Greetings and welcome. Please see the answers to your most common questions. If you still have other questions, don’t hesitate to email me! Technology is a bastard sometimes, vixenstories@gmail.com.
WEBSITE QUESTIONS
1. I can’t register.
If you cannot register by clicking the options in the “registration” panel either on the top left hand corner of the page, or the bottom right, the “plug-in” for this website is malfunctioning. Please contact me immediately. Thank you!
2. The password isn’t working.
The password have been eliminated. You should be able to access all of the stories through this link:
If you cannot access this page and are currently deployed, please make sure you clear your cookies! For those using Internet Explorer, please visit Tools: Internet Options: Delete Cookies.
If you have any questions, please email me at vixen@vixenstories.net and I will gladly email you the content.
3. Why should I register?
If you sign up as a registered user with your username and password I can email you content, including passwords for the one-shots and notification if/when they are available first. When there are significant updates, and when the novel is published, I will set up a forum accessible to registered users. Some readers want to organize a reading group for chapter discussion, so I will have that there as well.
Registered users will have full access to everything I publish ahead of anyone else. I have no plans to market the novel actively, so this is the best method of contact for those interested in either the Black and White novel, or the Patience and Practice Series as updates are available.
I will use the privilege to your email selectively, however and will not send you anything unless it is important.
4. How do I know when there are updates in the Patience and Practice series?
The easiest way is to register as a user on my website, RSS feed my site to your iGoogle, email account or homepage.
5. What in the hell does 1836 mean?
Oh, pennames. I am a Texan, born and bred.
The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was a military conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836.
You can read more here.
BLACK AND WHITE, THE NOVEL
1. Will the names and locations change? What else will change?
When I first started writing, this was just for fun, so I paid attention to fitting the story to the universe. Because of this intentional decision-making, I was able to quickly remove intentional references that I fit into the story.
Black and White was scrubbed by three editors; the removal of all references within a 255,000 word incomplete novel took less than 6 hours. There were very few outside of names, 1-2 personality traits for the secondary characters and descriptions of looks, other characters and objects such as cars, trucks, etc.
For the novel, I did not remove or change anything (dialogue, scenes, etc.) unless the scene or character aspects resembled the universe in which the story was original written. If you read Black and White, you know that every scene, description and interaction between characters was intentional and placed carefully.
Changing the references that I had to squeeze into the novel has actually improved the maturity and quality of the story. Characters won’t just make decisions or actions because they do… this time, the characters have even more personality and naturally plausible motivations, intriguing back stories, pressures from society, from their families, and from themselves - just like we all do.
The novel can only be improved by deepening these characters while keeping their soul (the cynic vs. the idealist, the jaded vs. the romantic, the instinctualist vs. the optimist) and the overall themes (redemption through companionship, coping vs. control, and absolutism vs. moderation, etc.) - which were defined by the vision I originally had for them. I hope that readers trust in my ability to create original characters, given that I’ve worked so hard to create a compelling story.
I’ve established an informal page with blurbs of information: www.vixenstories.net/novel. Very, very minimal character profiles are posted for both the main characters. You can access Jason and Ava, or any of the other pages by clicking the links titled such on the left side of this page. More content will be posted once the rough draft is complete.
2. Will I receive updates on the progress of the novel Black and White?
I will alert those that are interested that updates at my site are available if I have an important announcement and when the novel is ready, but I will not provide status updates, only content.
As information is available, I will release posts. If you are a registered user on Vixen Stories, you will receive an update via email.
I will not update readers on the progress of the novel through FF.net, so please register.
For readers that would like to keep up with the editing and publishing of the story, I will not blog about this process, but I will continue with the thread. If you want information regarding the thread, contact vixen@vixenstories.net.
3. Why did you pull Black and White from the Internet?
Pulling Black and White was a very emotional decision and I took measures to explain the decision in detail.
4. I can’t find the chapters of Black and White on this website, how can I get them?
Past chapters of Black and White will not be published on this website in full and are not available. I am sorry for the inconvenience, but I have kept them offline while editing for the novel is underway.
If you have copies of the story, keep them, but please don’t distribute. It is not the honest readers that are concerning. My concern was always the one anonymous viewer that reads the story, feels inspired, changes a few things and makes it their own to sell it or publish it legitimately. It happens everyday.
Additionally, I would have no problem publishing these chapters on this site considering readers want them and I can provide a secured location. However, it would be unfair to entice new readers by offering the original version, given that they could possibly fall in love with the story, creating new readers for the novel, which is in turn taking advantage of the exposure this venue has given me as an amateur.
I understand that in business practice it’s foolish for me to not have the chapters up, but this isn’t business and to me, that is exploitation.
In short, if I post them, I am a profiteer, if I don’t, I am a jerk. No win situation, so I hope the readers excited about this can be a little patient for the novel. I promise I will upload tons of content as the time gets closer. Thank you, however, to those that have contacted me to advise this, I do appreciate that you have my best interest at heart.
5. Why couldn’t you just finish the online version?
Multiple dominoes fell all at the same time. I had issues concerning copyright infringement, including dozens of requests to bind/print the story, and copies sent and circulated overseas to active/deployed military personnel.
I was sternly warned by a professional in the publishing industry about story/concept theft from dishonest people that read randomly on the Internet as well.
I also had personal reasons I didn’t initially share.
Finishing the originally published online version would have taken me five more months. I’ve been writing this story since August 2008 and it was due to be finished in February 2009. It was April 2009 when I had to pull.
I could not continue with that pace and because of real life pressures, I had to choose one or the other. As of May 25th, I have been editing and writing this novel. I will have to complete chapters 29-34 for publication, storyboard the entire novel, clean up any issues I didn’t see the first time, subject the manuscript to four rounds of editing, with 10 editors that have offered to help in various ways, and manage to send the manuscript in proper format for publication.
I have five months, not ten, as well as real life commitments to my family and career.
I understand many of you are upset, because you were emotionally invested in the characters. For those that are only interested in the original version of the story, I will provide detailed summaries for Chapters 29-34 when time permits, as well as publish the alternatve point-of-view chapters as promised.
I have a responsibility to you. I will post these as I write them in between working on the editing process, other writing projects in the community and maintaining the Patience and Practice series, as well as responding to every reader that contacts me, as I’ve always done.
I am proud and happy to say that I have, and will continue to go above and beyond expectations readers have, far outside what any other author in my position has ever done. I say that because I write for both myself and the experience of interacting with excited readers, not for one or the other. Without you, I would not have the courage or the audacity to do this. Period.
6. Will you publish a companion for the novel with the extra content previously available?
I do not have any plans to do this at this time, but the fact that so many of you have inquired about this gives me the inclination that I should consider it. I must thank you all for sharing the obsession that is the maniacal planning and psycho-analysis of the characters and this story with me, however I cannot allocate time for this yet as the novel is my first priority.
If you have any additional questions, as always, please contact me at vixenstories@gmail.com
