New Readers
What is The Heroes’ Guild?
In universe: The Heroes’ Guild is an NGO that protects and supports superhumans that use their power in humanitarian efforts, typically vigilantism, while keeping their efforts to a certain standard.
Out of universe: You can check out the About page.
TL;DR: The Heroes’ Guild is an anthology Web Serial whose stories typically share a universe, all written by A.E. Poore. It dips most heavily into superhero and fantasy genres.
What is a Web Serial?
Like the Serial Fiction of days gone by, a Web Serial is a story posted in parts overtime, specifically on a website.
An Anthology Web Serial is one with multiple stories. In this particular case, 4 monthly series (Updated on Saturdays) and one weekly series (Every Wednesday) at a time. I also add short fiction when a month has 5 Saturdays or I want to delay the start of a new series.
Do I have to read everything?
No.
While every story is within the same universe (unless it’s in the “Another Life” category), they do stand on their own. While you may notice references and cameos between stories, every story can be read on it’s own.
Where do I start?
Anywhere really. You probably want to start somewhere labeled Chapter 1(Or a short story), but I can’t stop you from starting in the middle.
If you want to know the options available to you, check out the Archive, which also features descriptions of every story.
The Timeline page puts every story where it falls in the timeline of its setting, sorting them in order and also within eras.
If you want something with a short commitment, or want to read something more experimental, I recommend starting with the Short Fiction. If you start with The Angel Heart, you can go through all of them in publishing order without returning to an archive.
The Weekly Series are a little bit longer than the short fiction, but multiple parts, each part about 1500-2500 words, with some exceptions. They start with the Abnormals story The Cult of Electron if you want read through my development as a writer.
Monthly Series are longer format, and could be considered novel-length. They range from Summer’s Summer with Summer (middle-grade rating, typically less than 2000 words a chapter) to Humanless (adult rating, over 4000 words per chapter). There’s also The Fox and The Hunter, and The Forged King. Each one is a little more experimental than the comfort zone I generally stay in for the Weekly Series.
How do I support the website?
I’m so glad you asked. The first way is to spread the word. Recommend a story you like, post about it online. More eyes make it more likely for people to find the site.
Financially you can support monthly on Patreon for as little as $1, and get some extra content for your trouble (like bonus and deleted scenes), or you can go to Ko-Fi for a one-time donation. Every bit helps, especially because the reason I’m able to keep posting is because I don’t do anything else, and I can only avoid the pressure of living in capitalism for so long, and I really don’t want to put ads on the site.