Update October 26, 2009

I know I promised that I would have finished Surviving Obsidian Empire by the end of October. Right now, that's not going to happen. I had planned to finish it by the end of November, but that seems unlikely at the moment.

Now, for the reason this is unlikely, I have just discovered that In the Shadow of Obsidian Empire has been plagiarised. I am thankful to say that it hasn't been from any of the readers off of fictionpress. I had it posted on lulu.com for really just personal reasons and someone decided that it really needed to be available to download off scribd.com. The plagiarised version can be found here. As of yet, I have no plans to remove it from fictionpress, but I do not feel up to writing any of the characters for the time being. November will be devoted to NaNoWriMo and that novel exclusively. If you want further updates on the plagiarism, check out my livejournal.

As I am a moderator on the Fictionpress Watchers, I do have a livejournal account now. Check it out. Add me as a friend. I will most likely add more about what's going on, so if you're wondering why I am not updating Surviving Obsidian Empire, I'll probably post it there. I might also give a sneak peak of other stories.

Please go sign the petition created to help Stop Plagiarism on fictionpress by no longer allowing anyone to copy and paste the content on here. It would be a major step in cutting down on the amount of plagairism that has been coming of light recently.

Lately it seems that there has been a sudden influx (or perhaps not sudden, but it's coming to our attention) of plagiarism and copyright infringement of various stories on fictionpress. Sadly, this includes some of my favourite authors, which is really disappointing and discouraging. Thankfully it has not happened to me yet (knock on wood). I feel that is my responsibility as a reader who loves reading the great stories posted on this site (as well as others) to notify the author if I believe their work has been plagiarised. That being said, I have joined a new group on livejournal (which means I had to create an account and now should do something with it) The Fictionpress Watchers An Anti-Plagiarism Coalition. Please if you find a story that you believe has been plagiarised, contact the original author (they are always grateful) or if you aren't sure contact someone on the livejournal group and we will look into it.

I always toy with the idea of doing some sort of introduction about myself and all that, but really I just don't think you care about all that. Some important points, I am Canadian and I live in Alberta, where all the Obsidian Empire stories are set. Just so you know I am a horrible reviewer, which is sad really because I love getting reviews, but half the time I don't know what to say. But all the stories on my favourites list are incredible and the ones that I really need to review. On another note, I have started a website that contains pictures of the characters and extra information I have gathered. It is very basic so far and still a work in progress, but I figured I should put it up. Check it out here. On another random note, my real name is Kathryn. Katie-Maude is a childhood nickname.

In the Shadow of Obsidian Empire

This is my first story in a very long time. It's also been several years in the making and has been floating around in my head for nearly two years. I finally finished it during NaNoWriMo 2005. I am certainly working on massive revisions on this. I am debating with myself whether I want to put the revised draft up or not. And as it has come up in regards to plagiarism, I have self-published this on lulu.com. I strangely advise that you don't even consider buying it. It needs to be revised and it will be posted when I do so.

As she begins her final year of high school, Kaitlyn seems to have the perfect life. She is co-captain of the cheerleading squad and student council president. She has a gorgeous boyfriend and is a straight-A student. But it isn't easy being perfect. Kaitlyn lives with her Aunt Patty, Uncle Larry and cousin, Cindy, who do everything in their power to make Kaitlyn miserable. As her life starts to slowly fall apart, Kaitlyn turns to least likely person for comfort, Ash Stevens, the resident bad boy and Kaitlyn's next door neighbour. It never crossed Kaitlyn's mind that she might actually fall for Ash. After all, he has always made it very clear that he doesn't like her.

Surviving Obsidian Empire

This is more of a companion piece to In the Shadow of Obsidian Empire than a sequel. It is my certain project and I am slowly working on it. I plan to finish it by the end of the year. Ash and Kaitlyn do make appearances, but they aren't the main couples in the story.

Lorelei had sworn off dating guys in bands. Her relationship with Drew had taught her what a disaster that could be. Besides with the Battle of the Bands coming up, Lorelei needed to focus on running Club Obsidian. Jason was a complication she hadn't anticipated. It should have ended as a one-night stand, but Jason refused to be regulated to one-night stand status.

Notes from Obsidian Empire

This is my NaNoWriMo for 2008 and will most likely be posted afterI finish Surviving Obsidian Empire. I have yet to even work on a summary for it, but it is already finished, so updates should be much quicker. However, it needs a lot of editing as there are a lot of changes that I need to make. It's about Drew and Paiton.

I have been toying with the idea of writing the story of Kaitlyn's parents, James and Lizzie. It would take place when they were in high school. It would provide a lot of the back story to both In the Shadow of Obsidian Empire and Surviving Obsidian Empire. Also, I just like the idea of it. If I do write it, it will most likely be short.

When Did Imitation Become the Sincerest Form of Flattery?

This is a response to the numerous cases of plagiarism and copyright infringement on fictionpress lately. I have posted my reference list here. I plan to eventually post this on my livejournal account, which I have only just created.