What's new at the Book?
November 16, 2015
* Added my entry to the 2015 Royal Academy Of Bards Halloween Invitational. It's a Mel and Janice Halloween Story titled "Who's Jack". My thanks go once again to Norsebard for proof-reading, and of course to the Academy for the invite :)
July 14, 2014
* If you've already read Crazed Ramblings, I encourage you to go back to the very ending, where I've hidden a little easter egg. Be warned it's not exactly G-rated.
If you haven't read the story yet, what are you waiting for? ;)
July 12, 2014
* I never thought I'd say this, but
the conclusion
of Crazed Ramblings is now up and ready for your perusal. Yes, it is finished! Special thanks to Norsebard for giving it a once-over.
July 2, 2014
*
Part 5
of Crazed Ramblings is now complete. Part 6 is in the making. This might be the final part.
June 10, 2014
* Added a few paragraphs to
part 5
of Crazed Ramblings. Still not complete, but the plot thickens....
September 08, 2013
* Long time coming: a small addition to
part 5
of Crazed Ramblings. Still not complete.
June 20, 2013
* Added the first half of
part 5
of Crazed Ramblings. It's not complete; bits of it might change before the part is complete.
April 21, 2013
* Fixed some minor inconsistencies in previous parts of
Crazed Ramblings
March 13, 2013
* Part 4
of the rewrite of "Crazed Ramblings" is up! This part also contains new content - the section is now complete.
February 26, 2013
* Part 3
of the rewrite of "Crazed Ramblings" is back up.
February 20, 2013
* After it's been gathering dust for ten years, I finally dug this up and finished it: Birthday Bard
- the 17th TellMe-Story. Post-FIN, if that still makes a difference after all this time. The girls, of course, have their own way of dealing with stuff *G*
August 16, 2012
* Part 2
of the rewrite of "Crazed Ramblings" is back up.
August 13, 2012
* I decided to try and get Isabelle an Xena of "Crazed Ramblings" out of that corner I wrote them into
over a decade ago. No promises yet, but I have started by taking down all the parts
for a slight rewrite. Part 1 is back up.
July 23, 2012
* Added the Xena Online Community to the
links section
February 17, 2012
* Updated/weeded out the links section
May 02, 2009
* Cleaned out a few dead links. There were less than I feared, which makes me happy.
* I hear that people are still getting enjoyment out of my old stories. This also makes me happy :)
April 15, 2008
* Nearly ten years ago, a friend made my first little website for me, holding "Possibilities" and the first chapter or so of "The Warrior, The Witch and the Nightmare", back then titled something terribly goofy that I won't repeat :). I've learned much about making websites (and hopefully about writing) since, and I'm only glad you can't see my first hesitant steps anymore - heh. Ahhh, the memories.
(the counter was reset during one of my moves, in case you're wondering.)
July 30, 2007 * Xandra's Model, our ill-tempered but well-loved cat Cilli, passed away today, at the age of nearly 20 years. She was with us for more than half my life; my parents' house won't be the same without her.
August 9, 2006
* Added a somewhat older short story to Original:
Survivor - Trading Places
* Yah, still here. Not writing though, sad to say. Don't let this update fool you.
March 22, 2006
* Thanks all who have tried my guest book - I assure you I read each and every entry =)
* Cleaned up the links section and removed broken links
December 14, 2005 * The guestbook is fixed. Hooray for speedy customer support! =) Why don't y'all give it a test to make sure?
December 13, 2005 * There is a glitch in my guestbook and I've had to disable it for the time being. I hope the error is fixed soon. Happy Holidays to you all!
April 19, 2005
* Ahem... repeating myself but apologizing again for the lack of new content...
* Added a link to ICQ2Go to the Links/Chat section. It's a web version so there is no need to install any software
(except for the required plugin, I'm afraid)
January 10, 2005 * Happy New Year everyone! Sorry, I haven't really been inclined to write lately... just dropping in to let you all know I haven't forgotten about this site! :o)
Old News
October 21, 2004 * Added a link to Roselle Graskey's Website. (Click on the hyperlink or go to the "Bards" category on my Links page)
October 14, 2004 * Houston, we have a lift-off! Welcome to my redsigned site! Let me know if you have any trouble navigating
October 4, 2004 * Added a link to the "That Girl Band" homepage. Check them out! (Click on the hyperlink or go to the "Others" category on the Links page)
September 28, 2004 * The rewrite of Worlds Apart, Book 1: Below is now complete! Do keep in mind that this is a draft.
August 30, 2004 * Added to the rewrite of Worlds Apart, Book 1: Below.
August 5, 2004 * Added the prologue and first chapter of the rewrite of Worlds Apart, Book 1: Below. This is original fiction, featuring original characters with an original background. In short, this is not fan fiction anymore, but ALL MINE! Okay, and Katia's too, as she wrote it with me <G>.
June 24, 2004 * The Guild Of Tales, my chat room, has received a facelift. Go to SpinCHAT to get one for your own website, if you like!
Stories -- Images -- Links -- Home
Hi, and welcome to The Playground. This is where Sina and Gabby hang out when they're not pestering me for stories ;-). The stories found here are rated "G" unless otherwise noted. Please check the disclaimers before reading.
Any comments are of course welcome - you can reach me at Verrath@gmx.de
And now...
 Swollen Bud Award "Continuous Arousal" (series) December 2000 |
"Tell Me, Gabrielle" was inspired during an online discussion on
horses, and bikes, and how my own bike's name was "Flicka". "Flicka"
was to me what "Argo" is to Sina. And if I didn't roam the streets as
the Warrior Princess way back when, I wasn't very far from it. :-)
It's kind of nice to see how that first little story quickly
expanded into a mini-series that tries to capture all those little
childhood moments that we grown-ups tend to forget so easily, and the
power of a child's imagination.
|
You can download the series (up to "As The Dragon Flies", plus the two companions) in one zipped file, complete with a title image and a special font. Click: here for HTML format, here for WinWord 97 format. For other formats contact me.
Sina struggles to while away the days until Gabby is ungrounded. This kid just cannot stay out of trouble. And of course, Sina wouldn't be Sina if she didn't find a way to pull little Gabby into it as well.
Sina and Gabby round up all their friends to battle an unseen force that threatens their existence! Will Xena yet again save the world?
The premise for that story was taken from a children's tale titled "Someone Is Eating The Sun" by Ruth A. Sonneborn, where a bunch of farm animals experience the same horror. I read that while sorting through some of my old stuff at my parents' house, and found it too cute to pass up. :-)
Some serious soul-searching and a pillow fight during a sleep-over at Gabby's.
Sleep-Over II - a bad b/w horror movie in the middle of the night has the girls in a stir. Rated PG for messy violence against murdering monster.
Finally! Summer Camp is here! But what would a camp be without proper supervision...? More fun for the kids, in Sina's opinion.
A daring team of adventurers sets out to find a hidden treasure, while a miserable little Warrior Princess is toiling in the kitchen. Maybe the scheduled afternoon activities will bring a few surprises.
Companions:
Remember When, Gabrielle?
More Sina & Gabby images and artwork can be found in the Book Of Tales Artwork section.
Here's my first
vision of that dynamic trio - drawn shortly after I wrote "Tell Me,
Gabrielle".
Yes, folks, we even
have Wallpapers of the kids. Here is a little excursion into graphics, inspired
by Tell Me 8: "Flukes, Fauns & Griffins". The background I used for this
is from a painting by my mom :-)
Click on this image to see Sina's and Gabby's favorite toys! This is a larger version of the
pic I used for the email-button.
This has been sitting on my drive for a while so I thought I had better add it to the site.
I took photos of my toys and played with photoshop... <G> And I don't want
to hear ONE word about that, okay?? Not one... ;o)
Here's what I imagine Gabby's toybox might look like *before* Sina got her
little hands on it...
Check this out!!
Ciegra made this neat little cover for the Tell-Me Series! Aren't these
guys too cute? It even has the tree-house on it :-). You can drop Ciegra a line at
CIEGRA@aol.com
Well, here we go, it's my Tell Me cover. This was done for the
printouts I handed out at The Bards' Brunch 2001...
Look at this new Tell-Me cover by Lucy Piper! Nice work!
You can write Lucy at
lapiper@crcom.net
Please note that most of the external sites referenced from this site are maintained by persons other than myself, and therefore contain material over which I have no control. Accordingly, I assume no responsibility for the content of any such remote site listed here.
Toy & Fun Sites
eToys - THE Internet toy store.
Toys"R"Us - that paradise for all children great and small - online!
KayBee's Toys - another big one presents its online store!
Disney.com - where the magic lives online!
www.hamsterdance.com - need a smile?
On a more serious note...
Help find a missing child! Please, check out these links!
USA : http://www.missingkids.com
Germany : http://www.gesuchte-kinder.de oder http://www.vermisste-kinder.de
If you know of any more URLs, let me know!!!
Man-eating giants and a big siege engine delay two girls on their way to school. Only Xena the mighty Warrior Princess and her faithful steed Argo can save the day (though Argo's wheels do tend to skip and skid on that gravel)!