Subject: Yep, that was me.
Author:
Posted on: 2010-07-14 14:25:00 UTC
One year to get it written, three years to fight tooth and nail with publishers, editors, and the insidious Things that Must Not be Named which lurk in the depths of the industry (also known as agents).
And I will. :)
. . . to say, My God do I miss you guys. :D
Hi, y'all. *waves* I was a PPCer back in the day--back when GreyLadyBast's temple wasn't yet empty and the last of the original duo's missions were being posted. I ran agents Diocletian and Suicide, adopted the Celebrian-traumatized Elf Ithalond and his wife Mithiriel, and in general screwed around like a doofus.
I made the decision a couple of years ago to stop writing PPCs because my original stuff was being tempted with a publishing deal. That took a while to happen, but my book officially comes out on the fifteenth, and I've been celebrating by doing some evil plotting with Neshomeh.
Anyway--long mememe post story short--I hope to be back for a while (if the Flowers don't have the security dandelions chase me off with sticks). I'm going to be lurking for a while on the board, and I'm thrilled to see that the PPC badfic contest is still being done. :)
So . . . er . . . don't kill me?
Do we get to know what your book is? So we can read it?
*looks hopeful*
Oh, I mean, er. Welcome back! Long time no see. :) Have a cookie.
I posted the info in a reply a little further down the thread---Addendum: the book. In short, though, the title is "Thief of Midnight" and it's urban fantasy with a bit of horror flavoring. Definitely some PPC influence, too; I can't seem to get over my love of monster hunters who drink heavily on the job. :D
It's sold out on Amazon! Congratulations. I knew I should have preordered. :( Sigh.
Have a PPC-themed calender to remind yourself that you've been away for a long time.
A book? Awesome! I want to do that, too. Did getting it published really take up so much of your time that you couldn't write other things?
It looks really cool. I think I'll ask my library to get it, since I'm a poor college student.
Thank you!
Getting it published was a saga in and of itself, yeah. I spent one year actually writing it, and three years crawling my way through process of agents-editors-agents-editors-publishing house-query-rejection-oh god kill me now. You can usually still write during that time, though, if you don't mind having all your villains turn out to be employed at major publishing houses. :D
welcome back TM. nice to see you again. have a railgun.
and i remember you ran the OFU of final fantasy too.
And yep, I ran the OFUFF. I can't do it any more--there was just too much life going on--but it was fun while it lasted. :)
Tungsten's back! Jeez, man...to be honest, you're one of the two reasons I decided to join the PPC (the other being the OS). I feel humbled...
Okay, I'm probably sending a really creepy vibe right now, so lemme just say welcome back! Yeah...
Okay, yeah, I admit I am a bit surprised. :D But that's normal with the PPC. Thank you!
I don't know you, and you don't know me, but welcome back nonetheless!
Have a pet cat. You may name her whatever you wish.
If I knew everybody in the PPC, life would be dull. It's much more interesting when you can hare around a corner and meet a brand-new maniac you've never encountered before. Should I talk to them? Should I not talk to them? Will the word "socks" send them into a frothing rage? Keeps life interesting! :D
And thanks. It's nice to be back.
Welcome back! Your missions were some of my favorites, so it's nice to see you around again.
And so many congratulations on your book! I might have to check into that.
*touches forelock* Thank'ee kindly. I shan't be making a big splash, but I do plan to lurk just below the surface, possibly while humming the "Jaws" theme. :)
Also known as: pretentious subject lines, a how-to guide.
I didn't say anything at first because I was thinking, "Well, I don't remember this person, so I feel weird saying 'welcome back'," only then I was thinking about it and your name sounded familiar and I realized there was a you-character in OFU Redwall, so I can pretend I do remember you and say welcome back.
Also known as: I am really awkward with meeting people.
Also, you have a book! Exciting! It is on my list of things to look for when next I am in a bookstore. Books are cool!
Have, um, this nice rock I found by the lake here. I'm sure it'll look great once it's been shined up a bit.
. . . of the deterministic implications of the established dynamic qua the former and current agent.
Also known as: it's hard to break the habits of college. I see a pretentious subject line, I just gotta join in. :D
And thank you. Nice to meet you! I'm happy to be back, but I'm sure as hell no Jay or Acacia, and I honestly didn't expect many people to even remember me. I'd rather have an honest welcome than a faux welcome-back any day. :)
Books: they are cool. *nods* I will countenance no disagreements on that front.
Congrats on your book! Nice to see you back--Su and Dio are still one of my favorite pairs, and you're pretty fun to have around. ;-)
Hope you enjoy your stay! *offers ceremonial egg whisk*
Thank you! :) I only did a few missions, so it's kind of flattering to see that I'm remembered well (or at least not lynched on sight). And I'm glad the board tradition of piling new arrivals with freebies remains, too. XD
How much has the PPC changed, do you think? (I'm very junior, only been here a few months. In fact, if this weren't the PPC I probably wouldn't be allowed to be speaking with you.)
Also, congratulations on the book! Can I ask what it's about? And what's it called?
Not from what I can see so far. The yearly badfic-writing session, pelting new arrivals with tenuously-useful objects--I'm not seeing many differences so far. The only real one is that I'm an oldbie and I don't know many of y'all, which is a bit weird. Hey, you kids! Get off my lawn!
Thank you. :) The book is called "Thief of Midnight." It's urban fantasy, though it tends towards horror in some places, and set in Chicago.
Horror? Eep! Is it more "horrible nasty creatures with maggots crawling out of their eyeballs" or "horrible unseen menace that could be anywhere around you"? (I was all set to go read it as soon as it came out, but if it's the second I don't think I can handle it.)
The urban fantasy thing is cool, though. I was actually just writing something on LiveJournal about urban fantasy. It was more about the romantic subgenre, which I doubt is the case, but I'm still curious about whether you've got any tips before I post it.
Don't worry, I think it falls on the action-adventure side of horror. It's been reviewed as horror because it contains bogeymen--who are traditionally monsters that do creepy-ass stuff like snatching children. Also, someone gets chomped in the face by a woman without a face. A friend tells me that face-eating is very horroresque.
I wrote it as urban fantasy, though, so I don't think you should have any reason to be scared. I'm no good at "horrible unseen menace behind you right now"; I'm afraid all my time with the PPC has conditioned me towards the kind of creeping horrors that can be blown up. :D
And I don't write much romantic urban fantasy, but I sure read it. (A friend of mine just turned me on to Kelly Armstrong.) I don't know what you mean by tips--about writing urban fantasy, or writing the essay, or what? It sounds interesting. :)
As long as it's not going to leave me scared to close my eyes in case something teleports into the corner while I'm not looking, I'm interested. Gore is easy.
As for the essay, it's basically a list of rules I think all the Twilight knockoffs should follow in the hope that they would then suck less. I was wondering if you could think of anything that should go on the list. I've got stuff like no changelings, tell us how the protagonist lived before Mr. Supernatural Hottie came into her life, diversify the mythology, extract Mr. Supernatural Hottie's head from his ass don't make the male protagonist a haughty, cold, handsome man who is defrosted by the heroine... stuff like that.
Well, my one cardinal rule for romance is that the characters should exist outside the relationship. I find it's a good exercise (in my admittedly limited experience) to write short scenes, totally separate from the romance itself, focusing on the hero and heroine each alone. Just hero or heroine, no other half, maybe not even any of the supporting cast. It helps to develop their characters. They need to be individuals who fall in love. Two halves of one soul sounds romantic, and it may work in a fantasy context, but it can get really creepy really quickly if the writer doesn't know exactly what they're doing.
And this may be a stylistic choice, but I think first-time writers should probably avoid first-person POV. It just makes it way too easy to turn the romance into a whiny monologue. Third-person singular gives you all the strength of a viewpoint, including the emotional connection, but prevents chronic Twilitis. (Inflammation of the thesaurus. :D)
Celebrian or C*l*br**n?
I'm trying to distinguish between the badfic and the character. Although, I suppose any fic in which Celebrian traumatizes anyone is a badfic by definition... Although probably not as bad as the Legendary Badfic by that name.
I'm rambling, pardon me.
Welcome back! :D
It's been so long that I forgot about censoring it. I meant the story. Proof positive that it's gonna take me some time to get reacquainted with the Board . . . :)
And thank you.
Whassit called? :D I want to read it.
"Thief of Midnight." I posted a bit about it a little further down, under "Addendum." I didn't want to comment-spam people, so I figured I'd put it there and let people look if they wanted to. :)
Welcome back, I guess. I'm relatively new here, and still tryign to make myself known, not easy for someone who prefers to keep to herself.
Also, congrats on actually getting a book published, and I'm a bit curious about it. As a writer-to-be, that's kind of a goal of mine... I just need to come up with a good concept first.
It's always a bit weird in a new group. I know the feeling. :)
And thank you. Regarding the concepts, though, I wouldn't sweat it--you'd be surprised where ideas can turn up. One of my favorite methods is just to play link tag on Wikipedia and see where you wind up.
An oldbie. Makes me kinda self-consious of being a newbie.
*offers wallet* TAKE IT! JUST DON'T HURT ME! D:
Suicide: *takes wallet, starts pawing through it* Paper? You guys use paper for money? What's the point of that?
Diocletian: *takes wallet back, gives it to Aster* Sorry about that. He doesn't see the value of a currency that you can't bury for two thousand years.
Suicide: That's what she said.
Diocletian: . . . ignore him. Newbies don't need to be afraid of oldbies; it just means that the amount of insanity on the board goes up slightly. Sort of like peeing in a swimming pool.
Suicide: Charming metaphor.
Diocletian: TM hasn't written me in three years. Cut me a break.
You don't know me, I joined... in '09 or '08? *shakes brain* Oh, well. Welcome back. I gift thee with a mutated strawberry.
Oooh, mutated strawberry. He can hang out with my sentient microwave. :D
Ah, I remember the old days. Nice to see you back! Don't know if you remember me. Have a panda that eats, shoots and leaves, though.
I see you around WGW fairly often, but I never post there. >>
Sehr gut! Not just me, then. I think I remember you--do you use the same name on there?
And I love that kind of panda. Better get a Kevlar vest during feeding time, though. >_
Neshomeh's fiance here. We met once. Good times.
Anyways, welcome back. Have a tiny, mechanical Sunflower Official. Just don't let him boss you around and send you on tiny, mechanical missions.
Thanks! And yep, I remember you. You were funny as hell. *nods* Good times.
I will use the tiny mechanical Sunflower Official as an effigy to ward off the real one. :D
And congratulations on your book!
Hail and well met. Your missions were pretty damn awesome, and it's fantastic to meet you. *offers a welcome-back gift of a bag of pebbles and a Random Shiny Object*
I hope these serve you well in your literary career! Congratulations on the book! What's the title? I'll have to get hold of it.
Thank'ee kindly! I loved writing for the PPC, and I'm very happy you liked my goofy missions.
As for the book, I posted a reply to the original thread, labeled "Addendum." I didn't want to reply-spam you guys about it. :)
And I will hug him and squeeze him and name him George.
'Cause a couple of you asked, and I didn't want to reply-spam. :)
The book is "Thief of Midnight", and it's urban fantasy/horror set in Chicago. It carries some holdover influences from my PPC days--mainly 1) the sarcasm and 2) the monster hunters drinking on the job. I can't promise it's good, but at least the press is small enough that I doubt anyone who reads it will be writing Sues for it. (Thank you, God.)
http://www.amazon.com/Thief-Midnight-Catherine-Butzen/dp/1933586311/ref=sr11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279115546&sr=8-1
I've got more stuff about it on my DA, too: http://cjbutzemann.deviantart.com/
We now return you to your regularly scheduled board.
…if this is any indication, the odds of it being good go way up.
I posted an excerpt on DA: http://cjbutzemann.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2r4d1k
Thank you, though. I guess if people enjoy it, I'll feel like I did my job. And lord knows I had so much fun in the PPC--it's not hard to see the influence on the mildly insane, drunken monster hunters, is it? :D
*hug* Remind me to let your OFUR character do something interesting - it's still running (very slowly, as Kit has been finishing university and I've been starting it).
And I remember you too! How goes it, cousin?
And as for OFUR--hey, slow is fine. I had to close OFUFF because I just couldn't manage it by myself, I'm afraid. *headshake* It was a casualty of my college education.
Wow, can't believe all the old PPC'ers that are returning these days. Many congratulations on your book being released, and great to see you back around.
Elcalion, most celebratory
Rookie Boarder Sergio Turbo, reporting, sir!
Glad to see that someone from the "old times" is still around.
Ah, almost forgot. Have a gun. Sues are very nasty now.
They've gotten nastier? I didn't even think it was possible.
(Crap, I just attracted the Universal Ironic Overpower, didn't I?)
And thank you. :) I've been following the PPC a bit, even if I technically wasn't/am not a member any more, and it's great to see the sporking tradition being kept up.
Welcome back, o Great Oldbie. I'm Pretzel, writer of Agents Ian Nahinu and Lee Keaton of RC 6237. For your return gift, I present unto you a One-of-a-kind, Special Edition Frying Wok of DOOMtm, as well as some bleepolate chip cookies and a warm blanket.
And hail to thee, agent. Sadly, I am technically in retirement, but I can use the wok to stun any Sues that might come crawling out of my computer.
*jumps around squeeing in a most undignified manner* hS and you back on the Board and the PPC Badfic Game all in the space of a few days! This is the best week EVER! {X D
Muahaha, evil plotting is evil. Progress is being made, but we shall not speak of it here. >.>
Erm, incidentally, I told you that I was going to archive your missions at some point, right? Well, that got done thanks to Tawaki, and they're here: http://plotprotectors.tripod.com/sudiolond/ Also, if you still have anything else saved from your Geocities site--images, interludes, whatever--I can add it, or adapt it, or possibly replicate it as it was.
In short, it's good to see you here again. ^_^
~Neshomeh
WIN.
*steeples fingers* Nothing more shall be said. But the world will tremble.
And ooh, really? Thank you so much! I had no idea there were Google cache versions of the missions; I had them copied, but I never got around to making a new LJ for them. This may be a much better way to do it.
As for supplementary materials, I have a couple of things, but I don't reckon much of it was worth posting. I think I'll stick to character art and missions from now on.
It's good to see you again too. :) I'll probably be mostly lurking, but maybe I can stir up some badfic while I'm here. XD
He's had some computer issues, and a Real Life, and all that. But he's back enough to have started the Badfic Game. {= )
Okay. Just e-mail me anything you want included--Suicide's recruitment, maybe? I think that's still on your LJ, so I can grab that myself... What I could particularly use, though, is an introductory blurb so the landing page isn't just the list of missions. I was gonna steal the first paragraph of the first mission, but I am reluctant because the conditions described therein change over the course of the series. But, however you like, since you're actually around to have a say. {= )
~Neshomeh
Damn real life. Keeps getting in the way of the important stuff! *shakes fist*
As for stuff for the website--actually, I was thinking of tweaking the story of Suicide's recruitment. I wrote it as an exercise a while back, and I'm not happy now with the timeline it sets up. I'm reluctant to retcon it entirely, but I think I need to mess with it a little. Can we consider that one semi-non-canon for now?
I can write you an introductory blurb, no problem. :)
And yessss, the badfic game. Maybe I need to get my head back in the game with a little Dio and Su torture . . . where would a fanbrat think they went to after they disappeared from Subjugations, anyway?
You may or may not remember me (I briefly ran an anti-tentacle society and wondered on the procedure for rescued cephalopods) But I was a bit of a fan.
Anywho, what's new?
Well and fondly. In addition to the anti-tentacle society, you also had what has to be one of my favorite geeky usernames of all time. :) Hail, fellow well (re)met!
I am honored to make your acquaintance. I am further honored to present you with this collection of unpublished novels and a solid platinum spork.
And I will be even more honorably honored to read your novel, when next I visit a bookstore. May I ask the title?
And I'm honored to make your acquaintance as well. I will bear the spork with honor.
As for the novel, a couple of people have asked now, so I'll make a separate post a little further up in the thread. :) Thanks for asking!
Hello! Have a seventeen foot long, multicolored, wool, knit scarf (curly wig not included), and a bag of jelly babies.
In view of you not being a newbie, I'll skip my usual warnings about using it responsibly.
Congratulations about the book!
The way to my heart: you know it. :D
I haven't given these in a while, haven't I?
There's a bunch of newbies like me around who have read your stories and liked them. If we killed you, there'd be no chance of your ever writing anything else!
. . . I remember what agents were like. Fun, but insane. I thought it best to be respectful and approach slowly, without making any signs of aggression or wearing the color lavender. Too many people have itchy flamethrower-trigger fingers. XD
Glad you liked my work, though. Thank you! :)
We miss you too! *glomp*
Very, very, very excellent to see you again, and very psyched about your book coming out! Was it you who had the publishing issues a while back?
Anyway, very cool stuff, looking forward to it, and link, you loon! Link! (Or title!)
One year to get it written, three years to fight tooth and nail with publishers, editors, and the insidious Things that Must Not be Named which lurk in the depths of the industry (also known as agents).
And I will. :)
I think I joined just before you left, because I faintly recall a discussion about something along those lines. Anyway, nice to see you again, even if you probably don't remember me.
Congratulations on your book :)