Please check out our new blog here: http://blog.wattpad.com/

Thanks and Thanks to WordPress for being a great host over the past year.

Best,

The Wattpad Team

Check out the official word and description on Twitter’s blog. There are also some sample stories, to give you an idea of how to write your submission: http://blog.twitter.com/2010/08/share-your-twitter-tale.htm

Here’s the email address: tales@twitter.com.

Happy Writing!

The Wattpad Team

First up, Australian reader Kyle Seymour reviews “The Not So Secret Life of Helena Callahan” by Emmiie.

Then, check out this review by Takagi Akito, author of the truly beautiful “Sorrow in Goodbye”

“The Blank Canvas” by CodenameV

There is something to be said for dedication. In ‘The Blank Canvas’ the main character suffers from it. He is devoted, unwaveringly to painting. The first chapter has him talking of his suffering, what he’s given up in wake of his passion, wanting to create a meaningful work that finds an audience.

Each word draws you in, creatively summarizing a world of disgust. A man whose fallen to ruin, sitting with a painter’s canvas, unable to paint; similar to writer’s block. It’s the struggle of meaning and failure, being rejected too many a time. The turmoil is captured beautifully, portraying each tidbit of this life to the reader nicely.

While the first chapter appears a rambling of the main character, the second covers a clear story: The main character makes his way to collect welfare, the only support he has in his world. While there, a wonderful conversation takes place –of art and meaning — by the other citizens present. Intelligent people are suffering poverty for the sake of desire, the same passion our painter battles with.

Eventually, the painter is granted an epiphany. Donning on him before leaving, he walks home with a newfound sense of glee. I won’t go into every detail, as that’s the story’s job, but I will tell you that such a meaningful story is rare to see. If anything, it will give you an interesting concept to mull over in your mind. Well-crafted, well-written and creative, you shouldn’t miss this.

The Not So Secret Life of Helena Callahan by Emmiie.

Looking for a story that you can really sink your teeth into? Well, get sucked into this! ‘The Not So Secret Life of Helena Callahan’ allows you to enter the twisted world that is Helena Callahan’s life, and is unlike any other vampire related story that I have ever read before! This is mainly because in this alluring vampiric tale (which strategically mixes both witches and werewolves into the plot) the vampires are actually blood thirsty creatures of the night—but in a way that’s both captivating and believable.

This unique story puts a modern twist into the old styled blood lusting vampires that take us back to the good old days of Dracula, only this teenage drama is based around a growing war between two worlds, one of which Helena unwillingly gets sucked into, as she is forced to choose between being good and evil.

Even though newly found author Emma Lowe, only just recently joined the Wattpad community, and started posting her books onto Wattpad, they are spreading like a wildfire! With each coming day, this author is growing with reads, votes, and hounded with comments asking for more.

What I love most about this story, is that the main character is never intended to be good. Sure, she can be good, and does have her moments. But, most of the time she is just as evil and twisted as the story and vampiric characters that she is surrounded by. The Not So Secret Life of Helena Callahan, though it isn’t really a love story, it does have the weirdest love triange (or possibly love square) that I have ever read about. It’s definitely most intriguing, as are Emmiie’s creative characters that really bring the story to life.

Favourite quote:

“Have you ever been in love, Helena?” – Darien Valentine.

Fantasy. Magic, elves, dragons and faeries. Who could ask for a better way to escape the stresses of every day life? The greatest stories draw you into a world of the author’s own. Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter are only two of such stories. I use them as examples because they are the most renown.

In the last few years, though, fantasy has had an enormous turnaround. It’s not all bad, but leaves me and many of you wondering where all the classic’s ran off to. I’m talking about the new paranormal craze. Vampires and werewolves. They’ve been around for many, many years but only now have they risen to such heights. Twilight, True Blood, The Vampire Academy, etc, etc, etc. They have swarmed the book shelves, leaving the great classics to gather dust in the back! What a shame!

Now, I’m not saying anything against the new paranormal fad. Obviously, it’s a success and hey, writing is a business, for some. But, today, I want to shine the spotlight on what’s been forgotten. The stories of creatures from the deepest crevices of our imagination. Worlds where dragons take claim of the skies and faeries threaten the bad little children who wander off into the woods alone. Creatures that frighten, like minotaurs and goblins. Creatures that are lovely, like elves and unicorns. From these, fantasy was born, but today, they are difficult to find.

Where is the magic? That’s what’s missing. The magic! Today’s fantasy is lacking the one thing is was originally created with! I’m talking the real deal here. Gandalf. The Sorting Hat. Magic rings and staffs and elementals and wishes and traveling mirrors and talking animals! The things that leave the reader wondering, “how did the author come up with this?” or “hey, that’s a cool idea/thought. What would that be like?”

I choose to call that “Real fantasy.” Whatever is going on now, this paranormal thing, while it’s interesting and has drawn me in as much as anyone else(on a reasonable level), I wouldn’t call it fantasy. I separate it from “paranormal” but most people don’t. To me, it’s not the same as the classics. Psychics, werewolves, vampires, things like that should be separated because they’re so huge and broad enough to deserve it’s own genre. Not only that, but it makes it so much more difficult on us classic buffs, to find what we’re looking for. You type in “Fantasy” and all these things related to the paranormal show up instead.

As a writer and fantasy author, my goal is to bring back that fire for fantasy. I’m not against paranormal. It will always be of interest to me. There is a passion, though, that I hold for fantasy and I know there are more out there who are with me.  Maybe you don’t have the words or voice to go out there and bring it back; none of us do on our own. It’s up to the writers. We need to delve deep into our minds and poke and prod our imagination for originality and amazing stories that will make people stop and get lost in the visions our words can create.

Fantasy is not gone forever! It’s just lost…like the class gerbil. Poke around and bring it back!

In recognition of all the amazing Fantasy stories on Wattpad, we are introducing a new Werewolf category that we hope will help people looking for traditional Fantasy stories to read find them and readers and writers who love Werewolves will have their own category to read and write within! Because there are so many Werewolf stories, Wattpad is also excited to announce a new Best Werewolf category in the Watty Awards!

If you’ve got a Werewolf Story and you’re in the Watty Awards, please re-categorize your story and it will automatically be entered!

SO excited about this one: Wattpad Shuffle: http://www.wattpad.com/shuffle
We’re still testing it out, so let us know what you think!

iPhone and Android Update: You can now Browse a user’s clubs from mobile app

Feature Update:  You can now browse completed stories!!! Go to: Discover  and then Browse By Completed

Want to let your readers know the status of your story? Authors can now select their titles to be either an “ongoing series” or a “completed book”.

Let us know what you think about all of these new features! Hope you like them

The Wattpad Team

“Nothing Left to Lose” by Kristy1000
Like a lot of you out there, I’m a sucker for a great romance story. Another thing we probably have in common is that we’re both likely a little tired of the predictable plot lines many romances offer.

This the part where I offer up “Nothing Left to Lose” by Kirsty1000 as a great read to get away from the cliches.

Her story follows a girl named Anna who has had a devastating life thus far. She is forced to watch as her boyfriend is brutally murdered, and she is then kidnapped by the killer and kept for 5 months with him, living through horrors of mental and sexual abuse on a daily basis.

The story officially begins when she has been rescued from Carter’s sadistic hold, and is back home with her family – a far darker and hardened version of the girl she had once been. At a loss for how to reconnect with his daughter, Anna’s father hires a personal bodyguard named Ashton to stay with her at all times, and Ashton is the one person Anna finds herself unable to keep at arm’s length, hard as she may try.

The reason I so respect this story is Kirsty1000′s commitment to being realistic about the type of mental aftermath a victim like Anna would experience.  No, she does not instantly fall head over heels for the first handsome guy that comes along hoping to rescue her from her awful past. She’s heard all that before. Instead, she does her best to live the remainder of her life alone, unable to touch or be touched. The story is told mainly from Anna’s point of view, and Kirsty1000 does an excellent job of making you feel as though you’re experiencing Anna’s slow road to healing right along with her. She writes every character with ease and grace, and you’ll fall in love with Ashton far quicker than Anna will. (But you’ll be hoping she’ll catch up with you all along!)

Kirsty1000 has four stories she’s currently writing, and she is a rare gem to be found on wattpad and – that’s right – a consistent uploader. You can expect an update (almost always!) on all four of her stories at least twice a week. Although Nothing Left to Lose is currently my favorite, I’d recommend any one of them to someone looking for a romance to truly fall into.

The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nina-lassam/the-future-of-the-book-is_b_673659.html

AND

Celeb Dirty Laundry wrote about Wattpad author Abigail Gibbs: http://www.celebdirtylaundry.com/2010/08/05/is-this-teen-the-next-jk-rowling/

She has selected Welcome to the Universe by Emma, an author from Australia and is the author of last week’s rave review as well!

Thank you Dahlia for your review!

Welcome to the Universe by Emma

“Welcome To The Universe” begins with a young teenager facing the ordinary life of being an adolescent. Little does Fly know that she is part of something much bigger than just herself, a completely different planet.

Beauty, intelligence and wittiness is only the beginning, but a deeper sense of belonging is what makes this story so addictive. I enjoy this story because of it’s orginality and clear funkiness. It makes me giggle in the most awkward moments and open my mouth to the most quirky statements. Clearly, Ms.Emma Lowe does have a certain “knack” for a capturing creativity that enlightens the brains of youngsters from anywhere in the world.

As you can tell by her work, most readers are always begging for the next chapter. I love her characters because they become so realistic and it is NOT a cliche story, yet it discusses the oddities a teenager does go through, which makes the story so much more enjoyable.

Oh yes, her story only makes you await on the computer for the next chapter to upload and I would definitely rate this story as one of the best I have read on Wattpad. I tip my hat off to you, Emma Lowe! This story puts me at the edge of my seat.

Not So Secret Life of Helena Callahan by Emma Lowe

Check out her awesome website: http://www.wix.com/EmmaLowe/LoveBites

A lot of stories on Wattpad or even in bookstores have a lot of predictable things happening. Girl meets boy, girl and boy fall inlove in a day, get into a fight, and run and make up with eachother at the end. woopie.

We all want something fresh and new. So I started searching, and I found it.  ”The Not So Secret Life of Helena Callahan” is a vampiric fantasy.

Yes, its true vamnpires are very in right now. But most of the vampire stories we are reading, are human girls that fall in love with a vampire. (twilight) and they’re great. But “The Not So Secret Life …” is something much more. Where the girl is  the vampire and she realizes she is an actual dark creature and knows what’s happened to her , and shes not just a normal, good girl like we all read about. She had a harsh childhood, and was working as a prostitute, something that is very realistic in this time.

There’s new twists and surprises in every part/chapter. Whether it’s witches, werewolves, or wondering which guy she is going to choose, you’re always wondering and never bored or unsatisfied. Which is why I’m obsessed with this story. I read 17 chapters in 3 days.

There’s something about it that makes you want more. Something different, and amazing about it. It’s a story that I can actually relate to; Helena’s personality I feel is very similiar to me, and one a lot of girls even guys can relate. It’s a story about love, passion,lust,danger,magic, and fantasy. “The Not So Secret Life of Helena Callahan” a vampire story.

Each month, writers from around the world visit Wattpad online and through Wattpad mobile apps to upload their stories, interact with readers, receive feedback and promote their work to millions of readers. Now, Bubok authors may connect their work with Wattpad’s readership and increase their audience by using Wattpad’s unique social networking platform.

“Bubok aims to fulfill the dream of publishing for many authors, but also help their work reach the widest possible audience. Giving writers the chance to make their literature available on Wattpad allows authors the opportunity to reach thousands of new users that may be interested in reading and buying their books,” explains Ángel María Herrera, CEO of Bubok.

Wattpad accounts can be directly linked to Bubok’s print-on-demand services, creating a straightforward way for readers to support their favorite authors. Wattpad’s agreement with Bubok encourages writers of both communities to interact and increase awareness of their work. The popularity of Wattpad apps for mobile devices, including apps for Android devices, will create additional value for Bubok writers interested in making their writing available to read and purchase on multiple platforms.

“Wattpad currently sees approximately fifty percent of its traffic from non-English speaking countries,” explains Wattpad CEO and co-founder Allen Lau.  “In conjunction with the international launch of Wattpad’s new Android app, our partnership with Bubok creates additional opportunities for Spanish language authors to connect with millions of readers.”

About Wattpad

Founded in 2006, Wattpad is now the world’s most popular ebook community. Wattpad has revolutionized the way people read written works by providing a social networking platform for readers and writers to discover, share and connect. Anyone can publish what they have written on Wattpad – a romantic story, a piece of science fiction, poetry, an essay or a novel – and interact with readers and make fans. Content is easily accessible through Wattpad’s website (www.wattpad.com), mobile site (m.wattpad.com) or with Wattpad apps available for over 1,000 mobile devices including iPad/iPhone, BlackBerry, Google Android, Nokia and Samsung.

Wattpad has experienced explosive growth since its inception and has become the world’s most popular destination to publish and read ebooks. Wattpad delivers billions of pages from its library of hundreds of thousands of works created and published by the Wattpad community. Wattpad generates more than 10M visits per month from its website, mobile apps and site.

For more information about Wattpad, please visit: www.wattpad.com.
For press inquiries, please contact: nlassam@wattpad.com

For information about Bubok, please visit: www.bubok.com or contact María Valverde at maria.valverde@bubok.com