After the tv show Farscape was ruthlessly ripped off the air by the Scifi Channel, I swore I would never allow myself to become attached to another tv show again. And I kept my promise, until True Blood came along. Like many of you, in the second episode of season 1 when Stephen Moyer said " I can smell sunlight on your skin" I knew I was a goner. So I ran out and read all the books and have allowed it to rummage thru my mind and and imagination ever since.

However, unlike some who read the books, I did not become a Bill hater after book 3 , but instead am a staunch Vampwich gal, so there will be no Eric or Bill bashing in my stories. Not that I am blind to their faults ,but I see our vampires as shadows of light and dark, not clearcut good or evil.

It's been over 20 years since I've tried any creative writing and I'm hoping to keep this up for a while to stretch my mental legs and see what they can do after sitting in a creative wheelchair for so long. Please review whether positive or negative because I want my writing to get better, not worse. And thank you so much for taking the time out all your busy lives to do so. I sincerely appreciate it and am grateful.

Christmas 2010

Like a lot of people, I get a bit reflective this time of year. My birthday is in late November (go Sagittarius!), combined with the various holidays of early winter cause a lot of meandering amongst my internal rooms and personal fields of dreams. Going back through my various chapters/stories caused a minor shock for me when I realized how long I've been writing some of them. I wanted to update my profile on the anniversary of posting Fairy Blood Orgy, but I forgot, getting old I guess. Speaking of Fairy Blood Orgy, it's amazing to me that it consistently receives over a hundred visitors month after month. And every once in a while, some kind soul will add another review, which is awesome. I can't speak for other writers here, but for me, receiving a review on something older is like receiving a rebate check in the mail. You know, one that you sent away for then forgot all about it! LOL! And the fact that Fairy Blood Orgy was my first foray into writing after a couple decades gives it tremendous sentimental value to me, like a first born child. You love all your kids, but your first will always be your first you know?

Things I've discovered:

The hardest thing about doing fanfiction is finding the time/energy to write, not to mention getting the muse to cooperate. I used to give a disbelieving snort when other fanfic writers would make that comment in their author's notes, but no more. Some days the words just pour out and I can't type fast enough...like I'm taking dictation. Other days, I'll be lucky if I can write three sentences strung together that I feel are good enough to post. But the basic mantra of professional writers , including our own Charlaine Harris, comes to bear: just keep plugging away at it. So that's what I've done and in the process i think I've learned alot about my self and how I handle my life in general, not just the fanfic portion.

The most surprising part of all this: that there were other readers like me , who were tired of seeing certain characters (let's all be honest here , we're talking about BILL) shunted to the wayside , or worse murdered heinously or transformed into some horrific B-movie villain: mustache twirling, cackling over our female protagonist's plight. I've been saying for ages that this Team bashing is a poison seeping through our fandom, that will ultimately destroy it. It's already driven off potential posters, eager readers who want to discuss various storylines, motives, and mysteries. And IMO , it flames the evil inherent in all of us: to see the worst in people , rather than to find the best. I've seen it on several boards and it sickens me to no end. Unfortunately, there is no easy remedy . CH has totally eliminated the vampire character threads on her web page, and banned any sort of "team" talk, which displays how she feels about it. But out in the wild west known as the internet , that is not a solution and I don't know how we can fix humpty dumpty , now that we've so viciously pushed him off the wall. Time will tell.

For me, I love all the various flavors of characters CH has created and like a greedy child I want the BIG box of crayons with the multiple colors, not the small box with only a few. Each vampire brings something different to the table. Eric is a bold character with broad strokes, like adding garlic or onions to a dish, you always know he's there and what he's all about. Bill is subtle, nuanced like saffron or a few drops of vanilla. You think the dish can go without it, but there's something missing when you do. Some of my favorite E/S stories , the ones that I felt created genuine remarkable chemistry , had Bill in them, he brings something to the table that can't be substituted with another character. I don't want to live in my fanfic world without Eric or Bill and I have no intention of doing so.

So, don't try to stop me. *smile*

Take care and I hope you all have a wonderful and safe holiday season. I've just posted the first chapter of a short story(just a couple chapters) called Night Falls. I've been waiting for other writers to deal with Sookie as an old woman and how the vampires would deal with her. I havn't seen any so far, sooooo I gotta do it myself. If any of you know of any other stories that addresses this , please let me know, i'd love to check them out. Thanks!

Best wishes, Catherine

July 26th 2011

During one of the hottest summers on record...just an FYI. For those of you who have pm'd me, concerned about the lack of a Nesting Instincts update, have no fear. I am working on it. Unfortunately, this year so far is not unfolding with less drama than 2010. June was especially bad, and I got very little writing done. I've had car drama for nearly 6 months that was affecting me financially , then was informed I was going to lose job#3 due to a business closure. Then Job #1 (full time job) ...I was in danger of being laid off. Fortunately, these situations have improved. The POSC (piece of * car) has been replaced with new, gas sipping fuel efficient car that actually starts when i turn the key! (Eric's favorite color too) . And job#1 has stablized for the moment. Things are not rosy, but at least they're not dreary gray.

So things are better and I'm plugging away at Nesting once again, after having been dealt a hand of Life Interuptus. Many of you have been very supportive and patient with regards to my updates, which I truly appreciate. I would love to be one of those writers who posts updates like clockwork, but alas that is not to be. Heck, my original goal was to post every month, and if Nesting was my only story, that would be doable. But, I've found out that when I get frustrated with Nesting, it helps to jump on a different story...then I go back refreshed. At least, this is how things have worked out for me. And while the average update of 6-8 weeks may seem long, my chapters are much longer than average so it's seemed to have not affected those following it.

A WORD: this is not intended for most of you, but for a few of you who seem to have trouble grasping that I do not do this for a living. I've seen a number of other fanfic writers that I enjoy stop writing due to receiving pm's from those who seem to think it's their duty to tell us when we're "slacking" . Someone even sent me a list of other fanfic writers who update more regularly than I do, this isn't how you get anyone to write more rapidly, trust me. If some of those other writers can post an update every Tuesday on the dot , well goody for them, but that has nothing to do with me. This is fun, or it's supposed to be fun and it is...I truly enjoy creating my various stories and I love the feedback (anyone who claims they dont' care about reviews is lying) , but it is also work and takes time, energy and (for me) concentration. These things are in short supply when one is worried about having a job in this current economy and losing their home. So even though I love this fun/work fanfic, at the end of the day, it's still just a hobby and when Real Life gives me a kick , I have push that hobby aside for a while. That's just the way it is and please remember that all these fanfic writers are real people , with families , jobs, and lives that do and SHOULD have priority over all this fun escapist fantasy. Anyway, lecture over...

GOOD NEWS: So, while I'm finishing up the next chapter of Nesting , I''ve also decided...since it's passed the five hundred review milestone ...we're going to do something fun. I'll be honest, I never really thought I'd read that number this early...I had originally HOPED I might reach that number by the time my story was almost over, so when the counter just cruised on by it one day I was a little shocked. I kept pulling up the website and looking at it, thinking it was some kind of mistake! LOL! Anyway, here's what we're going to do...we're going to have a little contest/lottery. Please pay attention to the Author's Notes at the next update because the INSTRUCTIONS will be there. This contest is designed to 1. reward those who are serious fans of Nesting and 2. still maintain fairness. One of the neutral mods on the Red TB wiki is going to help. Here's the best part: The winner's PRIZE will be that you get to choose my next oneshot/short story. I have a notebook filled with outlines for various storylines , some Eric stories, some funny, some serious, Bill pov's etc ...so the winner will be sent a list (a variety of course) of some of these story ideas I've already got outlined, and they'll get to choose!

So, pay attention to those Author's Notes!

Best Wishes,

Catherine

September 15th 2011 , Thursday

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Here we go! The winner will get to choose my next story since I have a couple others that are wrapping up and will be done soon. I'll send them a variety of choices and they can choose two oneshots or one short story. I wanted to be as fair as possible , so that 1. serious nesting fans will have an advantage 2. I won't know who the winner is until the end , which means I get to be surprised too.

MAKE SURE YOUR PM FUNCTION IS WORKING !! I don't want to have a winner miss out cuz I can't pm you! Okay? Thanks!

Here’s how this goes:

-You must answer all ten questions completely. You must get all ten questions right!

-The answers are all in my story. This is not a test of the original books.

-You must pm me your answers, do NOT put them in your review for everyone to see.

-I must receive your pm before midnight next Thursday/Eastern Standard Time for it to count.

-I will assign every person who gets a number, then forward the entire list to a poster

who has agreed to help me. This way she will not know who you are. She was a mod on one of the boards and is a neutral poster. She is

not eligible for the contest. She’ll draw a number then notify me. I’ll notify the winner (please make

sure your pm function is working! ) I’ll then post the winner on my profile page

by the following Monday.

-I will then send the winner the list of story ideas to choose from…they can select one short story or

Two one shots.

The idea here is that I want to be as fair as possible, so I won’t know who the winner is until my buddy sends me her selection, but I also wanted the winner to be a serious Nesting Fan, not someone who’s just drifting by our fandom (hence the test).

Good luck!

What were Bill, Amelia, and Alcide’s costumes at the Halloween party?

Several items didn’t make it through the first time jump. Name two

What vampires were in downtown Bon Temps when human Bill and Sookie went there?

How many children did Bill and his wife have together? What were their names?

To what famous comedic group did Sookie compare human Viking Eric’s hunting buddies?

Sookie traded one of her wooden spoons to a Viking woman. What did the Viking woman trade?

What is Alice’s last name?

Name the vampires that make up the nest in Havre de Grace

Name one of bootlegging Eric’s customers.

What is Mrs. O'Miley's first name?

GOOD LUCK!!!!

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I just realized that this site had scrunched all the questions together. Sorry about that! I've separated them and relisted them so you can read them. There are ten questions. Hope this is readable once it updates

September 25th, 2011

CONTEST WINNER! Okay, well only a handful of people braved my little quiz and only a few got all the questions right. Questions 3 and 4 were tripping up a lot of people. I didn't want to make the quiz a cakewalk but I didn't intend for it to be really hard either. It's probably just as well that I didn't become a school teacher. I'd probably be bringing down grade point averages right and left. LOL! Anyway, what I decided to do is once my buddy , who was msbuffi by the way (thanks msbuffi!!) , selected the winner. I decided to do an additional drawing for the people who took the time to do the quiz but didn't get , I figured that would be fair. SOOOO

the Grand Prize winner is : SemiramisII !! I've already sent her the list and she can choose a short story AND a oneshot , or two oneshots, which ever she prefers.

the winner from the second group was Ilovemysteries!! She can select a oneshot from the remainders after Semi selects hers.

Thank you, everyone who participated, You're all good sports. I might do this again in the future, but I'll probably do something simpler like a straightforward drawing like a lottery. We'll see when the time comes.

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January 10th, 2012

Hey y'all, just an FYI to let you know I haven't forgotten you. Unfortunately, the end of 2011 was par for the course for the year. Job#1 (full time job) unfortunately, I was laid off and so I'm now amongst the millions of job hunters out there. Fortunately, unlike a lot of people, I have a part time job still (job #2) which combined with unemployment $$ is helping me limp along for now. A couple of my creditors aren't happy, but I'm dealing with it. I also had to go into the hospital for a procedure (nothing life threatening) and then recover from that. Then a family member had to go into the hospital right before Christmas (serious). They are now slowly recovering at home.

So, the past month or two has been eventful, in a negative way. But I'm trying to be optimistic about the new year and get myself on a schedule of focused job hunting. This has left no time for writing over the past month or so, but my goal is to get back into a writing routine. (fingers crossed) I have chapters partially done for several stories, so we'll see what happens when I jump back in. It's always harder to start writing again when you've been away from it for a while.

Thank you all for your patience and the encouraging pm's I've received. I'm not letting all this drama get me down and I'm convinced that 2012 just HAS to be better! Right?

Take care everyone,

Catherine

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April 17th, 2012

Hey! I'm still here! What do you know? I'd like to thank those of you who've sent me encouraging pm's. I'm very grateful that so many are sending "good vibes" my way. I'm still on the job hunt, but I have a couple situations pending. Still keeping those fingers crossed.

I've been poking at Nesting Instincts this past month...I'm aprx 1/2 into the next chapter. This past week, I've been mainly focused on God of War and a new story for my runner up winner from last Fall's contest Ilovemysteries. She's been so great and patient. I have to get her oneshot done before going back to Nesting. Sorry Nesting fans! She chose a story that is humorous...well..it should be humorous...I intend for it to be humorous. I was making myself laugh a little last night while I was writing it, so hopefully that's a good sign...you know..not a sign that I'm just losing it!

Well, gotta get back to sorting stuff. I'm having a yard sale (my first) this Saturday. I"m totally ready to get rid of some things, and I could use the money of course.

You all take care and thank you so much for your continued interest in my little corner of fanfiction,

Catherine

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January 8th , 2013

Hey there! Unfortunately still on the full time job hunt. It is what it is. Very hard to not get discouraged. I took a break from that this weekend and finished chapter 5 of God of War. It's a monster chapter though, hope you all enjoy it. My focus is to finish the shorts I promised to my reader winners last year. That's only fair. Then get back to my others.

Those of you who have sent me encouraging pm's about my job search thank you so much. I'm sincerely hoping 2013 will be my year. Or as my mother said"you're due for some good luck I should think" . I hope my mom is right!

Got into a New Year resolution discussion on a board the other day. Is finding a full time job a resolution do you think? LOL!

Thanks to you all and good luck this year!

Best wishes, Catherine

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