What? Reviews? Am I supposed to write those? Phht. Sorry guys. My play ends in exactly one week. Starting March 1st I am free as a bird! It's been fun, but way too time-consuming.

Anyway, to stop myself from going completely insane (and because who needs sleep, right?) I've been spending my free time looking up some River Song stuff. I wanted some posters that I could hang in my new room. But I was sorely disappointed with all the River Song posters I found. Solution? MAKE MY OWN!

Here are the two I've made so far. I hope to make a series of these from both Doctor Who, Sherlock, etc. and then sell them on Etsy.

I'd really like to know your opinions! I love the River one, I'm less confident in the Doctor one. These two are meant to be in a set, which is why all of the doctor quotes are about River. I'll probably make different versions of the Doctor that fit with other characters. And one that just his greatest hits.

River's Poster. Click to embiggen. Original image by Gosselin

This is the one I made where I actually own the image. It'll probably be the one I end up selling if I can't get copyright permission.

The Doctor's poster. Click to embiggen.

What they look like together (after being framed). Click to embiggen.

If you would share your opinions, I would be most grateful. And if you would be interested in being a proof reader for my future posters, let me know!

Hello everyone! Sorry for the radio silence this last week. I actually HAVE read some books, I just haven't had time to flush out whole reviews. Hopefully I'll have time over the long weekend.

Speaking of long weekend, there are two HUGE signings going on this weekend, and I wanted to make sure you were aware of them:





So who's coming to either of these? We should meet up and have a party!

Here's the fourth and final post in my series of posts on authors on fan-fiction vs. retelling. Today's author is Marissa Meyer, author of the fairy tale retellings Cinder and Scarlet. I was UBER excited that Marissa decided to participate. Did you know that she actually got her start writing fan-fiction? Read on, squeakers!

What do you consider fan-fiction?

To me, fanfiction is when a work takes specific characters or settings from an original work and re-uses them. For example, setting a story in Hogwarts, or taking Bilbo Baggins and dropping him into the middle of Manhattan, would both constitute fanfiction.

Alternatively, a story about a boy who discovers that he's a wizard or a band of magical beings who go on an epic journey to destroy a dangerous artifact - while they may have very direct and obvious influences - wouldn't be considered fanfiction in my opinion, because they aren't making use of the world and characters from the original.

Do you consider your book to be fan-fiction? If not, what sets it apart from your definition?

I, personally, don't consider most retellings, like "Cinder," to be fanfiction - although this could vary on a case-by-case basis. While the influences of the Cinderella fairy tale are evident throughout "Cinder," the world and characters are my own creation. Hence, I don't think of it as fanfic.

To give another example: "West Side Story" is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet and, in my mind, not fanfiction, as the characters and setting are brand new. Alternatively, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead," which gives a spin on two minor characters from the play, I would consider fanfiction because those characters were Shakespeare's creation.

Based on your definition, should fan-fiction ever be published?

'm going to start my response by stating that I am by no means an expert on copyright law and anyone concerned with the LEGAL implications of fanfiction and how it relates to concerns of copyright and plagiarism should look elsewhere. My response is based solely on the personal opinions of a writer who has been on both sides of the fanfiction equation.

I am in favor of writers creating the stories that inspire them, whether originals or retellings or fanfiction, and publishing them, whether for profit or not for profit, so long as they pose no harm to the original work or creator.

This is where it gets tricky, as people have different ideas of what poses harm to the original work. There are writers who have requested that no fanworks of their books be posted on the internet, and I feel that desire should be respected. For me, personally, I encourage fanworks of The Lunar Chronicles. Not only because it would be hypocritical of me not to (I did write fanfic myself for years), but also because I see it as a means of connecting the fans of the series and keeping the story and characters at the forefront of their thoughts in between book releases. I feel that the existence of Lunar Chronicles fanworks benefits the series, my fans, and myself.

Regarding publishing fanfictions for profit, I feel that it should be stopped, again, if it harms the original work or creator, such as a derivative work that is so similar to the original that it could create confusion in the market between the two.

Example: If E.L. James had published her book as a continuation or alternate reality version of Twilight, some readers who were looking for Stephenie Meyer's book may have grabbed E.L. James's instead. I would consider this to be harmful to the original.

However, "Fifty Shades of Gray," while it may have begun life as a Twilight fanfiction, has been revised into an original work with original characters, and I don't feel would ever be confused with the original works. Therefore, I am perfectly okay with it being published and doing well in the marketplace.

(Note: This entire issue is further complicated by parodies like "Nightlight," but I won't go into all that.)

So in summary, I recommend that people write what they want to write, read what they want to read, and be respectful toward the authors of both original works and fanfiction.

Author: Jodi Meadows
Narrator: Katherine Taub
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Producer: HarperCollins Audio

Story Review: Originally posted here (11/14/11)

This book is AMAZING! First of all, the premise is so interesting. A world where there are no new people? You're just reincarnated over and over? How cool is that?! Well... cool for a premise. After reading the book I don't think I'd want to live in that world.

But it brings up so many interesting ideas! What would the world be like if it was just made up of the SAME one million people forever? Everyone knows everyone. Everyone is born with the skills they need to survive (if not the physical strength). Would you ever have wars? The people you killed would just come right back. How would you love? Would you love life-by-life, or through lifetimes? And then there's the interesting bit about not always coming back the same gender.

Imagine being tossed into this world. Everyone knows everything, and you know nothing. TERRIFYING, right? I loved watching Ana struggle through this exact issue. How is she supposed to fit in? Everyone thinks in terms of lifetimes, but she might only have one! So how is she supposed to live her one life? Jodi does an amazing job of making both Ana and the reincarnates REAL people. I believed everything they thought, said, and did.

And on top of that THERE ARE DRAGONS. Dragons and sylphs and centaurs and who knows what else! Just when you thought this story couldn't get more interesting! Now, sometimes when books put so much into their storyline you feel like some of it is underdeveloped or just shoved in there for "wow" factor, not with Incarnate. Jumping from reincarnation to dragons was smooth and made perfect sense. By the end I was saying "Of COURSE there would be dragons in this world!"

All in all, an amazingly powerful book that will keep your brain spinning through all 400 pages!

Audio Review: The sequel to this book, Asunder, just came out at the end of January. So in preparation I decided to listen to the audiobook. I do think this was a good choice because there was quite a bit I had forgotten, but... I didn't love the audiobook. I adore this book, which maybe made me a bit overly critical of the narrator. Actually... I don't think so. I think she's just an annoying narrator.

She feels the need to draaaw out ceertain worrds. It always sounds like she's sneering. I don't know why everyone in this world was so sneery. It was like listening to a stereotypical Cali girl try to imitate a snobby British noble. Sound crazy? Yup. It was.

So while I would definitely recommend that you READ this book, I would skip the audio. I think it might ruin the story for you.

All right, people, I have discovered something recently. I'm behind the times, but I'm fully invested now. There's no going back. Technically I have discovered two things:

• I have seen every episode of Sherlock. I'm very frustrated that it'll be at least a year before new episodes.
• I have seen up to 7.2 of Doctor Who.
• I did not watch seasons 1 or 2 of Doctor Who. I don't love Rose and I wanted David Tennant and Matt Smith.
• I have come to the conclusion that Matt Smith is my favorite doctor, but it took me a while to get there.
• River Song is my favorite television character OF ALL TIME (I know some people hate her. And I understand why they do. But most of the reasons people hate her are the reasons why I love her. She is literally my hero)

(Warning, there's a chance that these comments could get spoilery. Stay away if you are afraid of spoilers, and you should be!!)