Edit: I'm now closing this to any further character suggestions (preds or prey), but I'll let the poll run for a few more days. You can find the final list of African competitors here.
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Here’s your chance to decide where the next world final will be. Just vote in the attached poll. I’ll probably do a separate poll afterwards to get you to choose between the two most popular options from this one.

Also: The next IVC story (so, before the final) will be the African qualifier, hosted in the Seychelles. If you like, you can post below to suggest pred or prey characters. The known competitors so far are: Melodi Nsambu (Angola), aiming to retain...
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Just to let you all know: I’ve entered a busy period at work again, which is likely to last until Christmas. So don’t be concerned (or too impatient! ) about my story output slowing down.

I’ve written a large part of the next IVC story, but much remains to be done. At the point where I’ve stopped for now, I need to (re)organise things a bit before writing the rest. And for that, I’ll need a stretch of several hours in which I’m not distracted by work. Not very likely in the near future.

Well… That’s all, really. But the story will definitely be written. There are tummies to be filled, stuffed tight and stretched and groaning, and a world champion to be decided!

Don’t get excited; I doubt I’ll be writing any of these any time soon. (I have other types of stories I want to write first.) But I may at some point, so I’d be interested to know what you’d prefer.

Or, if you would like to write one of these stories, just let me know. The IVC setting is open to new writers / contributors.

Feel free to also post below to explain your vote.

Simple question.

As a reminder, IVC stories can be found here and here.

Several hours per day for the past few days, I’ve been working on the first chapter of my spin-off series Defenders of the Empire: Next Generation. Making the most of some free time that’s not going to last… After I’ve finished, I’ll try to put together an entry for the Felarya contest (a story about someone dealing with being shrunk), if I don’t run out of time.

After that, I’ll be writing the first regional qualifier for the next IVC! We’ll find out who will be representing North America for the final. Surely Carissa can make it through… unless circumstances make things a bit more complicated for her this time? And will there be any ‘new girls’ among the finalists, or will the usual champs grab all the top places? You’ll have to be patient, and see. :p I haven’t...
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These four are the countries that several of you suggested when I asked you for proposals. So I’m now letting you choose which of the four should be the host country for the next final (after the qualifiers).

You can vote for your top choice in the poll and, if you like, post an order of preference below. Second and third choices will count as partial votes.

Remember, the host country has the automatic right to have a competitor in the final, even if no-one from that country made it through the regional qualifiers.
- If Australia hosts the final, this wouldn’t actually apply. Australia already has an automatic qualifier: Carla Brenning, as the defending world champion. (If Mona hasn’t eaten her!) So any other Australian competitors would have to qualify on...
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I’ll be away for three weeks starting in a few hours. I might log in now and then during that time, but not regularly. I hope to get on with writing chapter 8 of DotE. I’ve done the first five pages.

While I’m away, you can use the reply function below to decide two more things regarding the upcoming IVCs:
1) What Canadian city or province should host the North America regional qualifiers; and
2) What country (and what city or place within that country) should host the next IVC finals (which will of course take place after all the different regional qualifiers).

About the North America regional qualifier: It can be anywhere in Canada. It doesn’t even have to be a city; it can, for example, be a fictional resort in a specific (real) part of the...
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Possibilities to choose from:

- North & Central America + Caribbean (Patricia? v. Carissa & others)

- South America & Oceania

- Europe (Sahiba v. Oksana & others)

- Africa

- Asia (Mitsuko v. any challengers)

As I mentioned recently, I’ve been writing a story about IVC characters, which I hope to finish quite soon. After that, my next IVC story (not straight away) will certainly be one of the regional qualifying events. I’m letting you, my readers, decide which continental qualifying competition I should write a story about. These are the possibilities:

- North and Central America + Caribbean. The top three from this regional event will qualify for the final. The biggest names here...
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Some months ago, here on the Portal, Vixen20 read the first chapter of my Defenders of the Empire! series, and suggested (thanks!!) that I might enjoy reading the Star Wars novel Lost Stars, by Claudia Gray.

It had been years since I’d read a Star Wars novel, but the premise of this one sounded interesting, so I looked it up in more detail, and eventually I bought it, and I’ve been reading it these past few days. (I’m about 60% of the way through.)

Vixen said it was different from my story, but with similar themes, and I soon saw why. There are two main characters (Ciena Ree and Thane Kyrell), a young woman and a young man from different social backgrounds but the same world, who go to the Imperial...
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