. For general information, please contact info@bluefeatherbooks.com.

Emily and Caitlin

It's no secret we love short fiction. We love producing Khimairal Ink. We jumped at the opportunity to publish a collection of Barbara Davies' speculative fiction stories, Into the Yellow and Other Stories. We enjoyed working on Into the Yellow so much and are so pleased with the final product that we decided to put out a series of small books, in the spirit of literary chapbooks, devoted to lesbian literature. These story collections are by authors we enjoy and by authors we've yet to discover.

We're especially excited that our first Zerynthia's Tales book is devoted to the stories of Sias Bryant. Readers will remember her unique and entertaining stories in Khimairal Ink.

Join Sias Bryant at the Amazon Bookstore Cooperative in Minneapolis on July 24th at 7:00pm to celebrate the release of Remnants of Shadow and Light.

Zerynthia's Tales 1 Remnants of Shadow and Light by Sias Bryant Order at: http://nuancebooks.wordpress.com/order-books/

Every living moment houses a story and an author's greatest challenge is to flesh these stories into existence. Sias Bryant pens a collection of beautiful, sometimes humorous, sometimes terrifying, moments experienced by women as they face life's unexpected crossroads.

"Sias Bryant has written an exuberant new treasure chest of short fiction. While these stories defy categorization, at once dark and light, painful and sweet, they resonate with a deep clarity and an even deeper honesty about women's lives. I couldn't recommend this collection more highly."

- Ellen Hart, 5 Time Winner of the Lambda Literary Award

"Sias Bryant writes with an unerring ear for dialogue and a sensitivity to human emotion. Every story packs a punch and leaves you gasping for air, surprised and amazed by its intensity. Five-star reads all around."

- Lori L. Lake, author of Stepping Out: Short Stories

Enjoy!
Claudia Wilde
www.bedazzledink.com
http://nuancebooks.wordpress.com/zerynthias-tales/

July 18th, 2007

Gravity by Lucid Dream (revised version)

July 17th, 2007

Added part 6 of Two Part Harmony by Colleen

July 14th, 2007

Birdie's Song - Rachelle by Onesockbard [classic/alt/unfinished]
Birdie's story continues...

Added part 2 of Living in the Past: Book One - Ripples in the Water by Xenamungrrr

July 13th, 2007

Added part 6 of Missing by ME Tudor

July 12th, 2007

Added part 14 of The Message by JA Breeze

July 11th, 2007

The Collector by Kim Pritekel [original/alt/unfinished]
In lieu of a summary, please read warning on part 1

July 10th, 2007

My Life as Cheese by Kelly Aten [über/alt/complete]
Two women who meet at a softball game, realize they are neighbors, then become friends and more.

Announcement
-from Oz

The Bard Challenge #17-CrissCrossover entries are now up for your reading pleasure.  Check out the stories and then vote for your favorite one.  Voting will run until July 29th, midnight. 
 
3 winners (top in each category plus an honorable mention in Category 1) will get some killer prizes from the Academy Vault and also a gift certificate from their favorite online retailer.  Good luck to all the competing bards.
 
We would also like to announce that the BC #17 2007 PUNzle winner is:
Claudia - wormser58@yahoo.com 
Our PUNzle winner will be getting some nifty prizes as well from the Academy Vault....good job Claudia!
 
Please check out our non-competing entry from RedHope and also a couple of the Academy's favorite crossover stories from D and Linda Crist. 
 
Don't forget that July is Feed the Bards month.
 
Now go read...shoooo
 
OZ
If you read'm, Then feed' m

July 9th, 2007

Identity by Lena [Über/alt/unfinished]
This story is based on the facts about hurricane Katrina, 2 years later.

July 8th, 2007

A Waltz Round My Subtext by Fialka [classic/alt/complete]
"She tagged you here and tagged you there, put her body between you and a village full of rocks. Turned up in the moonlight later, with the sweet smile of a child. You let her stay because you didn't want to be the Xena who would turn a child out into the darkness, not anymore." Takes place in the interstices of Season 1.

July 7th, 2007

Announcement
-from Oz

The Academy Munchkin is hard at work coding the stories and that the entries will be up and available for reading and voting soon. At that time we will also announce the winner of, and the answers to, the PUNzle Contest as well. Stay tuned.

Thanks y'all.

OZ

Welcome to a new bard at the Academy, Lani!
Recognition of Love [classic/alt/complete]
This story takes place just after Gab marries Perdicus. It has subtext but no graphic sex scenes. It starts off with Gab writing her thoughts on a scroll.

Added part 3 of Unconquerable Heart by Gabrixena2007

July 6th, 2007

The Museia by LM Townsend [classic/alt/complete]
Sappho asks Xena and Gabrielle to escort one of her students to compete in the Museia, but Xena thinks there is more to her simple request than she is revealing -- and as usual, Xena is correct.

Added part 6 of Flight of the Falcon by MBInc

July 5th, 2007

Crossing Lines by Kim Pritekel [alt/über/complete]
Kansas is 17 and just figuring out what women are all about.  It doesn't help that the 26 year old wife of her new neighbor is absolutely gorgeous.

Tales of the Airaito: In the Crimson Tide by N.D. Matsunga and AJ Akechi [alt/unfinished/original]
It is a universe far removed from the realm of humanity as we know it today. The race that was once Humanity had fallen, known now only as the Kojin (Those of Ancient Times) by the Airaito whose ancestors adapted those forgotten cultures to their own. It is now 3130th, the Last Year of Enlightenment, and a new chapter dawns amidst the realm of the ordinary and the great.
The Sirn'oan Kingdom now stands on the precipice of a 'Dark Era' as the great clan that had heralded the Age of Enlightenment is torn asunder in the ravages of a great civil war. A war in which the price was not only existence, but the very philosophies which governed the lives of those within it's dominion. Far removed from the turmoil though, Two paths entwine, paths that seemed not unlike two sides of a coin both seek to learn their place together in the face of opposition from both fate and themselves.
The Crimson Tide has begun.

Added part 3 of Licit Cusp by Weebod

Added part 7 and part 8 (conclusion) of Stranger in My Family by Red Hope

Added a revised version of A Different Peace by Sais2cool

Added part 11 of As the Xenaverse Turns by Jenny D. Maher

July 4th, 2007

The Raggedy Bush by Barbara Davies [alt/über/complete]
(Sequel to Bourne's Edge and The Doll Hospital.) Tarian discovers that a Fae has cursed the rag tree on Nether Hopton's common.

July 3rd, 2007

Blessed Solitude by LM Townsend [alt/über/complete]
This started out as a writing challenge whose subject was "Solitude". I liked the idea of the story of a god/dess seeking solitude. In a household of eight people, half of whom are children, Solitude is a rare and elusive thing.

Fashionable Disclosure by Ri [alt/über/complete]

Added part 6 [conclusion] of The 2H'ers by Phair

July 1st, 2007

Announcement
-from Oz

It's July and you know what that means...while other folks are eating dogs and burgers,  we'll be feasting on alphabet soup.  Hope you're hungry.
 
How about a helping of FTB and a side of RAOB BC17 , ooh and then finish it off with some HOF?  Sound good?  Yum.
 
July is our annual Feed The Bards  <mailto:feedthebards@yahoogroups.com> drive.  Yes, I know we remind you all year long but we also know that you sometimes get so busy that you barely have time to squeeze in reading a chapter, let alone to write an email.  We know you don't mean to forget to feed'm after you read'm.  So we dedicate July to the effort.  Please, please take a few minutes out of your busy day to click that email button and tell your favorite Bards that you do appreciate them sharing their talent with you.  Tell them their story touched you or made you think or just plain entertained you.  But tell them.  You, the reader, are often the biggest motivator to the writer....they write for you.  Let them know you appreciate all their efforts.
 
To go along with this we, at the Academy, run a FTB contest.  The winner is the one who feeds the most Bards in the month.  We ask that you CC this email address:
feedthebards@yahoogroups.com  every time you email off a note to a Bard.  This allows us to count your feedings. The one who feeds bards the most during the month, will win a few really nifty prizes from the Academy Treasure Chest.
 
We also will have the Bard Challenge #17 Criss-Crossover  <http://www.academyofbards.org/contest/2007/criss-crossover/index.html> voting period.  Read the stories and then vote for your favorite one.  Just click the email link on the story.  The Bard with the most votes will get a prize package from the Academy Treasure Chest and also a gift certificate from their favorite online retailer.  More details for this in a later post along with the announcement of the Punzle Contest winner.  
 
Lastly, but not least, we have our third Hall of Fame nominations/inductions.
This is where YOU get to choose which Bards and which stories get their rightful honored place in the Academy Hall of Fame.  2005 and 2006 winners are listed here:
http://www.academyofbards.org/halloffame/

We will induct 5 new Bards and 10 new stories in 2007...all of them as voted by YOU, the reader.  To be eligible for nomination, a Bard must have at least one story housed AT the Academy.  Any story...this includes stories in the invitationals and the challenges in addition to regular posted stories.  For a story to be eligible for the HOF, the specific story must be AT the Academy.  Bards and stories can be nominated separately.  You need not pick a story for the Bard you are nominating, or vice versa, unless you want to nominate both.   List your 5 choices for Bards and your 5 choices for stories in an email and send it to: academy_contest@yahoogroups.com.
We will tally up the votes and the top 5 Bards and top 10 stories will be inducted.
 
The Academy staff will also choose a recipient for the Lifetime Achievement Award.  We will announce who it will be when we announce the other winners. We aren't going to tell you now, nyah.  <.g.>
 
Whew, I'm stuffed, that was some alphabet soup.  
Remember:
FTB--all month long.
BC#17--voting period and deadline TBA shortly.
HOF--all month long.
 

P.D. Publishing announcement:

28 June 2007: We are very excited to announce that L.T. Smith (Fingersmith) has signed her story, Once, to be published. This will be the third manuscript that Linda has signed with P.D. following Hearts and Flowers Border (released last June) and Beginnings (to be released in a few months). Look for the release of Once Spring 2008.

Again, Barb and I thank you for supporting our authors!

Linda
publisher@pdpublishing.com
www.pdpublishing.com