I am not succinct.

G-Chat

2015-08-22T01:45:12Z

Anyone who wants in to the gchat write-in, let me know and we'll loop you in!

Write-In

2015-08-18T05:03:33Z

Sooooo...anyone up for a last minute NFE write-in this Friday evening?

(please?)

Reveal.

2014-10-05T22:53:25Z

Yes, I know, I know. It's been since, what, 2013 since I posted?

I have reasons!

Once I returned from Down Under at around May and June of last year, I got super-duper distracted by a rather pesky (horrible) staph infection. Yeah, that I had apparently been suffering from for a loooong time (even while in Australia). My immunity was shot (which is why I got 2 colds in 4 months... 3 years since my previous one!) and I just felt crummy--bad skin, nausea, etc. And then I somehow aggravated the infection and, well, I blew up.

Well, not literally... but I had NO IDEA that there were that many lymph nodes in the human body. And how much pain that could cause.

Long, stupid story short: antibiotics suck, allergic to the one that *may* have helped me, severely underprescribed ones that did not work, but made me sicker, went to acupuncture (AMAZING), system got a bit overloaded in the meantime, developed food sensitivities out of no where, skin blew up more (ever have your entire face ooze? That was my Christmas vacation).

AND, my acupuncturist said "We're starting over!" and put me on the most amazing food cleanse that cleared out everything. ALL OF IT. And slowly, the original infection went completely away, no meds, just cleaned diet. No alcohol, no caffeine, no sugar for a month. I extended it to 5 months because I felt like it. Was it fun? No. But neither is fully body lymph pain.

Now? I'm better than I was before. Immunity is back up to par. I can now be around sick people and not get sick. Food sensitivities went away (yay tomatoes! yay spinach!) (except for corn... I learned that clogs my sinuses and makes my skin itchy) My skin is clearer than ever. Lost a handful of unexpected pounds with the cleanse, too, and kept them off! I'm finally HUMAN again after a good 18 months. It's like they say... food is medicine, and you are what you eat.

Anyway. That's my story. It sucked and now it doesn't suck anymore.

BUT NOW TO THE GOOD STORIES. THE NFE EXCHANGE!

I had a wonderful Helen and Frank love story written for me: the future eyes us sideways by be_themoon.

And I also had a Madness story, too! Another Frank and Helen one! :D The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face.

Please, go read these fantastic stories! I love me some Frank and Helen.

And then I wrote The Ambassador, which I, of course, made a part of my Dichotomy Universe. It appears my recipient went AWOL though... I hope someday they discover it and like it! The prompt that they gave me was RIGHT up my alley.

That being said, it's really just a small section of a story I have outlined out which is intended to be the sequel to the Big Bang story I wrote a few years back (which I am overhauling before I post on ff.net and AO3). But hopefully I can tackle that entire saga...eventually!

All for now...

Again.

2013-08-17T00:03:05Z

Let's do it again!

Come join in on the NFE Write-In this week!

http://tinychat.com/jfbs4

Hope to see some of you there!

Success.

2013-08-10T04:32:57Z

Thanks to everyone who came to tonight's NFE Write-In!

We had a lot of gold stars, cheerleaders, and Word Wars. I'd say it was a success.

It looks like we're going to aim for another one next Friday, 8 PM EST. Perfect for those last minute changes, additions, and other edits!

Stay tuned for the chat room link next week. Hope to see you all there!

Link.

2013-08-10T00:39:30Z

The NFE Write-In is now in progress!

Come join us!

http://tinychat.com/jfbs4

See you there!

Ahem.

2013-08-08T04:49:49Z

ATTENTION. CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE.

ahem.

I'm further behind on my NFE that I'd like to be. I'm a bit behind since I took a two week hiatus on all things life related with a staph infection that I couldn't unfocus on. Yay.

So…anyone up for another good ol' fashioned write-in? I think I hosted one either for last year's NFE or BB… can't recall. I just remember that it was very, very effective.

Anyone else on board? Say, this Friday evening?

LET'S DO IT, PEOPLE.

Australia.

2013-06-03T11:58:18Z

Well, this place could sure use a good dusting…considering I haven't posted in over 6 MONTHS.

But anyway.

G'day everyone!

As some of you know, I've spent the last couple of months residing in Australia on a much-needed escape/break/vacation/what-have-you. And then there were the months prior to that preparing for my trip, so needless to say, I have a lot to catch up on around these parts!

The trip was fantastic. I got a lot of "soul-searching" done (for lack of a better term) and saw some amazing things, met great people, and just generally got away. I got to reconnect with my former grad-school roommate (who I stayed with) and got to hone my previously non-existent nannying-skills with her toddler. I drank great wine, ate great food, got to swim on the other side of the Pacific, travelled in and around Sydney Harbor, and even got to cuddle a koala! I hope to post a few pictures and details in the near future…

On the writing front, I've accomplished nothing. BUT, I've got quite a lot of thinking in. And tons and tons and tons of reading (I've read about 75 books this year thus far, following a total of 150 in 2012). I'd like to think I'm practicing my skills by the "think method." (La-di la-di la-di la-di-da…la-di-da…la-di-da…)

I'm still out and about traveling in the midwest in and in California before I settle back down early next month. I'm hoping to catch up on lots of fic reading in the meantime, and will slowly starting to get to work on the edits of my last year's Big Bang. It's time.

And then, of course, the NFE which I am really, really looking forward to, of course!

In the meantime…how is everyone doing?! I've missed you all!

Thanksgiving.

2012-11-26T04:39:39Z

Hellooooooo?

Man, long time no post. And I keep saying that with full intention to get back into the swing of things here on LJ and other places…hopefully I will this month.

November has been a pretty good month all around…a few paid gigs here and there which I am *very* grateful for. My reading has slowed down a bit, though, so I'm a bit behind on reaching my 150 books in 2012 goal. There's still time, though!

My mother came into town (leaving the rest of the family to deal with my brother's in-laws…suckers) and I went all out for a Thanksgiving meal for just the two of us. Which has left us with lots and lots and lots of leftovers. Oy. Though I only got a 10 lb. turkey, we've barely made a dent out of it. Plus, there's the fact whenever my mother is in town, she likes to eat out a lot as a treat. And I have some pretty great eateries around…

In the meantime, she's currently camped out on my couch with the Outlander novels in hand. I sent her two before she came and checked out the next three specifically for her visit. She reads exponentially faster than me and can churn one of those out per day. For those who have read these: I KNOW, RIGHT?! Craziness!

I did not sign up for the Big Bang this year. Even though I have a story on the back burner that could easily hit the 20K mark, I just can't justify it when I still have to do all the major edits for *last* year's Big Bang! I hope hope hope I have the motivation to tackle that thing during the holidays. Writing and fanfic in general just hasn't been on my mind these days. And there's so much to catch up on, I know!

Looks like my freezer is going to be stocked for awhile. And I'll to use up some of my old stock for new stock that I should make tomorrow or the next night.

December is going to be low key…I'm heading back to the midwest earlier than normal so I can see the midnight showing of the Hobbit there. And then 3 weeks in a crowded house…that's going to be a challenge. It's going to suck, too, now that my best friend/kitty is no longer with us. Holidays without pets just aren't that fun.

Not much else going on, really! I hope each and every one of you had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend… and woohoo holiday season! It's the most wonderful time of the year! :D

Outlander.

2012-10-10T20:04:19Z

Helloooooooooooo!

Long time no LJ, everyone! I figured it's time to list my reasons/excuses/distractions.

1. The month of August, I was stuck in Outlander land. Being unemployed, I had hours and hours of free time (when not looking for work) to read. So I did. The entire series in about 3 weeks. It was cracktastic. And because I tend to have a one track mind, I was unable to focus on anything else—online "life", TV shows, etc. But boy am I glad I'm caught up on the series now… and I'm glad to not have been roped in without as many books as there are out now!

2. Speaking of unemployment… the great state of California had deemed me as unable to file for unemployment insurance in early August. Their reasons why? Because I'm too busy being "self-employed" and therefore not available to work 40 hours a week. I appealed, and let them know that I was NOT busy sitting around paying myself for sitting around in a swimming suit and reading 6 hours a day in 102 degree heat. I made the distinction between "self-employed" and "independent contractor" and let them know that there are thousands in my line of work who can pull unemployment, so why should it be an issue for me?

I sent the appeal off, fully preparing to get a court date to meet with them in person… and instead, a week later, I got a notice in the mail: "ooops, our bad, here has some $$$, lol."

I took it. Along with the back $$ that I missed out on while fighting the system.

3. And of course, as soon as it cooled down some and I got unemployment reinstated, that's when the work comes rolling back in! Or, at least, mostly. Though I've been kicking and screaming to leave the independent contractor world, it keeps dragging me in. I had an awesome 3 day gig pop up last week out of nowhere that was both fun and very well paying. Whew! And I made lots of connections, which is even better.

Now, here's how things work for me: I will never, ever get a job that I apply for. Jobs come to me. This has always bent the case, and the trend seems to continue. But, I can't just sit around and wait for the phone call, though… I still have to go after them, for my own sanity's sake (and the fact that the great state of California rightfully insists that I do).

I've been meeting with a friend on a near-weekly basis and together, we tackle the job hunt. She hates her job, I just want one. We also bounce creative ideas back and forth, eat good food, and laugh at youtube videos, but I digress. With our powers combined, we've been getting a lot accomplished on the job hunt, helping each other out on leads and such. Which leads me to…

4. I was up for a job. A really good one. Made it to the final stage of interviews. And you guessed it, I never applied for it to begin with—I applied to 6 positions with this company, but only a 7th one found my resume in the pool and went after me.

I did not get it, alas. And the reason being is that I sabotaged myself in the final interview. I was hesitant because it would have meant transplanting myself for a couple of months, being on my own on finding housing in only 3 weeks, work out transportation with said new job because I'm carless, and basically giving up all my time for the holidays. The interviewer sensed my wariness and called me out on it, and though overall the interview went really, really well, I know deep down that I took myself out of the running.

So, last week when I got the call, I was really, really upset. Not because I didn't get it, 'cause frankly, it's a relief not to have to worry about that stuff (and I do have some smaller gigs lined up in the next two months), but it's out of principle. I recognized a running trend I have with myself, and that's the self-sabotage through fear that has pretty much encompassed all areas of my life. A fear of change, I guess. I'm not sure, I'm still trying to figure it out.

5. Now THAT being said, there is a BIG change coming up. It's been in the making all summer long, but I can confirm that in March 2013, I'm taking off for a 3 month stint (at the least) in ~~Brisvegas~~ Brisbane, Australia! Woohoo!

My really good friend/former roommate in grad school moved down there 2 years ago with her husband, and they've been pressuring me to come down for awhile. And the time is just right that I need something new, big and challenging in my life. And it's a test to get over that self-sabotaging fear, too… so, I'm embracing this change BIG time.

6. Of course, there was the NFE… and I promise, I WILL get around to reading all the stories I missed. Like I said earlier… me and one my one track mind. It's been hard to get focused back on Narnia and such lately. The story I wrote did pretty well, I think. My recipient seemed to really like it, and that's what's most important! Because I was dealing with an OC, I knew it'd be a challenge to get anyone's interest, but despite that, I got some lovely feedback.

That's it in very, very large nutshell! And kinda explains why I've become an Outlander in LJ-land. Fall has kicked in to full gear… I'm still reading a lot and am unemployed this week, but I'm not in such a financial hardship as I was just a month or two ago. And most importantly, it's finally cooled off! The weekend heat waves of 100+ weather in the land that "needs no air-conditioning" are over. That's reason enough to celebrate…

Though it also means I'm going to have to start wearing real clothes again and do laundry and such. Ah well. I saved a lot in quarters the entire month of August.

And I've got a lot to catch up on LJ… I'd ask how you all are, but I'm sure the answers are all in the back pages of entries I've yet to read. Regardless, I hope you all ARE well!

August.

2012-08-04T22:38:57Z

And everything after. (No, not a Counting Crows Fan, but it seems appropriate.)

It's been awhile since I've posted... best make a list of what's happened.

1. NFE is in as of a week ago! This year was oodles easier than last year's, which was rather overly ambitious. But, I had a goal of being more open minded with what I would be willing to write and, most importantly, KEEP IT SIMPLE. It still ended up being twice as long as originally intended... ah well.

The prompt I was given nearly panicked me, but there were two or three bits listed that I was able to run with. I do hope my recipient enjoys it! That's the most important thing.

2. Olympics! I am an Olympics junkie. You cannot peel me away from the TV. Thing is... I don't have cable. The live streams officially provided by NBC are very unsatisfactory (no commentary, no graphics/standings). So.... BBC to the rescue! The link rthstewart gave me for the opening ceremonies has been wonderful, and it's been fascinating to watch things from the British perspective (especially since it's their Olympics). Added bonus: no commercials!

I must say, my favorite thing is the late night gold metal count when they move an arrow up a replica Big Ben for each gold metal, set to Spandau Ballet's "Gold." Hysterical.

3. You'd think it's over and one with, but my Narnia Big Bang is anything but. snacky has been ever so gracious and has gone above and beyond for a second-beta pass on the Beast. Big, big changes are ahead for the piece, and though motivation is usually problematic, I am bound and determined to finesse the shit out of that thing. It is not going to be easy by any means... indeed, some of the "fixes" are actually going to be in the form of supplemental/satellite fics! Oy.

For the time being, though, I'm taking a step back from it. There are some changes that still need some thorough planning, but I'm going to sit on it before I dive back in. Perhaps after the NFE is over and done with!

4. Real Life. Well... it could be worse. Which is funny, because I'm in a trickier place than I was, say, two years ago when I was riddled with anxiety... socially, financially, professionally. I've made a big decision to step away from my profession about a month or two ago (quitting my union and everything), but that has led to unemployment.

BUT, it has also opened the door to big changes. The plan is to do a major upheaval at the start of the new year, and it would be ideal if I could find something in the meantime to financially plan for it. But that's the problem... I can't find anything to fill my time or my bank account. It's been a struggle, I can't lie.

That being said, this past month has been a blast. I have some fantastic friends, the most I have ever recall having, and they all seem to slowly be moving into my neighborhood. Great evenings, great conversations, fantastic homemade food... zero complaints there.

5. On that note... literally. Everyone, please check out my friend's band, Milo Greene. That's the name of the band, not my friend... and really, he's a close friend of several of my close friends. I got to see him on the 4th of July for the first time since grad school, when he provided musical accompaniment to my thesis show. (Indeed, one of the tracks on the album is named "Orpheus" and is a theme he used in our Tennessee Williams' "Orpheus Descending" production). I do take full responsibility for putting a mandolin in this kid's hand.

If you like indie-folk with a touch of bluegrass, with a pinch of Fleetwood Mac harmonies, this is for you. All in all, we're so, so proud of them—their album was released last month, they had a performance on Letterman last week, and they are out on tour now (with a stop at Lollapalooza this weekend... I don't think they're one of the ones that got rained out, thankfully).

But this... this is my favorite song. Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wdzY140gls

If you liked what you hear, please check out their self-titled album available on iTunes! :D

6. And what else have I done to fill up my time, besides applying for work and being glued to the Olympics? Reading. I read about 25-30 books in the past month, the vast majority of those being Richelle Mead. Yeah, so, the Vampire Academy books are actually good... whatcha going to do about it?

But yeah, I'm going through the entire list of crap YA fiction. Except for Twilight. I refuse to touch those books... and indeed, stay away from all Vampire fiction, save for the aforementioned series. But I liked her other series, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Turns out I liked them better than her adult fic...

My questions for you!

1. Olympics? How're y'all liking them?
2. NFE? How'd it go for you? You excited to read the entries?
3. Reading? What books have you read recently, and more importantly, what can you recommend? And is anyone else on goodreads.com?

Ages.

2012-06-24T05:00:20Z

Well, NFE season is upon us, and of course, I'm up to my neck in unnecessary research.

I may or may not have spent 3 hours working on family trees. Or virtual location scouting around England.

However, going through all my past notes and stories, I came across something confusing (and something that I obviously did NOT document well in my notes on how I came to these conclusions).

ANYWAY. For those fanfic writers (or readers who are stickler to details)... what do you have for your Pevensies' birthdays?

Lewis, apparently, dictated a timeline events that someone else published, which makes it both official and non-official. And we know how trustworthy Lewis is at consistency.

Timeline.

Being still somewhat new to the fandom as of a year ago when I started writing, I used this as a guideline and tweaked from there.

In last year's NFE submission, I wrote Edmund having a birthday in March... and I know I went against canon, for in PC, Edmund had received the torch for his birthday right before they head off for the new school term. But, sorry, my Edmund just isn't a Virgo!

In my NBB (which is still looking to be tweaked, so I don't mind changing) I have Susan stating that her birthday is October 12, 1927. And now I'm just arbitrarily choosing birthdays for Peter and Lucy. So, this is what I have:

Peter — July 27, 1926
Susan — October 12, 1927
Edmund — March 12ish (can't decide), 1930
Lucy — February 3, 1932

So, I'm asking you all... how far off base are these?

Deux.

2012-06-23T05:05:35Z

Goodness, has it been a year already?!

I first joined LJ to participate in last year's NFE, and here it is, time to do it all over again!

This time will hopefully be easier—it was all new territory last year, having never really written anything seriously in, oh, ten years. Little did I know I could be so, well, prolific... yeah, there will not be a 20K fic coming from me this year. :P

Anyway, some progress has already been made, which is surprising, because my prompt scared the hell out of me when I got it! But...it should work. I hope. Regardless, it's nice to have something to do besides endless job hunting.

That and it's getting me to work on the as-yet-untitled sequel to my NBB (which also is in the process of getting tweaked for ff.net).

OK. Off to write.

Fritz.

2012-06-02T20:41:41Z

1999-2012

The bestest friend a girl could ever ask for.

Fire.

2012-04-15T07:13:44Z

OK, continuing on from this post! More notes for the remainder of my NBB fic, Fuel to Fire!

Chapter 4

FINALLY. We get to meet the Elephants! Such fantastic creatures they are. And yes, they are a matriarchal society. Had to play it up here with Zanta (the Grandmare of her Herd) and her sister Hasina, both of whom are aunts to Durah. And of course, the little ones. Because baby elephants are adorable. See?

As I mentioned before, the cantas were drawn upon Basque culture. Basically, a lot of my inspiration for Archenland came from Basque and Catalan country. From the names (Ferrin, a play on Ferran) to the oranges to the landscape. Especially the landscape.

Let me put it this way. I love wine. I love everything about it, but wine country is like heaven to me…and that’s what I strived for in the Elephant Valley. There’s wine country just a few hours away from where I live which has provided much, much inspiration.

I mean, come on:

ETA: Duh! How could I forget the cider houses, and the Basque version of those, called Sagardotegi!

But anyway. On to the next Susan scene. This is also one of my favorites, and it was the second one to be written so long ago. This is when we really get to meet more of Peridan.

First, though… this is Peridan’s song:

Sorry for the canned, synthey sound of it, but you get the idea. Just imagine the harpist and the percussionist with the wheel drum from the scene in Anvard are playing this as Peridan and Ferrin sang. Or, sing along yourself!

We really dig deep into Susan on this one. She’s had her fears and anxieties laid out, but it really boils down to one thing—as much as she’s scared of losing herself into a political marriage, she’s more scared of being alone.

This also dives into the theme of mothers, too. The Pevensies have lost their mother, we have learned that Durah had, and now Peridan…and Susan is reminded of how alone Helen Pevensie was before the war, but now that her children are gone…well, the thought doesn’t sit well with Susan.

And Susan’s the only one who remembers Helen. And then we learn of Susan’s ritual. She’s been forcing herself to remember all this time, just as on the Spare Oom side, the other Pevensies and so-called “Friends of Narnia” reminded themselves of Narnia. See? Dichotomy.

Don’t worry, I plan on pounding that theme over and over again in future fics, too! Hee, hee…

Moving on, we have the undercover scene, and Edmund’s silly mistakes that land him outside the tavern. He’s still quite a young and inexperienced version of the “Shadow King of Narnia” (as referenced in Dichotomy in a memory during the Spare Oom half.)

And we meet some Calormenes, too! And we’re not done!

Chapter 5

Not many notes for this chapter…we’re in full plot-driving mode now.

Edmund has a nice little bit with Milletpeck at the end of the first scene. A lot of thought was put into that, though it’s so short. Milletpeck and her history are somewhat referenced in Hail To The Days.

We’re slowly learning the Jackdaw’s history with each story. It’ll be fun to flesh that out more sometime.

And then there’s politics, politics, and more politics. I loathe politics, hate discussing it, hate hearing about it… so what is there to do than to write about it? Yeesh. Anyway, the HHB provided some great Tarkaans to choose from, and Anradin and his red beard stuck right out (obviously, duh) and it was fun to put a little backstory on him. And to tie him into Archenland and to start to set things up for HHB, too, leading up to how Susan must’ve met the dreaded Rabadash!

And then there’s Obax. Writing the description of Obax…it seriously made me cry. It felt great to free him.

Chapter 6

Last chapter! Home stretch! Huzzah!

Obax is reunited with his loved ones! And yes, for those who are wondering, Obax is, indeed, a homosexual.

GASP!

Eh, it’s nature. It happens. Especially amongst bull elephants.

It’s not my intention to pound readers over the head with this—my full intention was just to show what a loving relationship between Obax, Manta and Tunko.

Oh! On that note, a bit on the Elephant names. All Elephant names are taken from Swahili. Manta was going to be the name of who eventually became Tunko… with Manta meaning “thought.” Now it’s just an ironic name for the young Bull! Obax is “flower”, Durah means “pearl”, Zanta is “girl who is beautiful”, and Hasina is “good.”

The only non-Swahili name was for Tunko. Tunko is a play on tunkashila which means “Grandfather” in Lakota. It’s a title of respect. And the head Bull’s name was changed as a tribute to a Lakota Indian I’ve recently had the pleasure of working with.

Oh, and there's one bit about the eucalyptus trees. That's from this picture I took in a botanical garden on Maui several years ago. These trees needed to be in the Narnian world, if not in Narnia itself!

Moving on… well, the fire. Yes, the idea of the fire came from the name of the story, which is the name of the song. I couldn’t NOT put a fire in there. And then came the stampede, the betrayal, the slaughter…

It was surprising how brutal this scene ended up. Tears were shed on my part…and if anything, when I look at this thing to put up on ff.net, I’m tempted to take it a bit further, too. But it’ll be interesting to hear what others have to say about it first.

And speaking of stampede. See my icon? crantz made it for this story! And guess what? She never got to read the last chapter, so she had no idea there was a stampede! Happy coincidence. Or maybe not so happy, as it were...

On to the last scene…which was a beast. Many plot points had to be tied up, and I’m still not sure that I managed to do so. And then there’s Peter to deal with, too! Dropping future plot hints here and there. Damn it, Peter, I had no intention of ever writing you… but hopefully this scene speaks for itself.

But it brings me back to the story name: Fuel to Fire. There are lot of fires in this story that are getting fueled:

1. The literal one, of their entire mission causing others to retaliate in the destruction of Esting by stampede and fire.
2. The growth in Edmund and how he changes from the anxiety-ridden Edmund in part one of Dichotomy to the strong, confident Edmund of part two.
3. Susan’s personal journey, and her relationship with her family and other loves ones (HINT).
4. The events referenced in Splintered, and, of course, the leading into the entire plot of The Horse and His Boy.
5. And small kindling in the form of tiny, minuscule, subtle hints of the GRAND SCOPE of this Dichotomy universe. Trust me. It’s big.

Lucy and Durah

I haven’t talked about the Lucy interludes yet. I figured I’d wait until the end, since it was my full intention to write those scenes last (and they were indeed written last.)

The Lucy scenes were to be nice breaths of fresh air away from the main story of Susan and Edmund’s. The original plan was to not write in her head at all, but more in a third person perspective. Yeah, that didn’t happen. I’m a thinky person.

The true story of the past and the “big picture” is leaked by Durah throughout these little scenes and is a journey in itself—it starts out the morning of Susan and Edmund’s departure and ends with the sunset when we learn how important the Elephants actually were in Narnian history. And there was no one better than Lucy to draw that out of Durah.

Basically, I wanted to honor lower-case elephants of Spare Oom. Because let’s face it… they’re awesome, and if they only had opposable thumbs, us humans would be screwed. They are a peaceful, loving, nurturing, intelligent, intuitive species and are much more honorable than a lot of us humans. And I love them.

.
.
.

But not as much as squirrels.

And that's it! As I think of more notes, I'll probably add on to these posts. And for those who have trudged through the entire 90K story and these notes…I thank you deeply.

Many, many thanks to my betas wingedflight21, lady_songsmith, and rthstewart for all the encouragement and hand-holding. And very special thanks to snacky for being a fantastic mod!

My hope is that there is a little something in it for everyone. Whatever you got out of it, I want to thank you for taking the time for reading it. I hope you enjoyed it, and would love to hear any and all feedback.

In the meantime, I’m off to hang out with my good friend Pinot Noir…

Fuel.

2012-04-15T05:32:45Z

Well, this is it! My NBB, Fuel To Fire is posted!

And with wonderful icons, too, courtesy of crantz!

Some of the amazing works I’ve read in the past year have been so incredibly inspiring. Last year at this time—almost to the date—my nights were spent pouring over Narnia fic after Narnia fic with a large pitcher of hot tea as my only companion...and not getting my fill of either. When it came time to the NFE, there just wasn’t any doubt—I had to give it a shot. And thus the Dichotomy universe was created, quite by accident.

Writing proved to be challenging, yet fun. Especially since I have made it very vocal for several years that I have never, ever liked being forced to write anything for anyone. Really vocal. However, the NFE changed my attitude, as did the smattering of one-shots that came soon afterwards. And then a niggling of an idea sprouted from a throwaway line in Dichotomy, I started jotting down ideas, before you knew it, I had 24K written of a story… and then the NBB was announced. Perfect.

So. Here we go. This is a word dump of ideas, thoughts, feelings and a drop of beliefs here and there. In some sense, it can even be a bit autobiographical, but I’m sure most writers can be accused of that. It’s strange to close this chapter, literally, in Scrivener…I’ve been staring at this stuff for 6 months after all. But, I have other writing folders that are ready to be explored.

In the meantime, there are many things I want to share with the readers regarding Fuel To Fire, so behind the cuts are extra notes, research, inspiration, and whatnots for each chapter.

The Title

The title came before the plot. Kinda. I listen to quite a lot of music when reading/writing, and of my favorite current musicians performed at a small local venue. In her setlist, she had a new song, tentatively entitled “Fuel to Fire”—she was playing around with other titles, but this one seemed to stick.

That being said, this is NOT a songfic. Though there are some relevant things in the words to this story, it was more of the feelings evoked from the music alone. Regardless, it was on nonstop repeat while writing.

But anyway, Agnes Obel is lovely and y’all should check her out. And here’s the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv1Eurk640g

Chapter 1

Not many notes on this chapter—it’s just a massive set-up of what’s to come in the story. It was necessary to hit upon the themes first explored in Dichotomy, but especially delve back into theme of Susan’s memory. In my verse, Susan is the only one who remembers England. This was for two reasons, A) to set up a mirror to her being the only one who forgets Narnia, and B) I’m a huge Susan apologist, so this reason somewhat softens the blow of her “denying” Narnia. There are plans in the works to explore this much further. But y’all have to wait on that.

And, of course, there’s the Elephants!

The idea of the elephants came from a throwaway line from Dichotomy. And that line was influenced by another song that I was listening to non-stop, called “White Elephant.” This REALLY has nothing to do with my canon, but hey. It’s a good song. And when I saw the band in concert, I got a signed poster of below and it now hangs on my wall. Elephants everywhere!

Now, of course the Pevensies had to recognize an Elephant when they saw it! And so Susan had a memory of one she saw at the London Zoo… even though the elephant rides they had back before WWII and all the animals were evacuated were provided by Asian elephants. Susan doesn’t realize it at the time, but she does notice a difference between Durah and the elephant from her memory!

Similar images can be found here.

Chapter 2

Finally! They’re on the road! Where are they going? Looks like we’re going to need A Map.

The map was a necessity. There was going to be a lot of Lords and a lot of traveling involved (though really, both cut down significantly in the writing of the story), and I needed the reference. And then the realization came that the readers needed the reference, too!

The scene in Anvard was so, so hard. It got longer and longer and it’s very much an info dump of what seems like irrelevant information. But…I don’t care. It all needs to be out there, in readers’ minds and memories for the future. Trust me on this.

But it also sets things up a bit for Horse and His Boy, too, and some of the themes in there. And we meet Cole (and, in away, his brother Colin) who are in HHB! Such nice men. They needed a voice.

And then Edmund…oh, dear, Edmund. Though I consider this more of a Susan story, since a lot of “Edmund ‘sploring” was done in Dichotomy, dear Ed needed to have some fun. And his friends are horrible, horrible influences. And allergic reactions to the mixing of vices made for a strange turn…

His hallucinations were a complete accident. It all started when I realized “Hey… nearly all of my characters names’ sound pretty much alike. Wouldn’t it be funny if Edmund mixed them up?” But Ed wouldn’t do that unless he was drunk. And they were already smoking the blue lasaia, so he was even more messed up… and then WHOA. We got to play with Ed’s memories. That was a fun discovery.

And the songs! My ‘verse is very, very music heavy. Why? ‘Cause song was introduced to Narnia before Narnia was Narnia. (Thanks, Frank!) So, musical tradition is very important in these cultures. Upon my research for musical traditions in cultures in OUR world, I came across the marvelous tradition of the bertso of the Basque. Bertsolaritza is the artform of singing improvised verses.

This is a great little documentary about how huge this is in the Basque culture, with National Contests drawing people by the thousands to attend. And it features the first ever woman winner from back in 2009!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4wAqt2_RG4

But the Basque were not alone. From the wiki entry:

“Other cultures have traditions of sung extemporary verse not unlike bertsolaritza. Amongst them are the Austro-Bavarian Gstanzl, the Italian improvvisatori, and the Sardinian mutos (also known as mutettus, repentina or ottada in different parts of the island.”

And hence came the inspiration for the cantas. And yes... I wrote two little ditties for the cantas. I just had to!

The upbeat tune Ferrin starts with:

The more dire song that other Cantos sing:

Chapter 3

OK, things are finally picking up here! Susan gets a better idea of the scope of her mission. It was fun exploring Lord Dar a bit here. The poor man…he and his brother Darrin are also pulled from HHB. All the others were made up for the purpose for this story. Well, save for Lord Nel. He’s actually been referenced before.

That whole scene of Susan should be called “Susan and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.”

And then there’s Edmund. Ed, Ed, Ed… it’s embarrassing to admit that his scene with Tarna was the very first thing written for this story, 7 long months ago.

… yeah, I know. It’s… yeah. No idea where it came from. But irrelevant comic relief is usually a welcome treat. Right? Right?

And then more shenanigans with Peridan and Ferrin. Ooh, and the second Telmarine…with a lead! This story is actually going somewhere!

Notes on Chapters 4-6 will be in the next post!

Bang.

2012-04-02T10:45:48Z

This video pretty my shows what's going on in my brain right now.

The title is just a coincidence, I swear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM6TCGltfHM

Brink.

2012-03-26T04:39:30Z

5 chapters down, 1 to go on the revision of my NBB. I'm almost there. Oh, what a monster it is... it's currently projected to be 75K long, with 3K projected to go.

What I say to that: AH-AHAHAHAH-HAHAHAHA.

I have yet to write the five small interludes that are going to be about 750-1000 words each. And each time I revise a scene, I'm still adding about 500-1500 words to it. And I've three scenes to revise.

I'm sure you all could do the math.

Anyway, it's slow going. I did not look at the thing for over a week, so now I feel a week behind. There's just so much to trudge through, and it could use at *least* two more passes through before I'm happy with it. And even then...

On the plus side, I have the time to work on it this week. I also need to work on my part of the art work for lady_songsmith that I'm doing with rthstewart. And, of course, formatting this will be fun since every other word is italicized. It's going to be a mad dash to the end, that's for sure!

Anyway... I'll see you on the other side! I need to get back to some Elephants.

Revise.

2012-03-05T20:03:12Z

Hmmm, it's been awhile since I posted...

Life has been busy, but I am now faced with a few blissful days of having no obligations towards anyone but me. That means cleaning, organizing, taxes... and, of course, writing.

I've started the revising process of my NBB, which is something I have been looooong been looking forward to! The goal was to hit, on average, one scene per day. And so far, so good. Of course, some scenes were in worse shape than others... and I do have about 24 of them. Hoo-boy. It's still projected to be 60K. However, each scene revision has added about 500-1500 extra words. Yikes.

And I shudder when I think of the slop-fest that I sent in as a first draft, though! I kinda want to sent in the revised stuff and say, "No, really, I CAN write coherently!!"

Ah well. That'd only be worth it if there was a running for "Most Improved."

I'm wondering if I'm going to be pulled in to pinch hit on the artwork... but I'll cross that bridge if/when I come to it!

Success.

2012-02-11T19:06:10Z

Thanks to everyone who joined in on the Write-In last night! Though I kinda failed in getting much accomplished while the majority were in the skype chat working, I did manage to get *some* stuff done... more than I had done before, that's for sure!

Anyway, the glory of skype is that now that the conversation is all set up, it will always be there and available at all times — feel free to hop in whenever you are writing, and who knows, maybe someone else will be signed on, too!

A Perma-Write-In, in other words. I know I'll probably be on tonight!

Write-In.

2012-02-09T23:55:28Z

For all of those struggling with, on a roll with, fine-tuning, needing ideas, or hell... anyone who isn't even participating but are around to offer quick insta-beta services or general support:

Narnia Big Bang Write-In. Tomorrow, February 10th. 9 PM EST. All are welcome. You can actively participate through conversation, or just check-in occasionally (because you're busy writing... right?)

We could either do the chat room or skype... any preferences?

**UPDATE**

For those interested in a group skype chat, find me under my LJ name! I'm going to try to get things going starting at 8:45 PM EST. (For those I've skyped with before, I'm using a different account just for this, so you'll have to add me again.)

Write-In.

2012-02-06T05:18:56Z

Hello LJ peoples!

It seems to be quiet around here, lately. My excuse is that work throughout January has been awfully busy, and personal life has been (thankfully) fun and distracting. Needless to say, my poor NBB has been neglected lately...

SO. A proposal. If anyone is interested, I would like to schedule a write-in—a set time where several of us will dedicate a set number of hours (3 or 4) on a certain evening this week to dedicate all our time to work on our NBBs.

We can all keep in contact for occasional check-ins, progress updates, questions, quick beta-ing and general moral support and such via twitter, or g-chat, or skype, or the chat room, or whatever floats peoples' boats.

Anyone interested in joining? And if so, what evening and times would you be interested in devoting your full attention towards your NBB?

Status.

2012-01-16T21:32:00Z

Hello all you peoples in LJ land!

I'm procrastinating from writing, even though today is a good day to do so. It's cool outside, overcast, I have the full day off from work (the first in nearly two weeks) and most importantly...internet!

On the writing front... at first, and I cannot lie, I was a tad disappointed by the NBB extension. Deadlines! Must need deadlines! But the past two weeks, I've been locked in a dark, internetless box full of distractions left and right. And though I'm in supervisory mode and can check out to write as needed, it just didn't happen. So, in short... yay, extension! THANK GOODNESS!

Things have eased up a bit this week, so daytimes are again available to tap-tap-tap away on my little keyboard. And I really do want to finish this first pass of the story by the end of the month. However, my story keeps inching longer and longer... I've been "12K more to go!" for the past 3K words, it seems! Blrgh.

I've had a few back-and-forths off-and-on with wingedflight21 about NBB Special Extended Edition Appendices and Extras and Whatnots. I've collected a bit of information that I would love to share with readers, but am unsure what the best way of doing so would be!

snacky had mentioned a Commenting Challenge of some sort after the fact, which sounds like a lot of fun... but with my story already being kinda longish, and not everyone's cup of tea, I'm not sure anyone would have much interest in one. Don't get me wrong, I could talk for HOURS about the NBB, but have a fear of boring people to death!

But I'm still trying to think of a best way to present some supplement material I would like released at the same time my story is posted. I have a map which would make things incredibly useful for readers. There are a couple of songs in the story, one of which I fully composed on Noteflight that I'd like to share. And a chart or two, too... then again, I have no idea what an artist would want to do with it either, so maybe it all could be integrated together? Who knows! I'm anxious to get to the stage of working with an artist, actually!

In other news.... because of its length and somewhat complicated-ness of plot threads, I am interested in bringing in a second beta (thanks to lady_songsmith for being my first!) There are just a few listed on the official sign-up, and it seems like a lot already have a plateful of beta-ing to do, so I don't want to pressure anyone into taking another on. Let alone a 60K one.

I'm particularly interested in someone strong at plot logic and thread tracking, and to tell me of there are enough laughs and cries sprinkled throughout. I'm thinking the story will end up to be T+, borderline M, but nothing explicit. Anyone out there interested? Maybe an exchange of services?

OK. Enough... I need to get writing...

Christmas.

2011-12-29T07:44:56Z

Happy Holidays, everyone!

It's been a busy couple of weeks. I went back to the Midwest for the holidays and am staying at a crowded house full of family and holiday distractions. On top of that, we had an open house to prepare for, so things have been non-stop.

I have finally completed my Christmas fic! I fully intended for it to go out Christmas Eve. Ah well, it didn't. But at least I was able to give it the attention I wanted to. It did end up longer and more introspective than originally planned... but oh well.

Behold, I bring you Hail to the Days.

This story takes place after Dichotomy, but before Splintered. It is meant to set up a few things for my Narnia Big Bang, Fuel to Fire, and other stories and plots and whatnots to potentially follow. Familiarity with both previously published stories is highly recommended!

Title comes from the traditional English carol known by either the same name (All Hail to the Days), or its more popular one To Drive the Cold Winter Away. Full lyrics may be found here.

Many thanks to lady_songsmith for the beta and rthstewart for her constant moral support!

Three.

2011-12-07T09:24:34Z

So, the 3 Sentence Ficathon is happening. And at first I avoided it, thinking:

"Think of the distraction it would be from your NBB, snitch!"

But then I thought:

"Think of the distraction it would be from your NBB, snitch!"

So, I dove in.
For cofax7

Prompt: Narnia, Tumnus, collaboration

Really, anyone else in his position would do the same if they wanted to live the peaceful life that his father had instilled in him. In all honesty, it was not any of his business of what was to come out of the ordeal—he dutifully did was he told, always, out of respect of others and self and the current system.

"She said she was was the youngest," Tumnus told the wolf, ignoring the evil gleam in his eye and the glistening sharp teeth, "the youngest of four."

For vialethe (who gave a ton of great prompts that I could not resist)

Prompt: The Secret Garden, Mary/Colin, they never tire of exploring

"Shall we take another pass around?" Mary asks him once they reached the front gate.

"We've already been around the path three times this afternoon, Mary," he says, warily, "Are you sure you're up to the task?"

"Of course I am, for I forgot to see if the violets are in bloom on the north side," Mary insists, which prompts a laugh from Colin as he once again pushes her chair for another turn around the garden.

I admit, I had to wiki TSG... it had been way too long.

Prompt: Chronicles of Narnia, Susan (/Edmund), she was too good to allow herself to be used

At least, that's what she told her self again, and again, and again, with similar sentiments coming regularly from her brother, as well. It mattered not how long the mantra filled her brain, both consciously out of avoidance of delving back into her real thoughts and feelings, and subconsciously as it became habit (I'm too good I'm too good I'm too good)—there was still the threat of dread, regret and sadness kicking in and taking over.

"An ass is not worth these tears, Su," Edmund consoled, offering his shoulder when she finally broke.

And then this came out of nowhere...

Prompt: Chronicles of Narnia, Edmund, courtesans in Tashbaan

It would have been rude to refuse, he thought as some sort of delusional justification to himself, while a bark of laughter escaped amongst his quiet moans, for to deny would be an insult to the hosts.

"Your Majesty?" the courtesan asked, her hands teasingly splayed between his thighs and her dark, sensuous eyes peeping up from below.

He stroked her hair, tucking a dark lock behind an ear, with a gasping, "Never mind," and guided her head back to the task at hand.

Yeah, I have no idea.

Anyway! So, earlier, I learned I there were a couple of fellow Trixie Belden fans, from which awesomeness ensued!

Prompt: Trixie Belden, Trixie/Jim, there are very few reliable ways of keeping Trixie quiet.

"—and I had no idea that it was already closed, I mean time just seemed to fly this evening, so when we pulled up and the place was all dark and everything, I started to panic, because if Moms found out that I had left them behind again, I'd never hear the end of it, and of course the most logical thing to do is to check to see if any of the windows were left unlocked, and there was and I thought It wouldn't be a big deal to just slip in and out, I mean, I knew exactly where they were, and it couldn't possibly take more than a minute, and I had no idea that an alarm system had been installed, because the last time I came through that very same—"

Jim reached behind Trixie and gave a very timely pinch on her bottom, causing her to stop, her eyes wide and her mouth gaping.

"Trix left her keys on the back table, Sergeant, and only went into to get them—she meant no harm," Jim tactfully said, which evidently was all that Molinson needed to hear for him to order the officer to release her from the handcuffs, with nothing more than the expected stern warning to never break into the library again, Ms. Belden.

Prompt: Chronicles of Narnia, Susan, she is raging/and a storm blows up in her eyes

Susan paid no heed to the calls of her name as she went through the double doors into the study—also ignoring the fact that they slammed against the delicately carved armoires, something she would be appalled of if anyone else were to harm such beautiful treasures—and continued to pace within as her traitorous brothers lingered in the doorway.

"I do not care what was expected of me, nor do I care about the repercussions that may come from the proposal I just denied," she fumed, "and never again shall myself—or Lucy for that matter—be used for political bargaining, do you understand?"

She eventually stopped her pacing at the window, her hands rested on the sill, and gazed out at the seven towers of Cair Paravel, thinking, I can only see one way out.

Yeah, that one was fun. Great song makes a great prompt!

And then I found myself delving into the SW fandom, which I never really have explored much despite devouring all the EU books for a good chunk of my life...

For rthstewart

Prompt: Star Wars, Expanded Universe, Han Solo, Mara Jade, takes one to know one

"Best stick to my side—I've dealt with them before, and trust me, it's gonna get ugly," Han warned her, adding, "they're the most conniving, untrustworthy, slickest bastards this side of the Maw."

Mara arched an eyebrow in his direction, pulled out her blaster, and said, "It takes one to know one, Solo."

"Yeah, and you're one to talk—by the way, welcome to the family," he said, throwing her a lop-sided grin, as he turned the corner and started firing.

Definitely not my best, though I'm sure Han would be really, really fun to write...

For wingedflight21

Prompt: Sarah Jane Adventures/Doctor Who, Luke and/or Clyde and/or Rani as companions

"I wish it was under better circumstances, of course," The Doctor said, as he needlessly polished an imaginary smear on a control with his cuff.

Rani politely smiled and took in the sights while Clyde was much more vocal with his appreciation—it was a Doctor they had met before, but the new TARDIS that came with the package deal was still new to them begging to be explored.

"But what do you say I take you to one of her favorites?" the Doctor asked with a kind smile, "A trip in the memory of our Sarah Jane," and he was delighted that it was just the thing for him to say for the familiar spark to return to their eyes.

OK, THIS needs to happen. Rani and Clyde NEED to become companions. They are too good of actors and characters to be limited to a show that reached an unfortunate, early end.

And some more Doctor Who...

For bluerosefairy

Prompt: Doctor Who, Donna/Jack, what's a nice girl like you doing in a bar like this?

The bar was the seediest in the Thelexican Galaxy, with the lights just dim enough to barely distinguish the face of whom you were flirting with, and the drinks strong enough so as not to care, so it was only fitting Donna would find him here.

"What's a nice girl like you doing in a bar like this?"

Jack turned on his stool and flashed her with his pearly whites, saying "I was going to ask you the same thing."

And one last one...

For caramelsilver

Prompt: Narnia, Peter and Edmund, fire and ice

"You were supposed to the stick to the plan we discussed!" Peter seethed, the fire within growing with rage from his brother's completely disrespectful handling of the situation they—barely—had escaped. "Our company could easily have been killed, and, by the sheer grace of Aslan, we are lucky that they weren't!"

Edmund merely shot him an icy glare, calmly said, "It all worked out for the best," and much to Peter's infuriation, quietly exited the room.

Whew! And now I'm taking a bit of a break. Back to that danged NBB!