The Weekly - Special Edition!

Round-Up and Founder's Week Update

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

Dear Reader…

Welcome to a Special Edition of The Weekly!

This weekly-ish missive is the way I communicate with my readers to let them know what’s been going on around the Talebones landscape, along with any housekeeping to be aware of.

In this edition, I have an update to give you about our delayed Ferris Island Founder’s Week celebration, a little round-up of recent Talebones posts and activity, and a bonus quiet milestone (shh!).

Let’s dive in!

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Round-Up!

In case you missed it…

• The Shell: In this seven-part soft sci-fi saga, old man Burgess resurrects a force from his past and must make a decision that affects not just his own future, but that of the people around him.

  • Read the finale: The Shell - Part Seven

  • Check out the behind-the-scenes analysis and debrief I posted about this story, including influences and storycraft: The Shell, Up Close

• TALESTACK NEWS is a twice-monthly bulletin of Substack fiction news where I collate as many announcements, projects, submissions opportunities, community endeavors, and generally cool things as I can gather. Check out the most recent issue here! (And if you’re a writer on the platform, check out the submission guidelines and email your news to talestack.editor@gmail.com by September 1st to be included in the next issue!)

• The second season of our fan-favorite supernatural mystery serial, Freelance and Fishmaids, is nearly concluded! The Final Episode will drop this Friday, August 23rd!

  • Get started in the new season - Episode One: Albatross.

  • Or, if you’re already reading along, jump into the latest piece - Episode Eleven: Peacekeeper

  • Join the Archive at $2.50/month or $30/year to read Freelance and Fishmaids Season One, as well as gain access to the FULL library of Talebones fiction and other perks!

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Founder’s Week - The Show Must Go On!

Founder’s Week on Ferris Island is a celebratory time of street fairs, block parties, and historical education events all over the island. It’s usually around the week of August 11th-17th, but this year we experienced an unexpected delay...

Yes, I know; all of the kerfuffle and hooplah about Ferris Island Founder’s Week amounted to nothing, last week. This was due entirely to me piling too many things on my plate and then needing to rearrange in order of priority. While I know these things are normal and life happens, my biggest regret is not saying anything to you all ahead of time to give you a heads up that the plans might change—my apologies!

But hey, we’re nothing if not flexible, and Sue Whatever-Her-Name-Is over at the Ferris Island Tourism Board said that this next week is free on the event calendar, so we’re just going to shift things over and keep on pushing!

Here’s what to expect from the week’s festivities:

• Founder’s Week Fiction: one of my favorite things to do is write a little piece of bonus fiction for Founder’s Week. Last year it was a three-parter, but in order to accommodate everything else going on, this year’s will likely be a single piece of short fiction. Look for this tale to drop mid-week!

• Merch Drop: one of my most exciting goals is to put together a special merch drop in the Ferris Island Gift Shop, along with a store-wide sale! My hope is to get this ready for public consumption by Wednesday or Thursday, so let’s hope I can get my rear in gear to finalize the designs!

• Freelance and Fishmaids Conclusion: while not necessarily related to Founder’s Week, this event is bittersweet and celebratory, nonetheless! This Friday marks the final episode of the second season of Freelance and Fishmaids. It’s been quite the journey, and I’m so excited to bring this chapter to a close with you all. Feels fitting that it should happen during Founder’s Week.

• Fan Art Contest: Yes indeed, the fan art contest is still in force, but the deadline has now been pushed back! You now have until August 24th to finalize your art and send it in. Check out this post for the submission details!

There may be other little perks and fun throughout the week, as they pop up. Stay tuned. ;)

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Thank you for reading!

As a former educator, this time of year always puts me in a “new year” mood. I have so many things I want to do, adapt, and change for our Fall Season, but I’m also learning that these things are best done one step at a time. I’m determined to finish August strong so that we can turn our full attention to new projects on the horizon!

Before I let you go, a quick milestone:

I make a habit of not pushing my numbers out there, as I don’t feel that they really “say” anything of value to anyone except myself. But my marketing manager (aka, my wonderful husband) is always quite insistent that milestones can be good to share, despite my discomfort.

So, here in the relative privacy of The Weekly, I would like to thank you all for our recent milestone of 3,000 subscribers. A wild and unexpected number! Your attention is currency, and it’s something I never take for granted. Here’s to more fiction, more fun, and more Ferris Island in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Onward and upward!

Thank you as always for your patience and grace. Happy Founder’s Week!!

Your grateful storyteller, 

S.E. Reid