At the Crystal Hall, that is.
Ok, its not technically a 'new' release. I posted Part 2 of "Like a Brick" last weekend in the Crystal Hall forums, where we've been posting most of the new canon releases for the past nine or ten months. This was due to some strange glitches in the way things were set up (and/or the way we were trying to update things). However, as of this morning (thank you again, Piper, who is responsible for the server move and the adjustments that return us to full operation again); we are once again able to make updates directly to our Crystal Hall site. So, for those of you who didn't realize there was a story segment available; it is now up.
Additional stories will move from the forums onto the site listing as Warren, Diane and I have time to html-ize them and make the necessary fixes. There is a fair amount of new material that will be making that move (if you're one of the people who thought our last update was April last year, you've got some reading ahead of you).
We'll also be making some announcements about our Second Generation Cabal and the 2nd Gen storyline and planning, shortly. If you weren't aware of this project and are interested in being a Whateley Universe canon author, you might want to check out the information at:
http://crystalhall.org/chboards3/index.php?t=msg&th=2986
As well as the Submission Guidelines at:
http://crystalhall.org/chboards3/index.php?t=msg&th=2998
While we are currently considering candidates, I would still welcome submissions from authors. It will be more difficult to include people once the plotting of storyline begins, so now is an ideal time. For those who don't have the time or prefer the convenience of working on solo projects; we are discussing the possibility of another means of acknowledging well written stories. I'll make announcements on that once more of the cabal have weighed in on the idea.
If you're a reader and are just now realizing that you have no idea what I'm talking about and only vaguely recognize the Whateley Academy / Crystal Hall names from the occasional fan fic that has been posted here at BCTS... you need to hop, skip, or jump directly over to www.crystalhall.org and discover the HUGE world of stories, both canon and fan fic, that make up our Universe. The Whateley Academy Universe was founded by some of the best TG Fiction authors and has grown in popularity beyond its gender swapping roots to attract fans of comic books, super heroes and role-playing games due to its realistic look at superhuman mutation, the role of the 'super' in society, and the impact of manifestation on teenagers. On identity, power, responsibility, growth, and maturity. Stories range from simple romance, to action/adventure, to Lovecraftian horror, to space opera.
Check it out!
Comments
Half the adventure was in the hunt
Not sure about that upgrade to Crystal Hall. I got hooked on Maggie Finson's Fey episodes months back after doing a Google search on Maggie. Which incidentally took me to Chrystal Hall. Although Miss Finson was the original author of Fey, others added chapters and their own characters within the Fey series.
Any inclusive search engine within Chrystal Hall was lack luster at best and worthless generally. I found a work around using Google, and searching for Maggie Finson Fey.
The authors contributing to Maggie's series were Top Banana in writing skills balancing between dialog and setting. There wasn't anyway to leave any "really well done" comments there so I'm leaving them here.
May your new authors you allow to post to the Whately classics be as gifted as the original authors.
For those who have never built a web site, much less one accepting various input from others. There is a nightmare of coding input into one of those monsters. Very few can begin to imagine the logistic feat the programmers manage when they put up a web site like Big Closet, Chrystal Hall, and others.
Thank you is never enough, but to all those who work so tirelessly behind the scenes to give so many a place to relax, chat, and read.
Many Thanks from the heart.
always,
Barb
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
Comments, feedback, and community
If you stumble on just the stories themselves, it could indeed seem like it's difficult to leave feedback to an author at Crystal Hall. We don't have the sort of integrated author controlled posting, blogging, and comments system that BCTS does. But we do have a a forums with a section dedicated to story feedback and character discussion where fans can dissect and respond to what they read. Some of the story feedback threads run to hundreds of posts... some of the character discussion threads probably approach a thousand posts.
But yes, its not immediately tied into the stories themselves... maybe that's something we can change if enough people thing its important. It wouldn't take too much effort to include a set of buttons for tags at the bottom of a story, linking to forums threads on the story and any characters in it.
As a side note, if you want to avoid the hunt part of things: some fans have put together (over the years) a sort of "This is the order you should read the stories in" order, that is designed to minimize spoilers and take events as they happen; as opposed to in the order that the authors wrote/released them. That order (up through last year's postings at least) can be found on the Crystal Hall Wiki: http://crystalhall.wikia.com . The recommended story order can be found, specifically, at: http://crystalhall.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Canon_Stories
And if you're a reader here, at Fictionmania, or at Sapphire's Place; you'll be familiar with most of the canon author names (in addition to Maggie). Most of us have posted stories here in other worlds / genre than our Whateley works.