I’m comparing seemingly identical inks to see how similar they really are. This week: Organics Studio Nickel Teal and Robert Oster Morning Mist.
Author: Rachel
Building a Better Burrow
by dunuelos
Genre: Harry Potter
Word Count: 35,149
My Rating: ★★★+
The Better Burrow arc from my Lone Traveler compendium: The Lone Traveler encounters the Burrow before it was expanded. Maybe it can be made into a safer and more comfortable home for this version of the Weasleys. It’s amazing how much a building can change history.
One More Time
by loverofeevee
Genre: Harry Potter
Word Count: 40,904
My Rating: ★★★
Contains evil Dumbledore, Lily and James not Harry’s real parents, non-con and child abuse, mpreg, yaoi, own character, and time travel. With Voldermort gone, Dumbledore revealed his true colours. Harry had the chance to live his life over. Will he manage to save his friends from two evil wizards?
No Hurry At All
by robst
Genre: Harry Potter
Word Count: 126,691
My Rating: ★★☆
Remus was so shocked at seeing Sirius fall through the veil that Harry had raced past him before the boy’s intentions even registered with the werewolf. Screaming “Sirius!” Harry followed his godfather into the veil before anyone could stop him. H/Hr
Lord of Caer Azkaban
Genre: Harry Potter
Word Count: 119,393
My Rating: ★★☆
A letter causes Harry to learn some surprising things about his lineage, a different twist on the usual Harry in Azkaban story line.
I’m comparing seemingly identical inks to see how similar they really are. This week: Pilot Iroshizuku Ama Iro and Krishna Cool Breeze.
FanFiction Review – Harry Crow
Posted in Book Blogger
Harry Crow
by robst
Genre: Harry Potter
Word Count: 737,006
My Rating: ★★★+
What will happen when a goblin-raised Harry arrives at Hogwarts. A Harry who has received training, already knows the prophecy and has no scar. With the backing of the goblin nation and Hogwarts herself.
Time Travel
Posted in Random Reflections
I came across a fun writing prompt the other day. The question posed was: If you could travel back to any era, would you and which one?
My immediate thought was, “Yes, of course,” but as I thought about it, I realized there were some qualifiers.
- Can I come back?
- How long would I have to stay?
- Would the visit be observation only, or could I interact with the people?
- How well would I be prepared for the era I visited?
- Can I visit more than one era?
- What social position would I hold during my visit?
Review – The Unreformed Mr Darcy
Posted in Book Blogger
The Unreformed Mr Darcy
by Lin Mei Wei
Genres: Classical Rewrite, Historical Fiction, Romance
Release Date: November 3, 2018
Pages: 249
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★☆
What if Elizabeth Bennet had accepted Mr Darcy’s proposal in Kent? What if they married before he stopped being the proud, arrogant man she detested? What if, in order to avoid the ruin of her beloved sister, Elizabeth chose to swallow her pride and say yes to a pre-reform Darcy?
Mr Bingley has left Netherfield, and in his stead a rich and unscrupulous man takes possession of the manor. While Elizabeth is in Kent, visiting her recently married friend Charlotte, she receives letters which tell her how Jane is soon to be wed to a man Elizabeth can’t stand. And then, unbelievably, Mr Darcy, the last man in the world she would ever choose to marry, proposes to her. Elizabeth is torn. But thoughts of rescuing Jane make her do something that will change the course of her life forever…
The Unreformed Mr Darcy is a Pride and Prejudice variation romance by the author of Stranded with Mr Darcy.
Out with the Old, In with the New
Posted in News
*Fanfare* Hear ye, hear ye! It’s taken me WAY too long, but I’ve finally finished my new website design.
For those who are new, let me give you a comparison of the old and new. I did my best to make the site feel more modern.
An 18111 Commission
Posted in Fountain Pens
Mid last year, I reached out to Yoshi Nakama of 18111 Pens about commissioning a custom pen. As the DC Pen Show was only a few weeks away, we agreed to discuss it at the show. At the time, I hoped to get a pen themed to my Exalted Bloodlines series.
I eagerly sought him out at the show. However, when I showed him the ideas I had in mind, he warned me it may not be doable.
The proposed roll stopper design, the blood drop I wanted scattered across the pen, and the moon and star I wanted on the top of the cap all have “sharp corners.” Apparently, 3D printing and laser engraving can’t produce sharp corners at that size.
However, I hoped we could reach a compromise with a modified design that I liked and could be executed. I agreed to modify the design before sending Mr. Nakama the files. He warned me that his waiting list was about 3 months long. Granted, considering the year+ waiting lists many pen makers have right now, 3 months is hardly an issue.
Is Comedy “Getting Hard”?
Posted in Random Reflections
On Saturday, I went to a comedy show. I don’t intend to mention any names in this post, as that’s not the point of this post.
I found it interesting that every performer, the openers and headliner alike, spoke some form of “comedy’s getting hard because people are more sensitive” near the beginning of their act.
Of the openers, two were received very well, and one received a lukewarm response. Thinking about the show later, I realized something crucial.
Let me pause for a moment to say I’m well aware I’m no comedian. I can’t refute comedians’ assessment that comedy is getting harder. What I can offer, however, is an outsider’s perspective of the situation.
The Events at Branxbourne
by Caitlin Williams
Genres: Classical Rewrite, Historical Fiction, Romance
Release Date: May 30, 2018
Pages: 232
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ★★★★★
“Whatever else happens, and we may expect dark days ahead, never doubt that in this moment, beneath this perfect blue sky, on this warm September day, you are loved as no other woman has ever been loved before. You are loved for all that you are, for all you once were, and for all that you will come to be.”
– Fitzwilliam Darcy
Lady Lambert, or Elizabeth Bennet as she was once known, appears to have made the perfect match. Having refused Mr. Darcy’s proposal of marriage at Hunsford, she is now married to a viscount. While everything seems well, beneath her fine clothes beats a heart filled with regrets. Dark secrets lurk in every corner of her elegant London townhouse, and while she might have at her disposal many excellent and numerous carriages, they all seem to take her places she does not truly want to go.
Into her now desolate existence comes Mr. Darcy again—a changed man, a better man, the very best of men, and still very much in love with her. Is it all impossible? She ought to resist him, yet she cannot stay away. Theirs is a dangerous, scandalous love that proves impossible to resist.
In an age when women are owned by their husbands, can a wife escape a husband she has come to loathe, and when there is blood on her hands, how will Elizabeth explain herself?
Ink Dupes #7: Bungubox and Robert Oster
Posted in Ink
I’m comparing seemingly identical inks to see how similar they really are. This week: Bungubox Piano Mahogany and Robert Oster Australian Syrah.
FanFiction Review – Reunion
Posted in Book Blogger
Reunion
Genre: Harry Potter
Word Count: 61,134
My Rating: ★★★
It all starts with Hogwarts’ Class Reunion.
The Coming of Age of Elizabeth Bennet
by Caitlin Williams
Genres: Classical Rewrite, Historical Fiction, Romance
Release Date: June 6, 2016
Pages: 502
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★★
The very worst has happened. Mr Bennet has died, leaving his wife and five young daughters bereft. The family estate, Longbourn, is now lost, entailed away and fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Bennet is to go two hundred miles away to live with strangers. George Darcy, repaying a debt of gratitude, has offered to take her to Pemberley, to live under the mantle of his care and be raised alongside his own daughter, Georgiana.
But on the day she is to leave Longbourn forever, young Elizabeth, grieving and confused, runs off into the Hertfordshire countryside. Fitzwilliam Darcy gives chase, telling his father he will have her back in an hour or two. Luck and fate, however, are not on his side and capturing Elizabeth Bennet turns out not only to be more difficult than he could ever have imagined, but events will conspire to turn her little adventure into his worst nightmare.
The prideful man and the girl prejudiced against him, meet much earlier in this rethinking of Jane Austen’s masterpiece. Elizabeth grows up under the ever-watchful eye of Mr Darcy, from fifteen to twenty one. She errs and falters, there are stumbles and trips, but could this ‘disobedient little hellion’ one day become mistress of Pemberley and the keeper of his heart?
While volunteering at the 2019 Baltimore Pen Show, I was gifted a lovely red, lever-fill, vintage Esterbrook pen. Admittedly, I know next-to-nothing about vintage Esterbrooks. I also have a penchant for finding out as much about my vintage pens as possible.
That said, it should be no surprise that I set out to identify and date (as accurately as possible) my new Esterbrook as soon as I was able.
Because I had fun doing so, and I found the information interesting, I figured I’d share it with you in the hopes that my research would prove useful to others.
2019 BWIPS Volunteering
Posted in Pen Shows
As I mentioned in my last post, this was my first time as pen show volunteer staff. It’s an experience I look forward to repeating many times in the future.
When Corinne, the show organizer, put out a call to the DC Pen Crew for volunteers, I eagerly signed up. My reasoning, beyond wanting to help out, was that if I was volunteering, I wouldn’t be spending money.
That theory worked out well. When I received the schedule, I was happy to see myself listed for Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. That shift schedule worked so well that I’m hoping for the same next year.
2019 Baltimore Pen Show
Posted in Pen Shows
Alright, my third pen show of the year. Allow me to start of by saying that the Baltimore Washington International Pen Show (BWIPS) is my favorite pen show. I’ll do my best to describe and rate it (since I haven’t done so previously) in an unbiased manner, but I don’t know if I’ll be wholly successful.
To start, this was a show with several firsts for me. It was the first time I’d attended a full pen show, the first time I’d stayed at the show hotel, the first time I’d attended a pen show workshop, and the first time I’d volunteered as part of the show staff.
I’ll cover my volunteering experience in another post. For now, suffice to say it was great. I’m eager to volunteer again next year.
Review – Mistress
Posted in Book Blogger
Mistress: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
by Sophie Turner
Genres: Classical Rewrites, Historical Fiction, Romance
Release Date: March 5, 2017
Pages: 186
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★☆
One night, to decide his entire life’s happiness.
Chastened by Charles Bingley following Mr. Bennet’s untimely death, Fitzwilliam Darcy determines he will offer marriage to Elizabeth Bennet, but she marries another.
Years later, a widowed Elizabeth is mistress of Longbourn, and has vowed she will never marry again. A house party at Netherfield brings them back together, but Darcy will have to win more than her heart if he is to have any chance at making her mistress of Pemberley.