News & Views - September 3, 2006

[dude]

Hi Gang

Here we are at Labor Day weekend in the United States. Lots of news for you this week ? first let's start with AD Forums, where you are reading this now. We recently rolled out the new software used to power the AD Forums and it worked pretty well. Unfortunately we chose a skin or template for the Forums which looked nice but really messed up the functions of our Forums software. So we have gone to a theme called Midnight Orange which Blue and I found very good looking and easy to work with. Suddenly everything in the AD Forums is working right including our Blogs and Live Chat. Both are ?as of this weekend- available for our registered AD Forums members. Another good reason to register.

Now on to story sites: First of all we want to congratulate Codey and his designer/tech/editor Blue on the launch of www.codeysworld.com. If you haven't been there yet go take a look. It has prose and poetry by our own Codey plus a little help from his friends. It also has it's own forums. We highly recommend this site for teens. And speaking of teens? we have also this weekend launched www.AwesomeDude-Lite.com which is a downsized version of AwesomeDude and with an author/story base, in the words of our friends at The Mail Crew 'more teen-appropriate' in the type of stories you'll find there. Oh, all the stories on AD-Lite can be found at the main AwesomeDude site as well but some of our younger readers find problems with software their parents or ISP's have installed to block graphic erotic content. AwesomeDude-Lite is for these folks as well as for the older readers who can live without stories heavy on erotic content. We ?by the way- are not going to change the character of the main AwesomeDude site in any way. We are just offering an alternative portal to the site through AD-Lite. Poetry Corner and AD Forums are linked right to the front page, by the way.

And you can see we've redone the AwesomeDude Home Page. Gone are those Java applet buttons that caused some folks grief in getting them open and which popup blockers took glee in blocking.

We've listed more than three dozen authors ? most of whom are active right on the front page. Take some time and explore their stories. Click on your author or choice and from his author's page read something about him or follow the links to his storys. Savvy readers will realize we have some heavy hitters here at AwesomeDude some old timers and others quite new but showing immense talent. Some of these folks are also blogging at the AD Forums and more plan to in coming weeks.

Enough housekeeping stuff now let's move on to the stories.

Free Fall by Codey Chapter 3 has been posted and is available now, front, top and center on the AwesomeDude Home Page.

The Scrolls of Icaria by Jamie p Book 2 ? Chapter 12

The Garden by Nevius ? Chapter 18

It Stays In Vegas by Jack Scribe Chapter 12 Final

Someday Out of the Blue by LittleBuddha Chapter 23

Links to these stories are on the Home Page. TSOI's B2-Chapter 12 is a key one and is quite long. Sit down with a cool drink and enjoy. Nevius has come through with Chapter 18 of a story with compelling characters and solid plot line. Jack? thanks so much for sharing It Stays In Vegas with us. It concludes this week with Chapter 12. Little Buddha is back this week after a week's break.

Announcing the Dude's Picks for September. Leaves and Lunatics by EleCivil is our pick novel while Josh's Sunrise by TR is our pick short story.. one that is taken from life.

Gabriel Duncan has been real good about updating the Poetry Corner.. so DO check that out. He is in a good mood with a number of new poets surfacing with their poems.

We have updated author's pages for dcorvus and for TR in the past week and ?again- of course check out Codey's World at www.codeysworld.com and out Lite site at www.awesomedude-lite.com.

Phew.. I think that's about it. A lot of effort went into the rollouts over the past couple of weeks. Many thanks to Blue who played a large part in it all.

So until next time? have a great week of reading.

T

[Tragic Rabbit]

You rock, Dude!

Kisses, and more kisses...

TR