Dreamflower's Mathom-house

Whew! Finally a chance to sit down and recap my holiday!

First of all: the lovely yuletide story I received! It's in the C.S. Lewis fandom, set in the last book of his Space trilogy, That Hideous Strength. It gives the backstory for Dr. Grace Ironwood, one of the inhabitants of the Fisher-King's household. The story is Still In My Pilgrimage, and while filling in Grace's tale, it also gives us a bit about some of the other people there, such as the Dimbles and Ivy Brown. It's a very introspective character study. If you have ever read THS it will resonate for you, but even if you are not familiar with the canon, there is a lot to admire in this lovely piece.

And my Christmas! The DH and I got a gift for the both of us-- a new scanner, printer, copier. It's one of the new Kodak ones, that uses less expensive ink.

He also gave me a very awesome gadget, if I can only get it to work-- there were no directions for it! But it is a Monteverde Invincia 4 GB USB Flash Drive Ballpoint Pen. I'm supposed to be able to write with it, and then upload what I write onto my computer…the jury is out as to whether I will be able to get it to work.

In addition, I got some other great things: the complete audio book set of LotR! 52 discs! and the boxed set of The History of The Hobbit and a copy of Letters From Father Christmas by JRRT. The latter is utterly charming! I think it is going to be a good deal of fun from what I can tell so far!

My son gave me Susan Boyle's new CD, I Dreamed a Dream. My word, she can *sing*!

Our day was very busy. We had our traditional brunch of steak and waffles, and then, contrary to our usual tradition, we cleaned house! The day before, our pastor came into the store to pick up a few groceries, and we talked. I found out that his wife had to go into the hospital again and his kids were with their grandparents, and he was alone on Christmas! So I impulsively invited him to join us for Christmas dinner! He came and we had a very nice dinner (ham and other traditional fixings) and a good visit with him. (If you should happen to think of it, send up a little prayer for his family. His wife has chronic health problems, and they just seem to get worse and worse, and they have two young kids.)

I haven't had a chance to peruse the other Yuletide fics yet, but I know my recipient liked the one I wrote, at least.

Well, now I'm going to try and see if I can get into AO3 and check out some of the other Yuletide stories!

I hope everyone on my flist had a lovely holiday! ((((((((((((((hugs to you all)))))))))))))))))

Whoo-hoo! My yuletide fic is finished-- now to finish my lotr_sesa and my GFIC exchange story!

BTW: Yuletide mentioned an email with uploading instructions. I don't seem to have received one yet-- anyone know if those have been sent?

Well, I am signed up now for three story exchanges!

First of all, the LOTR GenFic Community's annual Yule Fic Exchange. Can't say too much more about that, since I'm a mod, but the story will be fun to write.

Second, is lotr_sesa, which is the first time I've signed up for that one! I really like the request I got for that one!

And third is yuletide! This is my third Yuletide, and I just got my assignment. The good thing is that I am a match on two fandoms, either one of which will be fun to write. The bad thing is that my recipient did not put in any details in the request, and I can't find a Yuletide Santa letter from the person, either. So I guess I'm completely on my own with the story. I hope they like it.

Thank goodness my story for the November lotr_community "Dialogue" challenge is nearly finished!

Christmas is coooming, the goose is getting fat...

Dear Yuletide Writer:

First of all, something that applies to *all* my requests: I really do *not* want slash or smut. I very much prefer gen. Even in canon romantic pairings, I would rather see "fade to black" or innuendo than any actual details, though I don't mind a few hints or euphemisms the next day, to make the couple blush.

Now, for fandom specifics: ( Read more... )

For anyone who's interested, here's my yuletide story! (Note my Five Little Peppers icon!)

Author name: Dreamflower
Title: Polly Pepper's New Friends
Recipient Name: elanne
Fandom: Margaret Sidney--Five Little Peppers
Rating: G
Author notes: I would like to thank my beta, febobe, who was actually familiar with this fandom, and was very enthusiastic and encouraging!
Summary: The Peppers find themselves off to school, and Polly must make some new friends.

(This story is set one year after Five Little Peppers and How They Grew and three years before Five Little Peppers Midway. )

Polly Pepper’s New Friends
( Read more... )

At last I can reveal my yuletide story!

It was Polly Pepper's New Friends, written for elanne, and beta'd by our own dear febobe!

Now, I do know there are probably about two or three other people on my flist who are familiar with the dear little Peppers, but they were a childhood favorite of mine--I first found them in fifth grade, in the library at my new school--all but two of the entire series, and I devoured them voraciously. I later was lucky enough to pick up four of them at a yard sale, and so have been able to revisit the world of the Peppers.

What you have to understand is that the series was first begun in the 1880s, with all which that implies. The stories are full of little moralisms, and Polly is very much a Mary Sue! *Everyone* loves Polly! Yet there's also a charm about them--in the first book Polly, her widowed mother, her three brothers and her little sister Phronsie (who is probably the *Fluffiest* child in literary history!) are struggling to live from day to day.

More about them behind the cut, though there are spoilers for the books: ( Read more... )

The coolest thing about this, is, I think I want to write *more* Pepper-fic! I already have several bunnies nibbling at my ankles!

I've been randomly dipping into yuletide stories, and so now I have some recs!

First off, two recs from The Hobbit. The first one was written for me:
What Should Come From a Quest Bilbo and Gandalf have a small adventure on their way home. I love Bilbo's thoughts in this story. In some ways, he's a very changed hobbit, and yet in other ways, he's as hobbity as ever.

A Boon Companion This one was written for someone else. It's a beautiful exploration of the friendship between Bilbo and Elrond spanning the years.

There were several fics from The Silmarillion. Here are two I found especially beautiful.

Night of the Past Galadriel visits her mirror, and ponders the past, and catches a glimpse of the future.

Of the Ring of Air This brief but touching story, in which Elrond receives Vilya from Gil-Galad is very moving, and is written in the high style of the Silm itself.

Now, the following link is not to a fic, but to a vid, made to celebrate the spirit of Yuletide. It depicts over 191 of the over a thousand fandoms represented this year. It's cleverly done, and in spite of the many clips used, all of them get their moment in the spotlight:

One Night Fandom FanVid

I've only ever seen "Boston Legal" a very few times, but that's enough for me to thoroughly appreciate the following story, in which Crane, Poole and Schmidt defend a young fanfic writer against a claim of copyright infringement. If such a thing ever does come to trial, I hope it ends up like this case, LOL!
Fanfare, Fan Fiction and the Fourth Wall

A crossover of Winnie the Pooh and Discworld? Sounds like crack, but it's not. It really works. And the anonymous author has Eeyore down absolutely perfectly!
In Which Worlds Collide and Eeyore Investigates a Terrible Crime

The next one is from the comic strip, "Calvin and Hobbes". Have you ever wondered what might have happened to Hobbes, if Calvin had been allowed to grow up? This bittersweet story gives us a very plausible and somewhat angsty idea of how it might have gone.
the sandwich story

And another look at the growing up and growing older of young heroes. This one from Diane Duane's "Young Wizards" series.
All the Worlds

Considering I picked stories at random, I'm beginning to sense a theme here--a look at young Josh's future life, after the end of the movie Big
wring the water from wine

And a gapfiller for Anne MacCaffrey's Harper Hall Trilogy, in which Menolly returns briefly to Sea Hold, and confronts her family. This is so true to the story, I can easily imagine it fitting right into the narrative.
Lend Song a Sweeter Grace (Pern)

For a humorous change of pace, how about a LOLcats version of a traditional Fairy Tale? This is too funny! LOL! I laffs and laffs!
Teh Tail of Snow Cat

What must it have been like, to be transformed into an object? This story, about Cogsworth the clock in the Disney Beauty and the Beast is both sad and triumphant.
Unwind for a Change

Another Disney fic--this one featuring two Disney Princesses, and three venues--is a lot of fun, and very likely, given the personality of the heroine, Belle, from Beauty and the Beast
The Case of the Missing Prince

The Brother Cadfael mysteries, by Ellis Peters, are favorites of mine. In fact last year it was one of my requests, and the one I was given. Here's a new one. To those who are used to the seriousness of the books, this is a delightful bit of holiday fluff!
A Present Only You Can Appreciate

I think possibly my favorite character in The Princess Bride is Fezzik. This story, about Fezzik and Inigo, not only gives Fezzik some backstory, but shows how the two of them got on after the movie ended.
Paradise

In The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, we are told of father Charles' restlessness with civilization. This brilliant bit of story explores that aspect of his character from his POV:
A Land So Wild and Beautiful

Who doesn't love "Peanuts"? And Schroeder and his toy piano? This is just lovely--
Ten Times Schroeder Played the Piano and One Time He Didn’t (Peanuts)

I can *so* see this happening in Discworld! What happens when the Hogfather pays his annual visit to wee Samuel Vimes, Jr.?
Entering with Intent

Finally, I love the movie White Christmas. In this story we get to see a bit of Bob and Phil after the war, but before they become big time producers. The dialogue in this does not put one single word wrong. I could hear it all in Bing and Danny's voices.
Temptation (White Christmas)

A lot of people on my flist took part in yuletide, but for those of you who did not:

An astounding total of 2426 stories were written in 1010 different fandoms by 1620 participants.

The story I recieved was for The Hobbit

What Should Come From a Quest In which Bilbo and Gandalf have a small adventure on their way back to the Shire from the Lonely Mountain. It was a lovely story, and just what I had been hoping for.

There was also another fic for The Hobbit,
A Boon Companion In which the long friendship of Bilbo and Elrond is examined.

In addition there were several Silm fics. None, however, for CoH, though that was also on my request list.

I can't reveal the story *I* wrote, but my recipient seemed very pleased with it! I will reveal it on Jan. 1. It was a load of fun to write, even without any hobbits, and I might find myself actually writing more in that particular obscure little fandom...

Well, my yuletide fic is all finished, and I got an awesome beta from someone on my flist who shall remain nameless until after the reveal. And then sophinisba very kindly took the time to help me get it uploaded. (Read: she did it for me after I messed it up even with her coaching!)

And I have sent my GFIC Yule exchange fic off to be beta'd tonight!

*whew!* Good thing, too, because I have to work the next three days!

I'm off today! And so I managed to finish my yuletide fic and get it off to my beta! Now I just have to finish my Yule exchange fic for the GFic community!

It's very cold here today!