Story Competition

The Summer Sleuths story competition has generated twenty great stories! Please take the time to read them and, for those you enjoy, please fave and/or comment on the author's page:  

01.  The Rusalka of Castle Strekov

02. :iconsuperman1764: Amanda Jones and the Book of Kells 

03.  The Magician Of The Moors: An Amanda Jones Mystery

04.  Amanda Jones European adventure

05.  Amanda Jones in Monte Carlo

06. :iconsuperman1764: Amanda Jones and the Long Lost Van Gogh ~II

07. :iconsuperman1764: Amanda Jones and the Decoy Trap ~III

08.  Amanda Jones meets Monsieur La Mort

09.  Amanda Jones in Summer Begins

10.  Summer Sleuths - Treasure of the Flying Dutchman I

11.  The Mystery of the Stolen Shoelaces

12.  Amanda Jones and the Bouillon Castle

13.  The Amber Room Mystery: Chapter 1

14.  The Amber Room Mystery: Chapter 2

15.  Amanda Jones: Summer Sleuths - One Hot Summer

16.  Amanda Jones and The Dark Widow of Wicklow

17.  Amanda Jones and the Summer Kaland

18.  Amanda Jones and the Unversal Soldiers PT 1

19.  Amanda Jones and The Castle of Obsession

20.  The Summer Sleuths and the Magyar Menace

I was hoping to illustrate one scene from each story I receive, and have been going through in the order they were submitted.  I may or may not burn out before doing them all, so no promises at this stage, but already I have some great images visualized in my mind.

One question that keeps popping up is - "if Kat or Hannah dies in my story, does it mean she/they die in real life?"  This is a difficult decision, but I have to say no.  It also raises a bigger question about whether the Summer Sleuths stories enter Amanda's official timeline or whether they remain fan fiction - a sort of happy day dream.  The answer to that is that Amanda definitely went on holiday in Europe, and definitely met Hannah and Kat, and they definitely had some adventures; but maybe not ALL of them.

Overall I am very lucky that there are now 20+ Amanda Jones stories on deviantART by various authors (including my own).  However the question of what becomes 'canon' is really difficult.  Some of the pieces fit the style but don't fit the back story, or vice versa.  Some conflict with others or Amanda's timeline.  Some are so harrowing that, if Amanda really went through them she would likely need counselling, and be so traumatized that she would give up sleuthing forever and focus on her studies.  

Now, I don't want to stop you for a moment having fun with my characters: that's what they are there for! However it's best not start with the expectation that your story will be incorporated into Amanda's timeline.  Of all the fan fiction stories written, I can think of three or four pieces that are so strong I would add them to Amanda's 'life'.  I hope to clear this all up soon by creating an Amanda timeline post, with all the 'real' stories in chronological order. The rest? Well these are rather like the Dr Who radio plays, the Star Trek novels by James Blish, the as-yet-un-made parts 7, 8, 9 of Star Wars.  They exist in the land of 'maybe' - and there's nothing wrong with that.  The Choose Your Own Adventure stories which were the same; Amanda can end those in so many different ways.  She can even meet her doom.  Except, in her official timeline, she didn't.  She solved those mysteries, without being seriously hurt.  But, of course, it's a lot of fun, even more fun, to explore the land of 'maybe.'

Coming back to the original question of Kat and Hannah being killed off in the stories - for sure they can die.  They don't have Amanda's character shield.  And I can think of quite a few untimely ends for them myself, some of which may become future artwork.  But ultimately, to 'really' kill them off is cruel and a bit of a waste.  It took a lot of time and effort making them and they have only just been 'born'.  They seem quite popular characters and they have too much mileage left to just sink like the Titanic on their maiden voyage.  While they don't go back to America with Amanda and they aren't part of her university life, it's likely they would stay in touch and may meet in future.  And, of course, they may be inspired into some of their own spin-off adventures.

In other news:

500,000 page views is sneaking up on us and, of course, there will be a special picture to commemorate this (I have loads of ideas).  But since this milestone is likely to be reached within the next fortnight, I would have to break stride on doing the Summer Sleuths pictures.  And I would rather not do that.  So we may be waiting a little while for the 500k picture.

Also, as I have mentioned a couple of times, two more Pose Packs are in production.  Maybe even three.  Pose Pack 3 is more of the same, lying on the floor poses.  Pose Pack 4 is going to be carry and drag poses, that I will make in M/F and F/F versions (as I see people are very fond of villainesses).  Pose Pack 5 is likely to be a very naughty pack as it will involve attack scenes and/or scenes of villains groping their helpless victims.  Packs 4 and 5 may be a little more expensive.  These scenes with two characters are a huge effort to get right.