It's up.
Yes, at last, Chapter 1 of Pinned but Fluttering is now posted on Wattpad and Fanfiction.net--see sidebar for links.
It was a difficult chapter to write because so many decisions had to be made. I have been mulling around ideas about Bella's past and how she got herself into this mess, into this abusive situation in which she's trapped and held against her will.
And now we know who her captors are, what happened to her parents, and a little bit about how her situation became what it is.
Now we also know that change is on the way for Bella after years of abuse.
I'm still quite surprised by the response, especially on Wattpad, to Pinned but Fluttering. I've had several people adding it to their libraries without reading Evening Star first.
And speaking of Evening Star, we just bypassed 88,000 reads and between the two stories, I'm almost at 900 votes and 160 fans. Wow.
Blows. Me. Away.
I also just joined Twitter under my pen name, Cassandra Lowery. I was unhappy that CassandraLowery was taken, so you can find me at CassandraWrites. Follow me, and I'll follow you! :)
I'm nearly ready to post Chapter 45 of Evening Star later tonight. I've spent nearly all day working on my stories, and I'm supposed to be getting ready to start homeschooling three kids and begin teaching a new online research essay course on Monday. Do I have everything done?
Nope.
It's more fun to write fics, though!
Okay, okay. I'll get back to work. Promise.
Keep your eyes peeled for Chapter 45--I promise it's coming! It just needs one more quick run-through to make sure it's all set. You know how it is.
Have fun, and keep writing!!!
--Cassandra :)
I just posted Chapter 44: Repercussions of Evening Star; you may check it out on my Facebook page or on either Wattpad or FanFiction.net--see links to all three pages in the sidebar. Chapter 44 is about 2700 words, so about average or a little above in length. I actually got to 3200 words, but as I was editing, I found a great place to stop, so I have a page and a half of Chapter 45 already roughed out.
I had hoped to complete Evening Star before school started, but with school starting on Monday, it isn't going to happen. At least I'm down to the last five chapters or so.
I still need to start writing the first chapter of Pinned but Fluttering. It's kind of a weird title, but what I thought of was those old insect display cases when the collector takes a butterfly, puts a drop of something on its head to kill it, then carefully threads a pin through it to pin it in the display. But sometimes the butterfly isn't quite dead yet, so it keeps fluttering its wings as it slowly dies.
That's how we find Bella as the story begins. She's pinned, but she's still fluttering, still trying to get loose despite the fact that she should be dead from all that's happened to her. But she's strong and beautiful and worthy of love--although she doesn't realize any of those things about herself...yet.
Anyway, I started this post to tell you about some absolutely stellar fics I'm reading. I have a list of my favorite completed fics in the sidebar. There are also a few really wonderful ones that remain unfinished and probably never will be completed--those make me sad, although I completely understand that life often interrupts us writers and sidetracks us.
But the fan fics I'm recommending today are all active; new chapters are being updated on a fairly regular basis. With only one exception, they're all available on fanfiction.net; all the ff.net stories are rated M.
My Guardian Destroyer by Natalia Mazaur (4 chapters; last updated 7/26/11). Edward is an angel who seems to rescue Bella at the most opportune times. Natalia is my favorite reviewer on ff.net--I keep every review she's ever written me!
Our Yellow House by CaraNo (31 chapters; last updated 8/16/11). A pregnant Bella is kidnapped and missing for over three years, and Edward and Charlie are frantic. Events unfold that bring first Edward's son, and then Bella herself, back to him, but they have a long journey of restoration and healing ahead of them, but, as always, love conquers all. A sweet and poignant story that seems to be nearing its end.
In Your World by solostintwilight (24 chapters; last updated 8/20/11). Running away from an abusive Jacob, Bella finds refuge with an Amish family, the Cullens, and quickly falls in love with the orphaned young man on the next farm, Edward Masen. But Jake is unwilling to let Bella go so easily, despite the fact that she finds grace, solace, and love in the Amish ways, enough so that she commits to joining their world. My favorite fan fic EVER!!! So sweet, beautiful, and poignant!!
Hysteria by Emochan (9 chapters (about 10 planned total); last updated 8/21/11). A short fic, planned to be about ten chapters, Bella is bullied mercilessly at Forks High by Jessica, Lauren, and Mike, and everyone in the school join in until one prank goes too far, and the Cullens step in to help and befriend Bella. An improvement over Starlight Vows, and the author updates very frequently!!
Beyond Dusk by Sunray16 (13 chapters; last updated 8/24/11). After this author wrote amazing EPOV versions of New Moon and Eclipse, I've been looking forward to an EPOV of Breaking Dawn, and she has not disappointed in the least. She keeps well within canon while adding enough new material to keep it very interesting. A perfect balance of Meyer's original and new insights into Edward's character.
Changing the Future by ExtractsofLife (53 chapters; last updated 8/15/11). On Wattpad this time. Bella, just moved to Forks, and Edward, unaware of her presence, each receive a boxed set of the Twilight Saga. They seek each other out, determined to change the tragedy of Meyer's story while still allowing themselves to fall in love. As a pre-emptive move, they befriend the Quileutes before they become wolves (only Sam and Paul have transformed) so that there will be no reason for enmity between the Cullens and Quileutes. But can Edward, Bella, the Cullens, and the Quileutes keep ALL the tragedy of the Twilight Saga from occuring? Not as polished as the above stories, but with a sense of humor and good sense of pacing with lots of action.
So do check these fics out and enjoy them!!! I keep a constant eye on my inbox, waiting for the next chapter of these wonderful fics!! And let me know what you think of Chapter 44 of Evening Star!!
--Cassandra
Wow. The reactions to a mere 500-word Prologue to Pinned but Fluttering has been so encouraging!! I'm quite blown away.
On Wattpad I have a few reads (like 16 as I type this) and two comments from some solid Evening Star fans. Now there Evening Star is extremely popular with 84,000 reads over 43 chapters, 860 votes, over 700 comments. It's currently the #22 Fan Fic on all of Wattpad, which is about as high as it gets a couple of days following posting a new chapter.
What I've been more surprised about has been the reaction on FanFiction.net. There the reactions to Evening Star has been lukewarm with only 117 reviews over 43 chapters, but has over 13,000 hits, 59 "favorites" (readers who list it on their profile as a favorite story), and 34 "alerts" (readers receiving e-mail notifications when a new chapter is posted. I already have 2 favorites and 4 alerts on FanFiction.net for Pinned but Fluttering which isn't bad considering that it's a mere 430 words right now; Evening Star will be breaking 100,000 words with the next chapter.
And the best thing was the enthusiastic review on FanFiction.net from my favorite reader there, the lovely NM. Tonight she wrote me:
Cassie! Are what my eyes are seeing could possibly be true? You're writing a new story? Holy crap bubbles! WOO! I'm so happy for you!
Alright, on to the review! (Sheesh, two reviews in one day? You are working it, woman! :D) This seems pretty intense. I already want to know what's freakin' wrong with her! What is she trying to get out of? I know you won't tell me, but now I need to know! Good lord, remind me to never leave a teasing prologue again, I just got a heaping does of my own medication. :D
I'm really excited for you Cassandra, and I can't wait to see how you take this little seed and develop it into a beautiful blossoming flower. (That's what my mom told me when I started writing my story.)
Can't wait to continue reading this! Best of luck with it, hun! :)
Wow! I am blown away by her wonderful encouragement!! And she just sent me a fabulous review this morning of Chapter 43: Loss of Control for Evening Star, so she's been a busy woman....
So, anyway, if you'd like to check out either story or my profiles on Wattpad and/or FanFiction.net, just click on the links in the sidebar.
Thanks for your support!!! Now it's off to bed with me at it's nearly 2:00 AM! ("But the house is so lovely, cool, and quiet," protesteth the writer. "Once must take advantage of silence and solitude in a house of six people and one spoiled dachshund, mustn't one?")
Keep reading and writing, my friends!
--Cassandra :)
I was sitting here, answering my e-mail (mostly responding to friends at Wattpad who like my new Evening Star chapter and laughing at my ff.net pal Natalia's hilarious reply to my absolutely loopy PM to her this morning) when another fan fic idea hit me.
So instead of just sitting there, daydreaming as I usually do and never getting it on paper where I can actually DO something with it, I opened a window in Open Office and started typing the words that first came to me:
"It had all seemed so simple at first. So normal."
It's a pretty twisted premise. And I have only the faintest idea where it's going.
I know how I want to plug in a few of the characters, but it's going to be tricky.
Here are the links at Wattpad and FanFiction.net:
Pinned but Fluttering on Wattpad
Pinned but Fluttering on fanfiction.net
This is the first new story I've started since November, and I think I could even change just a few things to take it out of the fan fiction genre and revise it into a regular short story/novella if I want to.
Anything is possible.... :)
Let me know what you think, okay?
--Cassandra
Now that Evening Star is approaching its end, I thought it might be nice to start a blog in order to reserve a little space in the Internet world for my wee story.
This week I had more time than usual to devote to ES as my middle son is taking a prep class for high school algebra as he enters ninth grade later this month. Being stuck in the next major town, a twenty-minute drive from our home, gave me time to compose, either in the very noisy library (I much prefer my small town's lovely and fairly peaceful library!) or in the Starbucks. So I've posted two chapters this week.
Chapter 43: Losing Control practically wrote itself. In fact, I was on such a roll in the same sitting that I started on Chapter 44: Repercussions.
My hope is to get Chapter 44 posted on Monday as my weekend looks busy.
Another reason I started this blog is that writing ES is very definitely eating into my regular, In-Real-Life blogging. I have been pouring all my creative energy into fan fiction, and I was feeling a little guilty about neglecting my other writings.
Especially since I am not a fiction writer by nature.
So here we are, the first blog post here under my pen name. It feels good to finally write about this project at long last; after all, I started it in November 2010 on Wattpad and added it to fanfiction.net in early 2011.
I spend so much time teaching writing that I don't have much time to write myself. I was hoping to write more over this summer, but my poor body needed REST. So I devoted myself to reading fac fics, mostly at fanfiction.net. I've listed by favorite completed fics for you in the sidebar; I'll probably mention several that I'm reading as we proceed through this blog.
So, welcome to my little place here to talk fan fics, particularly those of the Twilight persuasion...
Please feel free to introduce yourself in the comments section!! I'd love to get to know some of you better!
--Cassandra
