#in that fandom. it has a goodreads page. it might as well be a novel!

[fingertipsmp3]

Idk how I used to read insanely long, like 50+ chapter fanfics, on my phone and laptop. Hello eyestrain, will you be staying long???

[chellyfishing]

well, i finished the last book i meant to read for the year, and i’ve been wanting to do a lil year in review of all the media from this year, but the main problem is that i don’t log movies/tv anywhere and my memory is uhh?? real bad?? i also definitely didn’t listen to nearly as much new music this year as usual :\\ anyway i figured i’d start with books for now and maybe ponder music/tv/movies/games over the next couple days.

NO i will not include fic even though i definitely did spend like a week recently accidentally reading a 600+k fic for a fandom i’m NOT EVEN IN, i can’t believe i read the whole thing

my storygraph is here

i read fifteen books this year, which makes it my best reading year since 2016, when i inexplicably read 40 in one year?? who is she i gave 5 stars to three of them:

confessions by kanae minato: this is a thriller told from multiple POVs about the supposed accidental death/actual murder of a teacher’s young daughter and the fallout that happens when she reveals she knows the truth. it is hard to root for anyone in this but that’s not really the point. every chapter reframes the original story again and again and again up until the final page so honestly don’t bother making your mind up about anything at any point before then.

the last house on needless street by catriona ward: i feel like explaining almost anything about this book and why i loved it so much would be just one massive spoiler, because its strengths lie in its abilities to subvert. subvert what? kind of... everything? it’s about a man, and his cat, and his daughter. it’s about a woman searching for her missing sister. it’s about illness, and abuse, and a serial killer. trigger warnings abound, especially regarding things happening to children. i don’t really know how to recommend this, except that it’s just Good and i haven’t stopped thinking about it.

you’ve lost a lot of blood by eric larocca: this is the book i just finished. it is very short, you could almost class it as a novella, in fact there is a novella in it? but also other things? i literally just finished it, so i’m still processing, because SO MUCH happens in a very short span of pages. i might reread it quickly because it really does go so fast, you almost don’t have time to breathe. the novella within the novel(la) is told in present-tense, in very short sentences and paragraphs, and you especially fly through those sections. i don’t know at this point if i think the whole thing could have benefitted from being longer or not. i might even change my rating of it later, but i sat for a minute after the last page and felt pretty strongly it was a five-star read so for now i go with my gut. i could feel myself going on a face journey the whole time, from sentence to sentence. it has things to say, in a sort of recursive way, it’s hard to explain. i think what it’s about is art, and also identity. i think i’m going to be thinking about it for awhile.

several other books i read this year probably would have been 5 stars if i was still using goodreads instead of storygraph, like a powerless fool, with the top ones of those being:

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid: you all know this book!!!!! i’m late to the party. there is a lot in here that is so beautiful and compelling. there is something about her writing that i also felt in malibu rising (which i also read this year) that keeps things from being a full five stars from me. i don’t think i can really explain it succinctly. but i was still very moved by this book, i cried a lot, and i do intend to read more by her, because her work is very readable.

piranesi by susanna clarke: i think this is a book that i only didn’t love quite as much as other people because i heard how good it was going in and expected something more revolutionary or life-changing instead of just A Very Good Book. like if i didn’t have any expectations i probably would have finished it and gone “wow!” instead of “oh, that was nice.” it’s about a man who doesn’t know much living almost entirely alone in a place that can’t be real, and what happens when both he and outside forces start to peel away at that reality.

all the feels by olivia dade: this is the sequel to spoiler alert, which i also read and loved this year, but slightly less. both of these books are very wonderful funny wish fulfillment romantic comedies about fat women and gorgeous prestige television star men (the show they’re on is like game of thrones but make it greek myth), they were the kind of thing that i just kind of needed to read at the time. what puts this one slightly ahead of its predecessor for me is that most of the conflict comes from the characters not being able to get out of their own way and sort of having to learn how to grow and be better people both for themselves and each other. i also just liked their romantic dynamic a bit more and i think anybody who is familiar with both pairs and also me would be like “yeah that tracks.” there’s a third book in the universe featuring a very minor background couple from the first two coming out soon!! ready for it!!

and the other good to very good things i read:

the ghost bride by yangsze choo (4.5): this book is set in 19th century malaysia and is about colonial chinese families (the author herself being chinese-malaysian). it’s about a woman whose family is Respectable but in a precarious position, and so naturally that means hoping for an Advantageous Marriage. there’s a man she loves, but he’s out of reach, and then his family proposes the idea of her marrying... that man’s dead cousin? which she’s not into (for whatever reason). but then he starts haunting her, and she has to figure out how to get him off her back so she can actually live her damn life. it’s very cute and fun and adventurous and sweet and romantic. it’s also a series on netflix which is somewhat faithful, it changes some things for the better and some things for less so, i enjoyed it though! the dead man, who is a limp weirdo in the book, is kind of a banger character in the series (i mean, still a weirdo, but with killer fashion sense).

the bright spear trilogy by hl macfarlane (all 3.75): these are three books classed as “gothic scottish fairy tales.” in terms of writing they are very light and frothy, kind of romantic drama with a fairy tale backdrop. there’s a bit more plot in the first one but things gradually become more about the relationship drama as things progress. slight spoiler but absolutely approve of the heroine having two handsome suitors and deciding she will keep both. they aren’t amazing books overall but they were fun fast reads and i honestly appreciate them being kind of just lightly poly. the third book is... unexpectedly dark? like trigger warnings for SA among some other things. things never get truly grim but after i read it i was like oh yeah that was kind of a lot wasn’t it, if you think about it. the author has promised a sequel series about the child character born at the end and... yeah. yeah i’m gonna read it.

malibu rising by taylor jenkins reid (4.5): another book in the taylor jenkins reidiverse, about the family of a minor evelyn hugo character. he’s a rock star, he’s got a wife who’s been with him from before he Made It, they’ve got kids who love to surf. the action focuses on the kids, taking place over one night, with flashbacks filling in the stories of their parents, and how actually, their dad kinda sucks. this is a lighter read than evelyn hugo but deals with similar ideas and themes.

penpal by dathan auerbach (4.25): this is kind of a famous no sleep/reddit horror story that was published as a novel. it’s about a man who’s reflecting on his childhood, putting together a lot of seemingly disparate, out-of-order events to form a truly disturbing narrative. the most important thing about this book that you should know is that it’s a bummer. you won’t walk away from this one feeling very good about anything. the pacing is kind of slow as things build over time and then A Lot happens in the last bit and then you just kind of have to live with it.

neverworld wake by marisha pessl (3.5): this was easily the most disappointing book i read this year. it’s about a group of friends who are stuck in purgatory reliving the same day over and over again, and it’s also about their friend who died a year ago and what happened to him. i... don’t really know what to say about this book. it wasn’t bad, obviously. maybe i just don’t get it. i don’t know what it was trying to say. i don’t know what i was supposed to feel. but i wasn’t feeling conflicted in the way i was with something like, say, confessions. it was just kind of like, “...okay? and?”

spoiler alert by olivia dade (4.25): as mentioned above.

autumn of the grimoire by jl vampa (4.0): listen... i read this because it’s arranged marriage. more broadly it’s about four sisters who are like, seasonal witches, and they pass around a grimoire from season to season that gives them tasks passed down by their predecessors. our protagonist is sister autumn and she always gets the absolutely worst most grim and traumatic tasks, and now she’s inexplicably being forced to marry Some Guy. the thing that i liked the least about this book is how it was told from different viewpoints of characters who have different amounts of knowledge but the reader is constantly being kept in the dark for no real reason, like, we weren’t learning with the characters, the characters already knew!! we were just being teased with constant reminders about how there’s More Going On, which is so tedious to me. “had i but known” and related writing tropes are among my least favorites. also, i knew it was going to be het, but there was a teeny tiny part of me that thought maybe the male half of the marriage was already in a relationship with another man and he and his wife were just going to end up bffs and i read like half the book through that lens and it took quite awhile before the book reached a point where i could no longer pretend that made sense. i recommend trying this anyway because if the author is going to repeatedly remind me there are things i don’t know it’s my right as a free american to pretend the thing i don’t know is gay. overall in spite of all that there are some fun characters, and some fun plot twists! i didn’t expect it to end how it did and i’m actually kind of looking forward to reading more in the series when they come out!

i didn’t read any books i hated this year, which was nice!! i think i read more 5 stars last year but i also read some real duds too. the “worst” was just being disappointed by

neverworld wake

.

i started so many others but i don’t consider any of them DNFs becaaaaause i start books all the time and put them down and it has nothing to do with the book and everything to do with the fact that i have a squirrel brain and reading is so so hard. hopefully i’ll finish some of them next year?? i don’t think anything i read this year was an aborted attempt from last year tho sooooo idk. i wish my brain was better but i still consider this a pretty good reading year overall!

[away-ward]

I love that you mentioned that emmy and alex's ways of dealing with depression or hard life is not one better than the other, but because of the narrative, it might seem like it is, depending on who read it. What pisses me off about pd is when they were asked in a goodreads question/fb group a few years back about what emmy did all those years she was away to california, pd merrily replied: i dont know. Like... WTF. Thats the thing, we didnt even get will's pov as much when he was drunk, but we got so much intervention from unnecessary side characters. I remember when nightfall was first released, so many people hated emmy on twitter and fb groups, some even made fanfics of willalex in the chatgroup lmao, even when pd already said in their fb page that people were very quick to judge women like emmy when they liked damon, but that didnt really stop the haters though. But can you really blame these fans when pd kept on hyping up willdamon and willalex all those time? Why hype them up so unnecessarily when there would be no follow up of their relationship later because the endgame was already set in stones? It just came back to bite pd in her ass.

During that summer/fall of nightfall's release, so many illemmy fans were super mad and i believe it was the book that pd got the most hates from FANS because of the way they wrote emmy. Many fand on twitter accused pd writing so much alex's involvement in nightfall as a fan service for alex's fans because these fans then demanded too much and unfortunately, they got it. Then Fall Away wasnt hyped as much by pd's fans because of this backlash, and now even Motel, a novel set in the same universe as Birthday Girl was announced to be put on hold from writing and publication because pd said they couldnt force themself to write this novel no matter how many times they tried. Unsurprisingly, Motel was supposed to come out a few years ago near nightfall and fall away. Pd also implied a couple of times that they couldnt continue writing their stories because the fans' expectation and the stories that they actually wanted to write are different so they would be stuck in a pickle. Honestly, readers should just leave pd alone because i knew damn well nightfall was not supposed to be written like that, if pd werent so pressured by all those fb moms for their damon and alex's fascination years ago. Writers should stay away from fan spaces, and fans shouldnt bother authors and just write their own headcanons or fanfics for things they wanted to read outside of canon, instead of demanding things from the author. Or else, things like this will happen.

Can you imagine if pd actually wasnt that influenced by those fans or haters all those years, we could actually get a solid willemmy story in nightfall. I dont know if anyone has mentioned this to you, but there will be a special edition that will be released in america only (so far) that will include qnas, letters, bonus and contents for each couple? If youre from the US, maybe you can get your hands on them. Unfortunately, im not from the US, and i dont even live near the US, so im not able to get them but im sure those contents will be spread anyway hopefully.

+I was cackling at that damon torrance hate ask, because yes, it's always a damon torrance bully hate hour, haha! Hope theyre doing well though, damon is just a fictional character after all, no need to stress out too much. Just pray we dont meet someone like him irl.

I did read PD’s response and felt some negative way about it. For me, even if I’m not writing that part of the story, I have to at least know what happened because it might become relevant. But then, I go too far like that (as I’m sure you all can tell now). But PD’s process is probably very different from mine and, hey, at least they’ve finished and published multiple series and stand-alone’s…which I have not. So, I’m not here to criticize their method.

I didn’t know PD had called the fandom out on their dislike for Emmy when NF was released. I can’t imagine having to deal with that level of vitriol, especially about something I created.

I will admit that I’ve written myself into a corner before, without the help of anyone else lol. And once you get stuck in the corner, it’s really hard to get out without feeling overwhelmed. If PD had let other people control the narrative, even indirectly, I can’t imagine how hard it would be to get back on track. But you have to deal with it. It makes sense that the fear of backlash would paralyze them. Not saying it’s right or fair but writing and inspiration doesn’t work like that.

You’re absolutely right. As the author, PD should have left the fandom spaces long before writing, but it’s really hard to. Writers thrive on feedback and comments, and if they had found a place that gave them constant feedback and validation for what they were doing, and throwing out ideas (hey, free inspiration!) then I understand why they didn’t peel themselves away. The fandom should have never been given any power of the story. But yeah, once it was published, readers should go to the author’s space to complain. If the author wants to hear their negative feedback (which we all know we’ll get at some point) they’ll find it when they’re ready to process it. It’s never warranted to go directly to the author and throw hate in their face.

I do wonder what things would have changed if the story had been influenced by the fans. A more fleshed out Willemmy would have been great.

I hadn’t been aware of the special edition release. Honestly, I’m surprised. I figured after the most recent cover change, that would be the last PD was going to touch the series for a few more years. That bonus content could be really interesting, and I hope we get something good. It most likely will be spread and made available some place.

Omg. Yes. Like I said, I usually get these either first thing in the morning or right before I go to bed, so I’m half-asleep when I read them the first time and let me tell you…opening my ask box to that comment was confusing the say the least. I was like “what did I say??” but then I realized they were just ranting in general, so it was fine. But goodness. I can’t imagine getting that upset, but I know it’s just the way some in the fandom respond to people disagreeing with them and criticizing their fav. I hope they were okay with my response. And yeah…let’s hope we don’t meet a Damon Torrance in real life.

[bettsfic]

socknography: the importance of preserving fan creator biographical data

i wrote earlier on utilizing collections and bookmarks to boost the archival power of ao3, and in that post mentioned how i wish authors would fill out their bios so we can preserve fanauthor information as well as we preserve the fics themselves. so, here is my rant about WHY WE ARE SO IMPORTANT.

for my masters thesis i wrote about the layered pseudonymity of fanfiction authors, and after doing a ton of research, i find myself still thinking of the pseudonymous/anonymous divide as it pertains to fic. we have authors we consider “famous” and ones whose followings eclipse that of traditionally published authors, but unlike traditionally published authors, we don’t put a handy bio at the end of our fics. in fact, if you want to find out about the author, you have to hope they’ve linked somewhere to their tumblr or twitter or dreamwidth, or they have consistent pseuds across platforms. and from there, you have to hope they have an ‘about me.’ but most, myself included, don’t.

unlike traditional publication -- where amazon and goodreads and even the back of the book contains biographical info -- and even unlike the rest of fandom archival etiquette -- which, despite having virtually no committed rules still maintains its organizational structure -- there is no standard etiquette on fanauthor biographical data. 

i speculate the reasons fanauthors are hesitant to write their own biographies is very complicated: 

there is no “ask” for it or existing standard. when i publish stories under my real name, i’m required to provide my bio, which contains my accomplishments, where i got my degree, where else i’m published, and my website. all literary author bios follow this formula, so they’re pretty easy to write. other than this post, i have never seen a request for fanauthor bios. so without an editor demanding it, and without a standard formula or platform to draw from, a total lack of information becomes the norm, and almost any info other than the standard “name. age. pronouns. ao3 name. list of fandoms and/or pithy one-liner” of tumblr or occasional ask game is seen as a deviation from the norm. even ask games get a bad rep sometimes, and they’re transitory, a post you see as you’re scrolling through to somewhere else, not static, like a dedicated profile page.

pseudonymity veers too close to anonymity. an anonymous author cannot have a biography. a pseudonymous author can, but biographies may be seen as defeating the purpose of writing under a pseudonym, or multiple pseuds. a sock account is a sock for a reason -- you don’t want it associated with your main. moreover, i believe fandom creates an environment in which to acknowledge your accomplishments and promote your own content is seen as narcissistic. fanfiction can sometimes be seen as a genre of selflessness, donating time and energy into a community centered around a shared canon, not personal gain. to acknowledge the self publicly is to invite attention, and attention is contradictory to anonymity.

shame and humility. the more information you have on the internet, the easier you are to find. very few fanauthors use their real names, or feel comfortable connecting their fan identity to their real one. i hear pretty constantly how often fanauthors hide their fannishness from their coworkers and loved ones, how only the people closest to them know they write/read fanfic. moreover, you might think “my most popular fic only has 10 kudos and 1 comment, nobody wants to know about me” (which is so not true, but i’ll get to that in a minute).

fandom is constantly changing. with a central archive for fanfiction in place, it’s easier now to be in multiple fandoms at once than it ever has been. if you want to read all sugar daddy fics, there’s a tag for that, and if you’re not picky about canon, you have an entire buffet of fandoms to choose from. communities are growing and shifting and changing shape. i move fandoms, and i keep my friends and readers from previous fandoms. i get dragged to new fandoms frequently. my interests and inspirations change, but i don’t erase my history or identity every time i move, i only add to it. i am always betts whether i’m in star wars or the 100 or game of thrones. but if you only read my fic, you don’t know the stories behind it. many people don’t know i entered fandom in the brony convention community in 2012, or that i was sadrobots before i was betty days before i was betts, or how fandom changed my life and led me through a path of personal trauma recovery, or that i co-founded wayward daughters, or ran the fanauthor workshop, or all these other things about fanfic that is not fanfic itself. 

if you are a fan creator, your fannish personal narrative matters. telling your story helps preserve the metatextual history of our genre.

i think constantly about what our genre will look like in 30 or 50 years, if it will be like other genres that began as subversions of the mainstream: comic books, beat literature, science fiction. genres that, at the time involved groups of friends creating stories for each other, bouncing ideas off of one another, experimenting with or distorting other genres, and which became, over time, well-regarded forms with rich histories. 

maybe one day, like the MCU, we’ll have a dedicated production company that churns out adaptations of longform coffee shop aus written between 2009 and 2015. maybe “BNFs” will be read in high school literature curriculums. maybe our work will end up on the real or virtual shelves of our great grandchildren. and if that happens, if fanfic goes entirely mainstream, how will fanfic authorship be perceived? how will fanpeople in 2080, if humanity is still around by then, interact with the lexicon we’ve created and preserved? what would you do if you found out Jane Austen wrote under five different sock accounts across three platforms over the span of twenty years? how would you, a fan of Pride & Prejudice, even begin to find all of her work?

we have so many social constraints pushing against us. there’s purity culture, which encourages further division of identity -- fanauthors may write fluff on their main and have various sock accounts for underage/noncon fics. if you’re a scarecrow, you’re much harder for a mob to attack. there’s misogyny, which dictates women/queer ppl shouldn’t be writing about or indulging in or exploring their sexuality at all. there’s intellectual property and a history of DMCAs, which, although kept at bay by the OTW, may still have influence on the “illegal” mentality of our work. with social armies against us, it’s easier to exist in the shadows, on the fringe. we change URLs based on our moving interests, and split our identities a million different ways, and keep sarcastic “me” tags full of self-deprecating text posts. we are difficult beasts to catch, because we have not been allowed to exist.

i spent a lot of time today googling the word for “pseudonymous biography” and came up empty-handed (if someone knows of an existing word, pls let me know. “pseudography” is apparently a fancy word for a typo; “pseudobiography” is a fake biography), so for lack of anything better, i’ve come up with the term “socknography” because 1) it’s funny and doesn’t sound intimidating, and 2) it encapsulates the sensitive and complicated way fanauthor identifying conventions work. and also i think “fanauthor biography,” “bibliography,” and “profile” just doesn’t cut it for the actual work of these pieces. they don’t necessarily include IRL biographical data, they include more historical/community context than a bibliography, and the words “profile” and “about me” don’t really inspire interaction, or acknowledge the archival importance of this work.

astolat’s fanlore page is my go-to example. astolat writes under multiple pseuds and has major influence in the history of fandom. she’s also a traditionally published author, but you notice, her ofic novels are not mentioned, nor any other real-life identifying information. fanlore has a really good policy on this in place, for those concerned about doxxing. 

(moreover, i am not suggesting you centralize your socks. they’re socks for a reason. but most everyone has a main, and that main identity has a story.)

there are 2 existing spaces to preserve socknographies. 

fanlore, a wiki owned by the OTW, you can make an account and create a user page (which is different than a “person” page) using a user profile template

ao3′s “profile” page, which is a big blank box in which anything goes

(i’m not including tumblr on this list because i don’t think it’s a stable platform.) 

fanlore’s template is straight to the point and minimal, which doesn’t really invite narrative the same way a literary bio would. ao3′s big blank box leaves us with the question -- wtf do i say about myself? how do i say it? how much is too much? and because of that, most profiles are either blank or only include a policy on translations/podfic/fanart, and maybe links to tumblr and twitter. but let me tell you, if i have read your fic and taken the time to move over to your profile, you better believe i am a fan. and as a fan, i want to Know Things.

here are the things i want to know, or

a potential template:

introduction (name/alias, age, location, pronouns, occupation)

accomplishments (degrees, personal history)

fan history (fandoms you’ve been in, timeline as a fan, how you were introduced to fandom/fanfiction, what does fandom mean to you -- this is where your fan narrative goes)

fandom participation (popular fics/posts, involvement in fan events/communities, side blogs, interviews, etc. 3 & 4 might be one and the same for you)

spotlight (which of your fics are most important to you/would you like others to read and why? what are the stories behind your favorite fics you’ve written?)

find me elsewhere* (links to tumblr, twitter, insta, etc.)

policies on fanart, fanfic of fic, podfics, and translations

*you cannot link to ko-fi, paypal, patreon, or amazon on ao3/fanlore per the non-commercial terms of service

i’ll be working on filling this out for my own profile as an example, but you can also see how my @fanauthorworkshop participants filled out their fanauthor spotlights, and the information they provided. obviously, you should only share that which you feel comfortable sharing, and as your fandom life changes, your narrative will change too. it’s not much different than updating a CV or resume.

tl;dr the goal is to provide a self-narrative of your fan life/identity for posterity. who are you and why are you a fanperson? why do you create fan content? what are you proud of and what do you want to highlight to others? who are you in this space?

[ninety6tears]

king-of-exchanges letter

Wooo kingofexchanges is happening again! 

I’m a big fan of SK but only somewhere in the middle of my consumption/obsession; with King being heavy on self-referencing and crossover-friendly treatments, I’d be happy for you to mix and match any of my requests, as long as you can see from my goodreads page that I’ve read the relevant stuff.

Basic preferences: I read everything from G-rated to explicit PWP. I love pastiche for lit fandoms but something that feels more off the beaten path of the original style can also be fun.

I love: Angst, pining, subtle UST, first times, or established relationships with some level of conflict to be resolved. Intense friendship stories. Protectiveness in close relationships as well as in those that wouldn’t obviously appear to be protective at first. A character or characters experiencing a type of attraction that isn’t the status quo for them. Relationships that had a falling-out and neither of them ever really got over it. Characterization that focuses on the nature & nurture of who people have grown to be and the unique ways they take care of or need other characters. Insecurity/hangups over worthiness. AUs of all varieties.

I can handle: underage, dubcon, noncon, torture and incest. Character death. Love triangles. Infidelity.

Do Not Want: Fix-its without sacrifice/troubles. Soulbonding/magical soulmate tropes. Disputes centered around marriage as a show of commitment ("If you were really serious you'd have proposed by now rather than just wanting to live together" and all that). A/B/O, mpreg, or any body fluid kinks. More than a mention of Alzheimer’s/dementia.

Christine ‘83 (FIC):

Arnie/Dennis

Arnie/Christine/Dennis

---NOTE - The movie is more fresh in my mind for prompting purposes but I have read the book, so feel free to run with this request for either version. I do like the dark humor Carpenter brings to adolescence without mocking the angst of being a teenager, not that King isn’t morbidly funny in his own right.

We get very little of them together before Arnie starts to go all possessed but we can tell their friendship has lasted a lot of changes over the years. That hospital visit over the holiday (which I remember was more bittersweet, less tense in the book?) feels like the last time Arnie remembered that he's supposed to be a big part of Dennis’ life. But even before all that, there’s a nice dynamic where Dennis is protective of Arnie and really thinks highly of him (and huh, maybe sees something in his looks other people don’t) when it’s not socially advantageous for him to retain that loyalty, and I’d like to get more of that. Maybe they’ve fooled around once or twice? Maybe Arnie was the one who got weird about it, afraid of the eventual rejection, or they’re both just too repressed? I like the triangle with Leigh too, if you wanted to get into the confused jealousy/conduit attraction thing, just nothing that completely dismisses any meaning of her relationship with Dennis if it’s referenced at all.

If Dennis was the one Christine got dangerously jealous of (either because something happens between them or she just knows) how would that go down differently? Or what if the car decides she wants to be shared by them, and maybe likes to watch them do things to each other (take that however you want it to mean) and either their closeness makes the two of them eventually snap out of it, or they all just become a weird evil threesome? I'm also into the idea of some other fantasy/sci-fi AU in which Christine is something or someone else entirely but is still threatening in some paranormal/inhuman way.

Crossover Tags (FIC):

Peter McVries & Ray Garraty & The Stand

Peter McVries/Ray Garraty & The Stand

---I’m interested in how these two would fit into a story with such an elemental moral war. Both are reckless but McVries more prone to hopelessness and nihilism; would he be tempted to join Flagg without outside influence? Would he just kind of wander around with no sense of purpose until Ray found him? It could also turn the existential misery of The Long Walk on its head, with them losing their families and possibly realizing too late the preciousness of life that way. You don’t have to get into much philosophy or plot either; I’m kind of into the everyday pain-in-the-ass minutiae of the post-apocalypse and people finding ways to laugh about their circumstances and reach for each other in their grief. Feel free to write it as full-on crossover with some of the canon Stand characters appearing.

Larry Underwood & Richie Tozier

---If you have some other idea of where to put these two together, go for it, but I had this idea of Richie hosting an occasional interview special for up-and-coming musicians and Larry being invited on when the single’s just out and being so nervous to meet this famous personality, and maybe they get drunk or high together before or after the interview (bonus points if Larry can hardly get in an answer cause Richie gives him the giggles). They’re kinda both assholes so they get along? They’re both assholes so they kinda hate each other? I didn’t nominate it as a shippy treatment but if you’re really sad I didn’t, hey, stuff happens when people party.

The Dark Half (FIC):

Alan Pangborn/Thad Beaumont

Alan Pangborn/Elizabeth Beaumont/Thad Beaumont

George Stark/Alan Pangborn

---I thought the surprising friendship and trust that takes hold between Thad and the officer who initially believes him to be a cold killer was one of the better aspects of this novel, and the way that connection is so soon polluted by Stark's insurmountable connection to a part of Thad’s psyche is chilling and more than a little sad. I would love to get a shippy treatment of their immediate companionship and/or the inevitable disturbance of it. If you wanted to make it a poly thing with Elizabeth, with all three of them not really pausing in the midst of all these maddening things happening to question opening their marriage to someone they find comforting, I would be interested in how that might underscore the events.

And when it comes to George/Alan...yeah, I want darkfic, potentially outlining Stark’s role in putting Alan off Thad in a more sinister way, whether it’s poisoning the well of Alan’s (sublimated? not yet acted on?) desire and affection for Thad by being sleazily flirtatious in pointing it out, or going to a darker noncon place with all the mingled disgust and misplaced attraction that might provoke. (In the context of this prompt, I’m not super into the gross-out factor of Stark being at the stage where his skin is falling off, but if you can’t somehow set it at an earlier stage it would be better to just not mention it.)

Also, I realize Alan has a family, but you can deal with that however you want; his wife can just not exist for the purposes of the story, but even infidelity wouldn’t put me off if you’re taking the character that far out of a healthy mindset.

The Long Walk (FIC):

Peter McVries/Ray Garraty

---Since we’re never in Pete’s head, it would be great to get anything detailing how his initial distance from Ray quickly erodes into the protectiveness he obviously can’t help over him, if there’s a spark of empathy there even before the first time Ray saves him, or what he’s really thinking or trying to say at some of his more cynical and cryptic moments. I wonder what it was that Parker said to him to imply he thought he and Ray were “queer for each other” and how this apparently was covered without McVries feeling the need to deny it?

If you wanted to write them both somehow surviving, I would love to see how their relationship remains in the aftermath; maybe they don’t exactly end up together because they associate each other with this traumatizing thing, and they have an essential but troubled friendship because of it (and maybe they end up fucking a couple times but don’t really talk about it).

In the realm of more absolute alternate universes...a bigoted boarding school atmosphere, an aggressive correctional camp, anything where a compulsive make-out might happen in the bunks or the showers and then be stiffly denied later on sounds like a backdrop I’d love for these boys if you want to do something bleak-but-not-as-mortally-bleak.

I prefer to think of McVries as having complicated depression that doesn’t just stem from girlfriend problems; I’d prefer you mention the incident with Priscilla as little as possible, but any focus on Pete’s scar is totally fine.

The Stand (ART):

Larry Underwood/Lucy Swann

Lucy Swann/Larry Underwood/Nadine Cross/Randall Flagg

Nadine Cross

---My attempts to prompt for art for these tags may be unhelpful but I’m really into Nadine’s scary paranormal bond with Flagg, the imagery of her hair and Flagg’s tainted handsomeness and everything haunted about her and her life, and how the love triangle with her and Larry and Lucy is really a quadrangle of temptations and baggage beyond the usual moral pressure of romantic entanglements. They’re all figuratively in bed together whether they like it or not, but I could see that presented more literally in art. I also would like anything associated with the individual permutations (Larry/Nadine, Larry/Lucy, Larry/Nadine/Randall?). Desperate/melancholy embraces, or moments of almost touching. That ghost leering over Nadine’s shoulder in her moments of getting too close to tenderness.

[lizziethereader]

11 questions tag (x3 - so 33 questions tag, I guess?)

I’ve been super busy but I still appreciate having been tagged by @bibliophilecats​, @books-are-portals​, and @thelivebookproject​, thank you! 

I’ll answer all your questions in one post because I doubt I’d be able to come up with new questions for all three of the tags, haha  But since this will be super long, you’ll find it under the cut! 

First up, @bibliophilecats​‘ questions: 

1. What is your favourite movie and/or TV show based on a book? I’m not sure I have one, there’s nothing that immediately comes to mind at least. So I’ll just tell you about the first one I ever saw (when I was a kiddo still): Emil und die Dedektive! (based on the novel by Erich Kästner)  2.  When you just can’t get into a book, do you quit or do you finish every book you start, no matter what?  As embarrassing as it is to admit, I’m part of the latter category.  3.  Which is your favourite bookstore?  I absolutely love Daunt books in London because not only is it pretty, it also offers a very wide selection of books.  4. Do you keep all the books you read? Do you keep none? I keep all of them. One day I want to have one of those homes that are just full of books and plants!  4.  What is the rarest color on your bookshelf?  Difficult to say, but maybe gray?  5.  Is there a book that permanently changed you (opinions, style, fandom) when you read it? Lots of nonfiction does that! One example is Caitlin Doughty’s Smoke gets in your eyes but also psychology-related books like Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow.  6.  How do you unwind after a stressful day at work/school? Step one is my commute home, during which I read. And then it’s usually tumblr and youtube (or catching up with series).  7.  Which fictional friendship/relationship is your goal? I haven’t figured that out yet but anything that’s supportive is always lovely to see.  8.  What is the one skill you wish you could master? Better social skills, for sure!  9.  You’re famous somehow and a University awards you one of those giveaway PhDs as a publicity stunt. What would you be a Doctor of?  no idea, but I’d love the chance to get an actual PhD in linguistics or philosophy!  10.  If nobody else is around and it’s cranked up loud, which song will you always dance to? Ooooh, there’s many! Tonight, Tonight by Hot Chelle Rae for example 

Okay, now @books-are-portals​‘ questions: 

What book would you have liked better had you read it when you were younger? A wrinkle in time, probably. 

Do you listen to podcasts? Any recs? I rarely find the time but when I do I love the Green brothers’ Dear Hank and John and, what is almost a classic of podcasts, Welcome to Night Vale 

Favourite edition of your favourite book? ‘favourite’ is a big word and I don’t think I can answer to that but I do love my signed special edition of The Name of the Wind that has a goat scribble in it 

Favourite book (fiction or non-fiction) you had to read during your studies (uni or otherwise)?  That’s so difficult to choose! Let me give you a top 3: Hamlet, Code Name Verity and Tess of the D’Urbervilles (oh but I do have so many more favorites! what a tough question!) 

What movie would make a great book? cool question! Frankly, I’d probably read most of the Marvel movies as books. The comic world is too intimidating for me but if the movies were books I think I’d really enjoy all the banter and stuff...

Tea or coffee? Coffee - I like the idea of tea but I can’t get into it. 

A random fact you’re proud to know?  I’m hardly ever proud of anything so that’s a tough question.... I can’t really think of anything, so I’ll pass

Favourite tree? Weeping willows! 

Dream house/flat?  I’d love to actually own a small house. Ideally with lots of light, plants, and bookshelves. + a garden!

Least favourite comic (series)? Why?  I’m not invested enough to have one. 

You have an unlimited budget to buy one (1) book. What book would you buy?  I’d probably have something bound gorgeously just for me - maybe a collection of my favorite books or fanfics or something. There’d be gorgeous lettering, a leather cover and lots of lovely hand-crafted details. 

And last but not least, @thelivebookproject​‘s questions! 

How many books have you read this year so far?  currently reading my 50th! 

Do you have a Goodreads account? (Mine is this) yes, over here! 

How many languages do you speak?  Well, I speak English and German. I learned a bit of French in school but I can’t really speak it. I’ve been learning Norwegian on Duolingo for more than two years now but I've never actually had a conversation in Norwegian, so... 

How do you choose your books?  I just read whatever looks interesting at the time. 

Have you ever travelled abroad?  Yeah, too many times to count (because I’m too lazy to count now). But with the exception of one trip to the states it’s always been within Europe. 

Tell me something about yourself.  I have a tough time deciding who I am. 

Recommend a book?  This is going to hurt by Adam Kay. 

What are you currently reading?  I’m currently reading Dear Evan Hansen because I love the musical! 

Why did you create your blog?  Just to see and share book stuff, really. 

What do you like most about bookblr?  That (despite people saying otherwise) it’s always there and from my personal experience seems so much more positive than other communities. 

Blank gap -tell me anything you want: books you love, how do you feel about my blog, anything at all!  So this is gonna be a question for the audience (I need advice). I have this book stamp (”from the library of....”) that I stamp all my books with after I read them and before I put them on their new spot on my shelves. Now I’ve just finished reading The Hunchback of Notre Dame and it’s an old book that I got secondhand (it even has an inscription!). I feel sort of strange about stamping it, I’m not sure if I should do it (Almost all of my other books are new books so I had no trouble stamping them). Thoughts? 

Right, you didn’t think we’d get there, but we did! It’s time for my questions! Not all of them are bookish because it’s really tough coming up with new stuff after thinking of weekly bookish questions for years [also I might self-plagiarize and use some of those as wbqs in the future].... 

I’m tagging @nevertobecaught, @maddie-mux, @lettersfromthelighthouse, and @trinareadsbooks to answer these questions: 

1. What’s the best combination, a book + ..... (can be food, a drink, a place, a feeling, etc.)  2. What’s your stance on classics?  3. If you could add one feature to tumblr or booklr specifically, what would it be?  4. What was the loveliest reading experience you had lately?  5. Do you enjoy musicals? If so, what are some of your favorites?  6. When it comes to vacations, do you prefer city trips or lots of beach time? (or neither/something else?)  7. Are you a candle person?  8. What’s something you admire other people for?  9. Have you discovered any new songs you love lately?  10. If you’re currently reading something, which page are you on? And are you enjoying it so far?  11. Which birthday gift would absolutely delight you? 

[caitsbooks]

Caitsbooks Reviews: The Princess & The Fangirl by Ashley Poston

Quick Stats: Overall: 4/5 Stars Characters: 4/5 Setting: 5/5 Writing: 5/5 Plot and Themes: 4/5 Awesomeness Factor: 4/5 Review in a Nutshell: The Princess and the Fangirl is the perfect geeky novel that will make you dream of comic con.

“We need those stories, too. Stories that tell us that we can be bold and brash and make mistakes and still come out better on the other side. ”

Follow Me Here: Blog || Goodreads || Bookstagram || Twitter  || Reviews

// Content Warning: Body Shaming, Cyberbullying//

”Look to the stars. Aim. Ignite.” - Premise - The Princess and the Fangirl is a retelling of The Prince and the Pauper, except this Princess the space princess, Amara, in the movie Starfield, played by Jessica Stone. After Jess’ character is killed off, she can finally do the indie films that will get her praise and awards, but Imogen, a diehard Starfield fan will do anything to #SaveAmara. When a classic case of mistaken identity ends up with Imogen on the Starfield panel, Jess decides to hand over the fame for the weekend so she can track down the person who is leaking her missing Starfield script. - Writing & Setting- Ashley Poston has managed to perfectly capture the amazing, chaotic mess that is conventions. Reading this book is like being on the show floor yourself and witnessing the majestic disaster that is fandom at it’s finest. I just love how perfectly this book portrays con culture. Meanwhile the writing itself is equally fun. The prose is straightforward and realistic. She somehow avoided the cringe factor that takes over a lot of books about nerds and geeks. Her writing is witty and quirky with just enough depth. “I think there are people who come into your life, and you just know. For however long or short a time or however impossible it might seem – they're important. Like a guiding star amid a storm.” - Plot - This book is well paced, with mystery and drama making the pages fly by. But what really stands out is how Ashley Poston manages to show both the best and worst parts of fandoms. She shows everything I love about fandom, and all the dark sides I try to pretend don’t exist. It adds depth to what would otherwise be a lighthearted story (though, don’t get me wrong, it’s still so lighthearted and fun). - Characters - I honestly didn’t care for Jessica’s character in Geekerella. What I didn’t expect was that I would absolutely love her in this book. Her issues with self-esteem were so relatable and were handled so well. I also really loved Imogen as a character, what I loved most in her chapters was the romance aspect. Both characters have their own love interest, and they were both amazing. And one of them is f/f!!! I didn’t know that going in and I was so pleasantly surprised!!! Unfortunately, because there were two separate love stories going on, I didn’t feel as connected or invested in them as I did in Geekerella. “I am a kaleidoscope of hope and dreams and wonder in the shape of a girl. I am not a porcelain doll. I am not empty. I am worthy. I am enough.” - Conclusion - Pros- LGBT rep, great characters, such an honest portrayal of fandom Cons- Didn’t connect to characters and romance as much as Geekerella Overall- 4/5 stars. The Princess and the Fangirl is a fantastic sequel, and a fantastic story on it’s own. Reading it will make you fall in love with fandom all over again. Follow Me Here: Blog ||Tumblr || Bookstagram || Twitter|| Reviews

[glassprism]

Phan survey 2018

Basic info Name: GlassPrism Age: 26 Pronouns: She/her Location: California, USA Discord: Celina (GlassPrism)#4775 Rabb.it: GlassPrism FFN: Glass Prism AO3: GlassPrism (are you starting to see a trend) Deviantart: No longer have one, but going off my other names, it’d probably be GlassPrism (and I think my DA was in fact called that) Instagram: glassprism80 (don’t expect to see anything on there) Shop(s): Uh does my trading site count? Other: YouTube, and I’m a member of a Facebook phan page, and also the Goodreads page because I have no self-control

Phan history 1. General phan since: January 2010. 2. Part of Tumblr phandom since: January 2011. 3. One-sentence summary of how you got into Phantom: I watched the fracking 2004 film and fell down a hole I have yet to crawl out of. 4. Phantom-related performances attended: Just the Love Never Dies national tour in April 2018. I have not seen Phantom live, ironically. 5. Adaptations you’re familiar with: The ALW musical first and foremost, the novel by Gaston Leroux, the novel by Susan Kay, various different film, stage, book, and the occasional video game adaptations I won’t list here, though I’m not as intimately familiar with them as the musical. 6. Other relevant tidbits you’d like to share (collections, costumes, celebrity encounters, etc.): Um, I collect bootlegs of the show? And I have a small collection of programs, brochures, librettos, and artwork I guess.

Blog 1. Main blog: GlassPrism 2. Phantom sideblog, if applicable: None, I keep all my obsessions on my main blog, like an adult. 3. Other sideblogs you’d like us to know about: None, I suppress all other interests, LIKE AN ADULT. 4. Your blog focus/aesthetic, if you have one: Um, Phantom...? 5. Types of fan content you produce, if any: Gifsets, pictures, meta, info, rants nobody cares about, and lots and lots of bootlegs. 6. Types of content you reblog (Phantom or otherwise): Pictures, info, bootlegs, wrong opinions I have to yell at. 7. Do you post or reblog NSFW content? Nope, not interested in it. 8. Other general interests: Musicals, ASOIAF/GOT, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Batman, Star Wars, history (esp. Tudor history), video games, horror movies, reading (esp. sci-fi).

Phan favorites 1. Favorite adaptation(s): The ALW musical. 2. Favorite character(s): Christine Daae. 3. Ship(s) you ship, if any: Erik/Christine/Raoul, in all their differences, similarities, and the ways they interact and influence each other. 4. Favorite actor(s): Sebastian Stan. Oh, you meant Phantom. Well, anyone at the top of my favorites list might be considered a favorite actor, but to be honest, I rarely follow any actors outside of their time in Phantom. 5. Other Phantom-related obsessions: The costuming in the ALW musical, I suppose? And collecting boots of Phantom.

Fandom involvement 1. Favorite phan blogs: @operafantomet, @rjdaae who I still can’t tag, look I only follow 9 people and I hate picking favorites, don’t make me answer this. 2. Content you’d love to see more of: Maybe more appreciation for other Phantom productions and actors outside of Broadway and West End, more appreciation for older casts, more appreciation for Christines and Raouls (not just like posts saying they’re the greatest, but more attention paid to them in reviews, in photos that come out, in casting announcements, etc.), more meta that’s just informative and interesting rather than connected to AUs, headcanons, or fics. 3. Phandom discord server(s) that you frequent: I’m in like four, but the ones I speak the most in are the Palais Garnier Hellpit and OG’s Obedient Servants. 4. Do you/would you attend phan-hosted streams? If so, what would you like to see streamed? Yes I do, mainly ones centered around the ALW musical, and I guess I’d like more international videos? 5. Do you read fanfiction? If so, what kind(s)? Yes, but not Phantom. 6. Anything else you’d like to add? I think this survey has thoroughly picked my brain, so nope.

[thisdiscontentedwinter]

Just curious and I don't know if you've ever answered this before- Is TW the first fandom you've ever written for, or have you written for other fandoms under different names? If you've never written for other fandoms is this the first you've been heavily into fandom for at all, or just the first you've ever been on the creating side for? And if so, what other fandoms have you ever been into?

I’ve often said that Teen Wolf is the only show that hit the sweet spot for me when it comes to fan fic: enough potential in the characters and storylines to hold my interest, and so many massive failures of storytelling in canon that it just makes me itch to fix it. So it’s true that it’s the first fandom I’ve written for, but it’s not the actual reason I got involved. 

The reason I got involved (and I’m sure this wills surprise nobody who knows me) was spite, pure and simple. Back in December 2014 something happened in fandom that I’ll call the Goodreads Panic. It was basically where a shitload of fandom writers demanded Goodreads pull the listings of their fics. Now as someone who had a lot of friends who read and reviewed fanfic on Goodreads, it was upsetting to me to see them so upset. Because when a fic was removed from Goodreads (and just the listing, let’s be clear–despite the panic, I’ve never seen any proof that actual fics were uploaded there) it didn’t just remove the listing, it removed the reviews, and the pages and pages of discussions on those reviews. 

My friends were upset. So I said “Fuck it, I’ll write them a Sterek.” And Balloon Animals are Awesome was born. 

I wrote about it in 2014, which was before I had a tumblr account. It didn’t stop a shitload of people on tumblr from calling me entitled and wishing I was dead, of course. So, spitefully, I wrote even more fanfic. 

And to this day nobody can tell me why it’s so terrible to have discussions of fanfic on Goodreads, but it’s okay to do it here or on some other platform. And funnily enough, the entire Goodreads Panic was started by a Sterek BNF who didn’t like that someone had pointed out on Goodreads that her published novel was P2P and had originally been fanfic and a lot of readers won’t buy P2P.  The BNF immediately began convincing others to have their fics pulled from GR. More fool her. We just talk about her P2P books in a secret group now. 

Anyway, here’s the post I wrote: 

My (generally disorganised) thoughts on the current fanfiction shitfight on Goodreads

Anyone who knows me knows that I love my Sterek fanfic. For those who don’t know me but have somehow stumbled upon this post, Sterek is fanfiction based on the slash pairing of Stiles/Derek from the TV show

Teen Wolf.

I’m also quite fond of Steter, which is Stiles/Peter. And I’ve read a few Stisaacs I totally enjoyed, which is Stiles/Isaac. You guys have all spotted the common denominator right? Yeah, I just love Stiles. And who doesn’t? 

But back to the shitfight. 

Lately, a lot of enthusiastic readers have been adding Sterek fanfiction to the Goodreads database. This has upset some fanfiction writers. I don’t know how many, and I don’t know how representative they are of the fanfiction community.

Fair warning: I may be quite vague in this post, because I’m not going to name names, and I’m not going to link to Tumblr posts. Why? Because I’m writing this post to get my thoughts in order, not to call out anyone whose opinion may be different to my own. I welcome discussion or debate wherever you find this post, but I won’t be taking it to anyone else’s virtual doorstep. 

What is Goodreads? 

Initially, it seemed like some of the fanfic writers thought that their works were being uploaded to Goodreads. This is absolutely not the case. Goodreads is a catalogue, and any published work including work published online can be added by users. And, once it’s in the database, any user can review any work. That review is then shared on a timeline with the reviewer’s friends. It is also visible under the work’s main page. Users can like reviews, and comment on reviews, and reviews show up in our timelines. I found a lot of great Sterek fics because friends raved about them, and I’m not going to apologize for that.

One thing I will say about GR is that it’s not just meant for professionally published and edited works. It’s meant to be a database of, well, everything, from Shakespeare and Chaucer to web comics to fan fiction. 

What was added to author profiles and book pages? 

Here’s the part I’m not clear on. I understand that artwork was added as covers to fanfic that was either unattributed, or wasn’t intended for that fic. And that’s wrong, and shouldn’t have happened. A simple email to GR support or a request to a librarian would have sorted it out in minutes though.

There’s also been some talk of writers worrying about being outed, and stories of people who’ve lost jobs and custody of kids for writing “smut”. Erotica writer here, you’re preaching to the choir. But I don’t think that linking from a GR author page to an AO3 profile is suddenly going to bust the whole thing open. How could it? If any information other than that was added, then yes, that was wrong. But I’m not aware of any incidents where that happened, and I’m not sure how it

could

happen if the information wasn’t already available online anyway. 

Fanfic is for fandom 

You read Sterek? You recommend Sterek? You spend a lot of time at A03 leaving comments and kudos for Sterek? Surprised to find you’re not part of the fandom? So were many of us. 

I’ve spoken to a lot of people in private groups who are absolutely gutted, because all the Tumblr posts going around about “fanfic is for the fandom only” make them feel like they’re not allowed to be part of the club when their only crime was to love something they read and want to share it with their friends.I can’t pretend to be an expert on the fandom culture, except to say that I’ve seen enough posts in the last few days from writers who have no problem with their works being added to the GR database to suspect that the writers acting as the gatekeepers of fandom have no mandate to do so. And, as one prolific fanfic writer put so eloquently:

Fandom is where fandom goes.

Well, here we are. 

The culture clash

I understand that the fanfic community is very different than the one on GR, but most of the people reading and reviewing fanfic on GR are doing it because they love the fandom. It may be accepted practice on AO3 not to offer any criticism, constructive or otherwise, and I have some sympathy for writers who have checked out their works on GR and suddenly discovered they have star ratings. 

But that’s how we do things here. That’s how we approach what we read. And as a writer, you can’t actually control how readers interact with your work. To those of us on GR, reviewing and recommending fics here is no different than doing it when we connect on Facebook or Tumblr or anywhere else online. GR is how I’ve found so many wonderful fics that I otherwise would never have read. And that is why they were added to GR – because people were so enthusiastic about them that they wanted to share them with their friends. 

“Someone that reads gay fiction and goes to GR is not the same as someone from the TW fandom that reads gay sterek fic with mpreg on AO3”

That’s an actual quote from an actual Tumblr post. Google it if you want to find it. Like I said, I’m not linking. And I’ve only got one thing to say in relation to that statement anyway: Bullshit. Bull-fucking-shit. 

I read gay fiction. I read and write m/m fiction (not the same as gay fiction BTW. Ironically, m/m fiction has its origins in slash). And I also read gay Sterek fic with mpreg, A/B/O, and whatever other tropes you want to throw in there. I love them all. 

And so do the hundreds (possibly more, I haven’t counted) of other GR members who are part of the various fanfiction groups. But you just go on worrying that we don’t understand the tropes you’re using because apparently fanfic is a different language that we can’t possibly, you know, pick up by reading it. Like you all did. 

You do not own fanfiction. 

In the past few days I’ve seen a few writers claiming their “intellectual property” is being shared without their permission. And here’s where I have a real issue. Yes, you wrote your fanfic, but you don’t own it. In the case of Sterek, MTV owns those characters. 

Sidenote: I also saw a particularly hilarious disclaimer on A03 that stated:

“

I do not give permission to this work being read aloud and/or shared with the press, or anyone working on said production of Teen Wolf, including but not limited to cast, crew, writers, or producers. I also do not give permission share this work on third-party websites such as Goodreads, which I believe is a resource intended for published works outside of fandom.”

I read it aloud anyway. Like the fucking rebel I am. Again though, here’s the misunderstanding of what Goodreads is. Goodreads is for any published works, and yes, that includes works published online. And yes, that includes fanfic.

I absolutely believe that fanfiction only exists because studios and copyright holders

allow

it to exist. It’s an act of goodwill, and most copyright holders recognise the fact that fanfiction, in all its forms, is good for their bottom line. I know that I’ve dropped money on the

Teen Wolf

DVDs because of Sterek, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. 

I also believe though, that once fanfic writers start calling fanfiction their “intellectual property”–something I’ve seen thrown around in a few places the last couple of days–it will cause copyright holders to sit up and pay attention. 

P2P 

If claiming ownership will cause copyright holders to sit up and take notice, it will be P2P that might just force them to take action. In my opinion, fanfiction writers who think they own their fanfic and who pull it to publish will be more damaging to the fanfic culture that anyone reviewing and sharing recs on any platform including GR will ever be.

Interestingly, one of the most vocal of the fanfic writers is a writer who is publishing a non-fanfic book soon. This book, which will retail for around $12 on Amazon, is a former Glee fanfic that has been pulled to publish. Except last time I checked it hadn’t actually been pulled, it was still on AO3. In short, she has an issue with people sharing fanfic recommendations on Goodreads, but no issue attempting to make money off something she built using someone else’s intellectual property. And it doesn’t matter if the thing is as far removed from the original as Fifty Shades was from Twilight. In my opinion, it’s ethically wrong. 

Maybe a Find & Replace of all the names is actually legally enough to get the work considered transformative. Legally and ethically aren’t always the same thing and,

personally

, I hate P2P fanfic and refuse to purchase it. 

But hold on, isn’t Goodreads removing fanfics? 

Yes, yes it is. Despite their own guidelines, GR has been removing fics at the request of fanfic authors. They don’t have to, but they are. Which means that all of those lengthy reviews with hundred of comments and gifs and pics are also being removed. And people are upset about that. 

On GR we make friends over the reviews were share and the books we love. Those reviews and those conversations are now being deleted. Some people have lost tens of reviews, if not more. That’s a lot of hours of work, and you know why they did it in the first place? Because they loved a story and wanted to share it. 

Oh, and I write fanfic too. 

Yeah, I do. Just started, but it’s going to be a thing for me. Because it’s fun, and I like to share it with people, both on AO3 and here. And I know a lot of writers who do the same. AO3 and GR aren’t oil and water. They aren’t matter and anti-matter. You don’t have to pick a side, really. 

You’ll find me on AO3 as Discontented Winter. 

Feel free to share, recommend, or rate my fics any way or anywhere you like. 

[cynthianna]

New Beginnings: A Book Re-Release and a New Doctor

New Beginnings: A New Book It's here at last--the re-release of my first novel in my series, Loving Who, a sci-fi romantic-comedy full of Who fans and fun, is now available from Devine Destinies Books. Also available at Amazon in print and e-formats, and from other online retailers. You can read an excerpt below before I give my take on the "New Doctor." Loving Who by Cynthianna http://www.devinedestinies.com/loving-who/ Screwball comedy meets the world of Doctor Who fandom. Cici Connors' life will never be the same and it all changes when she takes a mysterious man into her life—and her bed. John Smith makes the perfect Doctor for their club's fan film, but is he really good boyfriend material? His fondness for popcorn and whipped cream are the least of his eccentricities, as Cici discovers not everyone sees the same man she sees. When will John confess he's not from this planet? Will Cici regret having an affair and becoming mixed-up in an extra-terrestrial kidnapping plot? After all, how many alien assassins tracking her does one fangirl need? And now an excerpt from Loving Who.  In this scene, our heroine Cici is transmatted from Earth to an alien world for the first time: I don’t know when I began screaming, but my ears throbbed from my shrieks upon our arrival on a dark, featureless plain. I clapped my mouth shut and stared at John Smith, the man, alien, sentient being, who had made the unthinkable possible, the undoable doable, and in the process, had taken me to where I’d always wanted to go. “Look up,” he said calmly. I did. A million stars stabbed my eyes from a sea of the blackest velvet. A billion times better than staring through my souped up telescope. A trillion times better than pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope on the internet.

I was actually here. “Like what you see?” He chuckled at my dumbfounded response. “Fancy the Bygons placing their teleportation deck where they keep their observatory.” He strolled toward what appeared to be a console and flipped a couple of switches. Low-level lightning came on about the walls and a hum of machinery filled the emptiness of the circular chamber. I continued to gaze up through the huge skylight window. “Cici? You okay?” I pointed upward. “Stars,” I said at last. “Lots of them.”

“Eloquently put.” He came to my side and looked up. “You may or may not recognize any of the constellations but try not to worry. I’ll sort it out.” “So many stars.” I had to close my mouth to keep from drooling. “Uh, yes.” He frowned. “It appears I’ve made bit of a miscalculation. We’re not in Earth’s orbit. We’re not on a ship, either.” I gasped. My knees turned to jelly. The piercing lights above began to swirl about me. I could feel my breakfast rising as a wave of nausea swept over me. John caught me by the elbow and lowered me to sit cross-legged on the deck. “Where…are we?” I asked. “A planet somewhere to the south and west of St. Louis by several million light years I estimate.” He stood and shrugged. “Not too far off the beaten path.” “Not too far off?” My brain switched back on, and things began to sort themselves out internally. “We’re several million light years away from Earth, and you considered that close?” “It’s all relative. Ask my friend Albert. It’s what he said. Anyway, we can go back the way we came, so we might as well avail ourselves of a tour of this curious facility.” He offered me a hand, and I shakily regained my feet. “Where is everyone? I thought we’d run into the ghostly geeks with the shades.” “So did I. Maybe it’s their tea time or something. Come along. Let’s explore.”

Loving Who now available from Devine Destinies Books and other fine online book sellers. (Now available at Amazon.)

You can read more about the other books in the series coming soon on my Loving Who series page by clicking here. If you can, please leave a review of my books on Amazon, Goodread, Facebook or elsewhere and let me know when you do so I can thank you. Loving Who was first written in the David Tennant era, so no, it doesn't mention the latest Doctor. It's about fans of both the classic series and the new. What do I think about the recent announcement of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor? Well... I've not said much about the announcement online since I've been busy lately, and I've seen some fans attacking other fans over either liking or not liking the Beeb's decision.  Some even attacked Fifth Doctor Peter Davison for simply voicing his opinion. That's simply not right. It's a TV show, folks. In the grand scheme of things, it's entertainment--not life or death. Peter and all Whovians deserve the right to express their thoughts in a respectful manner. So with that in mind, here's what I say about this latest bit of Who news. A New Beginning: A New Doctor As an author myself, I'm not always sure it's a good thing to mess with another artist's creative vision. Verity Lambert and Sydney Newman (the original producers/show creators) created  Doctor Who to be "family friendly" and "educational," but it has wandered far afield from this early concept. They made the Doctor a crusty, older British-sounding male, and cast William Hartnell in the role. If that's how they saw the character of the Doctor, who are we to argue with them? It would be like saying, "Huckleberry Finn is now a middle-aged, Chinese female instead of a young American boy." What would Mark Twain think of what you did to his character of Huck Finn? (Does a radically different Huck make sense in the context of the entire novel?) Since Verity and Sydney are no longer with us, we'll never know what they think about how others have interpreted their vision, but don't we owe it to their legacy to take care of their artistic creation? I wonder why the BBC doesn't start a new, completely unique show with a "Time Lady" (such as Romana or the Rani) instead. Then the new show creators could do whatever they like with the Time Lady character without the worries of upsetting fans of the old show or going against series canon. I hear rumors of actress Georgia Moffat returning as the "Doctor's Daughter" in her own television show, so it is possible to start fresh with a spin-off if you're feeling trapped by the older show's scope. Since the Doctor has regenerated thirteen times now--and has always been "male" in appearance and British in his speech patterns--why would he/she/it become "female" now? What good reason can one give for this radical change in the character? Why isn't the Doctor African or Asian instead? Why can't the Doctor speak with an American or Australian accent? Why does the Doctor have to speak English at all? Why not make the Doctor Brazilian or Mexican? The fans south of the border would love it! It just doesn't make much sense within the internal logic of the Doctor's  character to change his basic make-up since it has worked so well for the show for almost 54 years.  Such a radical change comes across as a ratings' ploy more than an artistic choice. Is the show in such trouble that it needs to pull a "stunt" to gain new viewers? What's the real motive behind this "gimmick"? Still, Jodie Whittaker is a good actress, and it's worth a look to see how she handles the part.  I wish her and the new showrunners the best of luck. Fingers crossed they give her decent scripts to act and not the poor quality scripts Peter Capaldi was sometimes stuck with. It's the poor scriptwriting of the newer Who series that's disappointed me at times--never the actors, settings or SFX, etc., which are generally first rate. Having studied screenplay writing and film critique, I hate to see opportunities wasted to create brilliant science fiction on screen. The talent is out there writing-wise, BBC. Please use it! Loving Who now available from Devine Destinies Books and other fine online book sellers!

[christinareadsya]

This past Tuesday, Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia was released into the world, and you all need to get a copy. Now.

I was an Eliza beta reader about a year and a half ago, and I finished reading my hardback yesterday. All the praise that I had already given the beta version? Oh, wow. Magnify that by a hundred. This book is fantastic. Here are my 5 reasons for why you need NEED to read it.

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia 

1) Fantastic Characters-- It's a well known fact that Chessie makes amazing, multi-layered characters, the type to delight fans of all ages (cc: Made You Up). Her characters feel flesh and blood. They make you want to cry and scream, and you get frustrated on their behalf. Chessie's attention to detail makes her characters come alive, with their own little habits and phrases. And with such fantastic characters, you're guaranteed to be engaged in the story, even if you don't always agree with what the characters do. 2) Breaking Gender Norms-- The romantic interest in this book is a hulk, former football player and now fanfiction writer and a selective mute, with a soft voice. The main character is a girl with greasy hair and social anxiety, and she's this super popular creator of a webcomic. Society tends to portray female creators as being Nice, Polite Women - women need to comprise, to smile more often, etc. Here, we have another story to rival that. And many of the side characters also break gender norms. I don't know about you, but I'm very pleased to have a story where the characters aren't in these flat cardboard boxes of what we expect (e.g., alpha male). This also makes the characters feel more real to me. 3) The Unique Formatting-- You can look at several of the Goodreads reviews that mention the photos - here, for instance. Or just at look at the EpicReads post of the first two chapters. You can see the inclusion of the Monstrous Sea webcomic pages, and the prose transcription beneath. You can see private messages between the characters - the moderators of the webcomic and Eliza, the romantic interest and Eliza. You can see forum interactions and forum profiles. Most of the YA books out right now don't have this amount of layering within their stories. Horror YA sometimes includes pictures, and other fandom related books might have some stories, some fanfiction--not to this extent, not to this level of metaness. See point below. 4) Unlike Anything Else You've Read-- This book has been compared to Fangirl and Afterworlds and Nimona, because every book needs to be compared to something, so you have an idea of its marketing. It's a fact of life that you build on schemas that people already have of the world. But this book is unlike anything else that you've read. You only get Cath's fanfiction in Fangirl, some of the story from the main character in Afterworlds. Nimona started off as a comic. None of these is quite the same as Eliza and Her Monsters. Here, you get the main character's creation and see how she interacts with her fans, and you see how fanfic writers interact with the creator and the fandom. You also get to hear about a series of books that she loves, too. Chessie has posted this online - the Children of Hypnos story. The main character has a drive to create after the fandom that she loves no longer exists. You have access to that story too. There's this amazing level of metaness in this story that ties so well into the themes of creation, fandoms, etc. I repeat: unlike anything else you've read. 5) So Easy to Relate to-- If you're reading this book, there is a good likelihood that you will relate to SOMETHING in this book. Whether it's the main character's social anxiety, the need to create, the desire to interact with the fandom, or just loving how the fandom interacts-- there is something for everyone. And you know that Chessie has interacted with or been a part of fandoms, because it shows in her writing. It shows in how fandoms a portrayed. Marieke Nijkamp wrote the blurb, "A love letter to fandom, friendship, and the stories that shape us, Eliza and Her Monsters is absolutely magical." Yes, yes, yes. A love letter to fandom and friendship and stories. Yes. 100% true. READ THIS BOOK! PS - This wonderful novel got a starred review from Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly, Booklist, and School Library Journal. PPS - Here is my original pre-review: I read a manuscript of this book about one year ago to date. If you like Made You Up, you will most certainly love Eliza! Chessie brings back her trademark endearing humor in another wonderful mix of adorable romance, quirky characters, and multilayered plotting (plus the cool formatting here, which is typically reserved for YA horror, but hey, Eliza is just that awesome). I would also recommend this book to fans of Fangirl and Afterworlds.

[poetrybooksya]

MY FIRST BLOG TAG!! | Q&A/ Nominations for 2017 Liebster Awards

Well, this is a lovely surprise from my new friend and name-twin, Dani @ Perspective of a Writer. She has nominated me for the 2017 Liebster Awards:

“Liebster” is a German word meaning beloved or dearest. And The Liebster Award is to ‘be love’ bloggers, new and old! It’s a fun way to get your favorite bloggers to share things about the blogger behind the blog and promote them to your readers.

This would be my first Q&A book blogger tag, so I feel honored that Dani has nominated me to answer her questions. The rules that apply are as follows:

Share the link of the blogger who has shown love to you by nominating you. (That’s me!)

Answer the 11 questions.

Nominate 11 bloggers for the same award in the spirit of sharing love and solidarity with our blogging family.

Ask them 11 questions that you are dying for the answers to!

My Q&A from Dani:

Name 6 types of characters you love most? (i.e. like genre but for characters, my examples: witty females, hot beta males, nerdy love interests, pirates, supportive best friends and orphans. If you can group them and love them, name them!) I like nerdy love interests, supportive best friends, the Chosen One, the unlikely hero/heroine, vampires, and wizards! What favorite movie or television show do you wish would be turned into a YA series? Complete with properly aged protagonists, and YA tropes… Anything goes! Most of my favorite book series have become movies or shows already lol. I'd have to say Discovering April by Sheena Hutchinson would be a good YA contemporary movie. Not a cheesy Hallmark/Lifetime type of thing, but a legit Hollywood movie. Emma Stone would be the titular character, April, but she'd have to dye her hair blonde again, but with pink tips. Robbie Amell (you might recognize him from The DUFF) would be a good and funny Jared. Also, he'd have to get tatted up on his torso, which would not be so bad at all! 😉

Have you experienced a genre that you thought you hated but fell in love with? What book won you over? I don't normally read outside of my comfort zone, which is YA contemporary/romance/fantasy/series, but I read Ingrid Seymour's Ignite the Shadows first book, which is a sci-fi series about a computer hacking team in Seattle. I read it back in 2015, and it changed my mind about how sci-fi is emotionless and wild and crazy, but reading Ignite made me think twice about it.

If you were captured by fairies and they turned you into any animal but you had to remain that animal for the rest of your life… which would it be (real or fictional animals are good…)? What an odd question, Dani lol. I hope I'd turn into a black panther. They're so calm and you never know when they'll strike, but that's the best part about them!

If you could teleport to any city in the world which would it be? If you had to make your way home on you own would it still be the same city? I'd love to teleport to France, or Italy, or Africa. The culture, the people, the environment of all three places, I'd never want to leave. I'm pretty sure that if I had to make my way back home, it'd be the same. I live in a small town in New Jersey, and nothing much changes. If a band were to be featured in a fictional story, which would you want it to be and why? PARAMORE!!!!!!! Well, technically, they've already been featured on the Twilight soundtrack, but if they could do it again, I'd love for them to be apart of Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall. The band have music now that is based on depression, anxiety, insecurities under fun, 80s synth rock music, and that whole vibe sounds like what Under Rose-Tainted Skies sounds like. I've never read the book to be sure, though. Plus, Paramore have a song called Rose-Colored Boy! Rose-Colored Skies? Rose-Colored Boy, get it? Get it?! Ok I'll stop now lol.

Favorite book universe and why? (Is it the friends you would have, the world you would live in or the abilities/circumstances you would be in?) The Twilight fandom, as messed up and divided as it is now, I've made some of my closest friends because of our love for the books, movies, Kristen Stewart, and Robert Pattinson. I also wouldn't have my other blog, ParamoreRKLife, if it weren't from the encouragement from my friends there.

If your sibling turned into a dragon and insisted on staying by your side forever would you want it to retain your sibling’s personality? If not what would you want the dragon to be like? I don't usually talk to my older sister like that anyway, but if she were a dragon, I'd stay as far away as possible! She's cool now, but she can be hella intense when she doesn't get her way. I wouldn't want her to blow me up with fire! What book describes you best? (Is it a particular character, the cover or the story?) I just finished reading Starfish by Akemi Rose Bowman, and I relate the most to the main character Kiko, because she has anxiety and is insecure about what she wants to do with her life as an artist. She eventually figures it out by the end of the novel, but her fear of basically living her life is something I heavily relate to.

If you had a magic tin that refilled with any non-perishable food which would you want it to be filled with? Doritos!! It's the first thing that popped into my head, but I'd eat those everyday. I don't know if they're non-perishable though. If you wrote a book, what would it be about? (i.e. the premise, type of characters, world?) I'm writing this short story project with my friend Angela for NANOWRIMO, and it's about how competing with yourself brings out your greatest desire. We've been planning it for a few weeks, but I think doing this Nano will help push us to get pen to paper, so to speak.

My Questions

1. Do you read audiobooks? How are they different than Kindle or physical books?

2. If you could change one thing about your writing style on your blog or social platform, what would it be?

3. Do you collab with other bloggers/writers? Who has been your favorite?

4. How do you balance work, school, and blogging together?

5. What's your favorite read of 2017, and why?

6. Does anyone else outside of your blogging world know about your work? What do they think of it? Are they subscribed to it?

7. Do you participate in Booktube or Bookstagram, as well? How is the environment different than blogging?

8. Do you reread books? Which has been your favorite?

9. Random questions... What's your favorite color? 

10. Who's your favorite person? Not celebrity, but a person lol.

11. Do you have pets? How many?

My Nominations

Taylor from  Stay on the Page

Amber from The Literary Phoenix

Sarah from Sarah Says Read

Chloe Alice Lily - http://www.chloealicelily.co.uk/

Erica from Erica Robyn Reads

Kirra from TheBookishKirra

CeeArr from CeeArrBookNerd

Nominating some of my non-blogger friends lol. 

Brizette from @whereitrains 

Jess from @Jess4_RK

Jen from @jenannrodrigues 

Ingrid Seymour from @Ingrid_seymour (she has a newsletter, maybe she can participate there?)

Beth from @sabriel25 - perpetualnewgirl

Thank you a million times to both Dani @ Perspective of a Writer for nominating me, and Lorraine @ Wording Well for creating this lovely, awesome award "show". It's nice to see some love and appreciation for book bloggers!

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Thanks for reading! :) ♥

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