Epee's World

Like always, spoilers ( behind the cut )

Four down, three to go...

tejas asked for ( Dean and Teal'c. )

fannishlisswanted Castiel and John Constantine, but I don't know Constantine well enough to write him. So ( she got another magician. )

mickeym asked for ( Sam/Dean, kisses. )

And pez_gurl asked for( Jeff/Jensen, Sex Corps )

Here we go guys, spoilers ( as always behind the cut )

It's once again that time of the week guys, conversation welcome and spoilers ( behind the cut. )

A little bit of background, I started reading a few Romance Novel Blogs some years ago, staring with "Smart Bitches, Trashy Books" and then "Dear Author" once they started linking to each other. Honestly, I like Smart Bitches, better, but I get lots of industry news from Dear Author, so I keep it on my blog roll. I also frequently disagree with the bloggers on Dear Author, but I usually don't have a problem with reading things I disagree with...

A frequent theme on both of those blogs is the bad rap that romance novels get among the public. The complaint is that 1. Romance novels are often seen as porn and therefore mocked and 2. Romance is a woman's genre that deals about the relationship between two people and is therefore mocked.

One point that they haven't addressed and suddenly occured to me today is the fact that a lot of romance novels are written at a very low reading level.

It occured to me while reading this review, which I actually read since it was about an m/m romance. The author of the review states: "I usually skim descriptions in books. That’s why I like SuzanneBrockmann so much–her books are mostly dialogue, very sparing withdescription." and then goes on to compliment the author of this particular novel, because she actually LIKED to read the descriptions here.

That boggled my mind. How can you be a book reviewer and SKIM THE DESCRIPTIONS? Isn't that most of the novel?

This is the same place where I often seen fanfic mocked. Or if something is bad it is compared to "bad fanfic." Huh, much the way these bloggers complain about Romance as a genre being marginalized do they marginalize fanfic, which is mostly written by women, for women, and my neck of the slash woods, about the relationship about two people.

Only much of the fanfic I read is written at a much higher level than most of the romance novels I've picked up. I mean, I've honestly given the genre a good chance. I picked up some free eHarlequins during their recent giveaway, and after reading something from their Urban Fantasy line turned to lapillus and said "You know, this kind of sucks." I'll have to flip back to it, but the story is mostly dialog, little descriptions beyond what the characters look like and are wearing. And once again, the actual level of writing is lower than I can deal with.

This isn't the first time I've had a disconnect with the bloggers and commenters over there. It's at the point where I think I don't have a lot in common with the average romance reader, and where I wonder if I'm even writing in the right genre.

I think I'll stick with fanfic for now.

Dear Mr. Kripke, if you are reading my livejournal, please ignore all stories marked "Sex Corps." However, I AM looking forward to the pregnant Impala episode.
Thanks,
Epee

Spoilers ( behind the cut )

Ok, so I know it seems like I only post when SPN is on...

but here ya go, comments welcome and ( spoilers after the cut. )

Do I have the episode number right this time? Sheesh...

As always, comments welcome and ( spoilers behind the cut )

In other news, the state of NJ is considering banning Brazilian Waxes. I think that's absolutely stupid. Especially with the quotes that women will have to cross state lines to get waxed. Really? I mean, seriously? WTF.

If you're just itching for a preview of the SPN_J2_bigbang fics, this recent post includes sneak peaks from all the fics in progress in the comments.

My contribution to the insanity:

"No leather pants," Jeff grumbled as Misha sorted through the wardrobe.

Jensen gave him a look over Misha's back, remembering how Jeff had decried all leather trousers on the ship. "If that is the proper attire," he said,"We should at least consider it."

Wordcount has now reached 40,000. Man, I ONLY have 6 weeks to finish this? EEK!

There are some on that list I'm really looking forward to reading. Although I'm worried about the angsty ones. Every year there is a single bigbang story that makes me cry. First was "We were Twenty" which I can't even think about without bawling, and last year's was "The Warmth of Photographs" which also makes me cry just thinking about it. *sighs* I wish I could get a warning beforehand, so I'm prepared with lots of tissues:)

As always peoples, ( spoilers behind the cut and discussion is open. )

Title: Hail to the Chief
Author: Epeeblade
Wordcount: 1,600
Rating: R for images of violence
Genre: BDSM, although this is technically gen
Characters: Dean, Chief
Spoilers: Follows immediately after episode 4.12
Notes: Thanks to lapillus for looking over this for me:) Fic was partially inspired by my TMJ flare. Ouch.
Disclaimer: Don't own them. It's all done for fun, folks.

Summary: This time, Dean takes the offer.



( Hail to the Chief )

So, day 2.

Ok, the day started out well. We got to the Javits Center well-caffeinated and on time to see the Warner panel, of which Jared would be on, or so we thought. Silly us had forgotten that when they meant "sold out" it actually meant "more people than just a fire hazard." The line for the theater was wrapped around several times and then down a corridor and I thought we really weren't going to get in and I was a bit annoyed.

But no, we got in and got seats:) We got to see the first 18 minutes of Watchmen and hear David Gibbons speak, which was amazing. (Oh, razorsedge74 I forgot to tell you about the kid who asked GIbbons if Allen Moore was batshit crazy...) Then hubby left for his Penny Arcade panel figuring there was going to be a line. He got there 45 minutes early and there were so many people they moved that panel to a bigger room.

Meanwhile the Friday the 13th panel started. ( I'm going to cut this here. Don't read if you like Friday the 13th. )

Ok, so I left right after the Friday the 13th part because hubby texted me to get in the autograph line if I wanted one since the lines were crazy. I get up there an HOUR before Jared is supposed to be there and the line is already forming and long.

Not going to talk about the fangirls around me, except for the ones who cut in front of me at the last minute (I really don't know where the hell they came from, but in the crush of people it was easy to get lost) and ended up distracting Jared with a Gilmore Girls thing they wanted him to sign, which he ended up bragging over to the guys around him. So I ended up chatting with Derek Mears, who is very sweet, and got shuffled through the line past Jared when the handler snapped "this poster is signed" to get me to move. The girls before this group had to be TOLD to leave by security because they were hogging Jared.

So yeah, I was kinda annoyed. I mean, I wasn't the only one there JUST to see Jared, and hubby got some nice pics, but the whole experience left a sour taste in my mouth.

I think the con pulled a very stupid move by having the autographs in the same room as the exhibits. The regular room traffic made the line forming difficult. The crush of people really started to piss me off, but it wasn't their fault, there was just no place for anyone to go. Also, I think they were shocked by the demand for this group, and didn't plan on having so many people show up so early.

We ended up leaving shortly afterwards. Hubby got his pic with MC Front, and then I asked if we should get food, since I was starving at this point (2:30pm, having had nothing since breakfast but a nutrigrain bar I had in my purse) and hubby didn't want another 10$ cheesesteak and we decided we'd seen enough and went to visit my parents, who don't live far from the Penn Station.

If we go again next year, I think I'll stick to going on the professional day. I don't do well in crowds in general and the crush today was uncomfortable. People tried to be polite for the most part, but when there is no room to move so they can pass, and when everyone decides to barrel right through me because since I'm short it's easy to miss me, yeah, that really pisses me off.

I might jot off a note about the autograph and artist alley situation (both of those should have been in separate rooms) if they do end up asking for feedback.

Anyway I have shin splints like you wouldn't believe and I'm dreading the amount of errands I have to complete somehow tomorrow. I wish I could train the dog to do laundry...

Btw, has Journalfen been down for days? My Semagic hasn't been able to update to it at all.

Man, I'm tired as anything. Comic Con was a blast, as usual. And I don't think I sounded too stupid when I got a chance to talk to famous (tm) people, although I always go over everything I said over and over to make sure.

We got to go during the professional hours, which was nice on one hand because it was before everything got too crowded. Of course, some of the exhibitors were just showing up! We were there for an hour and ended up going through less than half of the exhibit hall. And oh man, I got so many books, some free, some I paid for, including one on "creepy crochet" cause Hubby wants me to make him a tiny Cthuthulu. Course, that would depend on me learning how to increase finally...

I went to one panel (the panel rooms are really far from the rest of the con) that I thought sounded cool. It was supposed to be about how Manga is the new YA, which I thought would be interesting because there is actually a LOT to discuss about manga in the context of Young Adult Literature. However, despite some promising beginings, the librarians giving the powerpoint show seemed STUCK on boys love manga. Now, I'm not against shonen-ai of COURSE, but I was annoyed that 1. they had the opportunity to discuss so many differing KINDS of manga and they didn't and 2. their conclusions about the positive elements of boys love manga were erroneous.

( More ranting here. )

After the panel, we met up with hubby again and ended up exploring the upstairs, where they had a staging area before an awesome assortment of beanbag chairs. As we were walking, hubby pointed to some guy and said "Omg, it's the cable guy from the Verizon commercials!" Cable guy is also apparently a pretty good stand up comic. Me and coworker didn't stay to hear him though, I wanted to get to an author signing.

As for authors ... I ended up accidentally meeting Keith DeCandido, the dude who wrote two of the Supernatural tie-in novels. He also wrote some Farscape comics coworker bought and I recognized his name and asked him about it. I did not bring up the eye color problem in Neverwhere:) I also did not tell him why I didn't buy Bonekey, just pretended I didn't know there was a second novel out.

I met and chatted with Peter David, after coworker literally SHOVED me towards him. He was sweet, but of course, I complimented his Trek books and he starts talking about New Frontier, which I DIDN'T read, but he was nice about that and told me the latest book is a good starting point for someone to get into the series. Once I get home I remember I also liked his Supergirl and Young Justice...doh.

Also got to meet and chat with Barbara Hambly and I really hope I didn't ramble on for too long. Oh god. My mouth just starts going and I don't know what I'm saying because I'm so nervous. At least I didn't start blushing. And at least I didn't say "your books were a huge influence on my formative years" even though they were. I own all of her fantasy novels, which I will keep forever because they're out of print now and hard to find. *cuddles books*

Hubby got to meet Tycho and Gabe from Penny Arcade and is apparently now best buds with MC Frontalot. He play tested a bunch of games and according to him, DC Universe is much better than Champions Online. You heard it here first.

Tomorrow, if we can make it there on time considering how exhausted we are, Jared Padalecki!

Oh, and there were HUGE freakin' banners everywhere for Sherrilyn Kenyon. Now, I get that she's pretty famous, but she's a romance novelist. This is comic con. And when I say banners, I mean in the main hall taking up half a wall, plus several different booths in the exhibit hall. Are they really expecting that many people to show up just for her? Hubby wants to get her to sign a book for a friend of his, but I doubt we're gonna get close based on the advertising alone. I need to go check the schedule...

*heads to bed*

And as always guys, ( spoilers behind the cut. Comments welcomed and encouraged! )

As always people, it's ( behind the cut for spoilers! )

Going to go straight to commentary on the episode. Saving my thoughts on fandom for another time.

As always ( Spoilers behind the cut )

Finished some more requests/prompts from the drabble post a few days ago.

1. First up, wyomingnot gave me "Slash pairing of your choice. Timing. Temerity. Tupperware."
( And this is what I wrote. Sam/Dean, no spoilers. )

2. Then lomer asked for Sex Corps "What about the first time Jensen didn't call Jared after a mission?"
( And I wrote this. )

Ok, I finally bought the tickets for the Supernatural convention in NJ. Waiting paid off, because the daily passes were a far better deal than buying a weekend pass. All I really want is my photo with Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins...and for Jared to sign one of the baby Impalas. :)

It still hurts to spend so much on fandom, though! Ouch!

And hope with me that going to this convention doesn't kill my love of SPN, which is what happened after I went to the Stargate Creation con all those years ago. (I also hope Creation has their act together since then. The lack of organization at the Seacaucus SG-1 event was appalling and really affected my enjoyment of the event.)

So...who else is going?

Spoilers, as always ( behind the cut. )

To give you something to do in the last 2 hours before the SPN premiere;)

I wrote two ficlets for blindfold_spn.

1. For the prompt: Jeffery Dean Morgan/Jensen Ackles = interrupted sex
( I wrote this )
2. For the prompt: mpreg Sam/Dean - Dean is forced to carry Sam's baby.
( I wrote this )
3. For lapillus's drabble request of: Of Dice and Jen(sen)timestamp - May 2001
( I wrote this )
4. For joans23's request of: Sex Corps Verse, Jared POV when he figures out Jensen's in the Sex Corps.
( I wrote this )

I have two more drabble requests to write, which will probably get done sometime tomorrow;)