AngiePen's Journal
Friday, April 10, 2009
4:40AM - New Column -- Writers' Obligations
I have a new column up at Romancing the Blog today. This time I'm talking about what writers owe to their readers. As usual, my take is that it's kind of complicated. :) Drop by and tell me what you think.
Angie
PS -- for those of you waiting patiently for the next chunk of A Lost Boy, yes, you can assume that this issue has been weighing heavily on my mind recently. [cough] I am still working on it, but this has gone a lot longer than I expected and I've had some other obligations pop up, so Lost Boy is sharing my writing time with a couple of other stories. Also, I had a development occur at the end of the next chapter which (if I leave it as it is) is going to end up having some severe repercussions in the rest of the story. (You weren't all that fond of Thewlis, right...? [duck]) I actually have about 2.5 chapters done, plus some other disconnected verbage which demanded to be written Right The Bleep NOW, even though I've never written out of order before in my life :/ but I can't actually post any of it until I'm sure the Development is going to work. It'd be tough to change it while staying within the bounds of the verse, but if the rest of the story just doesn't work with it, I'm going to have to figure out some way to make a change fit. Until I know one way or the other, though, I can't commit by posting. [headdesk] Anyway, I appreciate everyone's patience, seriously. Thanks and hugs to all of you.
Oh, and seeing Fast and Furious this last weekend makes me want even more to finish the novel so I can give Mark and Paul their own story (probably a lot shorter) and wrap things up for them, 'cause they're hot and pretty and need to get back together. :)
Angie
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
7:01PM - Tragedy
I'm still sort of out of it, and just heard about Natasha Richardson's death after a skiing accident. All sympathy to Liam and their children. What a horrible thing to have happen. :(
Angie
Saturday, March 7, 2009
3:10PM - Resurfacing
Yes, I'm still alive, although it was a near thing for a while, or at least it felt like a near thing. Last Sunday night I became violently sick and blogging's been the last thing on my mind ever since.
I am not, as you might have guessed by now, at EPICon. :( I went to the doctor on Wednesday (which tells you just how bad it was -- it takes a lot of nausea etc. to get me into a doctor's office, since they generally tell you to drink clear liquids, get lots of rest, maybe take something Pepto Bismolish, and wait it out, sending you home with a short list of bland foods you can eat once you can eat anything at all, and in what order to add in more complex kinds of things, none of which advice I need, nor have for many years, thanks anyway) and since it'd been going on for three days at that point, my doctor actually gave me some pills along with the above-mentioned advice. He also gave me a note saying I shouldn't travel for a week, with which we can collect on the travel insurance my husband presciently took out on this trip however many weeks ago when he booked my plane tickets. We're still out a "fee" of about $150, but the tickets were like $280, so it was worth taking my queasy stomach on two very short cab rides, I suppose. Oh, and the diagnosis is gastritis, which seems to mean just "upset stomach." [bemused smile]
( Read more... )
Monday, February 23, 2009
3:27AM - Newsletter Drama
If you've missed it, probably just as well. :/
This is me, though, and I always have an opinion. Which is:
( Read more... )
Thursday, February 19, 2009
12:22AM - Alone Again
Or mostly. Jim's in Germany for a week so it's just me and his cat again. [eyes grouchy feline]
We're saving up airline miles so we can fly business class to Melbourne (and back!) next year for WorldCon. He got a good deal on a trip to Germany -- although not quite as excellent as he got last year -- so he's off touristing around. He brought some liqueur-chocolates back for me and my mom last time, and Mom has put in a request for more this time around 'cause they were the best chocolates she's ever had. And she's not really a sweets-person, so for Mom to get that enthused about candy says a lot. :) Me, I don't like alcohol (can't stand the taste) so my own request was for some booze-less chocolates this time. Hopefully he'll be able to find some. :D
I think he wants to ride the monorail again, too. And he was talking about trying to get to Aachen. That'd be awesome (yay, Charlemagne!) but I'm still sufficiently broad across the beam that long plane flights are incredibly uncomfortable for me. When we went to Florence, I was in serious pain for most of the flights, each way. :/ That's one of the reasons he's doing this, so we can afford the Good Seats on the bazillion-hour flight to Australia and back.
Let's see, what else? Oh, I ordered business cards today, for the first time ever. :) EPICon is in like two weeks and it finally hit me that I should have cards to give out. It'll look like this:
It was like $25 or so for 250, including shipping, which isn't too bad. The pic is sort of generic, and a lot of m/m writers seem to use hot/naked guys, but 1) I took the picture myself so there aren't any copyright issues, 2) it's the pic I use for my columns on Romancing the Blog, and it's the default on my other LJ, so it helps build a brand image sort of thing, 3) I've written in other genres before and plan to do so again, and although there's a good chance I'll use a different pseud if I start publishing in, say, SF or Fantasy, this way my options are open and I don't have to. Or at least, I won't necessarily need to get a separate set of cards made up, if I decide to publish in other genres under the same pseud. Somehow I can't really see handing out cards with naked dudes on them to editors and agents at World Fantasy, you know? [wry smile]
Angie
Monday, February 16, 2009
7:50AM - New Column
I have a new column up on Romancing the Blog, on the subject of Falling out of Love. I recently came to the sudden realization that a (commercial, professional) writer I really loved up until, well, a few days ago, is actually pretty sucky. :/ It feels exactly like the sudden awakening out of a romantic infatuation, which is a pretty weird feeling to have about a completely different sort of attachment. Has that ever happened to anyone else? (With writers, not partners. [grin])
Angie
Thursday, February 12, 2009
4:57AM - Fic: A Lost Boy, Chapter 31
Title: A Lost Boy
Author: AngiePen
Pairing: Liam Neeson/Orlando Bloom, minor Liam/Johnny Depp, plus a few other pair-ups among the supporting characters.
Rating: NC-17 overall
Summary: Slave Orlando's been taken and the kidnappers aren't interested in ransom. And of course Master Liam's thundering rage is only at the personal insult, that someone would disrespect him by daring to touch his property.
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you recognize. I know nothing about their social lives or sexual activities, more's the pity. This is fiction, period. It is done as a labor of love and I make no money from it.
Notes: 1) Set in LJ PoisonTaster's Kept Boy universe -- FAQ here. See Chapter 1 for more notes.
Previous Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight, Twenty-Nine, Thirty
The end of training came without any fanfare, or even an announcement.
The lack of ceremony or even a special marker made sense once Orlando thought about it. When Jamie and Paula had finished kindergarten and been promoted to first grade, there'd been a special ceremony at their school, with the graduating students in special caps they'd made themselves out of construction paper, and they'd all gotten a certificate and a hug from the teacher; it'd made the kids feel special and proud of their accomplishment, and eager for the next step to come. Master Liam and Mistress Natasha had been smiling and proud too, and Orlando supposed they'd been happy with the school for the job it was doing educating the children and making them enjoy the process.
( Read more... )
Thursday, February 5, 2009
10:08AM - Trivia Contest!
I'm driving the bus at Torquere Social on LJ today and just posted a trivia contest. The prize is a Torquere gift certificate, so come hang with me today and see how many you can get right!
Angie
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
4:48AM - Cutting
[EDIT for IJ -- over here, most of what I did was filter people I also have friended on LJ onto a "Back Burner" group. There are only a few people on IJ who aren't also on LJ, cross-posting identical stuff. (Like I do.) Most of my time here is spent sorting through all the stuff I already saw when I read my LJ Flist. That won't happen anymore. So now I've got folks still friended and know where you are if LJ ever does go ka-floom or whatever, but I won't have to go through pages of "Seen that, seen that, remember that, read that, seen that..." every time I come over here.]
( Read more... )
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
3:36PM - Racism, Cultural Appropriation, and Completely Missing the Point
A white writer who's apparently been watching the fall-out from the Cultural Appropriation Discussion of Doom* which has been sweeping across the internets and somehow managed to miss the most important parts, posts here.
I love how he states up front that there are Two Sides To The Issue (look, Ma! I'm being fair!) but then only snarks at one side. Smooth.
Aside from that, though, what I see as a white writer who in all honestly has been there up until a very few years ago, is that this guy and others like him are seeing this:
1) White Writer Writes Story About COC
2) POC Tear Out White Writer's Eyeballs
He's seeing only the most obvious, shallowest layer of the interaction. Or looked at another way, he's seeing only the loudest, brightest bits of the interaction. Either way, he's missing the (slightly) quieter bits that happened in between those two events. Actually, it looked like this:
1) White Writer Writes Story About COC
2) POC Calmly Offer Concrit, Pointing Out Some Racist Issues
3) White Writer Acknowledges Error, Thanks POC and Apologizes
4) White Writer's Friends Interpret The POC's Statement As Telling Their Friend "You Are A Filthy Racist!!!" And Respond In Writer's Defense With Snarky Chainsaws And Racist Flamethrowers
( Read more... )
Friday, January 23, 2009
10:19AM - Update on A Lost Boy
The good news is we're close to the end. I can see where I want to wrap this, if I squint a bit, and I'm pretty sure I have a handle on the steps it'll take to get there.
The bad news is that I'm going to be slowing down now. [hides in concrete bunker]
( Read more... )
Thursday, January 22, 2009
4:38PM - SGA and Benjamin Button
Stargate: Atlantis -- So I've been reading fanfic for this show for years and I'd only ever seen the pilot, plus two random eps. The pilot didn't grab me enough to make me watch regularly, and I hate coming into a series in the middle so I didn't pick it up after reading the fic. Amazon had that wazoo-discount DVD sale a bit ago, though, and S1 of SGA was like seven bucks, so I got it. Jim and I re-watched the pilot, plus "Hide and Seek" (the one where Rodney has the personal shield thingy) and "Thirty-Eight Minutes" (the one where the jumper is stuck halfway through the wormhole and John's got a humongous mosquitoleech clamped onto his throat).
I can still see why I gave the pilot a not-quite-passing grade back when. And I don't know that seeing the first two regular eps would've changed my mind much at the time. But having read a thousand or so pages of fanfic, I like John a lot more, I think Rodney is adorkable instead of a jerk, and I love seeing them snarking back and forth with each other. I love Teyla, and I'm bouncing up and down waiting for Ronon to show up.
Oh, and now that I know who this "Ford" guy is -- wow, cute! Not just to look at either; him telling John that wormhole travel was incredibly painful in the pilot, then that grin and the "Wahoo!" backwards dive through? Yeah, I'm going to like this guy. :D Oh, and add "Brave to the point of idiocy" to his resume. O_O Why hasn't there been entire archives of h/c written about him?? It'd be totally canon to show him getting torn up every other week while doing something insanely brave to save someone else's life.
Benjamin Button -- For everyone who saw Benjamin Button, did the soundtrack sound hosed? Not all the sound, just the music? When the husband and I went this weekend, sometimes it did -- it sounded like it was being played too slow, lower and drawn-out and way distorted, bad enough to have even me wincing, and I'm fairly oblivious to music -- and sometimes it didn't. Was it supposed to sound like that for some strange, whacked-artistic reason? :P
Other than that, the movie rocked. You know, I've never been a real Brad Pitt fan before. I didn't dislike him, just never saw what the fuss was about. He got very nicely buffed up for Troy, but I've never seen anything to turn me into a squeeing Pitt fangirl. I think I am now. He is hot in this movie, seriously. :D At least in the parts where he doesn't look like he's eighty. And it's a great movie even aside from the eye candy. Highly recommended. (Even with the whacked-out music.)
Angie
10:17AM - Fic: Grit in the Gears
Title: Grit in the Gears
Author: AngiePen
Fandom: Celebrity RPS
Pairing: Viggo/SeanB
Rating: R
Request: Bad!Sex, Viggo/Bean, peanut butter, for ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif){kind=small}
caras_galadhon in ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
comment_fic.
Summary: Some experiments just don't work out very well.
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you recognize. I know nothing about their social lives or sexual activities, more's the pity. This is fiction, period. It is done as a labor of love and I make no money from it.
Notes: OMG I wrote a drabble! O_O
"Oww! Buggering damn!" Sean's sudden heave threw Viggo not only off his back, but completely off the bed. Viggo missed cracking his head on the solid oak dresser by about an inch and had the wind knocked out of him.
He scrambled back up onto the mattress while gasping for breath, desperate to see what had his lover in such a panic. He found his lover clawing at his ass with both hands, still cussing.
"What the fuck?!" Sean snarled at him. "You want to be fucking kinky with the food, that's one thing, but for this you use chunky?!"
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
11:57AM - Fic: A Lost Boy, Chapter 30
Title: A Lost Boy
Author: AngiePen
Pairing: Liam Neeson/Orlando Bloom, minor Liam/Johnny Depp, plus a few other pair-ups among the supporting characters.
Rating: NC-17 overall
Summary: Slave Orlando's been taken and the kidnappers aren't interested in ransom. And of course Master Liam's thundering rage is only at the personal insult, that someone would disrespect him by daring to touch his property.
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you recognize. I know nothing about their social lives or sexual activities, more's the pity. This is fiction, period. It is done as a labor of love and I make no money from it.
Notes: 1) Set in LJ PoisonTaster's Kept Boy universe -- FAQ here. See Chapter 1 for more notes.
Previous Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight, Twenty-Nine
Orlando remembered.
He remembered being taken from the parking lot, fighting against the hands holding him down, and then losing his grip on the world. He remembered waking up with the men who called him "David," remembered being taken to a Commerce office to be sold, to be trained, remembered being so sure his master would come for him, that it was all a mistake.
( Read more... )
Monday, January 19, 2009
12:17PM - Fic: A Lost Boy, Chapter 29
Title: A Lost Boy
Author: AngiePen
Pairing: Liam Neeson/Orlando Bloom, minor Liam/Johnny Depp, plus a few other pair-ups among the supporting characters.
Rating: NC-17 overall
Summary: Slave Orlando's been taken and the kidnappers aren't interested in ransom. And of course Master Liam's thundering rage is only at the personal insult, that someone would disrespect him by daring to touch his property.
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you recognize. I know nothing about their social lives or sexual activities, more's the pity. This is fiction, period. It is done as a labor of love and I make no money from it.
Notes: 1) Set in LJ PoisonTaster's Kept Boy universe -- FAQ here. See Chapter 1 for more notes.
Previous Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight
They picked up Mr. Thewlis, who'd been on a later flight, then headed out to the industrial park where Kevin had said this Csokas guy spent most of his time. Johnny could tell that Master Liam's gut instinct was to head straight to the fake Commerce office where Kevin had last seen Orlando -- the clenched jaw and fidgeting hands while they drove in a different direction communicated that as clearly as a billboard to someone who'd known him as long as Johnny had. But Kevin had been absolutely certain that Orlando would've been sold on already, so getting the man who was running the show was the next best move.
Or would have been, except he wasn't there.
( Read more... )
Sunday, January 18, 2009
10:03AM - Awesome LOTR Cakes
Cake Wrecks usually shows really horrible professionally done cakes so folks can point and laugh, but Sunday is their non-wrecks day and today the theme is Lord of the Rings. They've got some incredible Rings cakes here -- my favorite is the first one, an amazingly detailed Minas Tirith. Check them out!
Angie
Friday, January 16, 2009
12:28PM - Freedom of Speech? What Freedom of Speech?
This is just whacked, to say nothing of unconstitutional. But hey, it's been a while since our constitutional freedoms had much to do with lawmaking in this country.
South Carolina is trying to pass a bill which would make it unlawful to swear in public. No, seriously, check it out.
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 16-15-370 SO AS TO MAKE IT UNLAWFUL TO COMMUNICATE PROFANITY IN A PUBLIC FORUM OR PLACE OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION; BY ADDING SECTION 16-15-430 SO AS TO CREATE THE OFFENSE OF DISSEMINATING PROFANITY TO A MINOR AND PROVIDE A PENALTY FOR THE OFFENSE; TO AMEND SECTION 16-15-305, RELATING TO DISSEMINATING OBSCENITY, SO AS TO SPECIFY BOTH ORAL AND WRITTEN PUBLICATIONS; AND TO AMEND SECTION 16-15-375, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS FOR PURPOSES OF MORALITY AND DECENCY OFFENSES AGAINST MINORS, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE OFFENSE OF DISSEMINATING PROFANITY TO A MINOR.
Well, that's rather inclusive, isn't it? And notice how they're waving the "Think Of The Children!!" flag; that has to be good for a few votes at least. Also, throwing in the "minors" mention doubtless brings up mental images of playgrounds, zoos, and movie theaters showing the latest Little Foot movie, but note that it says "IN A PUBLIC FORUM OR PLACE OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION." That means anywhere in public, including places where children are unlikely to be or are actually banned. Bummer for the comedy clubs of South Carolina.
And before you imagine that it's just about not swearing on the street, or in restaurants or amusement parks or whatever, note this:
( Read more... )
12:00PM - Fic: A Lost Boy, Chapter 28
Title: A Lost Boy
Author: AngiePen
Pairing: Liam Neeson/Orlando Bloom, minor Liam/Johnny Depp, plus a few other pair-ups among the supporting characters.
Rating: NC-17 overall
Summary: Slave Orlando's been taken and the kidnappers aren't interested in ransom. And of course Master Liam's thundering rage is only at the personal insult, that someone would disrespect him by daring to touch his property.
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you recognize. I know nothing about their social lives or sexual activities, more's the pity. This is fiction, period. It is done as a labor of love and I make no money from it.
Notes: 1) Set in LJ PoisonTaster's Kept Boy universe -- FAQ here. See Chapter 1 for more notes.
Previous Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven
The one thing Kevin did not expect was to have Lord Fucking Neeson show up, briefcase-toting body-slave in tow, and ring his master's fucking doorbell.
( Read more... )
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
11:52AM - Fic: A Lost Boy, Chapter 27
Title: A Lost Boy
Author: AngiePen
Pairing: Liam Neeson/Orlando Bloom, minor Liam/Johnny Depp, plus a few other pair-ups among the supporting characters.
Rating: NC-17 overall
Summary: Slave Orlando's been taken and the kidnappers aren't interested in ransom. And of course Master Liam's thundering rage is only at the personal insult, that someone would disrespect him by daring to touch his property.
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you recognize. I know nothing about their social lives or sexual activities, more's the pity. This is fiction, period. It is done as a labor of love and I make no money from it.
Notes: 1) Set in LJ PoisonTaster's Kept Boy universe -- FAQ here. See Chapter 1 for more notes.
Previous Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six
Liam clicked SEND on a letter to one of his project managers, then shut down the mail window and closed the design review reports he'd been quoting out of while listing instructions.
That was it; everything that needed to be done for the day was finished and everything else could wait. He stretched, feeling the ache in his back and the pull of his muscles, then just closed his eyes and relaxed back into his chair, arms draped over the sides and head resting on the back. He had no idea what time it was and didn't particularly care.
( Read more... )
Monday, January 12, 2009
11:24AM - Fic: A Lost Boy, Chapter 26
Title: A Lost Boy
Author: AngiePen
Pairing: Liam Neeson/Orlando Bloom, minor Liam/Johnny Depp, plus a few other pair-ups among the supporting characters.
Rating: NC-17 overall
Summary: Slave Orlando's been taken and the kidnappers aren't interested in ransom. And of course Master Liam's thundering rage is only at the personal insult, that someone would disrespect him by daring to touch his property.
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you recognize. I know nothing about their social lives or sexual activities, more's the pity. This is fiction, period. It is done as a labor of love and I make no money from it.
Notes: 1) Set in LJ PoisonTaster's Kept Boy universe -- FAQ here. See Chapter 1 for more notes.
Previous Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five
Ben -- I'm certainly interested in getting Orlando back. Let me know what you want, and if it's within my power then we'll do business.
Neeson
( Read more... )
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