Happy birthday to a writer and a show, and a self-promotional meme.

Happy birthday to jedibuttercup, Queen of Crossovers

Late in my time-zone, but in time in hers, and that’s the important thing.

And Happy Birthday to ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’. Not that it’s ten years today for me; we didn’t have satellite TV then and I didn’t see it until it was first shown on the BBC about a year later. I was hooked right from ‘Welcome to the Hellmouth’ (well, until Molly arrived in ‘Bring on the Night’, but we shall speak of her no more).

This seems to be an appropriate time to do the ‘Five Favourite Fics’ meme. I’ve been writing fanfic, one way or another, all my life; unread by anyone other than family until the Internet gave me a way of making my stories available to a wider audience. A lot of people seem to like them. It was very hard to whittle this list down to 5. There was no room for ‘Merry Sport’, or ‘Noggin and the Vampire’, both of which I love; but this is my personal top 5 of my stories.

1) The Cloak of Mist. An original fic rather than a true fanfic, but set within the parameters laid down by the Buffyverse. Set in the Isle of Man in the year 1014 AD. In the aftermath of the slaughter at the Battle of Clontarf, with the islanders mourning their dead and anxious for the missing, a newly-called Slayer must face a horde of undead Vikings to free the island from a dreadful curse. It’s based on authentic Manx history and folklore and, in Bahey Dhone, I feel that I have managed to create a truly memorable original heroine.

2) Days of No Trust. Also original fiction, and with an even more tenuous connection to the Buffyverse, but continuing the tradition of a strong female central character. Set in the ‘Reiver’ era, that century and a half of lawless bloodshed that ravaged my people’s homeland, it’s a historical romance with lots of violence and a little magic. Summary: The Borders between England and Scotland in the year 1580. Every girl dreams of a handsome hero to save her from the villains, they say, but there's never such a hero around when you need one and Anne Collingwood's hopes must rest on a disfigured murderer with a death wish. And on her little bit of magic. It's not much, against seventeen ruthless killers, but it's all she has.

3) Lonely on the Mountain. My entry for ludditerobot’s Scatterlings and Orphanages “Africander” ficathon. Xander in Malawi, the land where I was brought up, pitted against an unusual and lethal vampire.

4) The Lonely Goatherd. rahirah was discussing her preference for fics that are not all-human AUs, and she said I don't like Spike as a Lithuanian goatherder. I resolved to write a story in which Spike was a Lithuanian goatherder and to make her like it. It’s canon-compatible – or was before the Season 8 comic revelations, anyway – and not an all-human AU at all. Featuring Vi, my favourite of the Potentials, and Evaldas the Goat.

5) Tabula Avatar. I haven’t included any other WIPs in this list but, at 200,000 words already, this is too big to ignore. ‘Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn’ was the first fandom in which I dared to put my writings on-line. When I hit upon a way of combining it with the Buffyverse I couldn’t resist. Putting Spike together with Viconia, the multiverse’s undisputed queen of snark, was just too big a temptation; and the results have turned out to be just as much fun as I anticipated. Although not necessarily for the characters.

Happy birthday to a writer and a show, and a self-promotional meme.

Happy birthday to jedibuttercup, Queen of Crossovers

Late in my time-zone, but in time in hers, and that’s the important thing.

And Happy Birthday to ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’. Not that it’s ten years today for me; we didn’t have satellite TV then and I didn’t see it until it was first shown on the BBC about a year later. I was hooked right from ‘Welcome to the Hellmouth’ (well, until Molly arrived in ‘Bring on the Night’, but we shall speak of her no more).

This seems to be an appropriate time to do the ‘Five Favourite Fics’ meme. I’ve been writing fanfic, one way or another, all my life; unread by anyone other than family until the Internet gave me a way of making my stories available to a wider audience. A lot of people seem to like them. It was very hard to whittle this list down to 5. There was no room for ‘Merry Sport’, or ‘Noggin and the Vampire’, both of which I love; but this is my personal top 5 of my stories.

1) The Cloak of Mist. An original fic rather than a true fanfic, but set within the parameters laid down by the Buffyverse. Set in the Isle of Man in the year 1014 AD. In the aftermath of the slaughter at the Battle of Clontarf, with the islanders mourning their dead and anxious for the missing, a newly-called Slayer must face a horde of undead Vikings to free the island from a dreadful curse. It’s based on authentic Manx history and folklore and, in Bahey Dhone, I feel that I have managed to create a truly memorable original heroine.

2) Days of No Trust. Also original fiction, and with an even more tenuous connection to the Buffyverse, but continuing the tradition of a strong female central character. Set in the ‘Reiver’ era, that century and a half of lawless bloodshed that ravaged my people’s homeland, it’s a historical romance with lots of violence and a little magic. Summary: The Borders between England and Scotland in the year 1580. Every girl dreams of a handsome hero to save her from the villains, they say, but there's never such a hero around when you need one and Anne Collingwood's hopes must rest on a disfigured murderer with a death wish. And on her little bit of magic. It's not much, against seventeen ruthless killers, but it's all she has.

3) Lonely on the Mountain. My entry for ludditerobot’s Scatterlings and Orphanages “Africander” ficathon. Xander in Malawi, the land where I was brought up, pitted against an unusual and lethal vampire.

4) The Lonely Goatherd. rahirah was discussing her preference for fics that are not all-human AUs, and she said I don't like Spike as a Lithuanian goatherder. I resolved to write a story in which Spike was a Lithuanian goatherder and to make her like it. It’s canon-compatible – or was before the Season 8 comic revelations, anyway – and not an all-human AU at all. Featuring Vi, my favourite of the Potentials, and Evaldas the Goat.

5) Tabula Avatar. I haven’t included any other WIPs in this list but, at 200,000 words already, this is too big to ignore. ‘Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn’ was the first fandom in which I dared to put my writings on-line. When I hit upon a way of combining it with the Buffyverse I couldn’t resist. Putting Spike together with Viconia, the multiverse’s undisputed queen of snark, was just too big a temptation; and the results have turned out to be just as much fun as I anticipated. Although not necessarily for the characters.

Birthday greetings

Happy birthday to trinfaneb

who used to be one of the top commentors on my posts but who hasn't commented, or posted, in nearly a year and probably won't see this.

Birthday greetings

Happy birthday to trinfaneb

who used to be one of the top commentors on my posts but who hasn't commented, or posted, in nearly a year and probably won't see this.