Hiding fandom in the underwear drawer since 1977

We've seen lots and lots of these little, tiny guys hopping around. The good news, it's reflecting the overall health of the environment where we are as I've not seen this many frogs in probably 10 years. The bad news is that it is rainy and damp and so lots of them are out. They are spring peepers, Pseudacris crucifer and quite musical. 



No other herps yet, but I've not gone tramping about too much.  Also, zillions and zillions of these guys, who have also been very thin on the ground the last few years.


In other news, my pinch hit for the NFE is done which means that, again, I have 2 stories so that is VERY exciting!  I so love the NFE for its variety and quality. And now need to finish my beta's edits (thank you Beta To Be Revealed Later!) and tackle the day!

Finally, I get Chapter 14 up, after a detour to something hinted at in Under Cover.

There actually isn't that much research that I haven't already discussed before.

The King's Speech took some research to find and while it's quite the info dump, I just didn't feel right editing it.  The part in the House of Russell was in my previous Christmas story but edited slightly to fit better within TSG. 

I did have fun with Susan's fashions and spent a lot of time here looking at the pictures of French fashion from the 1930s.  I imagine Susan wearing something like this:



Source:  HPrints  Also at this stte, you can see pictures of the sort of lovely things that First Officer Pole has in  her attic. 

Oh, I dropped the hint that Michael Pole is with the RAF Photo Reconnaissance Unit flying out of RAF Benson in Oxfordshire.

Edmund's musing on the Leipzig War Crimes tribunals come from various sources and while generally reviled as a failure were also precedent-setting.  My particular spin on it comes from Telford Taylor's The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials.  You can read the basics in the wiki entry.

  This page has good information about the context of Foreign Secretary Eden's statement to the House of Commons on December 17, 1942 regarding what would eventually be called the Holocaust.

Thanks to adaese, Doctor Dolly, anastigmatfic, h_dash_h and felipemarcusthomas who have been invaluable as I juggled with the different interactions. 

That's all.  Thanks so much for reading.  I'm now at the point where I can really turn to the NBB.  First check in is in a week and I've not started, so here's hoping I can pull it off.  And that's all for now.  I do hope I hear from folks.  I was two days late posting this.  I promised Christmas Day, but I felt I disappointed by using the King's Christmas Message and the repeat of the Russell House part, so I wrote the Under Cover tie in.  Writing that segment took a little time. 

Hello out there! A few things! First, sign ups for the Narnia Big Bang are underway! Only 10,000 words! or 20,000 words! And Artists! yes, please the Big Bang needs those who are good with art in whatever format -- fanmix, icons, drawing, digital, etc. etc. So, go! Sign up! Narnia Big Bang.

On the subject of writing, I am, having peppered l_a_r_m regarding what Richard Russell looks like post hospital stay. (Really, I have no idea).  Clio has been helping with Jill.  I am, oddly, writing the events immediately post-Silver Chair for the third time -- once in a draft that didn't survive the decision to abandon the initial outline and write TQSiT, a second time for Under Cover, and now this time.  I'm over 10,000 words in and it's going pretty well. My latest issue has been what I could lop off and do for the Narnia Big Bang -- which I really want to do. It's all overwhelming and daunting, and I'm feeling the failure acutely. I also recently saw a tattoo on a woman that said, "You're doing it wrong" and have considered that very appropriate given some of the latest.  Why do people always add the "but"?

In really, really exciting news, that I just saw via Twitter, the Royal Society has just made all its articles available online for free that are over 70 years old, going back to 1665, including Benjamin Franklin's kite experiment, Isaac Newton's first paper and Thomas Huxley's paper Remarks upon Archaopteryx lithographica which I cited in TSG.

( Sneak peek behind the cut )

Things have been busy with the awesome  stranger friend I met through Narnia fic coming to visit and proving that neither of us is an axe murderer, my assistant's concerns notwithstanding.  We met more of my imaginary friends over the weekend and so visiting Narnia fandom friend met other fandom friend.  World collided but my fandom universe did not implode and we had a great time.  We also saw Harry Potter and the DH Part 2 and discussed Sydsvaughn's progress on updating her brilliant "It's Raining Men" multi-fandom vid.  Which I posted over here at some point.

Sydsvaughn has now done a service to fangirls and boyz everywhere with her It's Raining Men 2011.



If that fails you, you can go here.  In other news, I've picked up a dropped prompt from the Narnia Fic Exchange, so errr, yeah, way busy and if you aren't participating in the NFE and are interested, drop me a line and I can bounce, bounce, bouncity bounce ideas.  Heartwould and Clio have both been hugely helpful and harmony_lover  has been cheering me on.  Huge thanks to snacky  too for saying essentially, GO FOR IT,

So, in preparation for another trip to the oral surgeon, I posted the conclusion to the Two Hearts Chapter of Harold and Morgan, here.  And yes, we get the Director's point of view -- a strange place to be, certainly.  And Happy Birthday to therck !!!

anastigmatfic 's pic fic contribution to Morgan and Harold gets some backstory, with more to come.

I realized that my visuals, such as they are, for the banking districts of Narrowhaven were strongly influenced by my time in Siena, Italy and the contrade of that gorgeous city.

Contrada Capitana dell'Onda (the contrada of the Wave)



Contrada della Selva (the contrada of the Forest)


An intersection in Siena where Onda and Aquila (the Eagle) meet



Thanks also to the new readers who have joined on.  I so appreciate knowing I'm not toiling alone.

I suppose I should say something about the portrayal of the Director.  It's complex and not something I've done before.  I've tried to capture a Type A dominant, arrogant, confident man, father, and successful businessman who is watching his adult daughter with a much younger upstart swain/seducer whom he believes his inferior in every sense and yet Linch must look to that younger man to protect his children in ways he cannot.  That's not something Linch is going to accept easily and it's not a pretty process to see the anger, conflict and hypocrisy.  He is a highly controlling personality (and yes, he would do lots of mansplain) who really has had the floor give way beneath him and during a very stressful time. 

You would be amazed, really, how many times a reader/reviewer has said something that made me think, "Oh yeah, better do that" or "Great idea!" All of TQSiT came from reader commentary in Part 1.  I assure you that the most commented part of the Chapter 9, the little bits of Lucy writing to Aidan and Edmund writing to Morgan, would not have been in there if the F-list had not suggested it. So, thanks! Thank yourselves. Round of applause! I have not received a single notification about the chapter by the way. Zip. So, my usual posting paranoia is like times 12 and I so appreciate those of you who have reviewed.

In other news, I got my Remix assignment  and it is awesome and I'm thrilled. Deadline is April 23 so I've got some time and with spring allergies (yes, I'm getting sick) and US Tax Day approaching, April 15, this probably demands another look at Harold and Morgan. We'll see.

Also, despite my usual aversion to the dread visuals, the superlative Anastigmat has been busy and has created some very amusing Narnia based ones of old photos with captions -- the Polly ones are great and the one of "Lucy" kicking "Susan" is hilarious.  She's included a few with tie ins to my fic. Do go take a look here and here and tell her how awesome she is.

Also, dear unfortunate remixer who drew my name.  Have at it.  There's a lot of material so pick something or anything, a chapter, a character, the shorts or one shots.  I've enable anonymous posting here and on ff.net and don't log IPs so if you want to ask a question, you may do so.  I will be thrilled with whatever you do for I adore fic of fic.