Fortress Of Good Fortune

What is this this, you say? Why, 'tis Halloween in November! Or, how my Muses insist on sticking with that holiday. :D

You know the old saying you don't want to know how the sausage is made? Well, I feel the same way about looking at the creative process too carefully, yet it's fun to dig at least a little bit.

Why are my Muses intent on working on Halloween-themed fic during the holiday season (notice I refer to them in the plural as no single Muse could cause all this trouble!)? Could be because I started posting chapters of one fic before the holiday and started posting the chapters of the second one only a few days after All Hallows. I thought I was completely barren of other holiday ideas, but an idea popped up a week before Thanksgiving. It's a Clark/Bruce tale if you're interested.

So I will continue working on Halloween fic until another holiday provides inspiration. Actually, my contratrian Muses are teasing another Halloween idea. Oh, well, I can dig spooky stuff any time of year! :)

Crossposts: https://bradygirl-12.livejournal.com/1546826.html

Color is exploding all over! :)

It's not peak color yet, which makes it a little later this year, but it's definitely in the works. When you're surrounded by a blaze of autumn color, you feel like you're in another world: fiery red, brilliant yellow, blazing orange. All gorgeous, all around. The ash trees are nearly done (always early turners) but now the red maples and sassafras and everything but the sugar maples are giving us a show. The sugar maples are the last act and are as golden as King Solomon's mines.

I'm also happy to be going at a good pace with my multichaptered The Alienist/Murdoch Mysteries Halloween fic, Mr. & Mrs. John Moore (aka Sara Howard Moore) VIII: Beaded Pearls. Three chapters up, seven to go!

Also working on a spooky McHale's Navy fic, which is not part of the Sparkling Stars 'verse. I had the premise but was stymied by what would be the events of the actual plot, but it seems to be coming along. *dances* Hope you're enjoying autumn! :)

Good morning! Feeling the effects of the lost hour?

The only good thing about the clock change is getting the hour back we lost today in the fall. And, honestly, the Government had to fiddle with it. It used to be the fall clock change occurred in October. On Halloween, it was dark by 5:00, perfect for the little ones to trick-or-treat. Sorry, you just don't get the full spookiness when it's still daylight!

I hate the mornings back to dark. Really, I don't need an extra hour of light at night. At this time of year, nighttime activities usually consist of going to the movies, a restaurant, a club...what do I care if the sun is shining an extra hour at night? *smh*

Crossposts: https://bradygirl-12.livejournal.com/1520037.html

Happy First Day of Fall!!!

Oh, it's here. Chilly days and cold nights, leaves just starting to turn, gourds and pumpkins and apples popping up in farm stands and supermarkets. No Fall TV season this year, but Nature is all in. I'm so excited! :)

Autumn has been here awhile. The days are cool and bright and the nights are cool, too. There are a few patches of color, but the trees won't give us the full show for awhile. The harvest will be bountiful (pumpkins, gourds, apples, etc.) and, of, course, Halloween will be approaching on stealthy feet. :) I'll be visiting Dunkin' Donuts for some pumpkin doughnuts and muffins, and there will be pumpkin cookies in the supermarket. Pumpkin, pumpkin, PUMPKIN!!! :)

Hope everyone is excited for fall! :)

Well, for the first time since I've been posting fic to LJ/DW, I didn't post any fanfic, whether a short piece or the chapter of a longer one. Yep, a first for me!

Reasons? Most of my available writing time was spent with editing my profic, and there was almost constant chaos going on in RL. The last two weeks have been particularly crazy, and I was lucky to get the last of this round's edits done.

I did manage to write fanfic, even though none was posting-ready. I have 17 in the To Be Posted queue, so I was writing something! :)

I've got romance, action/adventure, space opera, summer fun, humor, and Halloween, to name a few genres. :)

Gah! No Halloween icons. Damn, 15 sure limits you. >:(

Last week was the Week From Hell, and this week is no better. The changes going on in my life are making me cling to Fandom once again as my life preserver. Thank the stars it's my favorite time of year. Maybe that'll cheer me up. :(

Yesterday was my annual pilgrimage to the shrine of Saints Bill and Tom, who are fresh off the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history. :) Fitting, as the weather was very autumnal, with the day being cool, breezy and cloudy, a huge improvement over last year's humid 100 degrees.

15,000 of us made the trek to Gillette Stadium. That meant I didn't get near the bleachers (third year in a row) and had to climb up the hill, but got a great viewing spot under a shady tree and used my binoculars for close-ups of the field.

Yep, saw Tom, who doesn't look like a guy who's gonna hit 40 in a week! :) He was sharp in drills, too, and Gronk spiked a ball after a touchdown. :) Newcomer Brandin Cooks looks very good in the offense, so it appears he isn't lost in this complex scheme. Coach Belichick was there spinning his whistle, barking out commands, and reveling in being at the top of his game.

Both back-up QBs looked pretty good, though Jimmy G. ended up with two INTs and had to run a lap with the center after a botched hand-off. Jacoby Brissett has healed from his thumb surgery and was less accurate, but not by much. He has a lot of promise.

It was a very festive atmosphere with a lot of Brady jerseys (and Gronk and Edelman and so on), and they added a few new vendor stations this year. Unfortunately, they also added security check with bag inspection. Pretty sad state of affairs when you have to check fans' bags just to enter training camp. *shakes head*

I brought some slices of bread and my own water, not wanting to pay the jacked-up prices, and it worked out fine. I do wish I could get a bleacher seat like the old days, but I refuse to come hours early before the gates open. I have a long enough drive as it is early in the morning to get here, so I'll make do with the hill.

All in all, very excited about football season! It officially kicks off in September, but training camp is an unofficial opening. The Pats will hold joint practices with the Jacksonville Jaguars next week, and I bet the Jags don't see 15,000 people at their training camp! :) They are also holding joint practices with the Houston Texans at their camp and the Detroit Lions back here at Gillette.

The Texans and Dallas Cowboys clear out of Texas in the summer. Smart move! They hold their camps out-of-state to escape the godawful Texas heat.

So, yay, football is back! :)

How typical is this? I'm just about to write the final paragraph of the story I'm planning to submit to my 2016 DCU Fic/Art Halloween Challenge, and I decide I've got a better angle and now I have to do a major re-write! Fortunately, it's not a super-long story, but it will delay my posting. I know, you're all waiting with bated breath, right? ;) Better that I came up with the new idea now instead of after posting, eh?

Most of my writing efforts this month will revolve around my marvel_bang story, mostly prep for AO3 posting and figuring out how many chapters I can fit into one entry on LJ. I also have to write out my master post for the announcement on marvel_bang, but I'm probably going to use the summary I've already used, anyway.

Otherwise I have three Halloween ideas I'm juggling, the one mentioned above, another DC Comics idea, and a Marvel Comics idea. My other DC plot bunny may end up using my Late Entries Policy grace period, as I'm still kind of letting the idea simmer in my cauldron for now. I've already started work on the Marvel idea.

Funny how I'm getting all these seasonal ideas when we're supposed to get a heat wave this week. Thankfully cold weather will be back by next weekend!

Hope your Halloween Muses are spooking you, too! ;)