being friends with me often involves bearing witness to exciting “firsts” because I grew up in a rural log cabin which didn’t have electricity or running water for years so sometimes I’ll encounter things like “garage doors” and “thermostats” and “dishwashers” for the first time and you get to watch me surreptitiously try to figure them out like some kind of 18th century Martian infiltrator
Not just 18th century, not just Martian, but both 18th century and Martian
hail zorbo and well met
Forgive me for Indulging in Slang, but I Vibe With This.
Dear Editor, we Rejoice to hear you are Well! If I may Propose a Topic of Conversation-- One reads, in certain Historical Novels, Accounts in which a Person of Questionable Character forms a Liaison by "going to another's Room," this being at a House Party at which All Involved are Guests. How - not that this Reader would do Such a Thing - would such Persons Obtain the Location (if not Given at the Time) of said Room? Inquiring of the Servants would seem to carry Great Peril of later Gossip.
The Operation which you describe is Far Less Elaborate than you may believe. At an Evening Gathering Some Years Ago at the Piazza de – in V—, Under the Estimable Hostess Contessa —, (I censor Much, but those who know of this Infamous Party recollect Exactly to whom I refer), I was Entirely Entranced by Signorina di –, at that Time a Renowned Actress in the Commedia dell’arte in the Breeches Part of Scapino. She, with her Fellow Actors, performed a Scene at the Party, and were then Permitted to join and converse with the Guests, partaking in Wine, Cards, Dancing, and so Forth. It it the Lattermost which is of Most Use to Any Prospective Lovers in the plotting of their Liaisons, as Persons in a Dance may stand Rather Nearer than is Usual, and in the Linking of Hands Surreptitiously pass Notes Between themselves.
During a Complicated Allemande, I endeavoured to deliver Pertinent Information to the Signorina regarding my Accommodations that Evening in the Piazza, which I believed delivered to her, as at the Completion of the Dance she shared with me a Great Many Winks and Blushes, and Late that Evening I was in Great Anticipation of her Tender Graces. However, the Lady did not arrive, Least not Alone; I had in Fact delivered my Missive to a Lord –, of –wich, who was a Near Participant in the Allemande. Thus we were compelled to resolve our Confusions as a Trio, and did So with Great Success. I Sometimes wonder whether I did not pass that Note to the Lord through Some Motive Obscure to Myself, or if the Lady acted as Courier for the Selfsame, as I admit –wich to have been a Most Striking Figure with whom I had fostered a Fair Attachment in the Weeks Previous, but I digress from my Point, which is to say that Novelists who wish their Characters to creep About in Such Matters ought to consider the Numerous Unexpected Outcomes which arise in Such Circumstances! As though a Secret Rendezvous could Ever be known Only to Two People!
Linnea Santiago loves everything about Ben Fortune. Sadly, he’s a fictional character.
And now he’s standing in her living room.
Mr. Fortune was supposed to remain the hero of Linnea’s favorite Regency romance, Fortune’s Folly. But Linnea has stumbled across a magic spell in the library archives, and now Ben Fortune is real, adjusting to the 21st century—and changing the plot in every copy of Fortune’s Folly, wreaking havoc by his absence. Worse yet, his young sister is now in danger, and he needs to go back into the book to save her.
Can Linnea find the right spell to send him back to fictional Regency England—and does she even want to?
No, seriously fam, this might be the best thing we’ve ever written. I reread it a month ago for a final editing round, and I kept laughing aloud. It’s touching, clever–and HILARIOUS.
OOC: My new book with @spark-of-jenius! I’m putting that 18th-century/Regency knowledge to good use… ;)
At 26, Hulda van Dusen’s life seems to be closing in on her. She’s spent the last five years hiding at home with her beloved Grandpapa, but now he’s gone—and she’s expected to take over, not only the family business, but leadership of the local Assembly of witches. But then things get even worse: Hulda is stuck in the house during a snowstorm with her genius brother, pyromaniac sister, and a very confused police detective, while a monster outside howls for their blood. …And that’s just the beginning. Together, they find themselves thrown into an adventure that might just teach Hulda to live again—if it doesn’t kill her first.
This book was written by long-time Tumblrites @artekka and @spark-of-jenius, who met on Tumblr through artekka’s fan-blog @askcraneandmills!
Our new book is out! I’m so excited!!! Jen and I met on this very blog in the Sleepy Hollow fandom, and now we’re published!!
So remember YEARS ago when I was doing Sleepy Hollow RP with people? And we wrote a fanfiction together? And then we decided we liked the original characters better than the Sleepy Hollow plotline and made it a work of original fiction? It’s soon going to be published…!
At 26, Hulda van Dusen’s life seems to be closing in on her. She’s spent the last five years hiding at home with her beloved Grandpapa, but now he’s gone—and she’s expected to take over, not only the family business, but leadership of the local Assembly of witches. But then things get even worse: Hulda is stuck in the house during a snowstorm with her genius brother, pyromanic sister, and a very confused police detective, while a monster outside howls for their blood. …And that’s just the beginning. Together, they find themselves thrown into an adventure that might just teach Hulda to live again—if it doesn’t kill her first.
This is a revised version of my doctoral dissertation, which my school (Ohio University) MIRACULOUSLY allowed me to write on fanfiction–and on why people needed to stop being assholes about it, and about other (women’s) popular literature.
Just got my advance copies this weekend–as seen above! Here’s the back blurb:
Challenging readers to rethink what they read and why, the author questions the aesthetic assumptions that have led to the devaluing of fanfiction–a genre criticized as both tasteless and derivative–and other “guilty pleasure” reading (and writing), including romance and fantasy. The complicated relationship between “fanfic” and intellectual property rights is discussed in light of the millennia-old tradition of derivative literature, before modern copyright law established originality as the hallmark of great fiction.
“Absorbed reading”–the practice of immersing oneself in the narrative versus critically “reading from a distance”–is a strong motive for the appropriation by fanfiction of canon characters and worlds.
If you’re a fan, this book tells you exactly why you should never call fanfiction–or any other literature you love–”guilty reading” again. It explores the deep sexism in how our culture discusses literature.
The book is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. You can also read the introduction and part of the first chapter on Google Books!
OOC: Hey, guys! My book on fanfiction is finally out!! *squees loudly*
