Category: Random Asides

Clarification. My email address is always.forthright @ gmail.com, which can be used when ordering books, sending PayPal funds, directing gift cards, sharing photos or fanart, chit-chat, questions, etc. Always use the always, because the (incredibly patient and polite) gentleman who owns plain old forthright @ gmail.com cannot fulfill book orders and has had to refund your gift cards.

So always use always.forthright @ gmail.com, please and thank you! ::twinkle::

I am working on packing labels today, under the oversight of a mug I found last weekend, which I immediately dubbed my Hisoka mug. Mint tea may happen. Serenity shall abound.

**If you, too, need a kitty mug in your life, raid the nearest Pier 1.

I’m running behind. (Whyyy?) Maybe tomorrow will cooperate. (Yesss!) Best of all, books are on order from the printer. (Squee!) Sleepy forthy is sleepy. (Zzzzz.)

My inbox is teeming with Kimiko pre-orders, but I’m in the middle of one of those big, final, this-time-for-keeps editing passes on the typeset pages. (Pretty, pretty!) Focus mode equals an unplugged forthy. If you’re waiting on a response that can’t be answered by the Signed Books page, I’ll be with you shortly. Thank you for your patience.

… if I could, those of you on hold would now be treated to music from the Mushishi sound track. ::twinkle::

I posted my first IY fanfic in 2006, twelve years ago today. I’ve often marked the milestone by posting new stories or updating ongoing ones on this day. This time, I’ll begin posting Mood Stripes to fanfiction.net. (A new chapter will show up here soon, too. Hang tight.)

Random Fandom Factuals:

• My first chaptered fic (that would be Unsought) was Mir/Kag. For nostalgia’s sake, they remain my “official” InuYasha OTP.
• Once in a while I’ll write a canon pairing, but I’m mostly an alt. shipper. I like possibilities. I ship around.
• For me, shipping doesn’t always mean a romantic relationship. My stories also embrace friendship, mentorship, and kinship.
• Hisoka-sensei exists because I wrote a oneshot called The Bargain. By the time that story was finished, I’d already begun plotting Unspoiled, which became a Big Deal. Wanting to give the good Sensei his proper due, I dreamed up the Amaranthine Saga. Now, he rules two universes. ::twinkle::
• My first brush with fanart joy came courtesy of Jupe, who doodled every chapter of Impeccable. Since then, I’ve seen hundreds of sketches and illustrations for my stories. Artists are awesomely amazing. ::glomp::
• Impeccable was my first story with 100-word chapters. It started quite the trend.
• InuYasha is my first fandom, but I have written for others (Spirited Away, Ouran High School Host Club, YuYu Hakusho, Darker than BLACK) and am in the process of contributing stories to new (to me) fandoms. Because I still like goofing off. For me, writing is both work and play.
• Even though my earliest stories make me cringe a little, I won’t take them down. They’re a testament to my clumsy, clunky beginnings. Looking back, I catch glimmers of the writer I’m still becoming.

Since we’re being all nostalgic, think back. Which of my stories did you first discover?

Oh my, my, my! Being attentive to details, I notice little things and celebrate them whenever possible. We’ve hit another century mark. Welcome, newbies! I’m pleased you’ve joined the fun. ::glomp::

Sniff, Sniff. I’m having trouble keeping a straight face over here. (Hey, I can grin as goofily as the next fangirl.) It’s all kinds of adorable that you’re recommending shampoo scents for his lordship. #SeriousFangirls

::twinklegiggleglomp::

Pen and Ink. All you artsy types know all about Inktober, when daily art prompts lead to creativity for the month of October. Well, I’ve just been challenged to use this year’s Inktober prompts as drabble prompts. (And I adore challenges.)

Do I Dare? Since I’ve been looking for ways to celebrate an October(ish) release anyhow, I’ve hatched a fiendish plan. What if I were to drabble in the Amaranthine universe? My very first Amaranthine fanfic! (Wait, can the actual author write fanfiction in their own universe? Do potential alt. ships become canon?) Conundrums aside, I have my eye on … a certain someone.

Who would you like to see? And will you be drabbling and/or drawbling, too? ::twinkle::

On release day for Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox back in February, I marked the occasion by adding to Imperceptible (an IY fanfic), which was one (very long) chapter shy of completion. Looking ahead to the release of Kimiko and the Accidental Proposal, I’ve been sifting through my options.

• Affinity [IY x YYH crossover] is certainly the closest to an ending. I could probably wrap that up.
• Tolerable [IY, Mir&Sess] is due for one more story arc before I’d call it finished.
• NEW STUFF [various] because it’s hard to resist contributing to fandoms old and new. I have notes that could shape up rather quickly into a oneshot or short serial for … Naruto, Spirited Away, The Ancient Magus’s Bride, Natsume Yuujinchou, and a Mushishi crossover that I dare not even *try* to explain. It’s best just to let that one … happen. ::twinkle::

On a related note, I found outlined scenes for a Miroku x Kagome serial that I’d completely forgotten about. They’re my “official” OTP in the InuYasha fandom because that’s where I started. Nostalgia!

So … what freebie fic do you think I should play with? (Bearing in mind that I’ll be well into writing the third book in the Amaranthine Saga when Bk2 releases, so my time for fandom goofing will be limited.)