Whispers

Told you RECS were coming soon.

So I rec La Femme Nikita, X-Men, Andromeda, and Roswell at more_to_fic. I promise to do more of the X-subfandoms next time. I've just been keeping head above water recently. :shakes head at self:


So, I'll play more catch-up soon. I've got some betas to do, stories to edit/post, and a couple of comms to convince I haven't abandoned. Ah, well. 'Tis life.

I love therefore...
• I'm a sucker for beautiful worldbuilding and this has made me wish once again I was an artist so I could make Vardin as beautiful as I envision it: The Morae River by Brynn Metheney.


I read therefore...
• Eight Against Reality | Panverse Publishing
So this is one I won from the lovely Juliette Wade, whose story opens this collection. Eight SFF short stories. Overall: well worth the buy.

"The Eminence's Match" by Juliette Wade was fabulously written and well nuanced. My only gripe is I wanted more. It didn't feel finished to me, but ah well. It was awesome anyway.

I normally like Aliette de Bodard and everything she writes. I hated this story of hers—"The Lonely Heart," I think—and actually cut it out of my book so I'd never have to see it again.

This was followed by a squid scripty/story thing. It was gross. It didn't merit my scissors—yet, anyway—but I won't reread it. Ever.

Now, "Man's Best Enemy" by Janice Hardy was an awesome little adventure story with a lot of heart and big, nasty dogs. I doubt they'll ever redomesticate these guys.

"Kip Running" by Genevieve Williams disappointed. The action was great, the idea was great, the goal and lack of achieving it was a letdown. The story didn't mean anything, unless it was, "Don't live in a fantasy world."

"Spoiling Veena" by Keyan Bowes was...um...interesting. Veena was certainly spoiled, but it was portrayed as all working out okay. I was uninspired and did not really like it. Kids are not meant to always have their way.

"Dancing by Numbers" by Dario Ciriello was a bit odd with multiple universes through one dancer finding her center of focus, but it reminded me of some of L'Engle's best work and I admit, I enjoyed it. Not sure if it'll become a reread for me, but it was definitely nice for a one-off.

"Love, Blood, and Octli" by T.L. Morganfield was exactly what I would have expected from Aliette de Bodard, a god with two opposing natures and the humans battling for power or goodness. I loved this story.

Best of the batch: "The Eminence's Match," "Man's Best Enemy," and "Love, Blood, and Octli." I give it an 8 out of 10.


I write therefore...
• Complete: Giftfic for ineedmyfics. So excited. Weighed in at 1110 words all said, and I finally figured out the names of these two characters (mentioned once each in a 500 pg book!). And it's good too!

• My regular fiction pen name has been suffering lately. I need to get 2-3 items written for the week and am coming up brain-dry. Somebody, please prompt me.


I hope therefore...
• I want to find a good artist for Vardin. But... I am currently on the poor side. So, hm. I'm trying to think if there's anyone I know that would be willing to illustrate for free to start and we put a tip jar out for their art. Of course, first I got to finish some more stories.

• This post is an exercise in patience. My goal is to only post one major post with all the brain litter I've collected throughout the day. (Note to self: don't count on it, but try anyway.)


I think therefore...
• I think I'm going to let ficspam die by way of neglect. It never did for me what I was hoping, and it's gorgeous, but I like 15_minute_draft better. Eventually, I want to get all my websites up better, instead of just trying to move the whole lot of madness onto LJ.

• I don't think I like AO3. I've tried it again and again, and it's a pain to upload on, it's a pain to browse on, and it's a pain to use. Plus, nobody there knows me, and I don't feel like transferring 70 fics to a place that doesn't really seem to have much use for me. I won't pull it down, but I think I will let my AO3 account die by way of neglect.

• I've noticed Calindria and Vardin are quite similar in tone. However, I still want to keep the work separate 'cause there is such a different focus. Haven't figured out yet if the different pen name is enough on that front.

• Patience is a virtue—that I am still acquiring.

This is a community dedicated to Raven Darkholme. While inspired by the movie, X-Men: First Class, we welcome Mystique/Raven goodness from any corner of the Marvel multiverse.

My promised review!

http://ficspam.livejournal.com/28999.html

I swear I'll get through this new schedule. (But probably better if I reviewed less thoroughly.)

So on the topic of why I make odd, sporadic progress on unpredictable fronts, let's go ahead and admit to having multiple brain modes.


1. Writer Brain | When She Was Good, She Was Very, Very Good

Writer brain is the side of the muse that gets inspired, generates story ideas, and on a good day delivers. My muse runs off the Longfellow rhyme:

( Read more... )


2. Beta Brain | Reading is My Favorite Sport

This is the readerly brain and, frankly, it's rarely off. I used to get this confused with another part of the muse with detrimental results. To get beta brain, there are several requirements:

( Read more... )


3. Editor Brain | But When She Was Bad She Was Horrid

This is the side of the brain that loves language, that analyzes the mess out of everything, that creates languages, and that, all too frequently, cannot turn off when I get a fic to beta. :headdesk:

( Read more... )


On a brighter note, I understand why I don't write book reviews. I've wanted to a long time and even started fic reviews over at ficspam because I've wanted to. But any time I review, editor brain wants to take over and beta brain doesn't like it.

Off to have a talk with my schizophrenic muse now.

for Fic Spam and it doesn't let you click on the entry title to go to the entry or page forward and back, even though forward and back is on the custom entries page!

:steamed:

And working on it.