I want to take a quick minute to thank each and every one of the people who take the time to reach out to help us in providing hosting for online authors. It all started with a little 'ad laced' free forum and in 2004 became a service and community. I started doing what I'm doing simply because I appreciated the work being put in by so many people that I worked really hard to find, mainly because they made my life better. I wanted to share my appreciation to the people who put so much of themselves out into the public for no gain outside of the knowledge that 'the work you put in has the potential to enrich the life of another'. To me, that was so selfless and worth celebrating and supporting. So with the help of a friend who didn't survive long enough to see what his gentle shove ultimately accomplished in the long haul (Thank you August, you are still missed every day!), we actively sought out authors posting mainly on free services whose work clearly deserved a forever home. Along the way, I've gotten to work with some amazing talents, amazing souls each, and once in a while, someone we reach out to reaches back. That's what Ted Louis did for us.

As stated previously in our community, Fort Family Hosting had been made an incredible offer to attempt to boost the financial support at a time when it was most needed. One of the most influential authors of our time IMHO with one of the longest running single story lines ever posted. I have been a fan of his https://tedlouis.com and the community he built there for a VERY long time so when he announced his retirement, stating the service would remain up until his hosting expired, we held our breath and asked him if he would consider allowing us to give it the ability to continue on, hosting until we can no longer provide it. Not only did he floor us by agreeing, but he made an incredible offer to reward those who also helped to support this work. A free autographed copy of one of the books from the 'Joel' series for as long as there were some left in the box he had found in his home to anyone donating $10 or more. Well, because of the outpouring of support, that supply got exhausted, clearing a corner in his home and putting an amazing keepsake on many shelves of the people who helped make it all possible.

So, the free book offer is officially over and I want to say to each and every person that plays a part in helping make it possible to find some of the best amateur literature out there by ensuring it always has a home online. From the people who write the stories, to the people who read them, and every effort in between to make that possible, thank you for your continued support. Ted's work here is thankfully not going anywhere, along with the other thousands of stories hosted throughout the many sites in our community, and that is thanks largely to you because of your support.

To Ted Louis, my friend thank you for many years of memories, for your willingness to share it all with the world, and for your recent choice to pay it forward even more. May your retirement be all that you hoped it would be, and if it isn't, you point at the guy preventing it from happening and we'll go beat him up for you! LOL!

That said, please keep an eye out at https://fortfamilyforums.com for news and updates from the entire network of sites that Ted's site is now a part of. If you enjoy reading, please consider helping us keep the service online with a donation to go toward the hosting costs. That can be done by using the form on the right side of the page at https://dsshosting.net (which is also us) and if you are interested in helping to carry this service further into the future, please reach out to us through that same site.

Our story is way more amazing when you consider what stories are behind it being a reality ;)

Dear Readers,

While this is not a good time to be asking for money, unfortunately, we have several domain fees coming due, and finances are extremely tight. Our sites run on your donations and, unfortunately, mainly out of our own pockets. Due to the higher costs of everything our pockets are in not so great shape as wel. We are also determined to keep our sites ad-free and free of Premium Levels! However, we can only continue to do this with your help. So please click on the Donate button or this link and give what you can. Any donation, big or small, will be greatly appreciated and go a long way to keep the work of these amazing authours reachable.

TSL for the Fort Family Admins.

Hi Everyone!

Hi Everyone!

It's Jeff this year asking for your help to keep our sites up and running. You may well know our sites are run almost entirely on your generous donations! When your donations do not cover all of the cost, the difference comes out of our pockets. We have no ADs on our sites and no Premium Tiers and No Pay Walls! There is no charge to our authors for hosting their stories nor any charge for you the readers to read them. That was the original agreement in the beginning and we work hard to keep our promise to keep it that way. Of course we would appreciate it if you could find a way to donate any amount to help us in our mission keep our sites AD-free and running. So please check between your couch cushions and under your car seats any amount will be gratefully accepted. No amount is too small. Seriously!

We thank you very much for all of your help over the years.

So you know, our last offer is still on the table. We are still running the following promotion, simply put, make at least a $10 USD donation and say that you are interested, you'll get a random autographed copy of one of the soft cover Joel Books directly from Ted Luis himself. I don't know how many copies are left but while he has them, he's happy to send them to you all as a thank you. Mine is on a shelf here in my room and it's probably one of my favorite keepsakes.

The Original Offer - Repost:

Have you considered helping to keep these sites up and running? Are you also a fan of Ted Louis' "Joel" series? Well, Ted has informed us that he found a case of assorted Joel books. Yeah, "actual" in print books! He decided that for anyone willing to make a $10 or larger donation within the US to the hosting service paying the bills for the Fort Family Community of sites, he is willing to send you your very own copy of a random book in the "Joel" series, autographed by Ted Louis himself as a thank you! An amazing keepsake from an amazing author!

What to do:

1. Click on https://dsshosting.net/donations/donation-form/ and click on "Donate Now".

2. Make a qualifying donation of $10 or more.

3,. Email your name and mailing address to joel-offer@fortfamilyforums.com (Yes, a P.O. box, relative's address, next-door neighbor, total stranger's address... is fine. As long as you are able to intercept the mail ;)

4. Once the donation has been confirmed, Ted Louis will send a random autographed copy of one of his books to you directly.

(One book per donation. This offer will be withdrawn once the limited number of books has been sent. The early bird gets the worm! Unfortunately, only US residents due to expensive international shipping :( We'll take down the offer as soon as we confirm that no copies remain.)

Hey all!

Yes, I'm serious - there is actually a new chapter!

I just posted CSV-DSM Part 2, Chapter 16: Unintended Rewards for your reading pleasure. As you can probably guess by the title, this one has taken a few twists and turns. The chapter happens after the DSM boys get back home from the party in Orlando, and gives some insight into just how they have been affected by recent world events. I think that you'll be pleasantly surprised at who steps up to become the key player in the events of this chapter; I sure was! There are things that happen here that will need to be expanded on in the next chapter, but this one was getting to the point that it needed to be posted.

For those of you wondering, Brotherhood of Love is pending real life allowing The Eggman to be able to sit down and finish his part of the next chapter without something else completely derailing any thoughts of the storyline. Both of us have been getting sidetracked by real life issues; I just happened to sneak this one in when life wasn't looking!

I hope everyone is having a great summer;

Hugzzz;

AC

It is with a sad and heavy heart that I have to inform you that one of our own has left this plane of existence. However, don't be too sad because Str8mayb is going to Heaven to be with his wonderful wife Robyn. They both have left us too soon. How do I know that he is going to heaven? That is an easy question to answer, he is a Presbyterian and according to one of his favourite songs Heaven Is For Presbyterians. Str8mayb passed away Sunday,  June 2, 2024, he had been battling a severe version of Colitis, the same version that had hit him before. However, this time he couldn't recover.  Str8mayb was not only an author but he was an editor as well. Str8mayb like Comicality helped several authors become better writers, he even convinced several skeptical people to write. Str8mayb was also a former Admin of The Fort Family of sites until personal and work issues took away his time. As you maybe could tell Str8mayb had a very warped sense of humour, especially when it came to music. I am not sure whether Darryl The Radio Rancher corrupted him or vice versa. They were both diehard fans of the Frantics, Boot to the Head was another favourite of his. However, the thing that most of us will remember Str8mayb for is that he was the Evilest Author, and I can personally attest that he was evil. He took the slightly used Cliffhanger and elevated it to new heights. In fact, he raised the bar so high that I couldn't beat him with five Cliffhangers in one chapter. He was also a Master of Deception, he would lead you down the Primrose Path and then suddenly you are looking at the edge of a cliff with no way back. He would a lot of times end the chapter there. He was also known for carrying a Cliffhanger for several chapters. I learned a lot about misdirection and cliffhanger from him. Before I forget, Arli J. was one of the authors that Str8mayb convinced to write. While I will miss reading new words from him, what I will miss the most is writing collaborations by voice on Skype. Str8mayb, Darryl, Darryl and I had a lot of fun seeing which character we could cause to have the most trouble or cause the most trouble. Str8may gave me one of the highest compliments an author can give to another author; I had edited a chapter of his and I had added over fifteen hundred words. When Str8mayb got his chapter back he couldn't find the words I added. He told me that he didn't know where his words ended and mine began. He told Darryl the same thing several times as well. Str8may also created a character that had two nicknames the first one was "The Bengay Kid", and the second one was "The Modern Major General," a character from The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. I have many amazing memories of a wonderful human being, and he will be sorely missed.

The Story Lover

It would mean so much if you could take a look at our GoFundMe, “Support for Comicality's Mother in a Very Difficult Time”. Comicality's unexpected passing has hit us all very hard but his mother is now being overwhelmed with his final expenses while at the same time dealing with the loss of his income. Please donate or share with others—any help gets her closer to getting her head back above water. Thanks in advance for your kindness and support as we look out for the person who to Comicality was a rock through some very rough times.

Here’s the link: https://gofund.me/372364c6