Exploding Poohsticks

Ten to twenty inches more snow starting in about 6 hours... Sigh. SO tired of this! :P

When you have the time to savour, and believe me, you will want to savour the fic written for me at wizard_love, then go read:

(on IJ) Blue Jay Way (Harry/Millicent)

(on LJ) Blue Jay Way (Harry/Millicent)

and please leave my wonderful mystery author some much-earned love afterwards. :)

It is exactly what I had been hoping for as a fic in that pairing, and it delivers on every level. Well-written, USTy, sizzling hot, erotic, with touches of humour from someone who obviously knows and loves these characters. It was a delight from beginning to end and if the person who wrote it is on my flist, THANK YOU AGAIN! If not, I hope you don't mind if I friend you after the exchange, because I don't want to miss anything else you write.

*goes back to re-read her gift*

*looks at calendar*

Yeesh, where does the time go?

My beloved odogoddess reminded me that I'd wanted to be better about posting this year, so here's a quick update.


( Updating this and that )

Courtesy of my sweetie, odogoddess, here, have

( The Gayest Photo from the Superbowl )

The Superbowl game was great. The adverts? Not so much. With thanks to chazpure for pointing me to this brilliant post that pretty much says what I feel about the adverts.

Sending more thanks to my lovely spouse for sending me this faux advert that, dammit, does not exist, but should! You know what the adverts they ran during the Superbowl tells me? It tells me the men who run the NFL and the television studios are afraid of our ovaries. How powerful they think women must be that they feel they have to force-feed the more impressionable minds in their audience with their detestable misogynistic concepts. *sigh*


Still, I grew up watching NFL and I love the sport if not all that sometimes accompanies it. Drew Brees is my new football hero. The fact he looks fecking hot whilst bathing helps. He's kind of how I imagine Neville will look all grown up... *g* Moreover, Drew's gluten-free like me. :)


Someone who has long been a personal hero is Stephen Fry and this is but one teensy reason why: The Intelligence Debate. A-bloody-men, Stephen! Keep telling the truth & shaming the devil.


Oh, I bet this went over really well with gay parents: Potomac students get fliers saying therapy turns gays straight


Safe nuclear fuel? New Green Nuke Fuel Cleans Up Old, Dirty Fuel Somehow I get the feeling that the nuclear plants even Obama wants now, will be run as usual: built by the lowest bidder, using current technology & ignoring this new technique to our detriment. That Palin backs it is what is truly terrifying.


Speaking of the psychotic pathetic: in today's episode of Psycho's R Us, a US soldier 'waterboards' daughter. Since it's not listed as torture thanks to Bu$hit and Chickenshiteney, no doubt a lot of people with anger management issues might find this a useful tool in their ballistic arsenal.


This one's for my fellow DS9-fans: ok icons


Too cool! Fiona Shaw does her bit for science: Inside the mind of an actor (literally).


Also cool is the new phone that translates 6,000 languages in real time, really? Well, it's marginally better than sticking a fish in your ear.


That all said, I send those of you being, as well as about to be, hammered by snowpacolypse pt. 2 lots of ~strength vibes~ and warm thoughts. Stay safe as you can manage.

Back from field last Thursday, but as some of you might have guessed, I didn't interact on the internet and check my mail since I get back--as what I usually do.

But I popped right back in to say that I had a good time excavating my first burial jar--even though I didn't get to finish it and was TERRIFIED since I'm not a bone expert. And because, whatever happens, I was raised in a superstitious household. BUT. IT WAS SO COOL.

I'll see you all in another two/three weeks! Off to field again.

OMG you guys! ::flaily flaily flail flail squeeeeeeee!::

::takes deep breath::

Okay, so. I won a drawble from the awesome glockgal in the latest lightning round at help_haiti. And she drew teenage Severus/Sirius for me! Eeeee!

It's absolutely perfect. Snape is all grumpypants, and Sirius is totally arrogant and carefree, and yet the chemistry between them is so obvious. This piece just sums up everything I love about this pairing.

GO LOOK!! (It's WS, by the way.)

Remember my last post?

I wrote fanfic of a music video. I do not apologize.

Title: No Salvation, No Religion
Fandom: This video of Lady GaGa's "Teeth"
Summary: You go vampire hunting alone, you get what you deserve. If you're lucky.
Rating: Suggestive. About 1,800 words.


( He had known Italy was going to be fantastic. )

Well. It seems that three days in a row of productivity is my maximum, because I did absolutely nothing of value yesterday. I'd told myself that it was going to be more or less a day off for me, though, so that's okay. And I've been productive again today! I managed to:

- do my taxes! (And much to my astonishment, I'm actually getting a good chunk of money back. I didn't expect that at all, but both my school and the government have done some things a little differently this year and it worked in my favor.)
- make a copy of Tin Man and get it ready to go in the mail to infiniteviking. :D
- place my grocery order again. (This would be the grocery delivery that was scheduled for yesterday but was canceled due to the weather. Now the earliest I can get it is Thursday. Grr.)

Speaking of the weather, the snow has melted off a bit, the plows have been through, the streets are pretty clear, and the buses are running again. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's a good thing because it means I can get to school and take care of stuff there. It's a bad thing because it means I have to get to school and take care of stuff there. :P

So tomorrow (or possibly Tuesday if I really don't feel like it tomorrow) I have to hit the anthro department and the library to take care of some major things. Wednesday I have a doctor's appointment, so while I'm in that area I'll also go to the post office, the bank, and the pet store. Ari needs new things to destroy toys.

Assignments for hp_beholder went out yesterday! I admit that I gave mine the o_O face for quite a while. I feel like my options are a little limited with it. But I do have a couple of ideas for it and I can make it work. I have two pairings/vague ideas I'm considering. At the moment, I like both of them equally and no solid plot/plan has formed for either one. We'll see where I end up going with it.

I really need to start writing again. The fic I'd been working on sort of stalled and I haven't felt like dealing with it the last few days. I just need to get past this minor block and get it rolling again.

Having heard that people are sending spoons to an acquaintance with cancer, I pulled two silverware boxes out of the credenza to see what I might have. Behind the boxes--Lo, and Behold! --was my paternal grandmother's Bible, which I had misplaced some years ago. It was an inexpensive Bible, and came from Kress, which was what we used to call a "dime store." The imitation leather is cracking, and some of the pages are coming loose, so about ten years ago I embroidered a cover for it with mock medieval designs in chain stitch, using embroidery floss. It seemed to take forever. After I finished it, I put the cover on the book, put the book in a plastic bag, and promptly lost it.

One of the things that always puzzled me about this particular tome, which my favorite aunt (my grandmother's eldest daughter) gave to her mother for Christmas in 1933, is a set of quotations that are written on blank pages in pencil, presumably by my grandmother. I had showed them to a few people, who did not recognize them, and they were always a mystery to me. They sounded like something out of a sermon or maybe a revival meeting.

My grandmother, who died when I was too young to remember her, was by all accounts a deeply religious woman with a great deal of family pride. Her younger daughter lived with the father of her children for quite a few years before she married him, and my grandmother falsified the date of her marriage on the Family Record page in this Bible, so the kids would appear to be legitimate. Lying in a Bible? Tsk, tsk, tsk. The dedication on the title page originally read, "from Frances & Grant." When the two of them divorced, Grandmother firmly wrote over the words so they now read "from Frances with love."

With that in mind, I supposed that those quotations were something that she had copied from a book of sermons or perhaps a collection of inspirational sayings. This time, I googled them. Nope, not a preacher. All three of them are from "The Lost Prince," a children's book by Frances Hodgson Burnett that was published in 1915.

Warning, image heavy - pics of the awfulness.

( let it snow... NOT! )

Today has been declared lurker amnesty day! Have you read me but never commented? Do you surf by occasionally? Here for the fic? Say hello! You are under no obligation to ever comment or delurk again, but here's a chance to do so in a post just for that.

I actually rather doubt anyone really lurks around my journals and is going to answer this, but hey, anything's possible, right? So anyone who is so inclined, come on in, say hello, have a cup of coffee, and play with the animals. I don't bite, unless you're into that. ;) (And also, I'm snowed in and bored!)

• You know, this explains a lot (Not Work Safe) - bit.ly/bFqVca

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter any damn time it pleases. *scowl*

Music has returned to me. In a way. I know it has because I've been thinking about Crowded House. And whenever I think about Crowded House, I'm thinking about music. Don't worry, that's only supposed to make sense to me, but I thought I'd share it anyway.

First, the cable company recently added Palladia to our HD channels. Remember MTV? This channel is what it (and/or VH1) should have morphed into, not the reality teen crap it's become. There's...music on 24-7. All sorts of music shows and concerts and...and...videos. All in HD, which is just fucking bonus, man. Watching the channel makes me feel like a dried-up plant that's being watered just before it's too late. Good gawd, music.

That said, I love Daughtry's music, but some acts aren't meant to be seen up-close and personal in HD. Chris Daughtry is a giant...head. With too lovely eyes and an oddly trimmed beard that looks like a vaguely phallic canvas on his big, big head.

Taylor Swift almost had me. Her simple pop songs are infectious and they're played relentlessly and she allllllmost had me. Until the Grammys, that is. It really wasn't how poorly she sang as much as the fact that her executive producer on Fearless had to go and piss off Kelly Clarkson. Because when Kelly speaks, I listen, people. Well, Kelly and Pink. Because girls half my age have it way more together than me. Plus, I can't help but think that they helped me dodge a Swift bullet.

Ok, I know Disney teen queens Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez are best friends in Real Life, but look at their album covers from last year: Demi, Selena. What's with the odd lips, ladies? Did you guys make a pact or lose bets to each other? YUG. That said, Selena's "Naturally" is a better song than a lot of what Lovato's put out. I want to like Lovato's music, I really, do, but...she's trying too hard. And it comes out in the sound to me.

I spent the day with my stomach hurting, watching ABCFamily and getting weepy. I think I've finally figured out the Disney obsession - yeah, the stories are simple and feel-good, but, more than that, it's the fact that parents openly love their children. It's utterly fascinating to me, especially the adoring fathers. My father was an idiot, letting us get away from him with his living zombie routine, but nothing I could have ever done would have woken him up. It was on him, and he missed out. I did, too, but you can't get blood from a stone. Plus, you know, I didn't get to watch a lot of feel-good TV growing up. Maybe I would have gotten the Disney thing out of me earlier, otherwise.

(Tip for Valentine's day: Don't send ProFlowers if you can afford to send something nicer or pick something up. Those things come completely wild. You have to free them from the packaging - of which there is a ton - pull off petals, cut them, trim leaves left on too low - they're work. And if you receive them at your office, it will take you serious time and mess to prep them for display, especially if you only have a bathroom in which to work. Remember, most people are not natural florists or flower-arrangers, which is what ProFlowers expects you to be to make a bouquet look like it does in their ads. Also, the flowers die more quickly than prepared flowers, I speak from multiple experiences. You'd be better off hitting the grocery store for a simple mix than sending ProFlowers.)

I haven't been watching professional figure skating for a long while now, but the TiVO did catch one for me and I sat through it. I'd forgotten how good those shows were for finding new and unique music. Rarely does the TiVO "figure skating" filter pick up stuff for me, but maybe I'll have to troll around the guide for a few more, if only to fast-forward for the music.

I've read a bunch of my BL mangas while being sick. I kind of want to leave some Amazon reviews, but there's a BL Nazi (can I say that anymore? Nazi? Or has it become un-PC? It's so descriptive of how this person acts) that hangs around Amazon and jumps all over any reviews she doesn't agree with, especially ones that are critical of anything she sees as BDSM. Of course, she has no real understanding of BDSM, categorizing anything vaguely hardcore, violent and/or with bondage as BDSM, but she writes and writes and writes until you just don't want to deal with her anymore. A bully through word count, if you will. Honestly, there are a lot of people who are word-count bullies on the Internet, but this is my first experience with one bullying me. She writes in circles. I could give her an education on BDSM, but something tells me she would just tell me I'm wrong in no less than the maximum character limit on Amazon. I suppose not reviewing is letting her win, but I'll have to choose my timing, then. Need to gather my energy and focus to face the word pummeling.

Superbowl tomorrow. Go Colts! I might open this window and share some random thoughts. I wish we could be with live friends, but I can't share these germs just yet. We have plans to see everyone next weekend for brunch, which will just have to do.

love, lore

Title: Ash's Story, Part 3
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Ash/Takeshi (past tense); pre-slash hints between Ash and a new OC
Word count: ~5,125
Author's note: {} Indicates character's unspoken thoughts
Disclaimer: Based on the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling; no money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Warning #1: Child abuse
Warning #2: AU; this is a continuation of the Always series so I'm tagging this as snupin, but the main focus is on Ash the werewolf OC from Aftermaths, and Snape and Lupin appear only briefly at the end.
Sequel to: Always, Summer Vacation, For Old Time's Sake, Three's a Crowd, Return of the Raven, Phoenix Reborn, Phoenix Rising, Aftermaths, and The Revenant. (The beginning of the story starts a couple of days after the ending of Aftermaths, at about the same time as The Revenant, but most of the story is a flashback to Ash's childhood.)
Summary: The story of how Ash became a werewolf, and his struggle to adapt to his postwar life.

Part 1, Part 2

( Read more... )

Title: Ash's Story, Part 2 of 3
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Ash/Takeshi (past tense); pre-slash hints between Ash and a new OC
Word count: ~9,775
Author's note: {} Indicates character's unspoken thoughts
Disclaimer: Based on the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling; no money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Warning #1: Child abuse
Warning #2: AU; this is a continuation of the Always series so I'm tagging this as snupin, but the main focus is on Ash the werewolf OC from Aftermaths, and Snape and Lupin appear only briefly at the end.
Sequel to: Always, Summer Vacation, For Old Time's Sake, Three's a Crowd, Return of the Raven, Phoenix Reborn, Phoenix Rising, Aftermaths, and The Revenant. (The beginning of the story starts a couple of days after the ending of Aftermaths, at about the same time as The Revenant, but most of the story is a flashback to Ash's childhood.)
Summary: The story of how Ash became a werewolf, and his struggle to adapt to his postwar life.

Part 1

( Read more... )

Title: Ash's Story, Part 1 of 3
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Ash/Takeshi (past tense); pre-slash hints between Ash and a new OC
Word count: ~7,500
Author's note: {} Indicates character's unspoken thoughts
Disclaimer: Based on the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling; no money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Warning #1: Child abuse
Warning #2: AU; this is a continuation of the Always series so I'm tagging this as snupin, but the main focus is on Ash the werewolf OC from Aftermaths, and Snape and Lupin appear only briefly at the end.
Sequel to: Always, Summer Vacation, For Old Time's Sake, Three's a Crowd, Return of the Raven, Phoenix Reborn, Phoenix Rising, Aftermaths, and The Revenant. (The beginning of the story starts a couple of days after the ending of Aftermaths, at about the same time as The Revenant, but most of the story is a flashback to Ash's childhood.)
Summary: The story of how Ash became a werewolf, and his struggle to adapt to his postwar life.

( Read more... )

A Tour of Veritas, the Magic University

So, my erotic fantasy romance series, Magic University, is being published by Ravenous Romance. The second of two books in a planned four book series was just published at the beginning of February, and I thought this might be a great time to share some photos of the “real” Veritas, the Harvard campus.

In the books, many scenes take place in real Harvard buildings, while others are in magical buildings that cameras and mundane eyes cannot see. As such, of course, these are photos of just the Harvard buildings, but many of the Veritas buildings resemble these very closely.

The full assortment of photos can be seen here: in my Picasa album, but I will put a few here with descriptions, under the cut…

Read the rest of this entry »

Mirrored from blog.ceciliatan.com.

Holy crap! I've been productive three days in a row! ::throws confetti:: I wasn't as productive as I'd planned to be today, but it wasn't really my fault. Still, progress happened.

Today I went to get my Pennsylvania driver's license. About time, eh? I've only been living here for three and a half years already. But finally, after sitting in the Department of Transportation for two hours, I have a shiny, new PA license. (Okay, technically I have a temporary one, but the real thing is supposed to come in the mail within the next couple of weeks.)

Unfortunately, since I had to wait in the DOT for so long I ran out of time to do the things I needed to do at school. So those will have to wait until Monday -- assuming I'm not snowed in.

Yeah, the big storm is hitting here. I'm not sure how bad it's going to be, but they say it's supposed to snow all night and they're predicting about eight inches by mid-morning. Because of this, my grocery delivery that was scheduled for tomorrow was canceled. So I have to put that back on the "to do" list. It hasn't been my day.

Anyway, by the time I got home from the DOT I was pretty exhausted and developing a headache, so I ended up sleeping most of the evening. A low-level migraine has been lingering all night, so I haven't managed to get my taxes done. (Did I mention that it hasn't been my day?) That'll be a goal for tomorrow. I also want to look around online and try to get Ari signed up with one of the pet sitting services in Philly for the rare instances when it might be helpful.

So. Not huge goals for tomorrow and I can stay inside, stay warm, and take it easy. Yay!

Also yay, assignments for hp_beholder should be going out soon! :D There are definitely several I've been eyeballing; I'll find out soon if I manage to score one of them...

I know these mostly "real life" updates are about as exciting as watching paint dry, but they seem to keep me focused and make me feel more accountable for my productivity. And the cheering on certainly doesn't hurt either. ;)

Today I’m guest blogging at Wicked Thorn & Roses!

You could win a copy of the Magic University 1 or 2 ebook by commenting on my guest entry there today.

The essay is on making characters suffer: http://bit.ly/doMhKh

Mirrored from blog.ceciliatan.com.

Title: The Revenant, Chapters 12b-13
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Snape/Lupin
Word count: ~6,515
Author's note: {} Indicates character's unspoken thoughts
Disclaimer: Characters belong to J.K. Rowling, except for Hob, who belongs to William Mayne, and Death, who belongs to Neil Gaiman; no money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Warning: AU; written pre-HBP
Sequel to: Always, Summer Vacation, For Old Time's Sake, Three's a Crowd, Return of the Raven, Phoenix Reborn, Phoenix Rising, and Aftermaths.
Summary: Lupin goes to St. Mungo's to check on his wounded companions.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2a, Chapter 2b, Chapters 3-5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapters 8-9, Chapters 10-11, Chapter 12a

( Read more... )