In the Spotlight | July 23rd, 2021

Welcome to the seventh installment of our In the Spotlight blog series for 2021! In this blog, we're featuring interviews with site-wide award winners and sharing some highlights and news from around the forums and archives. Check it out below!

July's Staffer of the Month is one of our lovely admins, social media mavens, event coordinators, and archive validators, @crowsb4bros!

I N T E R V I E W
| C R O W S B 4 B R O S |

What are you currently reading (fic or otherwise)?
I'm reading Neon Gods by Katee Robert! It's a modern spicy Hades/Persephone retelling that's pretty good so far! 

What are you currently writing?
I'm writing my original fiction called Sanctum of Shadows. I'm currently working on a scene where there's a huge argument in the dormitory and everyone is fighting with everyone, but they are ~snowed in~ so they can't really throw down or get some space. 

What are you currently watching?
Literally? Baby Shark Space Adventures. When my kid is asleep? One-Punch Man season two!  

Where do you hang out on the forums a lot right now?
I've been camped out in my writers journal! It's really helpful for me to organize some of the material I've produced for reference! I love browsing the camp nano novel nests to see what cool projects everyone is working on too! 

Story of the Month for July is the drabble collection Reflections on Solitude by @Felpata_Lupin!

I N T E R V I E W   W I T H   T H E   A U T H O R
| F E L P A T A _ L U P I N |

What was the inspiration for Reflections on Solitude?
Solitude and loneliness are a big part of my life, and they've been on my mind a lot especially with covid and lockdown, so the idea for the collection came to me almost immediately when I saw @Renacerá's challenge. I started to compile a list of possible words and I decided that I just had to do it. Quite a few of the drabbles (not all of them, but I daresay the majority) come from personal experience and it was incredibly freeing to be able to express those feelings.

What three songs would you put on a soundtrack for this fic?
Mmh... this is a hard one... I don't really think of soundtracks when I write... One could definitely be "Across the Universe". And maybe, on the same note (no pun intended ), "Sound of silence"? And thinking of Pianoforte, Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" 

How did you choose themes/words for some of the trickier letters like Q, X, and Z?
Funnily enough, Quarantine was one of the first words I picked. Given the time, Q couldn't really be anything else...  Some letters were definitely harder than others, but I just wrote the drabbles as the ideas came and figured out things as I went. I may have checked lists of words online a couple of times, when I was truly desperate  I don't really have a better answer than this, I'm afraid...

Of the 26 drabbles, which one is your personal favorite and why?
It's hard to pick a favourite... for different reasons, but (almost) all of them are very dear to my heart... maybe Wonderland? It's definitely one that represents me deeply, and more on the lighthearted side, a claim of the right to dream and escape the boundaries of society expectations, in a way (not sure if that makes sense... )

Our July Member of the Month is the lovely @PinsandKneazles!

I N T E R V I E W
| P I N S A N D K N E A Z L E S |

What are you currently reading (fic or otherwise)?
Nothing at the moment. I went through a reading binge a couple of months ago; I'll be due another one soon!

What are you currently writing?
I'm working on my multi-chapter fic called "No Wands, Please - We're Muggles", which is the first of a trilogy. I've already written the third part and a significant chunk of the second installment.

What are you currently watching?
Nothing - it's such a long time since I watched anything on my TV that I don't even know where the remote control is . I must be the only person in the world who hasn't subscribed to Netflix.

Where do you hang out on the forums a lot right now?
I guess I hang out a bit in the NaNo cafe and Hufflepuff basement, and if there's a particular thread that's caught my attention, I'll hop in there too  Mostly, I loiter around the front page, haha.

Check out some of the latest things happening around the forums and archives with these quick descriptors and handy links!

 It's Nano time again! Stop by everyone's Novel Nests+ to see their projects and how they're getting on! 

@down-in-flames has written enough fics to get Inej Ghafa/Kaz Brekker added to the archives and you can check those out here+!

 Have your say on the use of clubs and the age limit of the site in this+ survey! 

 Jumping into the second half of 2021 with your original fiction? Share you goals in this+ thread! 

 The first of the house award blogs from  was posted here+! Keep an eye out for the other houses following soon!

 There have been several new changes to your profile! There have been new badges and ranks added along with the option to add your own factions in! Check out this+ blog post to find out more about them! 

Get your votes in for August Story of the Month here — voting closes July 29th! And speaking of awards, results for Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin House awards are coming soon in the CC blog.

As the site continues to undergo changes in focus and organization, we CC’s want to make sure we’re still bringing you the kinds of content and activities you’re interested in. We hope to bring you some writing challenges soon. As always, please let us know how we’re doing and what you’d like to see more of!

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credits:

courier: madi
site highlights: shaza
cc news: melanie
compilation: madi