Update: Funded! Congrats to everyone involved. Here's looking forward to some great stories
Blatant plug incoming: close friend, Strawberry Dorms associate, and fellow Strawberry Panic serial fanficcer, Rain Fletcher, has made it into a LGBTQ-inclusive high sorcery shorts anthology. The hook for the collection, titled 'Schoolbooks & Sorcery,' shares much in common with Strawberry Panic's themes and setting, with the addition of some Harry Potter-esque magic and high sorcery.
From the kickstarter blurb:
"Take high school. It’s weird, confusing, complicated, and frustrating. It’s a time of growth and change, when teens start discovering what they’re made of and who they want to be. Now throw in magic. What happens? That’s the premise of this new YA anthology. Schoolbooks & Sorcery is what happens when you take all the normal ups and downs of high school, inject a healthy dose of magic, shake, stir, and serve."
And:
"I also insisted that "Schoolbooks & Sorcery is also designed to be a queer-friendly YA anthology... ...Stories are encouraged to take place in the overlapping area between urban fantasy, high school, and LGBTQ issues and themes. Stories should send the message that it's not just okay to be gay, it's okay to be gay and to have the same crazy, wicked, scary, seductive, exciting, magical, strange, funny, romantic, dark adventures as everyone else. We’re looking for stories which are all-inclusive, with the characters writers have been dying to write and readers clearly want to see..."
So yeah, bingo us, right? Rain contributed “Awaken” - a short featuring senpai yuri crushes, magical music, and the same engaging narrative and characters interactions that made their long-running Strawberry Panic x Yami to Boushi cross (
www.fanfiction.net/u/2089257/S…) so enjoyable.
While I'm not sure how many of the remaining eleven stories will be specifically yuri-themed, I know there's a lot of crossover amongst the Dorm's follower base, and at the end of the day, there's rarely been a better time for stories of acceptance and tolerance, whichever flavour of companionship your personal preference happens to be. Even if you're only in for the yuri content, it'll be great to have another LGBTQ-inclusive YA work out there to spread a hopeful message.
Anyone interested in backing, can find the kickstarter here:
kck.st/2rvcYLpAnd huge congrats, Rain! ^^
Have a wonderful day!!!! ^_^