Hello, Crowd-Sorcerers, Chatterboxers, and all friends of Cricket! This is a really exciting time here at Crowd-Sorcery Central! All summer long, you have been creating characters, dreaming up fantasy words and settings, and thinking a lot about how stories are made. It’s been thrilling to watch your work coming in!

As I said today on one of the threads, what we have here on Crowd-Sorcery is a tremendous treasure pile. You know the mountains of gold, silver, and jewels that dragons guard? Well, our treasure here is more wondrous than those, because ours is made up of characters and ideas, any of which could be in a fantastic tale. We’re using just a very few in our official story, but the rest are all still there, waiting to be used. We have here a storehouse of infinite adventures! 

I know it’s the hope of us all—the editors, administrators, designers, our illustrator and me—that many of you will use items and characters posted here to write stories of your own. I think there will be contests coming up in Cricket that invite you to do just that. But you can always do it on your own, too. Write your fantasy tales, illustrate them, bind them in covers if you want, and share them with family, friends, teachers, and classmates. Writing is a joy: you get to make something real out of invisible things—notions, feelings, words . . . you get to shape your own story, told just the way you want it told, and leave it behind for others to experience. Isn’t that exciting? By writing, you can create something that makes the world better!

Anyway, I wanted to give you an update on the unfolding story. It’s being written now! It’s about two-thirds finished, and it will appear in at least four issues of Cricket. I’ve gotten to see artist Emily Fiegenschuh’s first images of what the three major characters look like—soon, you will, too! They look amazing!

As the characters wait here between scenes, our Heroine, Fable Thatcher, has agreed to be interviewed!

In the interview that follows, “CS” is the interviewer, Crowd-Sorcery; “FT” is Fable Thatcher, the Heroine.

CS: I know you can’t give away what happens, Fable, but can you tell us what’s been the scariest moment you’ve had in the story so far?

FT: Well, I’ve almost died twice!

CS: We’re glad you’re alive! What you write becomes true. Isn’t that an incredibly amazing power to have?

FT: It’s a terrible power! I wish I could get rid of it! The second time I almost died?—it was because of my power.

CS: Do you have a plan for defeating Khaos?

FT: No. Not yet. A few weeks ago, I’d never heard of him. Now he’s turned my life upside down. Luminè knows more about him than I do. She heard about him from her father, who was some kind of book collector, only more than that. I don’t know. It’s complicated.

CS: What is Luminè like?

FT: She’s . . . mysterious. Not like anyone I’ve ever met, and I’ve known some really unusual people. Her first name is hard to say, so she wants me to call her Luminè, which I guess is her last name. When she talks to me, she’s honest. She’ll say things I don’t expect. I can tell she’s smart and can do a lot. I’m really thankful she’s on my side. Oh, and she’s pretty funny when she wants to be.

CS: Well, there’s more we’d like to ask, but they want you over there in the story.

FT: Yeah, I have to go. Wish me well, okay?

CS: We wish you the best, Fable. Don’t be afraid. Be true to yourself and your gift. You’ll be fine! All your fans are behind you!

FT: Thank you.

CS: Thank you.

And there you have it! The adventure begins in the November issue of Cricket. In the meantime, if you have questions for any of the characters, post them here. Fable, Luminè, and the others can’t give spoilers, but they may be able to answer some of your questions on their breaks between scenes.