Oh! I have to share this! My bestest friend in the whole wide world, pepperlandgirl4, wrote me a Spuffy story for my birthday. It's called Princess of Hollywood Way, and it's 4500 words of Spike and Buffy while she's in LA after S2. Go, read, and tell her how brilliant she is. :)

Two fic things today...

First of all, all our BtVS watching has inspired pepperlandgirl4 as much as me. The other night, she wrote a Buffy/Faith fic since we've decided that's canon now, lol.

And me...well...I've been a part of the_jossverse for quite a few months, hoping it would inspire me to write. I didn't even make it in the Wesley and Faith months, so I had given up hope. But rewatching BtVS and getting another Soul chapter seems to be doing the trick, and I ended up posting a short story for their most current round. It's a standalone, but it's an idea I've always wanted to play with so who knows if there's more coming in this 'verse...

TITLE: Fresh
AUTHOR: Eurydice
RATING: R, for language and sexual innuendo
SETTING: Not long after 2x18, "Dead End"
PAIRING: Lindsey/Faith
DISCLAIMER: Not mine, which is a shame because usually we're nicer to them than Joss was.
LENGTH: 2450 words
SUMMARY: You don't quit Wolfram & Hart without being smart about it...

( Fresh )

On Sunday, I had a new book come out with Liquid Silver Books. It's a vampire 3some book called, "Mercy of These Bones."

Well, I'm blogging about it today over at LSB's blog. Twice, actually. First post, already up, asks you to choose what kind of excerpt you'd like to see from the book, then later this morning, I'll pick an excerpt based on what most people want to see.

PLUS, anybody who posts on either my Choose-Your-Own-Excerpt post before I actually post the excerpt, or posts on the excerpt blog itself, will get their name put into a hat. At the end of the day, I'll pick a random name to win a $10 Amazon gift certificate.

So if you see this post after I've already posted the excerpt, just head on over to the blog anyway. You could still win something. And you might see some hot smut between Mathias and Edmund. Or Mathias and Darby. Or maybe an action scene. I won't know until the votes are in. :)

First of all, happy Thanksgiving to all my American LJ friends!

It's 10am and I have nothing to do foodwise for another three hours. Our celebration is small - just the 4 of us - so there's little need for me to go too overboard. I also hate trying new recipes for holidays because I like it to be about everybody's favorites, so today's meal has nothing in it I haven't done before. I made the apple pie last night (because only 2 of us like pumpkin and there is no way I'm sabotaging my WW by making 2 pies), the ham is in the slow cooker (because only 1 of us likes roast turkey, so it's a waste to make it), and I have all the vegetables prepared for their individual dishes for later. So now, I get to do something fun. At least for a little while.

So I'm posting fic. It's what I wrote in response to our prompts this week, which was two Whedonverse characters. Because pepperlandgirl4 indulged my Lindsey/Faith request with porn, Ill-Fated, I decided to try my hand - again - at her Wes and Angel request. What resulted was *not* what I anticipated. It's dark and it's depressing, so I got all guilty and wrote a second piece that - while not porny/shippy - at least doesn't hurt Wes and is mildly light. And I wrote both of them swiftly, with no beta-ing, with many interruptions, so I hope they don't suck too much. I'm going to post both, in separate posts, and hopefully, I'll get better with this pairing the more I write. ;)

TITLE: Promises, Promises
AUTHOR: Eurydice
RATING: NC17
SETTING: BtVS S3, in a world where Faith really did get rid of Angel's soul, and decided that certain people needed paybacks
LENGTH: 1200 words
PAIRING: Wes/Faith/Angelus
DISCLAIMER: Not mine, which is a shame because usually we're nicer to them than Joss was. Though, this time, I really wasn't.
WARNINGS: Dark fic. Very dark fic. With noncon and slash.

( Promises, Promises )

I'm feeling list-y.

1. 8 weeks on WW, and I've lost 16 pounds. Woo hoo!

2. Finished the first chapter of my next Spuffy fic this morning and shipped it off to sadbhyl for beta. The plan is to start posting it after this holiday weekend, provided she doesn't tell me the opening chapter sucks.

3. Our prompt inspiration last week was Shakespeare, but I gotta tell you, I really dislike Shakespeare and wasn't feeling hugely inspired. So, pepperlandgirl4 and I decided to write a tagfic for it instead, and she's posted it over at her LJ. What I mean by a tagfic is that she took a character and I took a character, and we wrote back and forth. That means there's headhopping every other paragraph. We also wrote the bulk of it in the wee hours of the morning so it isn't the cleanest of stories. However, if you're interested in reading Wes/Faith, post-Chosen, that gets a little smutty, feel free check it out. It's called Sometimes By Chance, and I mentioned smutty, right?

4. Bar chords suck. I still can't do them. And my next lesson is tomorrow. Here's hoping the Christmas songs he wants to teach me don't have bar chords in them.

5. Pepper and I are getting really good feedback about our book we're trying to get into print. Everybody send positive vibes in our direction. You just might get to buy our paperback this time next year at a store near you if all goes well.

Can't. Stop. Sneezing.

Which only clogs my head even more.

Blech.

On the plus side, Craig took pity on me and took the kids out for the day. They're off to the pier to take pictures of sea lions, and I'm going to curl up and take a nap very soon here because I used what little energy I got from my Dayquil dose this morning to get the grocery shopping done. Sleep was very odd last night with lots of twisted dreams about the song lyrics that have been going through my head lately. Cold medicine whacks me out.

Oh! But on the plus side, prophcygrl made icons from some of my CK photos, as well as some gorgeous DB and AB ones, AND my gorgeous new default. It's the little boy smile. Gets me every time. Go take a look and praise her brilliance. :)

First of all, thank you again to everybody who responded to my last post. We all hate rejection, don't we? :)

Secondly, I've been meaning to do this for a few days, but haven't obviously, and now time is running out on me so I have to do it now.

sadbhyl, writing as Philippa Grey-Gerou, pepperlandgirl4, writing as Pepper Espinoza, and I have started a monthly newsletter called Passion Oscura. We launch June 15, and everybody who signs up before then gets placed into a drawing for one of 3 prizes:

- The West Wing: The American Presidency as Television Drama by Peter C. Rollins, a book in the spirit of Philippa's book Halls of Power

- Mermaid Avenue by Billy Bragg and Wilco, in the spirit of Pepper's book California Stars

- Swing Time, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, in the spirit of my Two Lives in Waltz Time

Hope to see you there!

Just a quick announcement before I head off and start my day for real.

I blogged today over at SEx, the blog for Liquid Silver Books authors, on a topic rather familiar to me. Men with accents. :D Anybody who comments on my blog gets put into a drawing at the end of the day for a free DVD of "Love, Actually."

OK, there's a brand new community online looking for some people who might be interested in playing. It's called wickedverse, and it's described as thus:

The Story - Short Version:

Okay, the basic premise is this, Angel/Angelus, Spike and Dru are the hero's of the piece. They are still vampires but demons aren't the baddies in this Hellmouth, humans are. And there isn't a more merciless and murderous group of humans than Buffy, Giles, Xander, Willow and their small band of brutal buddies.

The Story - Long Version:

Sunnydale 2003

It's been 7 years since the opening of the Hellmouth. What was once a quaint and welcoming township has become an infectious metropolis, polluted, dank and lost. Vampires, demons and other beasts seek out a pitiful existence in the shadowed alleyways and sewers, avoiding the light of day for fear of those who've claimed it only for themselves. Purists, the humans, rule the city with an iron fist short on mercy. Most live in ignorance of those who dwell beneath them thanks to the elite few with the strength, skill and blessings of the influential to keep the status quo.

It's been 7 years since the fall of the one they called Master. He was to be their liberator, to free the demons from the tyranny of the humans once and for all. But all was lost when the human's champion, the Slayer, came to challenge him. She was thought to be a Slayer like any other. They were grossly mistaken. She was cunning, deadly and determined. Most of all, she had the indispensable help of a network of friends and family. The battle was legendary but in the end, she, along with her diabolical Watcher and loyal crew, murdered the Master and his followers. The brutal vigilantes adopted the deceptively comical title 'The Scoobies' and made quick work of 'cleaning' the town of what they deemed scum. They declared war on the inhuman inhabitants of Sunnydale and for a time, things looked bleak.

Then he came, Angelus and his unlikely family, Spike and Drusilla. And with them came hope. They took a stand for those who couldn't. Things began to change for the better.

The Purists countered with money and a lot of it. The Sunnydale branch office of Wolfram and Hart began funding special ops to eradicate the resistance. They pooled international and local support, cooperating with the Council of Watchers and the paramilitary group the Initiative. But the vampires still fight the good fight so that someday inhumankind can finally live in the peace and harmony it so richly deserves.

Basically, it's an LJ RPG (role-playing game). The rules and contact info can be found on the info page for wickedverse, but while some of the roles have been filled, they're looking specifically for people to write the following main characters:

Willow
Dru
Xander
Dawn

A large number of the wildcard slots are still available as well. If you think you might be interested, head on over and check it out. It should be a lot of fun. :)

I'm putting on my pimp hat this morning...

There's a new fanfic community called ironfic. Their intent is to end up being multi-fandom, but for now, they're starting out with BtVS and HP. Basically, it's a take-off on the Iron Chef program, using fic. A community writer and a challenger are each given a "special ingredient" and have a month to produce at least a 1000-word fic. There's judging, but really, it's not about that. It's about having more fic to read. :D Plus, being challenged to write new things.

There will be a het and a slash challenge every month, and they're currently looking for community writers. Some characters are taken (I'm going to be doing Spike), but there's still *plenty* left. Take a look; it sounds like it's going to be fun. :)

Just a drive-by pimping for all the Spuffy folks out there...

Nominations for the Spuffy Awards are due to end on September 16, but they are running a little low this round. If you know of any Spuffy stories that are due some recognition, please head on over and nominate them. Whether it's canon or AU, there's very likely a category for it. Make an author's day today. :)

OK, this is the silliest thing for me to be wanting to pimp, but damn it, I'm doing it anyway.

It's elementalv's Battle Royale. It's a poll-based fun fic where somebody gets killed off from BtVS every night by someone else from BtVS. So far, Travers, Warren, and Kennedy have been killed off, which you know, is a good thing considering how early it is in the game.

BUT...

The other night, it was announced that 3 people would die next, so you get to vote for 3 people this time. The results should've been posted last night, but real life got away from elementalv and she's extended the voting until tonight. Why am I bringing this to your attention?

Because Spike is one of the top 3 to be killed!

I know. I'm silly. But, damn it! I don't want Spike killed so early! There are much worthier people to be killed, like Amy, and Gavin, and Andrew, and Dawn, and the list goes on. But not Spike! Not so soon!

*cough*

OK, I'm calmer now. :) So, please go vote. Save Spike. We can't save him for TV, but maybe we can save him for the Battle Royale. :) Thank you.

It's that time of the month again, where you have to put up with me putting on my pimp hat and telling people about the various awards sites out there that are either in nomination mode or voting mode. Aren't you lucky?

NOMINATING
Bedtime Story Awards: BSA is taking nominations through August 31 for your favorite short stories. This isn't a shipper site; anything is welcome here. The only statute is that stories have to be under 2500 words in length.

Spuffy Awards: SA is taking nominations for your favorite Spuffy fics, both canon and fantasy.

Vampire Kisses Awards: VK is taking nominations for your favorite Spike and Buffy stories (this includes William, by the way).

Love's Last Glimpse Awards: Yeah, this one's mine. :) Nominations have just opened for Round 11.

VOTING
Lovebite Awards: Nominating has just ended over at LB, which means it's time for the reader's vote. xheartrockx has changed things up a bit this round, but voting remains the same. A lot of your favorite writers are nominated over there, so please take five minutes to go over and vote. :)

I know the awards aren't everybody's thing, but honestly, a lot of authors get a little extra squee when they find out someone has thought well enough of their work and taken enough time out of their day to nominate them. This is an excellent way to show your authors that you love them. :)

Using my nightly post to help promote spreading the love for your favorite fanfic writers. A couple of Spuffy awards sites are currently taking nominations, and I just thought you might want to know about them. :)

Vampire Kisses Awards: Round 13 has just started over there, and vampkiss is eager for the nominations. The special category this round is fic based on a movie.

Lovebite Awards: There's a new look over at the Lovebite Awards. xheartrockx has changed things around, splitting up canon and AU. Like competes against like. She's just started a brand new round as well, so head on over and nominate.

And of course, LLGA has just started a new round as well. More nominations are always welcome. :)

I've got a ton of stuff to do today, including finishing responding to LJ comments (I'm going to do it later, I promise!), but I want to pimp this now before I forget.

watchersdiaries is hosting their first Art-a-Thon Reversed Challenge. The way it works is that the community accepted art over the last couple months, and now all the art is posted for writers to be inspired by. And you know what? The artwork is *gorgeous*. There are a ton of BtVS/AtS characters represented, as well as the good old standbys, and they run the range from angsty, to Western AU, to noir, to romantic. Anything and everything to inspire you, as the writer, to create a story.

Rules for the challenge are on the same post as all the artwork. If you're looking for inspiration or want to try something new, I highly recommend you go on over and take a look. I'm going to be doing this as well as soon as I can narrow it down to one picture...

Go! Look! Be inspired!

The wonderful deathisyourart made the most gorgeous banner and wallpaper for my story, "Rendezvous." For those who don't remember, that's the story I wrote for the William ficathon last fall, and now that I have beautiful art to showcase, I'm going to get it up at my site (finally!).

Go give her the kudos she deserves. It amazes me the likeness she got for my young William. I'm so in love with this!

Figured I'd do a little awards pimping right about now:

- The Lovebite Awards run by xheartrockx has just started a brand, spanking new round. That means, she needs tons of nominees. Go on over and nominate your favorite fics; make an author's day!

- Vampire Kisses Awards run by vampkiss is having its second Best of the Best round. This is reader voted, so head on over and vote for your favorites. :)

- The Spuffy Awards run by ghostgirl13 and nikita_80 are looking for more nominees. Nominations go through March 20.

- For your non-relationship fic, there's Walk with Heroes, run by sadbhyl. This is for all the general fic that you read out there, the ones that aren't relationship based.

So, I get home from picking the kids up and sit down at the laptop to finally get around to responding to all my LJ comments. I open my e-mail, and lo and behold, there's a message from evenstar_estel. So, I open it up and inside is the most gorgeous prezzie for me. She's made a simply gorgeous picture for Echoes, and I just *have* to share it with you.

( Cut for size, picture is spoilery if you haven't read the fic )

Then, when I was uploading the pic to my site to show everyone, I realized I'd never shared the pretty that vampkiss made me for Black Satin Voices.

( BSV pic, cut for size )

What. A. Day.

Craig and I went into SF this morning to drop off his application for the visa to China and I ended up spending an hour in the car waiting for him. Good thing I took my book.

Today was my posting day for winter_of_wes. I took that Wesley/Willow story I started last year and wrote the second half of it, and ended up with 18 chapters and 57,000+ words. It's called "Delicate" and if you're interested in reading it, it starts here. I'm rather proud of how it turned out. I was happy with the first half of it when I wrote it last year, but being able to finish it felt good. While you're over there, take a look at the amazing sdwolfpup's artwork here and here. The sepia-toned Wesley/Willow wallpaper gives me tingles, and the banner she did for the story is simply gorgeous.

Because I spent so much of my day either doing housework or posting, I decided to keep all the comments that I need to respond to until the morning. I'm just thrilled that people are enjoying my work. :)

( Daily resolution recap )

I'm putting on my pimping hat today!

Not fic pimping, because I'm never up on the current stuff being written. And if I am, it's because it's been nominated at LLGA and then it's just unethical for me to comment publicly on it until after the round is over by which point it's too late.

Nope, I'm pimping award sites today, because there's a few of them out there that are currently taking nominations:

Vampire Kisses Awards run by vampkiss: All Spuffy with a very wide range of categories.

Walk with Heroes Awards run by sadbhyl: For all non-ship fic.

Spuffy Awards run by nikita_80 and ghostgirl13: All Spuffy with fantasy separated out in their own categories

The Lovebite Awards run by xheartrockx: All Spuffy, all the time.

Shades of Grey Awards: Honors almost any kind of ship you can imagine, including all-human AU.

Lost in Spike Awards run by jerzeyanjel and foxy_lil_freak: Mostly Spuffy categories, but also has a Spike/other category as well as site categories.

Give your favorite writers a thrill; nominate a fic today!