This was quite a difficult challenge (and, before you throw things, I didn't think it up ) so congratulations to everyone who got a good story out of it.

1st Place:  Traveling by Starlight: A Journey of Two Ways  by Aiara
Verel and Delin volunteer to travel with mysterious visitors to their home ... but who will go, and what awaits them?  (A little under 3,500 words combined.  Science Fantasy after the challenge.)

2nd Place:  An Unnatural Thirst, In Darkness and In Light  by TheCaveman
A twist on the vampire legends.  This is not the cuddly "vegetarian" variety.  Flash (1000 words)  Dark Fantasy after.

3rd Place:  Dead Man Walking  by DryCat
'Dead Man Walking' is about a city, destroyed by a terrifying army that left only a couple of corpses and three survivors. A father, his son and a wizard. Can these three rid the world of the unholy army that comes accompanied by darkness and cold?  I'd say High Fantasy after the contest.

Members Choice:  Silk and Cyanide  by kurtius
Can hunted assassins Potting and Blight, armed with only a hot air balloon and their limited wits, escape their pursuers?  Light fantasy after the contest.

Congratulations to all the winners.

I hate to interrupt all you NaNoWriMo-ers, busily upping your word counts, but nominations for November's Featured Member are now open. Come on up for air and think about someone on FWO you'd like to know a bit more about. Nominations will be taken for one week and end on midnight, the 17th (see server clock). You may nominate any member you like save for those on the linked list, but you may not nominate more than one. To nominate, please send our (gradually getting better at this) MoM coordinator, Erika, a PM with the word NOMINATION in the subject line, and make your nomination.

Since many of our members, including some of the judges, are going to be busy with the NaNoWriMo this month, we're having a "for fun" micro-challenge.  Your challenge is to write a story of no more than 150 words, on the theme "Don't interrupt me while I'm busy" (in honour of everyone scribbling away at their 2000 words a day).  The phrase doesn't necessarily have to appear in the story, but it should be implied.

Since this isn't going to be judged, there are no rules except for the usual FW ones - No plagiarism, no excessive violence, no excessive language, and no excessive sexual content.

Have fun, and be creative.

We have yet another fantastic month with lots to brag about! Congratulations everyone, you make us proud!

And Happy Halloween and Samhain to all!

Introducing the Featured Member for the month of October, and interviewed by our own lovely Erika, Whackamatt.

Well it’s about time everyone realized my greatness! lol. Just kidding! I figured I’d try and write the antithesis of the usual "What?!? Me?!?" acceptance speech.

Now for my response: *ahem*

What a perfect month to be MotM. My birthday is October 27th. Scorpio’s RULE.

Another excellent month, with the results very tight at the top both for the places and the Members Choice, so congratulations to everyone.  And the results, in non-reverse order:

1st Place: Make Amends by Master Mudget
Haven't entered a challenge in ages, but here it goes!
He is cold, and tired, and cannot breathe. But he is under her control, and he will stay that way until she feels that amends have been made. But what if they cannot be made?
3581 words. Contemporary Fantasy after challenge.

2nd Place: The Hero of Valkyr's Peak by Fedaykin
Welcome to the streets of Valkyr's Peak.
This is a short stand-alone story set in the world of my NiP Black Mana which occurs before the events of my novel unfurl.
I have used it as a character building exercise to flesh out one of the main characters of my NiP.
I also thought it would be cool to enter a story with the exact same title i used for August's challenge and it is the first story I have ever written in 1st person perspective
Hope you enjoy...

3rd Place: Paragil (Or, The Grand Wizard's Revenge) by Elktorr
The court wizard has suffered disgrace at the hands of the King, and such cannot stand. The slave Paragil is his tool to exact revenge.
Some mild adult content.
Low Fantasy after the challenge
1507 words

Members Choice: The Divine Office by Suhail
But if [they] were to find out that God is a man who sits at an office, ogles at temps, and hides a Jack Daniels in his desk, would [they] still follow the perfect system he has envisioned and designed?"
Wrote this piece a while ago, but the original had a lot more profanity and violence, so I toned it down a bit. Hope you like it!
I honestly don't know what to classify this under... so I'll just go with Contemporary Fantasy after the competition.
4851 words.

Congratulations to all the winners.

[Steps up to the FWO microphone] Is this thing on? *tap tap tap* [recoils from high-pitched feedback screech].

Okay, nominations for October's Featured Member are now open. Nominations will be taken for one week and end on midnight, the 14th (see server clock). You may nominate any member you like save for those on the linked list, but you may not nominate more than one. To nominate, please send our (still learning) MoM coordinator, Erika, a PM with the word NOMINATION in the subject line, and make your nomination.

This is an idea that came up from a discussion on the forum, and there seemed quite a bit of enthusiasm for it.  If I've understood the suggestion right, that is.  If not, it's my own idea

The challenge is to write a story with two endings - an expected one, then an alternative ending that might be less expected.  Both endings should be posted, though it's up to you how you choose to lay it out.

Please read on for the complete rules. Failure to follow the rules will lead to disqualification, whether you read the rules or not.

Let's a huge celebration this month since it's the longest list of publications we ever had Congratulations to all of you! You make us proud!

September is the month for our beloved reviewing fairy -- Kukana. Congratulations, my dear!! Also, many thanks to Brynn for conducting this awesome insightful interview  

This proves one does not have to be a blabbermouth to get noticed. Congratulations, Kukana, on being selected Member of the Month for September!

It’s a pretty exciting feeling to get to join the list of MOMs. I love reading the featured member’s article and hope that my month won’t be too boring.