A vendetta?

There seems to be some sort of vendetta against me going on over at the Dark Lord Potter forums.

Strange. Do they think that they hurt me by complaining about how much they hate my fanfiction? If I cared what others thought about me, I certainly wouldn't be writing and posting it online. That's just asking for abuse from others. I honestly don't care what anyone thinks about me. I would take too much time worrying about everyone else but me. Sorry, I have no time for anyone. Just me! I'm graduating from college. I don't have time to sleep at this point. (Look at the time I posted this. Yes, I'm still awake!)

I find it slightly amusing that they waste their time complaining. After all, it's time they'll never get back. I guess everyone needs something to complain about.

"Dark Lord Potter?" It's like saying "Dark Lord Bunny Rabbit". Both are cute, fluffy, and sweet. Beware the sharp, pointy teeth! (If you get that pop culture reference, I'll give you a virtual cookie.)

UPDATE!

I have finished the next chapter of "What is Right"! WOOT! It's off with the betas right now. I'm so happy.

The next chapter of "An Aunt's Love" is halfway finished. I should be able to finish it within two weeks, so long as I manage to finish all of my homework and the like. Keep your fingers crossed!

Ever wonder what Emma does with her time?

A lot of people have been pleading for updates. A lot of them. So, to give everyone a little taste of what it is like to be Emma Lipardi, here's a typical day!

Day 1:

5:00 AM - Wake up. Snarl at alarm clock and ponder ways to dismantle it. Hit snooze button.

5:03 AM - Fall back asleep.

5:10 AM - Praise and curse inventor of snooze button in one breath.

5:11 AM - Stumble out of bed and down hallway.

5:13 AM - Bathroom activities - Use your imagination, folks.

5:25 AM - Emerge from bathroom dressed for workout.

5:30 AM - Shovel breakfast into mouth on the way out the door to workout with personal trainer. Grumble about cold. Get into car. Drive to gym. Ignore leering old men on the treadmills. Proceed to blow away competition on treadmills. Then move on to weight lifting. And Zumba.

7:00 AM - Return to home for second breakfast. Greet bleary roommate on sofa. Hit the shower.

7:15 AM - Emerge from shower, ready for day. Collect backpack, water bottle, snacks, and coat. Proceed to wait for university shuttle for fifteen to thirty minutes. Cheer upon arrival of shuttle.

7:45 - 8:00 AM Camp out in front of the library to wait for it to open. Consider making protest sign to get librarians to let you in.

8:01 AM to Noon - Claim territory in library. Pile research books and articles on table in form of barricade. Protect coffee with your life. Snarl at those too close to you. Post a sign at 10:00 AM that warns away the socialites and invites the geeks to flock: PULLING A GRANGER...ENTER AREA AT OWN RISK

Noon: Realize that work starts in an hour. Hastily gather belongings and dash from library. Pray librarian will leave your books in their barricade form. Perhaps the sign will discourage return of items? Grab lunch the minute you enter the door. Pack more to consume at work.

1:05 PM - Report to work five minutes late. Cite traffic as your reason. Check callbacks, contacts, email, daily tasks, and interoffice communication. Delegate. Retrieve coffee. Repeat.

2:12 PM - Snack.

3:00 PM - Staff meeting. Amuse self during by imagining Severus Snape's reaction to words like "Synergy" and "Inter-office compatibility". Plot entire dialogs around his reaction. Make notes in German on notepad. Ignore co-worker asking what you're writing. Plot ways to get out of meeting. Smile and nod at something boss has said. Write Dumbledore into new scene. Plot Harry involvement. Plan destruction of staff meeting room.

4:00 PM - Flee meeting room. Steal coffee from kitchen. Return to desk and repeat earlier cycle. Make notes about new story in German. Pray no one knows about translators online. Ponder when fanfiction turned into real fiction. Toss aside into briefcase.

4:25 PM - Snack.

5:00 PM - Say goodnight to boss as he leaves. Clean office. Clean kitchen. Change channel on TV to something intelligent. Ignore co-worker as he does nothing.

7:00 PM - Leave work. Go home and gather ballet bag. And new water bottle.

7:45 PM - Arrive at dance studio. Change. Study self in full length mirror. Consider possibility of outlawing leotards. Tape toes and put on shoes. Snack and water.

8:00 - 9:15 PM - Subject self to unique torture known as ballet. Curse maker of pointe shoes. Change shoes after class. Band-aid and tape bleeding toes. Promise cold water later.

9:45 PM - Arrive home. Snack. Homework. Prepare for classes the next day. Celebrate not having to work.

11:30 PM - Write.

12:30 AM - Bed.

Next day: CLASSES for entire afternoon. Library the rest of the time. Return home at 1:00 AM. The next day follows the first one.

So, curiosity satisfied?

Fun Times

Today was a good day in terms of things accomplished. I made it to class and had all of my assignments done and ready to turn in on time. I met up with my friend Chrissy after classes and talked to her for a while. She's actually from Germany, so it's good practice for me in terms of language study.

Unfortunately, things are not going well in my personal life. I'm twenty-five years old and facing a rather distressing circumstance: I'm graduating from college! Agh! I have no idea why I went to school this long, because I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. My job will not have anything to do with my majors. I can't think of anything I could do with an English and German degree. I really can't. I'm hoping that I will be able to find full time work after graduation. I really, really want full time work.

My sister quit her job, and because my name is on her lease, I am stuck paying her rent. I should kick her to the curb, but then the compassionate part of me goes: she is your sister. How long does a person need help before it starts being a crutch? I think she's on crutches at this point.

My car has a fuel leak, which means I get to drive a dangerous car across town first thing tomorrow and pray I make it to the shop...and that the shop won't charge me an arm and leg for service. Please, if the mechanics are listening, keep it under $100. Please, please, please. I hope they're listening.

My lovely check is just sitting here, waiting for deposit. I would love to go down to the bank and deposit it in my account (thereby changing the dreadful negative number I'm currently carrying), but I can't drive the car. Grr.

Needless to say, writing has taken a backseat to this crazy thing I call life. I do have a few new stories, both original and fanfiction, buzzing in my head. There are actually four fanfictions, but I'll probably only try to write three. One already has a title, called Anachronism. It's been fun, but I don't know if I'll actually write it. It has the same themes as the first two, and I'm becoming just a bit tired of angst. (I never thought I'd say that!) The second is the newest, a story without Harry Potter as the main character in the beginning! O.O How did that happen? He comes in later, of course, but I almost didn't recognize him. Funny how that works. There's no title yet, so I'm calling it STHFHOS...I love acronyms. 20 points and virtual chocolate to the person that figures out what that means! Or a preview...your choice. The last and most fun lacks a name, but I've been calling it JBHP. I doubt anyone will figure that out at all. So, a thousand points and a command chapter of any story to the person able to guess. This story is unlike anything I've done, which might be why I'm so excited about it. ^_^ Harry is in this from the get-go and he's very fun to write! I can't wait to see the finished product.

I guess I should amend what I said earlier. It's not that I haven't been writing...I'm just not writing "An Aunt's Love" or "What is Right". I do have a chapter ready to go, but I'm holding off on it until I clear up a point or two. Look for it sometime soon.

Until next time, may the Muse refrain from the baseball bat.

The Dreaded Disease WB

I have that dreaded disease that writers do not name for fear of getting it. It lurks about us in a dreadful fog of Real Life and Other Responsibilities. It is more feared than flu and colds. I will only initial it: WB.

I want to cry. Why now? Why? I have so many things going on for Harry that nothing else will do but for me to try to write the next chapter, but it came out pathetically short and rather, hmm, bland. I wrote something bland! It's just not fair. It really isn't fair. I've been good to that story, lost sleep over it, researched persnickity little items that only gave it more depth...and it betrays me.

I hope that it ends soon. I can only hope, as every other trick I have to get it to go away has yet to work. At least the blog proves that I can still write, but the dreaded WB on "An Aunt's Love" is creating a lot of...anger towards fanfiction in general. Why do I feel the need to write such a story? I don't know. It's there, and it wants to be written, so I answer the call. Stupid story.

I really do love it. I do. It's practically my baby, but all the same, it's a very whiny, annoying, attention-demanding baby. I doubt anyone would blame me if I just chucked it all.

On second thought, I think I would have to go into witness protection if something like that happened. Some of my readers have death threated me more than once. Chucking the story would be a bit like prodding an ant hill with a stick. All the same, not something I would care to try.

I'm off to try to sleep. Perchance to dream. Or write. Keep your fingers crossed and hope that something happens that breaks me out of it.

Never Write a LONG fanfiction!

Here's a warning to all fanfiction writers and soon to be fanfiction writers: do not write long fanfictions. You have been warned.

One of my stories is fifty-six chapters long. Keeping everything straight is a nightmare. I've tried outlining the story for my own convenience and find it a daunting task. What was I thinking?

I'm in the process of writing the next chapter of "An Aunt's Love". Actually, I'm procrastinating. This is going to sound ridiculous, but I don't want to finish it. This next chapter starts the downhill slide of the story being "finished". Dear God, that's a frightening prospect. There may be only five or so chapters after this one. No, more like ten chapters after this one. It feels strange, knowing that it IS going to end and there's not much more work to do on it.

I had toyed with the idea of a sequel, just so I could tell myself that it wasn't over, not really, because I had the entire sequel to think about. I had an entire plot and characters planned; I decided not to do it. The story is told. It's finished. The original concept is displayed and there's nothing left to it. I'm done.

It hurts, being finished with "An Aunt's Love". It's my baby. It is one of the first stories I have planned, toyed with, created characters for, and shared it with others. The response is, well, overwhelming. Heady and intoxicating, but overwhelming all the same. The story has (rounded down) 1.4 million hits. That's amazing to me. More so is the fact that people in other countries have read it. They're all over. Singapore, Australia, England, Ireland, France Brazil, Portugal, Japan, even some places I've never heard of. It put my place in the world into perspective. People elsewhere speak four, five, six languages...I speak English and passable German (on my good days). I dabble in Spanish and Arabic. I know nothing compared to some of my readers.

My readers fascinate me. Who are they? Where do they live? What are their lives like? What do they do for fun (besides fanfiction)? What do they want to do for the rest of their lives? Are they young? Old? With children or still children? How do they view themselves? How do they view me? The questions drive me crazy sometimes, especially when a reader reaches out to me to help them.

One reviewer (whom I have not been available to find since the exchange) asked me where St. Jude's was so he/she could go there. I had to tell him/her St. Jude's is a fictional place, based off my own experiences in treatment and a healthy dose of wishing(I had originally started out making it exactly the same, but that was too restrictive for what I wanted to happen later on in the story).

I still wonder about that person and every other person out there that has taken the time to contact me to share their personal lives in dealing with their own treatment. It scared me the first time and terrified me the second. I am not qualified to handle things like that at all. In fact, I'm lucky to handle myself at times. After the third time, I realized that people were taking comfort from the story, as though they knew they were not alone, even if they felt it from time to time. It was a very humbling realization. I think that's one of the few reasons I continue to write it; it helps others, as strange as that may sound. Or maybe I just hope it does and use that thought as an excuse for me to waste time (or so my family says) to write it.

I'm not sure what to think anymmore. It's done. I have only a few more chapters to go. I must wrap everything up and hope that it holds together until the end. I already have my plane tickets bought to go into hiding after a very dangerous (to my health) scene, as I know lynch mobs may very well form, considering what I am planning....dear God, I must be insane. I've had the end planned since I started writing the story and I must say that I'll be happy (and incredibly depressed) when it's finished. Well, Harry the vampire is calling. I have to answer or the Muse will get angry.

Crazy, Crazy World

Ever notice how crazy your life can get in just the blink of an eye? Yes, that's my life now.

I haven't been able to write for days...days, my friends. Days. I've been at home with my mother since Wednesday and now my mother has followed me home. She's staying with me until Friday. Friday evening, after a long day at work (I'm not exaggerating), she and I must drive her home and then I have to get up extremely early the next morning and drive back to my house. Sure, it's only an hour and half trip one way, but I HATE driving. It scares me and makes me slightly panicky. I'm okay as long as there is someone else in the car, but I hate driving alone.

Tomorrow starts a loathed session of Turn. For those of you not in the property management field, Turn is the time period between residents moving out and new residents moving in. We turn the apartments to get them ready for new residents. Needless to say, we find some messy apartments. Apartment 348 and 346 will forever live in my memory. Scary, scary stuff. Very scary. It made me want to take a hot shower there and then. I can't believe how some people live in such filth. I'm not exactly neat, but at least I'm CLEAN. There is a huge difference between the two. Trust me.

My twin sister graduated from college yesterday. Go, sis. My question for her: now what? Of course, I'll be asking myself that next year when I finally complete my degrees (yes, double major in English and German). What do you do with a B.A. in English? If anyone has any ideas, could you please let me know? I'm a little tapped at the moment.

Lots of family drama, as always. I hate holidays. My entire family is psycho, and I'm being kind with that idea. I've decided that if I ever need to marry, I will kidnap future husband and force him to elope. My parents have both decreed that they will not attend if the other parent is invited. I'm sorry? I thought it was MY wedding? Why put me through such puerile behavior? Also, my father said he won't attend if I don't invite his significant other. I can't stand his significant other. She told me my four year old niece was possessed by a spirit. Yes, that's right. Possessed by a spirit.

Mind you, I am a paranormal investigator, but the evidence needs to be staring me in the face for me to think anything paranormal is going on. For her, everything is a ghost. She seemed offended when I said that I had yet to see any hard scientific evidence that ghosts exist. I've had personal experiences. What paranormal investigator hasn't? I still can't name what those were, or how the things I saw and heard could happen, but they weren't documented evidence, so they can't be submitted as such. Could I stand and say vows when my dad's girlfriend is going off about some ghost she saw on the way to the church? Also, my mother refuses to attend if dad's significant other is invited.

So, elopement seems my only hope. I think I might leave a note stating where the wedding gifts may be sent. Hopefully, it's in Europe and Europe has someone willing to act as a go-between. It seems that escape is the only survival tactic here. Anything else will leave me open to family retribution of not having the princess wedding they're planning for me. (shudder). Honestly, I would be happy with a simple Mass, simple dress, and pie. I hate cake. They want tiaras, veils, bridesmaids. Everything I'm not.

I don't think I even believe in love. I've never been in love. I love people, but I've never felt that never-ending passion that so many of my friends seem to have in their relationships. Hell, I've never even had sex and I'm twenty-four. It's not through lack of opportunity. There have been many opportunities. I just didn't want to bother with it. The opportunities just seemed so childish when they asked.

I think I've ranted enough. I'm off to see if some stories will happen now. Thanks for reading the above pointless babble that I needed to get out of my brain.