Greetings, dearest Featherheads! (I don't remember where that name came from, but I like it.) As you know, the new editions of books three and four are releasing in September, which means the team is working hard to get the series marketed to as many people as possible. Many of you who frequent this blog have been fans and supporters of the Wingfeathers since the beginning, and I think you'd agree that we want even more people to read this story. That's what's behind the new relationship with Random House.
Well, one of the things we want to do to ramp up to the new release is to give the website a hefty revamp. I'm not sure yet what it'll feature, but after some good conversations with smarter people than me, I've decided I want the site to be an informational hub—a place where new and old friends can discover the world of Aerwiar, get updates on the progress of the movie, dig into some lore and artwork, and come away with an imagination that much more tingly. I approve of well-tingled imaginations.
For the last several years, the inimitable, indubitable, indibnible Laure, a.k.a. "Madame Sidler," has moderated the forum, written book club guides, come up with new weekly content for the blog, and has generally fanned the flame with her fearsome feather. She's truly remarkable—an actual librarian, a grad student, a voracious reader, and a veritable encyclopedia of Wingfeather knowledge. You may not realize this, but she knows more about the Wingfeather Saga than I do. Hers is the kind of brain that actually remembers dates and epochs and minor characters and timelines. Mine is the kind of brain that comes up with this stuff and years later has to email Madame Sidler for help with edits to the new editions.
Her generous and nurturing presence in the forums has guided the many conversations, something she took on partly because I don't have the time and energy to spin yet another plate, and partly because she simply loves what she loves with great passion. I'm quite fortunate that her gaze fell upon the Wingfeather Saga all those years ago. We all are.
That said, one upcoming change is the retirement of the forums. They've served their purpose well, but the ways of the interwebs have changed drastically over the years, and there are better platforms for the kind of interaction we've had here. Neither she, nor I, nor anyone else on the team is equipped with the time and energy it would take to continue moderating and tending to the garden of good conversations that have happened there. Please know this: we love that you guys have had that place to exchange ideas and get to know each other! I hope those conversations continue, under the guidance of your parents (if you're a kid), over on Facebook or wherever. (Yes, there's a Wingfeather page there, in case you missed it.)
I just didn't want y'all to be surprised by the absence of the forum link, and wanted you to know our reasoning. I'm not sure when the new site will go live, but the forums will be disabled sooner rather than later. I really think it'll free up some time and energy for even more fruitful labors.
Madame Sidler's going to continue to shape the content on the site (thank goodness!), so she's not going anywhere. But would you join me in thanking Laure for the massive amount of work she's so faithfully done on our behalf? When you read the new editions you should know that many of the corrected timelines and such were due to that remarkable brain of hers. We truly wouldn't have the site or the resources or the edits without her help. So high-five, Madame Sidler! We're all so very grateful.
In the meantime, keep spreading the word about the series, if you please! I have this wild hope that the release of books three and four will bump this thing onto the New York Times bestseller list. That would be fun, right? RIGHT?
Gratefully,
AP
Want to talk about what this change looks like, and how to stay connected? Click here.
—Madame Sidler