Edwards and Jaspers and confusion...oh my!

Oy. So, merging elements from two different stories may *look* easy (heh) but it’s not so much. There have been many questions asked in the reviews for Chapter 5. Rather than waiting for the Chapter 6 author's note I'd like to answer them here (sooner rather than later).

Deep Dish takes place after the conclusion of both Over the Top and House of Cards – everything that happened in those two stories exists in the history of Deep Dish. I promise I won’t have to wrap your brains around anything new or “non-canon” (again: heh) from those stories. Yes, the Edward Cullen and Jasper Whitlock in OTT are, of course, completely separate from the Edward Masen/Cullen and Jasper in HoC. Yes, that has the potential to be confusing, but your humble author has given this some forethought. I know how I’ll deal with it. I promise it won’t be as circus-y or messy as you may be anticipating; it’s actually quite straightforward. :)

(Is it simply the names? If they didn’t have the same names would it be easier to make the leap? If so, let’s just think of OTT Edward and Jasper as Beautiful and Kas from now on, okee?)

Also: this story is not about Edward and Jasper, from *either* of the two preceding fics. This is about Jack, Jacey, Ashton, Mike, Karl, Nicolas (a picture of whom is below, btw) and some other characters we haven’t met yet. If you’ll trust that I have thought this through and that everything will be explained (and I swear it won’t require the use of a diagram, LOL – I have no intention of making anything so difficult) I promise I’ll see you through to the other side.

Please don't hesitate to PM me if you would like further clarification on anything.

Also - a reader pointed out that I should have included a spoiler warning before telling the synopsis of House of Cards. Absolutely correct, and I'm normally much more vigilant about that sort of thing. I have corrected the Chapter 5 text now to include the spoiler alert. I apologize for ruining HoC for you.

Heeeeeeere's Nicolas:

Over The Top recommended on Diary of a Fic Fiend

Thanks to Green Puma for rec'ing Over The Top! :) Always nice to come across these little tidbits and read that someone has enjoyed one of my stories!

Of Slums and Sultans recommended on Robnipulations

Doesn't Robnipulations sound pornographic? Like it's about Rob's nipples? Sadly, it's not. :) It's actually a blog of some hot/some hilarious manips involving teh RPattz.

They gave a shout out for OSAS, what, almost two months ago and I just came across it!

Thanks so much, women! :)

Day Old Hate, by City and Colour

I've mentioned before how much I adore Dallas Green, aka City and Colour. Chapter 5 of Deep Dish is draws from his song Day Old Hate:

Song lyrics | Day Old Hate lyrics

Nishe, by Muse

One of my readers was unable to find Nishe by Muse, the song to which Jacey strips for Jack in the DD outtake. I can't allow that to continue. :)

Holiday Greetings

As the year draws to a close and many of us prepare to enjoy holiday celebrations, I want to extend my warmest thanks and good wishes to everyone with whom I've become acquainted in the TwiFandom in the last year. It has been my pleasure to read your work, share mine with you and receive your reviews and questions, emails and PMs.

I wish you all a safe and enjoyable holiday with the ones you love, and much happiness in the year to come.

Your Starfishy,

Katie :)

Yeehaw, Cowboy

In case you don't follow me on teh Twitter, here's part of my writing inspiration for Deep Dish Chapter 4:



And actually, I didn't tweet this one. Meet Mike Newton:



(Pleasant dreams)

Upcoming PPSS Author Interviews: Starfish & EJ Santry

If you follow the Perv Pack Smut Shack, you may have seen their interview series "The Good, The Bad and The Pervy", wherein Twific authors interview each other, asking questions they choose and questions sent in by readers and some other fun stuff.

In late January I will be teaming up with Bethie (EJ Santry). We'll play 20 Questions, "List Your Top 5"...maybe Seven Minutes in Heaven...? If you have any questions for me or for Beth, you can tweet them to me, @starfish422 or Bethie, @ejsantry. You can also email me, starfish422 @ gmail.com or complete this web form; they will be sent directly to us!

Starfish422's Lemonshot recommendation on the PPSS

I wrote a contribution for the Perv Pack's Smut Shack's weekly "LemonShot" feature. Have a look to read about one of my favourite Twific lemons!

Deep Dish recommended on The Fictionators

I'm all tingly and happy because The Fictionators reviewed Deep Dish!! :D Thanks to mia chicas Shannon and Beth for your lovely words! Biggest smooches.

OTT mentioned on PIC's Fanfic Corner

Thank you to the lovely Tilly Whitlock for recommending Over The Top, and to jadedandboring for rec'ing it to Tilly Whitlock. Even several months after I completed the story, I still have more traffic on that story on a daily basis than my others combined. It delights me no end to see the love for Beautiful and Kas! :)

Deep Dish recommended on Fornication Station

Miztrezboo gave Deep Dish a lovely recommendation oh the Fornication Station fanfic blog. Thank you so much, boo! :)

Teaser for Deep Dish Chapter 3

It's been posted on Twilighted's Deep Dish thread. Go, go, go read! :)

Deep Dish recommended on TwiSlash blog

I am so insular. Donna, aka Whitlock's Girl, recommended Deep Dish on TwiSlash on November 3rd and I've just now realized this. Thanks so much, Donna! :)

Jackson Rathbone, at New Moon premiere

Clearly, he heard what I was trying to say. :) What would The Fug Girls say? They'd say, "Well Played, Jackson Rathbone."

Meanwhile, back in Canada, Starfishy considers adding a new post tag category, called "Can't Talk Now Must Find Vibrator". :)

The Fandom Gives Back

Three amazing women, two of whom I am privileged to call friend, have organized a fundraising event that, frankly, is kind of blowing my mind. tby789, Ninapolitan and LolaShoes have created The Fandom Gives Back, a fundraiser to benefit Alex's Lemonade Stand (rather than including a whack of information here, I'm just going to link you to the websites where the backstories are told much better than I could). Alex's Lemonade, through virtual "lemonade stands", raises money for research of childhood cancers.

What amazes me most about what Christina, Nina and Lola have done, is the time frame in which this has all come together. It went from zero to sixty in about three days, it seems, beginning perhaps 3 weeks ago (to my knowledge, at least) and growing in very short order to an auction that includes autographed Twilight swag, tickets to a 100 Monkeys Concert with a meet-and-greet with the band afterwards, and a weekend for two *anywhere*.

Most moving, for me, are the 172 authors who have volunteered their time and talents. In various auction formats, generous authors are offering their brilliance to raise money for this important cause.

My auction thread can be found here.

I Gotta Feeling, by Black Eyed Peas

This is from the band's official YouTube, which has embedding disabled; but it's in HD - so worth the click. I've never been a big BEP fan but my 9yo got me into this song. :) Enjoy!

I Gotta Feeling

Of Slums and Sultans recommended on The Fictionators

My girl Shannon, one of The Fictionators, recommended Of Slums and Sultans on this week's One-Shot Wednesday! Thank you to Shannon and The Fictionators for the rec! :D

I have to admit that my favourite day to hit up the Fictionators blog is Teaser Monday, when authors share teasers from their in-progress and/or upcoming fics! :)

35,263

35,263

This is my magic, albeit approximate, number, in these last moments of the month of October.

35,263 <--- The number of words of fiction I wrote this month, spanning five different stories (four of them posted publicly).

This is by far the most prolific month I've ever had as an author. Normally I try not to focus too greatly on word count, and I've certainly never taken a monthly tally before, believing in the principle of quality over quantity. A few days ago, though, it occurred to me that I have had an unbelievable month in terms of inspiration and the muses speaking to me. Maybe it's because I was working on five different stories that I had the inspiration - changing up the storylines in my head, working with completely different characters in each story.

It also helps that every time I post, my inbox is flooded with reviews and PMs, generous words of love and support from readers. I feel so grateful for the people who read one of my stories and send me a note to tell me what they appreciated.

Anyways, no matter the reason. :) The number itself isn't truly significant to anyone but me; but I just have to mark this milestone for myself, with humility and gratitude and the hope of months to follow that are as rewarding as this one has been.

Electrical Storm, by U2

My inspiration for the story Structurally Unsound came from the song Electrical Storm, by U2, which I have loved freaking forever.

Time, by The Alan Parsons Project

The song to which Edward and Jasper make out, the night they meet.

Structurally Unsound

My entry in the Slash Backslash contest has been posted.

The summary:

"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference." - Elie Wiesel. Entry for the Slash Backslash contest. AH. Mature themes.

(I know it's not the most comprehensive summary, but I didn't want to give away too much)

My musical inspirations for this fic will follow in their own posts.

Deep Dish Chapter 1 is up!

Deep Dish is now up on both Fanfiction.net and Twilighted! There is also a thread on the Twilighted forums for DD discussion. Hope you will join us there!

An open letter to Jackson Rathbone

Dear Jackson:

Hi. How are you? I like you. Do you like me?

Check one: Yes No

Okay, maybe not.

Dear Jackson:

I have never written a letter like this in my life.

No, I learned my lesson on that from Sleepless in Seattle.

Dear Jackson:

I am writing to tell you how much I enjoy your talents. Your acting is versatile and lush. My favourite of your roles was when you were in Close to Home. It dealt with difficult subject matter and you were very authentic.

I bought your CD earlier this year and Honky Tonk Porcupine is in heavy rotation on my iTunes favourites list. Robot Timberwolves gets play too; and if you ever come to my neck of the woods, which I'm not about to disclose here (but email me, bb, and I'll spill), I will totally come see you. Absolutely.

I will even go so far as to say that I have a decent complement of pictures of you, both as Jackson and as Jasper, in my spank bank. Sorry for objectifying you; but it's safe to say I heart you hard.

Unfortunately, this brings us to something unpleasant. It's difficult for me to say this, but when you truly love someone you have to be honest.

I get that you're artistic, a musician, and you define your own style. You're not afraid to take chances or stand out, and I appreciate that very much. The photoshoot you did where you have the fauxhawk? I loved it. It was my Vista user account picture for ages.

Where I can't get behind you, though, is when you stride out in something like this:



**sigh** It gives me a sad, my darling. The hat isn't awful (it reminds me of the one my British granddad always wore, which you can take as you wish - though he did not wear it backwards). But the glasses? The coat? THE COAT. It's like you're intentionally attempting to make yourself look bad. I mean, my darling, you are beautiful. You have a wonderfully expressive face and a smile that makes my heart sing. I just don't get what you're going for. It's not even a matter of sloppy dressing - you don't just wake up and throw on a leather jacket with a faux-fur collar out of laziness. You have to seek that shit out.

I feel badly for you with the nasty-ass wig you've been stuck with for Eclipse and New Moon. I loved your hair in Twilight - I'm sure the blonde killed it, but surely the wigmaster could have come up with a better style, something closer to your own length and style (which I happen to love). But I assume that you didn't have a great deal of input into the styling for the Jasper character. Your own styling, though... **sigh**

Anyways, I'm just one little fanfic author who happens to heart you hard. Obviously my opinion is simply that.

I'm looking forward to seeing you in New Moon, and particularly in Eclipse where I hope you'll get to really flex your muscles, literally and figuratively.

Smooches infinity,
Katie Starfish

Of Slums and Sultans

My third and final Support Stacie auction fic has been posted on FF.net.

Of Slums and Sultans

The summary:

Slash: Jasper is a privileged high school senior. A fight between his friend and a "blue collar" student leads to a surprising discovery about someone he's lusted after for a long time. Written for the Support Stacie Auction. Lemons & language.

Thank you to MeiSun for her generous donation to the auction!

Teaser for Deep Dish Chapter 1

So, Deep Dish Chapter 1 will be posted mid-to-late week, the week of Oct 26. Thougth I'd pass along a little teaser for you all:

He was completely silent…motionless, even…for long seconds, before sucking in a deep breath. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m going to look at jobs in Chicago, and if I can find something I like, I’m going to take it,” I replied.

“How long have you been thinking about this?” he asked quietly.

“A while,” I hedged, not adding that I’d been thinking about it only since he’d announced his engagement the night before.

“Well, there you go”, he said. “There was a long pause as we each looked anywhere but at each other. I’m getting married, and you’re moving two thousand miles away.”

I didn’t answer, looking at the floor. He was pacing the room now, and I sat silently as my normally quiet, even-tempered best friend came unglued before me.

Starfish422 & Over The Top hit the mainstream media?

Well, this is interesting. ROBsessed posted scans of the October issue of Empire, a British entertainment magazine. There was a feature on Twilight, and in the sidebar, a peek into the world of Twilight fanfic. Who's that down in the bottom right-hand corner under "The Slash Fiction"?

Thank you to everyone who has tweeted, PM'd and emailed me to let me know about this! My reaction when I first heard? In Bella fashion...I actually stopped breathing for a moment. True story.

Carlisle, from We Three

I said in my author's notes for Chapter 2 that I had to fire PFac as my Carlisle. :) I just could not write him in that chapter. LOL Here, my Carlisle:

Latter Days

The second movie recommendation given to me by philomina is Latter Days.



This may be one of the best movies I've seen; and I may have even liked it more than Shelter or Brokeback Mountain. For personal reasons, it resonated strongly with me. I think it was written, directed and acted in a way that wasn't (if you'll pardon the expression) over the top. The directing is beautifully done; the acting is heartfelt and passionate; and the writing tells a very real story, one that I'm sure has played out many times in real life.

Boy Culture

Couple of movie recs for you, which were passed along to me by a reader, philomina. I thoroughly enjoyed them both.

The first is Boy Culture:



I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's about much more than just the life of a hustler; this guy is deep, and may even be a romantic at heart. Much more to him than meets the eye. Highly recommended.

Characters

You've already seen pictures of Jack and Ashton, in the slideshow at the top of the page. Here are some more, as well as a couple pictures of Jacey.

Jack will get his own spinoff in mid to late October! Stay tuned for updates on the new fic, "Deep Dish".

Readers' playlist

When I posted chapter 28, I asked for readers to tell me what songs made them think of Over The Top. Many of you generously shared your opinions, and I have compiled the songs into a playlist. Please note, unfortunately I could not locate every suggested song on Project Playlist - if yours is missing, I'm sorry.

**edited September 2010: relocated playlist to Mixpod. --Katie

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Katie's Over The Top playlist

I wanted to share, in one place, the songs that were not only listed in Over The Top, but also the ones that were on my writing playlists and inspired scenes. I'm sure you'll recognize many of them. Hope you enjoy. :)

**September 2010: Moved playlist to Mixpod from Project Playlist. --Katie

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

The Italian Job, by DarkAbsynthe

DarkAbsynthe has written a prologue to Over The Top, called The Italian Job. It is EPOV and, holy hanna, it's hawt!! I hope you'll check it out and give DA some reviews! :)

Blown Wide Open, by starfish422 - aka Happy Birthday, Shannon!

To my darling friend, Shannon, I thank you so much for being my non-biological sister. I love you, and I hope you enjoy the birthday present I created for you.

Thank you so much to Val, who exercised her considerable talents to create a photo collage to accompany this story. Click on the image to view the whole thing - she really outdid herself!

Twigasm Episode 5 with starfish422 is live!!

The Twigasm podcast, Episode 5 with guest Katie Starfish, is now available for download on iTunes, or streaming on Mevio. I had an absolute blast recording the interview with Christina and Moi, and I am grateful for the opportunity to appear on the podcast. Hope you'll give it a listen!!

Over The Top: A Look Back, on TwiSlash Unveiled

About a month ago, Donna from the Twislash Unveiled blog emailed me with a proposition. No, filthy minds, not that kind of proposition. She proposed that, since we were nearing the end of OTT, that she wanted to do a retrospective of the story when the final chapter was posted.

The retrospective was posted last night to coincide with the epilogue of the story; and I am, as ever, grateful and humbled for all the love and support shown by the readers; as well as by Shannon, Val and Bethie, all of whom wrote a contribution for the retrospective.

Twigasm update

So, on Friday night last week, I recorded my guest spot on the Twigasm podcast. It is "in the can", so to speak, and all ready to go. However, the hosts encountered technical issues when recording LauraCullen's spot; and Skype cockblocked their attempt at re-recording! Technology is wonderful, except when it's not.

So...no idea when it might be posted! I will keep you updated.

Fanvid, by Whitlock-Cullen

Um...yeah. So I have a bit of a thing for fan-made videos. YouTube is such a time suck for me because I can go from one Pride & Prejudice vid right into the next, and six hours later...you know.

So when I got a PM from Whitlock-Cullen saying she'd made a fanvid? Oh my heck - yeah, I was a little excited.



I think she did a great job with the footage she had! And of course, "Halo" is the perfect song for these boys. Thank you SO MUCH!

Twigasm podcast records Friday night

This is the last call for questions for Katie Starfish on the Twigasm podcast. My segment will be recorded tomorrow evening (Friday). I am excited and anxious! But I talked to Christina on Skype last night and she is just as adorable when she's talking *to* you, as she is on the podcast. Really, really looking forward to the experience, and to answering some of your questions!

Support Stacie auction update

The Support Stacie author threads are being added to the forums. You can find my thread here (all threads are currently locked), with a description of what I am offering for the auction. Please check out all the other generous individuals, as well, who are donating their time and talents to this very worthy cause.

Support Stacie auction

I have volunteered my writing skillz to support the upcoming Support Stacie auction. If you aren't familiar with Stacie's story, please click here to read about her and about the reason for the auction.

The timeline for the September auction is as follows (all times are Central Daylight):

-Friday, September 4th – Deadline for author registration forms
-Friday, September 11th, 11:59pm – Auction opens
-Monday, September 14th, 7:00-10:00pm – Auction ends (Twilight auction closes at 7:00 p.m.)

Here is the link to the auction forums, where the threads for each author will be posted.

What is being auctioned? From the site:

The Author Auctions, which began in September 2008, allow fandom authors to put themselves on the auction block, donating their time in order to raise funds for Stacie to receive medical treatment. Authors are committing to donating their time to the winning bidder by accepting the winning bidder’s writing challenge. (Details on the Authors’ obligations can be found HERE.)

We are not selling fanfic. We are asking authors to continue to do what they have been doing – write public domain fanfic with all rights continuing to belong to the original copyright holders. The only difference is that in this case, the winning bidder is able to stipulate a writing challenge for their favorite author. As with all fanfiction, Support Stacie does not make any legal claims regarding the ownership of any fanfiction which results from these auctions.

Support Stacie is not a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization as defined by the U.S. tax codes. Unfortunately, our tax attorney and accountant have both informed us that it is impossible to obtain non-profit status for an organization which benefits only one individual, even when it is not for personal gain or profit. We do have the ability for a few large donations to be routed through a non-profit organization in order to obtain tax credit for the donor, should the need arise. However the auction donations as a whole are not tax-deductible.

This is my first time participating in the auctions; in the spring, the Twilight fandom raised more money for Stacie than any other fandom in the auction.

I hope you will consider bidding on on or more of your favourite authors! :)

Questions for starfish422? Ask them on Twigasm!

I will be appearing on the next episode of the Twigasm podcast! The Twigasmic group of hosts - Christina, Moi, Nina and Alice - have put the word out asking for questions...for me! If you have any questions you've been dying to ask, please email them to Twigasm@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer them!

Wedding images

Here are some photos of the wedding goodness. Planning this wedding was seriously the most fun I've had in ages. :)

The wedding music

The song to which Edward and Jasper each walk down the aisle: "Songbird" by Eva Cassidy



The song Kathleen sings, accompanied by Ashton: "Halo" by Beyonce (sorry, embedding disabled).
Kathleen's version is more soulful, less poppy.

Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island", which plays during the cocktail hour at the reception:



Jasper and Edward's first song, though the version in the story is the studio version - which I simply could not find on YouTube:



Their second song, "Angels" by Robin Thicke (from Robin's site, so no embedding).

And the final song, of course, has already been linked here - it was the first song posted on my blog. :)

It's almost time...

I promised to give a heads-up a few days before OTT Chapter 30, aka The Wedding, was to be posted; that way, those who want to get their own celebration ready - cake, champers, whatever - would have time to do so.

Well, the time has come, the Walrus said, to speak of...having a wedding. Chapter 30 will be posted on Wednesday evening, around 9 pm Eastern. I hope that's sufficient time for everyone!

"See" you then! xoxo

Wedding previews

Here are a few tidbits for the upcoming Chapter 30. I apologize that it's taking so ridiculously long to write - I had to plan the entire darn wedding first. LOL


Invitations (click to view full-size)!





The cake and centerpiece, which, when combined with the invitations, should give you some idea of the color scheme:

If you liked it then you should-a put a ring on it...

...so he did. :)

Big, happy response from readers to Chapter 29 - yay! Many have commented on the proposal, particularly the ring. I have a picture of what the ring looks like:



Now, the ring in the pic has a yellow gold inlay and it's a polished finish. The ring E got J has a platinum inlay and is a matte satin finish. The ring is 4 mm wide. So the band is like this one:



Plus the three princess-cut diamonds (I just could not make Jasper say that his engagement ring had princess diamonds, LOL. He called them "square).

Coincidentally, the ring in photo 2 is their wedding band. They will each wear two 4mm rings. :)

Jasper will get E an engagement ring as well; same band, different setting:



Hope you like! :)

Over The Top invites you to a wedding reception!

So, a reader named Diane (faite-comme-moi) mentioned in her Ch 29 review that she was going to get a piece of cake and a purdy dress to wear when she reads the wedding chapter. I think this is a stellar idea, and made a suggestion of my own. I asked Diane to go ahead and post her idea on the OTT thread on Twilighted:

When I told Katie that I was picking out a dress to wear while reading Chapter 30 and was planning on getting a slice of cake from the bakery as well, she thought that was a 'stellar' idea that should be shared on the thread.

Katie said she could send a day's warning in advance of posting the Chapter so we could all coordinate. I think having several hundred virtual witness to their wedding sounds like the best way to show our love to these boys.

Who's with me?

And on which side of the aisle will you want to sit?

Sound good? Cake and champers to celebrate the nuptials? Please join us! I will post here, on the Twilighted thread and on Twitter (link to my Twitter page is in the sidebar) a day or two before the the chapter gets posted to give everyone time to prepare!

Update of OTT delayed

Unfortunately Chapter 29 isn't going to ready in time for my typical Friday update schedule. It's turning out to be a really long chapter. It may be middle of next week before it's ready, but I hope the wait will be worth it!

Stripped, by EJ Santry

Geekward + tattoos = pantysplosion!

I've mentioned Beth (EJ Santry) on my blog before, because she provided some much-needed support and research assistance on my AoE entry. She has written an entry for the Tattward and Inkella contest, and it's HAWT!

Stripped
Entry for the Tattward & Inkella Contest. When the A/C goes out in
the computer lab during Summer Quarter, things begin to heat up as the
students begin to strip to get comfortable. What lies underneath might cause
them to combust. AH. BxE.

Holy mother. Geekward is fuckhot and there's not even a whiff of angst in this story - just sweet, unadulterated math-fuelled lust. If tatts, math, and Geekward do it for you, you need to read this story.

In the story header you will also find the link to the Tattward/Inkella contest where you can find the other sexy submissions!

As Much As I Ever Could, by City and Colour

I have listened to this song almost constantly for the last week while writing chapter 28 of OTT. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Voting for the Bellies now open

The voting phase of the Bellies awards opened last night, and will remain open until August 5. Please visit to vote for your favourites. Over The Top is one of the nominated stories in the slash category.

Shelter

Have you seen this movie? My friend Val recommended it to me a couple of months ago and I watched it last month. It's an absolutely beautiful story of a young California man discovering who he is, what he wants, and how he's going to make it happen. It has nothing to do with OTT, except that the main character is gay. I just can't say enough about it. The movie is dramatic, and heartbreaking in places, but never heavy-handed in dialogue or direction.

Begin Again, by C-Me-Smile

You have already seen Christie's username on my blog, as she sent me some fan art last week. Girlfriend has been holding out on me! At the recommendation of a friend, I checked out a one-shot slash fic written by Christie, called Begin Again.

It is amazing. It completely gutted me. It's not a long story, but the imagery and emotions are utterly exquisite. I've told Christie that I hope she will continue to write, and have placed her on my author alerts in hopes that she does.

OTT mentioned on the Twigasm inaugural podcast

The newest Twilight fanfic podcast to hit the fandom - and it's not for the faint of heart or the under-18 crowd. Twigasm is the creation of four respected Twilight fanfic authors - Alice, Christina, Moi, and Nina; and the women provide a raunchy and hilarious commentary on what's going on the world of fan fiction on a weekly basis.

The inaugural episode, available for download on iTunes and streaming on the Twigasm site, features psymom, the creator of the Twilighted fanfic site; and I'm honoured (okay, I brought the squee when I heard) that Over The Top was recommended by both Christina and Moi.

I don't mind telling you that podcast listening is often a painful experience for me - this applies to all podcasts, regardless of subject, length or production quality - but I laughed out loud multiple times and thoroughly enjoyed their production. Well done, women; and thanks for the props.

Fan Art, by C-Me-Smile

Christie, a reader on FF.net, sent me a couple of awesome banners she made of our sweet boys in OTT.




Thank you, Christie! xoxo

Fan Art, by And I'm None The Wiser

Thank you so much to And I'm None the Wiser, who sent me this beautiful banner she made for Over The Top.



(Unfortunately, the layout of the blog cuts off the right side - just click to see the banner in its entirety)

Simply gorgeous! Thank you! xoxo

The Love Through Lemons Twific Contest

I'm all excited to announce that I'm going to be a judge in a new Twific contest, hosted by tby789 and LolaShoes! Here's the description, which can be found in the Love Through Lemons C2 on FF.net:

Love Through Lemons Contest

hosted by tby789 and LolaShoes

We all love Twilight LOVE, we all love Twilight LEMONS. How easy is it to convey one without the other? Show us! We’re hosting a contest for stories that powerfully communicate love through smut. The rules are simple:

No use of the word "love" or any synonyms (i.e. adore, worship, anything else you find on thesaurus(dot)com). That also means no references to lovey feelings or even thoughts of saying "I love you."

- All pairings welcome

- M Rating required

- 5,000 word limit

- To enter, send a PM with the link to your story to either LolaShoes or tby789

- Contest entries must be received no later than July 20, 2009 12:01AM PST

- Winner to be announced on or about August 8th, in the Twigasm Podcast

- Winning entry to be featured on the Perv Pack's Smut Shack

- Entries will be validated and the winner chosen by a group of judges based on originality, grammar, technical merit and success of representing theme.

Judges

Kassiah
Manyafandom
MsKathy
Ninapolitan
pippapear
Starfish422
tarasueme

Over The Top nominated for a Bellie award

The Bellie Award nominations were announced last night on the Temptation podcast; and I am very honoured that OTT has been nominated in the category of Best Slash. It's a tough category with stiff (snicker) competition; and I'm pleased to be in such good company.

Voting opens on July 15. Vote early and often, my friends! ;)

Edited to add link to the list of nominees.

OTT mentioned on the Temptation podcast

Cdunbar, author of Resident Geek (featuring my favourite Geekward in the ficdom!!) and co-host of the Temptation podcast, recommended OTT in Episode 21. This episode also features Gustariana and Hmonster4, and discussion of the Indie Twific awards. Mention OTT takes place around the 1:44:30 timestamp.

Thanks, Christine!! :)

Days Go By, by Dirty Vegas

Unfortunately this video has had embedding disabled at the source, so I must supply a link rather than an embedded video. I could have embedded another video using the same song; but the Dirty Vegas vid is really pretty great. Well worth clicking on.

Starfish422 quoted on TLYDF

Manyafandom, author of The Arrangement and All I Ever Knew, contributed an article to The Lazy, Yet Discerning Ficster, called Smut 101: Choose Your Words Carefully.

It's a really good article for those considering writing fanfic lemons, examining the pitfalls often made by smut writers. My quote comes under the heading, "The Most Hated Words in Smut". Several other respected fanfic writers are interviewed as well!

The Bellies - Twilight fic awards

The Bellie Awards nominations are currently open!

From the site:

The Bellies are a light-hearted companion competition to the Eddies that run twice yearly, in Winter and in Summer. There is no judging component to the Bellies. All four nominee slots will be filled by the stories that receive the most nominations. Stories authored by Limona or Withthevampsofcourse are ineligible.

The thirteen categories for the Summer 2009 session are as follows:

* Canon Fic That's Better Than Canon: For any story written in character; this does not apply to any All-Human stories, but rather the ones taking place either pre-Twilight, during either Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, or Breaking Dawn but from another character’s point-of-view, or post-Breaking Dawn. As long as the story isn’t out-of-character (OOC), it counts.

* Best Comedy: For any story from any genre that tickles your funny bone. Can be Canon, AU, or AH.

* Plot You Wish You Came Up With: For any story that has a plot (meaning point of the story, ie “Edward never returns in New Moon” or “Edward is the King of the high school and Bella is the mousey new student. What happens when the nerd tames the school hussy?”) that is well-crafted, well-thought out, and so good that you’re slightly mad you didn’t come up with it yourself.

* Update You Twitter About: For any story you are the most excited to read about. You drop what you’re doing for this one, whether it’s work, thesis papers, feeding the hamster, feeding the husband, feeding the twins, etc.

* Alice You Wish Was Your Best Friend: For any story with the Alice character that you would like to have as your own BFF.

* Best Slash: For any story with excellent slash. Slash is an M-rated story that pits two usually non-homosexual characters of the same sex in a sexy situation. Can be M/M or F/F.

* Best Real Person Fic (RPF): For any story written about one of the actors portraying the characters in the series. RPFs are written about people who exist in real life.

* Favorite Darkward: For any story portraying Edward as much darker than his usual canon self. “Darkward” has come to mean an Edward who has a dark streak, whether it’s psychological, physical, spiritual, emotional, etc. “Darkward” is not your typical Edward, and may not be the romantic protagonist we all joined the fandom for.

* Best Banner: For any story whose advertisement “Banner” is appealing to you, whether you’ve seen it on a website or as the author’s signature in a forum.

* Most Re-readable: For any story you have or would read more than once. These are the stories you print out to enjoy over and over.

* Best Non-Smutty Story (Rated T or under): For any story that does not feature an "M" rating.

* Best Unresolved Sexual Tension (UST): For any story where two characters quite obviously want to jump each other’s bones, but for story arc, plot, and storytelling reasons, they simply do not.

* Best Twist on a Canon Quote: For any story that takes a line from the original saga and twists it to fit their own story. These tend to be the lines that are the most memorable, and are obvious to the reader that they’re a twist on the canon quote.

Click here to nominate your three favourites for each category!

Update schedule fail

Dear readers:

I have, obviously, not posted Chapter 22 according to my usual Friday posting schedule. I feel especially guilty failing at this after the simply mind-blowing response to Chapter 21 (355 reviews! That's a 3, with a 5, and then another 5! No decimals!).

The truth is that I was 2600 words into writing chapter 22, hated it, and decided to chuck the whole nerve-sucking thing and start again. As Shannon says, it has turned into a "red-headed stepchild", much as another one did (Chapter 14, I'm looking at you). I need to take a step back from it - just a small step, and a short one. I promise. I need to write a few lemons! Something happy.

So right now I'm working on my Age of Edward contest entry, and seriously considering writing an installment of We Three. I promise not to take too much time off from Over The Top - I just need to think about something else for a while.

Love you all. Mean it.

Rendezvous, by faite-comme-moi

I had the honour of being approached recently by faite-comme-moi, a reader of OTT, who asked if I would be interested in beta'ing a one-shot story for her. There were lots of reasons for me to say yes; and I am so glad I did.

Rendezvous is a Jasper & Alice fic, an entry for The Peenateers' Alice/Jasper one-shot competition. The rules of the competition were that the story had to be based on the line of a song. For Rendezvous, faite-comme-moi chose "It's Been A While" by Staind.

You may or may not be aware that I adore Jasper. Heh. Okay - reading this fic has done *nothing* to change that; in fact it's only given me more reason to love canon Jasper even more deeply than before.

I highly recommend checking out the contest entries, and please show some love to the authors for their submissions by voting sometime in the next fifteen days - voting takes place at the Peenateers' link above.

Between the Madness and the Fire, by ForeverYoung82

The subject matter of Between the Madness and the Fire, may not be for everyone - I will state that right off the bat. It involves a one-night stand between a high school teacher and his will-be-18-in-a-few-days student - neither of whom know how the other is about to enter their life. When they discover the truth, they resolve, both individually and together, to do the right thing.

I am enthralled with this fiction and this writer. It is not ForeverYoung82's first fic, so I may just need to hit up her profile for her other story which is currently at 39 chapters. Her spelling and grammar are flawless, of course; her dialogue is natural, never heavy-handed; and her characters are compelling, in their interactions with peripheral characters as well as with each other. I think she does well at sensitively handling the potentially-difficult subject matter.

Starfish422 interviewed on TLYDF

Recently I was honoured to be interviewed by AngstGoddess003, the brilliant author of Wide Awake, my favourite author and story in the Twilight fandom. AG003 is one of the women at the helm of The Lazy, Yet Discerning Ficster.

She wrote an article called OMJ: Exploring The Jasper Factor. She interviewed a number of respected Twi ff authors for the article, which looked at the recent profusion of Jasper-related stories in the fandom; and I was very glad to be among such happy company.

The portion in the article which holds the bulk of my interview is, unsurprisingly, the section focusing on slash. Over The Top and We Three are mentioned as well.

The entire article is well worth the read for Jasper fans, and was certainly a thrill for me.

To the Supreme Court of California

Dear Associate Justice Joyce L. Kennard, Associate Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, Chief Justice Ronald M. George, Associate Justice Ming W. Chin, Associate Justice Marvin R. Baxter, and Associate Justice Carol A. Corrigan:

Congratulations on upholding a proposition that relegates gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, queer, questioning, and two-spirited individuals to second-class citizens. I'm sure that, as they are not entitled to the same protection under the law as heterosexual individuals are, they can expect to see a reduction in their state taxes, retroactive to November 4, 2008.

How unfortunate that the currently-bankrupt State of California is now much less likely to benefit from tourism dollars, from income tax dollars, and from taxes paid on purchases (including the thousands and thousands of dollars that people spend on lavish weddings), that might otherwise have been spent in California by the group of people with approximately $700 billion in buying power in 2008.

Enjoy the rest of your week. Rest well.

Saluting you,

Katie Starfish

Dear Associate Justice Carlos R. Moreno,

You commie, homo-loving son of a gun. Thank you for trying. I was particularly inspired by your statement that "there is no ‘underlying’ principle more basic to our Constitution than that the equal protection clause protects the fundamental rights of minorities from the will of the majority.” Insightful and absolutely correct, sir.

Respectfully,

Katie Starfish

Poughkeepsie, by Mrs. The King

I've been harassed into beginning yet another story that has engulfed me with its beauty and angst. Poughkeepsie is a story about Bella, a young woman who commutes to NYC every day on the train; and a homeless man, Edward, who is at her train station every morning and evening.

Mrs. The King (whose username I love, btw - I assume it's a reference to the movie Cars), has woven a beautiful story. Themes include brotherly love; many different ways of expressing love; existential crisis; pride; mental illness; and so much more.

Mrs. The King updates frequently - it's already up to 31 chapters and she just started posting the story on Apr 29. Definitely, well worth checking it out.

One Million Miles, by J Ralph

Another musical inspiration for Chapter 20; when Edward is driving to the place where he can "re-learn" to love, this is the song I imagine.

A Stone Would Cry Out, by Sam Roberts

This is literally the most heartrendingly sad song I've ever heard. Ever. When I was writing Chapter 20, I pretty much put this on repeat.




Lyrics | Sam Roberts lyrics - A Stone Would Cry Out lyrics

The Perv Pack's review

I'm a bit late in posting this, but the PPSS reviewed OTT last Friday, and Katie's little heart flewwwwww. :) What made it even more special is that my bff Shannon, was the guest reviewer for OTT, as a surprise. The reviews were lovely and I'm very grateful to the Pack for showing the love for my story.

OTT to be featured in Perv Pack's Smut Shack

I am thrilled that on Friday, May 15th, the Perv Pack's Smut Shack will feature OTT for its weekly review. I am TOTES excited for Friday - can't wait to read the Pack's reviews!

Thank You, Elvis, by Klytie

How is it possible - HOW IS IT POSSIBLE - that this story, at chapter 6, has only 15 reviews? What. The. Fuck.

I'm going to be brief, because you shouldn't be wasting time reading this. ExJ slash, slow-build vampfic. Starts when Alice & Jasper first show up to the Cullen coven.

Go read it. NOW. Here's the link. Then send it to everyone you know; tell 'em Starfish says no new chapters of OTT till they read it.

"Changed Your Mind", by Chris Isaak

YouTube doesn't have a single video with "Changed Your Mind", that I could find. However, if you click here, it will take you to the LyricsMode page for the song. On the left sidebar, click the "play" button, and Jango will let you play the song, free with no registration (once at least).

And here are the lyrics:


Lyrics | Changed Your Mind lyrics

I'm all a-Twitter

I finally bowed to the pressure and signed up for a Twitter account. If you're so inclined, you can follow me here.

Hear Me Out, by Frou Frou

Jasper's line of internal dialogue, "I refuse to believe I'm the only one feeling it," is from a song called "Hear Me Out", by Frou Frou (Imogen Heap is one half of Frou Frou). Here it is:

A Jasper manip

This one is mine. I created this several weeks ago in anticipation of the scenes that took place in Chapter 16. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to use Jackson's appearance in "Close To Home" for this.

The Gardener, by Rosalee Lorraine

The Gardener

Super, super hot, one-shot slash fic featuring Jasper as a slick, rich, fuck-em-and-send-em-packing guy; and Edward as his gardener who drives Jasper crazy with his utterly unconcerned response to all Jasper's attempts to seduce him. One of the most inventive sex scenes I've read in the fanfic world!

The Vampire in the Basement, by michellephants

I adore, simply adore, this AU story: The Vampire in the Basement. Here is the synopsis:

While hunting one afternoon, the boys stumble upon what appears to be a corpse. When they learn it's a severely broken vampire, they take him home to do what they can to help. But of course, fate has plans for this man. Canon Couples. AU.

Michellephants' story is just fabulous. Much angst; and the story progression is true to the spirit of the story - that is to say, she doesn't rush through the important processes involved in the pursuit of "getting to the popular stuff". I highly recommend it.

We Three

So, my submission for the Friday Free-For-All, to which I have alluded several times, is now 'out & proud' on Twilighted, here. I have also posted it on Fanfiction.net, here (and with the blessing of Ninapolitan who initiated the FFFA), as the readers on FF.net have been really supportive of Over The Top.

The story is called We Three, and it is a CxExJ slash-polyamory fic. Please check it out, on the site of your choice.

Dive in the Pool, by Barry Harris

Children, by Robert Miles

Miss You (Illicit Club Mix), by Etta James

Death at a Funeral

mozzer0906 aka Shannon

I was going to mention this in the Temptation podcast post, but I realized it really needs to be stated in its own post.

I was thrilled to hear my friend mozzer0906 (pronounced like mozzarella, btw) mentioned in the slash discussion on the podcast. Mozzer is known IRL as Shannon. I've known her since long before Twilight became part of my life; but I can say with certainty that we bonded as a result of Twilight, and my friendship with her has become a daily constant in my life.

Let me share with you some of the reasons I love her. Shannon is one of my go-to people for writing. If I hit a roadblock, she is unfailingly there for me when I need to hash something out. She has a way of dissecting a story arc and making one or two little suggestions, and it just opens up the story for me. I visualize her contribution as though she's tapping gently on a non-descript looking rock, and it falls into two pieces to reveal beautifully-coloured crystals on the inside - the effect is that profound.

Shannon also the queen of the Twilight online world - I swear, I wouldn't know half the times OTT is mentioned on the net, outside of Twilighted and FF.net, if not for her. Add to that, she supplies a daily dose of Robporn to our little group of Twilight friends and adds a hot, delicious helping of Jackson just for me. She is my number one cheerleader, and I have to tell you, bbs - I'm a pretty big fan of her too. xoxo She is wickedly funny and endearingly verbose, and we are so much inside each other's heads it's not even funny.

Thank you for everything, bb. xoxo

OTT mentioned on DefinitelyStaying's Fanfiction Blog

I am a huge fan and faithful reader of The Forbidden Room, an awesome d/s story by DefinitelyStaying. She has a blog, much like this one; and I'm much honoured that she reviewed OTT there. Thank you so much, DS! :)

I'm also going to link you to DS's FF.net profile, because she is a prolific writer, and they're all deliciously readable. I recommend starting with Fantasies!

OTT mentioned on Temptation: A Twilight Fanfiction Podcast

If you are a Twilight fanfic reader (and honestly, why would you be here otherwise, yes?) you may enjoy the Temptation podcast. It's a weekly round-up of news and discussion on the world of Twilight fanfic.

Episode 13: Yay! Hooray! For Hope!, with a release date of April 9, 2009, featured a discussion on the subject of slashfic - a subject near and dear to my heart, as you may imagine. :) Hope, aka manyafandom (pronounced Many A Fandom, for those who wondered - I'm proud to say I had it right!) was a guest host on this episode. I am proud to say that Over The Top was one of the featured slashfics discussed in the episode, and Hopey-my-Hopey gave a glowing review. I am heart-warmed and utterly grateful to Hope and to the Temptation chicas for mentioning OTT.

Speaking of Hope, her entry in the Friday Free-For-All was posted today, and it is all kinds of hot.

At The Deep End, by naelany

A new JxE slashfic is on the scene and holy hell, it is sweet with heat! At The Deep End The synopsis reads as follows: After an encounter at camp many years ago Jasper thought he would never see Edward again but little did he know who his new teammate would turn out to be.......

It's seven chapters in and I am loving it, completely. Check it out!

Checking in

I know I haven't posted an update of OTT since a week ago Tuesday. I wanted to get my FFFA submission wrapped up in plenty of time - as it iturns out, it went much faster than I could have imagined and I was done a week early! The nice thing is that I now have a four-day weekend ahead of me and I can write write write. Hooray for long weekends!

Tomorrow is the first entry of the Friday Free-F0r-All, kicked off by the awesome manyafandom! Make sure to visit the Alternate Universe - All Human - ninapolitan will post the link to the story tomorrow morning.

To clear up any confusion

I've gotten a few emails asking me about a new OTT story that's been posted on FF.net and on Twilighted, called Over The Top: Terror on Gay Street. It is not connected with me in any way; it is, obviously, based heavily on the first chapter of OTT.

The author contacted me a few weeks ago, and asked if it would be okay if he based a story off my first chapter. I said, it's okay, but I'd like to read it before it goes up, and you need to mention OTT in the author's notes to avoid confusion.

The author did not forward it to me for reading before posting it. He did send me a PM on FF.net once the first chapter was up - it's the only chapter I've read, though I see it's up to three chapters as I'm writing this. In all honesty, I'm unhappy that he has used the name Over The Top - I know I can't be proprietary about the names of the characters, but I feel possessive of the name, definitely. I sent a request to him yesterday, to change the name of the story on FF.net, requesting that he omit "Over The Top". I didn't realize it was on Twilighted too, though, until I received the emails from OTT readers.

Not really sure how to proceed from this point, but that's my story, dear readers; please just know that the story, despite sharing a name, is entirely unrelated to mine.

Snapshots, by SUPER AMAZING

Snapshots

The title of this story is a very apt description this ExJ slash fic. It is a series of vignettes of their relationship throughout the years, starting with the day they met. It's so sweet and hot. These stories are the prequel to "Ink Me, Baby", and is based on the photographs Alice looks at in the boys' bedroom. The author's writing style is very easy to read; it's casual and has the odd colloquialism that reflects her Irish nationality.

Thank you to Requited for the recommendation. :)

Update on Smut Mondays and FFFAs!

The thread is up at Twilighted.net, with the guest author schedule for Smut Mondays and FFFAs. Visit the thread here. As previously noted, my first contribution will be on Friday, April 17, 2009.

Four words about mine:

Slash.

Jasper.

Edward.

Carlisle.

MINE, by Stricnina

Thank you to ornamentaltissueboxes, a reader who found this print on deviantART and thought of ExJ and was kind enough to forward it on to me. :)



MINE, by Stricnina

Breakfast at Tiffany's, by profmom72 and hmonster4

This is an absolutely sweet ExB love story. Breakfast at Tiffany's I highly, highly recommend it. Some lemons later on but the main draw for me is the gradual building of the relationship.

Friday Free-For-All on Twilighted

The Twilighted forums are bringing back their Smut Mondays feature; and introducing a new feature called Friday Free-For-All. A new one-shot or outtake of an existing story will be contributed each week, by a series of guest authors. I’m honoured to have been invited to contribute!

Watch for the feature on the Alternate Universe-All Human forum at Twilighted.net. My first contribution will be featured on Friday, April 17. Between now and then, please check out the supah-dupah smutty stories from the other very talented authors who contribute to the feature!

Please note that Twilighted has an NC-17 rating available for their stories, and that readers who attempt to access stories with this rating, must register a username on the site. The story will be cross-posted on FF.net as well.

Evading the Orbit, by TrampyVampies

There is a new ExJ slash fic on FF.net. Evading The Orbit is the freshman offering from TrampyVampies. One chapter, and I'm already hooked. If you're a slash fic, and particularly an ExJ pairing fan (droooooool), you should check it out. :)

OTT mentioned on Cullen Boys Anonymous

Cullen Boys Anonymous recently did a three-part interview with AngstGoddess003, the amazingly talented author of Wide Awake - arguably the best-known AU-AH fanfic in the Twilight fandom (and if you haven't read it: This is an emergency broadcast: stop whatever you're doing right now, cancel your plans for the next 36-ish hours, and do nothing else until you have finished the current 44 chapters. This is not a test). I nearly fell over when I read her mention of OTT as one of her favourite slash fics.

The interview is completely worth reading, particularly in the shadow of CensorGate, which was precipitated by Wide Awake. This link takes you to Part 3, wherein you will find links to the first two parts of the interview as well.

Many thanks to AG for the props. xoxo

OTT mentioned on TLYDF

The Lazy, Yet Discerning Ficster is a highly-respected blog on the subject of Twilight fanfic. The aforementioned manyafandom recently wrote a guest contribution for TLYDF, and I'm honoured to say that she mentioned OTT as one of her current favourite stories. Please check out her column here.

HormoneBlind, by Jeff Thomas

I followed a link in a reviewer’s profile to her Deviant Art profile, and one of her favourites is a fantastic print by Jeff Thomas; the print is called HormoneBlind.

You can view Jeff's DeviantArt profile here. I’ve placed a link to the print on my FF.net profile as well. I think it couldn’t be a better depiction of these boys if I had commissioned it myself (facial piercings aside, but, god, I am SUCH a sucker for a boy with a little hoop in his lower lip). Have a look around Jeff’s profile as well – I’m sure you’ll recognize his characters Pon & Zi. Please show the boy some much-deserved love. :)

It Never Entered My Mind, by Miles Davis

The first song that Edward & Jasper dance to in Ch 10:


Here are Lorenz Hart's original lyrics for this song:

I don't care if there's powder on my nose.
I don't care if my hairdo is in place.
I've lost the very meaning of repose.
I never put a mudpack on my face.
Oh, who'd have thought
that I'd walk in a daze now?
I never go to shows at night,
but just to matinees now.
I see the show
and home I go.

Once I laughed when I heard you saying
that I'd be playing solitaire,
uneasy in my easy chair.
It never entered my mind.

Once you told me I was mistaken,
that I'd awaken with the sun
and order orange juice for one.
It never entered my mind.

You have what I lack myself
and now I even have to scratch my back myself.

Once you warned me that if you scorned me
I'd sing the maiden's prayer again
and wish that you where there again
to get into my hair again.
It never entered my mind.

I'll See It Through, by Texas

This is the second song that Edward and Jasper dance to in Chapter 10.

Lyrics | Texas lyrics - I'll See It Through lyrics

OTT nominated for Lion and Lamb Fanfiction Awards

Over The Top has been nominated for three “The Lion and the Lamb” awards, in the following categories: Best Lemon (Incomplete); Best Side Romance (Incomplete); and Best Work-in-Progress. Thank you a thousand times to those who nominated the story! To see the nominationss (which are open until March 28); and to vote, once the voting opens, please visit the website here.

manyafandom's Deviant Pick of the Week

Have you visited The Perv Pack's Smut Shack? It's a fantastic blog rounding up the cream (ahem) of the crop (rawr!) of the Twilight fanfic world. The Perv Pack each contribute to reviewing a particular ff each week; plus the sidebar has their daily "goodies", each contributed by a different Pack member.

Manyafandom (author of All I Ever Knew and The Arrangement) has a Thursday feature called Deviant Pick of the Week. Recently she featured OTT. The increase in the story's traffic as a result of her recommendation was astounding. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. :)

In the same week, PurdueLiz's Pervy Word for Tuesday was a discussion on the words "top" and "bottom" as they relate to sexual relationships; and she linked up OTT, as these words are reasonably apropos to the relationship between ExJ.

While I'm mentioning the PPSS, Tallulah Remiter is a Pack member who has also become a friend behind the scenes. :) She's the Pack's "naughty librarian". Smooches to Lu, to Manyafandom, and to PurdueLiz. xoxo

OTT's thread on Twilighted.net

The boys have their own thread on the Alternate Universe-All Human forum on Twilighted.net. I hang out there, along with a group of my cheerleaders. Please check it out here.

Jasper the Mathlete

Or, Mathsper, as my friend mozzer0906 has affectionately dubbed him. :) Mozzer, herself a former Mathlete, pointed out to me that, in her experience, Mathleticism (my word – I’m a little proud of it) tended to focus on the technical aspects of math, rather than business-related math; and so Jasper’s Mathlete background might not have figured largely in his decision to be an accounting major. I have to plead ignorance on this one; my school district didn’t have Mathletes, so all I know of them, I learned from high school movies, vis a vis “Never Been Kissed” (remember The Denominators?). LOL So, please suspend your disbelief on my behalf.

Because my author's notes would be epic otherwise

You know, I have much more to say than anybody should really want to listen to. And yet, I feel like I still need to say it. I have stuff about the boys & the story in general; related stuff going on in the real world; props & shout-outs I want to give; songs that have influenced the story; nominations for the story; mentions that have been made; other stories I'm loving...et cetera. And I hate to have author's notes that significantly inflate my word count.

So here I am. I'm going to start by revisiting the stuff I've already mentioned in previous A/Ns.

I'm just doing it for you, bbs. xo