"....there's fire on the mountain...."

Hey everyone -

I hope you've had a good week. Some of you are probably on Spring break. I (Tiff) am not, but I hope you guys have a great time. I just wanted to drop you all a message to let you know a couple things.

First, chapter 4 of Part ONE of the 'Cannonball Trilogy' is now up. It will be new to you, as nothing in the chapter is from the original story. Also, Chelsi and I had discussed it, and we decided to take down the original "Cannonball," "Broken Road," and "Crash" from the site. Don't panic! We're re-writing them all. We just think this will keep confusion down, and we want the main focus to be on the re-written story.


Second, as I mentioned, Becca's "Feel What I Dream" awards are now back for Spring 2007. If you like us, we'd be happy to be nominated, as I'm sure plenty of other great stories would as well. So I wanted to let you know about that. Nominations opened on MARCH 10, so the time has come.

I hope you all have a great week, and I hope you'll share your thoughts on the latest update (Ch. 4.) in commenting!


Tiff

"....and she says please, watch over me...."

Hey everyone -

Just a quick update to let you know that chapter 3 of 'The Cannonball Trilogy' PART ONE is now up at Last Stop.

Don't forget about Becca's 'FEEL WHAT I DREAM' awards.

And, drop us a line to let us know what you think of the chapter.

"....when you can't get through it, listen to it...."

Remember Becca's "Feel What I Dream Awards?" Well, great news! They're back!

That's right, another hanfic awards site has emerged from its hiatus.

You might remember that "Cannonball" and "Broken Road" picked up some pretty cool awards in the past, thanks to you guys. And now, with the re-write in progress, this is your way to tell us whether or not you like what we're doing, and what you're reading.

The "FWID" Awards schedule is as follows:
March 10 - Nominations Begin
April 13 - Nominations End
April 21 - Voting Begins
May 26 - Voting Engs
June 9 - Winners Announced/Awards Posted


So, if you like what you've been reading head over to Becca's site and take a look at the categories that are up. And if you love us, or like us just a liiiiiittle, feel free to nominate us when the time comes. We'd like it....a lot. (Haha.)

Visit the "Feel What I Dream" Awards - Spring '07 Site.

Update coming to "The Cannonball Trilogy" this weekend! We've been writing a lot, and the plot is *so* much different than it was before. We've added a couple twists (yes, twists, we love those, haha) that we think you'll love.

Have a great week loves.
Tiff & Chelsi

"....hey stranger...."

Hey everybody. Just a quick note to let you all know that Chelsi and I both really appreciate you taking the time to comment on chapter one last week, and we hope you'll comment on two this week. Yes, chapter two of PART ONE of "The Cannonball Trilogy" is now up at Last Stop. You'll find a link over on the right.

So read it, and drop back by and let us know what you think. And if you're confused and thinking you've read this story before, you have but now we're re-writing it. You'll be able to find out all about that at the site as well.

Looking forward to hearing from you all.

- Tiff

"....I don't wanna lose you slowly...."

Hopefully, by now, you haven't all forgotten us. (Haha.) But today, we have exciting news!

Finally, we're posting CHAPTER ONE of PART ONE of "The Cannonball Trilogy." That's right, the re-write posting has begun. (That's right, get excited! LOL.)

We never anticipated it would take this long, but we're finally in. We hope to post a new chapter each week, so keep your fingers crossed.

Also, be sure to check out the 'Authors' Note' to prevent confusion.

Feel free/please drop us a comment after you read. Let us know what you think.

"....the darkness was electric...."

Hey all, Tiff here. I upgraded our blogger, and I thought I'd drop you all a line as well. If you're on the notify list and haven't switched to the yahoo group yet, we really wish you would. (link to switch.)

On that note, I wanted to let you know that the re-write is well under way. We're working on it, and hope/plan to have the first bit up within the next two weeks. Insanely enough, our schedules are polar opposites, and our time is stretched to the limit, but we're attempting to make it work.

And, I wanted to let you all know about some Hanfic Awards that are out there. The awards are The Ugly Truth awards, and they have all kinds of categories, etc.

I'm not begging you all to nom us, because well, we need rewrites, but if you'd feel inclined, that's the linkage. I hope you all are having a good week, and are staying warm!

"....like she's setting herself up for disaster...."

I can't believe it's been two years since Chelsi and I wrote "Cannonball." That's a long time and so much has changed between then and now.

I just wanted to update you guys and let you know that we're working on a re-write of the "Cannonball" to let you all know. We're keeping the stories in tact, but we're working out the technicalities, the things that don't make sense, the things that are super unrealistic, all that. Two years later we can see the inconsistencies, and well, they scream at us. Haha. So they have to be fixed.

So we're working on it, and we hope to have the re-writing beginning on LS within the next month.

We hope you have a safe and happy New Year. Be careful kids.

....Ngi Ne Themba....

"Ngi Ne Themba" means, "I find hope" in Zulu.

"Great Divide" - by Hanson





See the E-Card, Watch The Video, Buy The Song

* All money goes to benefit the Perinatal HIV Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, South Africa.*

",,,,watch the world around us live & die...."

Hey guys.

Geez, you have no idea how much I miss writing. (And I miss you all too!) I guess I'm not really telling you all anything substantial, other than I miss it, a lot. I mean, I've written some semi-out there, cryptic blogs on my myspace, and I write regularly for Girls Talkin' Smack and RyanStarFans.com , but it's not the same as writing hanfic. Not at all. Nope. Not.

Here's the thing, and I know you're tired of our crap excuses, dude, me too. Chelsi and I are both in school, which is keeping us pretty busy. Chelsi shares her computer with her brother, and so she's only on some nights, and it seems in those nights, we can't force inspiration. It sucks. But I swear, we're going to give it a serious go.

And, I know I said I wasn't going to write more solo hanfic, which is why I left my solo site....buttttttt.....I'm seriously, seriously considering it. What would you all think about that? No promises, it's something I'm batting around in my mind right now.... Comments on that idea?

Song of the moment: "We Might Fall" by Ryan Star

"maybe you and me are exactly what we need"

Hey guys! I just posted chapter three of Shed My Skin for you to read. I'm super excited about this story still, so I appreciate the feedback.

Also, in case you were wondering: yes, Tiffany and I are still working on the next story. I sort of feel like Hanson "we're working, and you'll get it soon" but it takes forever. I feel bad, but I think we finally found our track. And we got some recent inspiration, which is more than just a little awesome.

Also, Tiffany linked Shed My Skin on the main Last Stop page, so if you don't know the direct link, you can go there and get it.

So go read and be merry. =)

"don't be deceived, anything's possible if you just believe"

Chelsi here! I come bearing good (at least I hope you think it's good) news!

There is a new story being posted at Last Stop! Sadly, it's not a collaborative fic between Tiffany and I, though that is NOT being put aside. We are still trying to work on it. But time doesn't come cheap these days, and trying to get both of us together at the right time and feeling like writing is a feat in itself. So I'd been working on this story and the idea occured to me to post it on LS for you guys. I ran the idea by Tiffany, she liked it, and so I did it!

The story is called "Shed My Skin" and it features Zac, and right now I'm addicted to working on it and thinking about it and thinking about working on it. So, that is a good thing for you. Like I said on the site, feedback is what will keep me going. So if you like it, please let me know.

As of now, the story is not directly linked on the site. Tiffany uses pagebuilder, and I didn't want to mess with any of her pre-made pages. So, for now, you'll have to just go directly to the story from this link: www.geocities.com/fictionstop/sms/smsindex.html until I can get Tiffany to link it on the site.

I hope you guys enjoy it. I apologize for it taking this long to get something up, but hopefully you'll forgive us. =)

.:letters to ryan:.

Hey guys-

Tiffany and Chelsi here. Just wanting to let you guys know what happened to us.... We haven't died, we're still alive. We're still breathing, though slowly drowning under life and home work. At least one of us is. (Tiffany's in grad school, not drowning as quickly yet, haha.)

So what happened to us? You thought we had so many cool ideas that we were excited to share with you, didn't you? Well, when we finished Crash, we *were* so excited. We had all these ideas for upcoming stories and while we were a little sad by finishing with those characters, we had so much hope and ideas for future characters. But we guess (excuse the pun) we had a little crash of our own.

And somewhere along the way, we realized the story we were working on wasn't quite going like it was supposed to be going. And we got frustrated and started on a different story, which we'd also had in our minds for many months. So we started focusing on that instead of the original. And for a while, we were incredibly excited about that one too.

And then our inspiration dried up completely and our motivation pretty much ended. We wanted to write. We wanted to so bad. It just wasn't happening fast enough. Those two stories that we've worked on since we finished "Crash" have sat in folders, untouched, for weeks (maybe months) at a time. Sometimes they crossed our minds, but we could never bring ourselves to open them. And if we did open them, we couldn't find the right words, the right scenes, the right anything. We were drawing complete blanks.

The lack of inspiration killed us both. Right now (as in the past couple of weeks) we both started college again. And interestingly enough, it has spurred my [Chelsi's] inspiration. Procrastination always does, I suppose. But! That's not a bad thing, necessarily. Because that means that every free moment (aka - every moment I feel like ignoring that stack of homework) I will be working on something. We've recently got our minds set back on the second story that I told you about, but can't really tell you about (she would have my head). [That's right! Haha.] I don't want to tell you that we'll start posting it in a week, or a month, or even a year. Inspiration comes and goes. Motivation goes and comes. And life gets in the way sometimes.

But writing is what we are dying to do. It's what we always go back to in the end. So have no fear. We have not died, and we're not giving up. Like I said the other night, we just got stuck in a Grand Canyon sized rut.


That was Chelsi - Tiff here.

I feel bad that it's taken so long. The entire summer has gone by, but truth is, I wasn't on the computer very much this summer, and I got involved in so many different things, that I couldn't be. But now that school's back on, and I have a reason to be on the computer constantly, Chelsi and I are coming up with a plan. And I have to say one of the two stories we're working on is perhaps the most controversial hanfic I've ever seen (and no, there's no incest.) So we promise we're going to have some stuff for you all really soon [and not Hanson soon.] We hope you're still out there.


And, if you're on LJ, I have a new community I created called .:letters to ryan:. It's a music community, providing you with a soundtrack to your life, so feel free to join.






But we're writing, we promise. We hope you'll hang in there just a bit longer.

"...our two worlds collided late last night..."

Helllloooooo everybody! Chelsi here. Tiffany is on vacation for two weeks. Can we say lucky duck? LUCKY DUCK. Anyway, she put me in charge of updating you guys on what we've been doing/are doing/going to do.

Tiffany is (should be) on the beach right now, writing some more short stories. Hey, if that's where the inspiration comes from, then let it flow. So, when she gets back she'll (hopefully) have some of those she can post. I'm planning on writing more shorts too, if only I could get the motivation to work on those rather than other things. I digress.

More importantly are the long stories. We have two right now, and after a lot of deliberation, we decided to put one on the back burner, as the inspiration we had for it in the beginning, had pretty much disappeared. We're still really excited about it and the concept though. We just decided that it's a story for another season. =)

The other story that we're working on, we're really excited about. It's a story about survival, and doing all you can to make it. Tiffany is a butt and won't let me tell you much about it, but I will say that we have big ideas for it, and we know what's going to happen in the beginning, the middle, and the end. Which makes it a hell of a lot easier to write, if you know what I mean. So, we're working on that right now and, hopefully, we will be able to start posting that soon. Though, I feel like Hanson when I say that, because I honestly have no idea when 'soon' is. So I apologize.

So, that's where we're at. I hate to be all like "update!" and then have nothing to update. So, I may possibly write a short this week and send it through the yahoo group. So if you haven't signed up for that, you should go ahead and do it!

Oh, the one thing that she wanted me to tell you guys, I nearly forgot! This is why you don't leave me in charge of things. Becca is doing another season of the Feel What I Dream Awards. Those are here: http://fwid.aloneinthepretense.org./ Nominations begin on July 29....so go vote for your favorite stories. I know the hanfic world is a little dry right now, what with the current issues involving hanson.net, and other factors. So it's especially important now to show support for your favorite authors who keep on trucking.

For now, that's all I got. Stay tuned...I'll keep you in the know.

"....I've lost my mind waiting on you...."

Hey everyone.

Can you believe it's already July? That's insane! You probably noticed that the blog and Last Stop have a new look. Time for a change. Haha.

I just posted five new short hanfics by Chelsi, and one that we co-wrote. You'll recognize some of the characters, so check those out. There are more to come.

And, we're working on two long stories, so we hope you'll stick with us.

Remember to join the Yahoo group if you haven't already, and you'll get an e-mail when we update. We're not using Notify List anymore. It's too unpredictable.

Thanks so much for reading.

Rock on,
Tiff

The Future of Hanfic [RANT]

Warning: This is a rant.

So, I haven't actually posted on h.net in about a year, and I haven't frequented the site in over a year. I have logged on from time to time out of boredom, or to check things out, but it is no longer a place I regularly visit. That aside, Chelsi usually keeps me informed with the goings-on at the site. And, oddly enough, I still pay to be a member there.

Within the last few weeks, apparently there was a ban set on h.net against the mention or discussion of fanfiction.

Lord knows why someone thought this was a good idea. It goes along with the other threat that basically read that fans weren't to be in the same building as I, T, Z, or anyone connected to them, even if that's not what they did mean.

I'm not sure what they are thinking with these rules really, but I could care less. Because they aren't happy with the fiction doesn't mean I'm not going to write it. If they are paying my bills, we'll talk, but as long as I'm paying part of theirs, I'll do as I please.

Yes, some fanfic is weird, albeit, slightly psychotic. It's racy at times, and depicts situations which most wouldn't like to experience, but most authors are dilligent to point out that it is indeed fiction, is not true in any way, shape or form, etc. And, many times, the names are the only things in common with the real people in question. I know in my personal writing experiences, I don't think I, T, or Z necessarily act or behave in any way in which the characters do. I don't care about that, it's creative liberty, artistry, and it's a free country and that's allowed.

This just aggravated me, because fic has been around as long as they have. In fact, hanfic writers were pioneers in the fanfiction writing phenomenon. And, over the years, the number of people writing, particularly writing good fiction has declined significantly.

They are trying to control things of which they have no control, and it is laughable that they should even attempt to do it. In a time when they are recording a new album, their focus should be on positive relations with their existing fanbase rather than alienating more of them. Almost ten years in, if people haven't jumped on this wagon yet, it isn't likely they will with this new album.

Don't get me wrong, I still like the band, but these days, I'm only here for the music. And the disenchantment is setting in.

In other news..... Chelsi and I are still working on the upcoming story.

Would you all like some short stories in the mean time?

Comment with your thoughts, whatever.

Rock on,
Tiff

...do you still believe...?

Hello there, strangers.

Tiff here. I come bearing updates.....which include:

Loads of deleted scenes, the original ending of "Crash," and my final thoughts on the story. Once Chelsi decides to send me her final thoughts, I'll be posting those too, but it hasn't quite happened just yet.

And, we've moved from Notify List to Yahoo groups, which is how we'll be sending our updates from here on out, because like I said in the invite message, Notify List sucks eggs. If you were a member of the NL, you got an invite for the Yahoo group, so accept it. LOL. If you didn't get it, check your spam folders, kids.

Last but not least, voting for the spring "Feel What I Dream" awards is going on at Becca's site, (link to the right) - Chelsi and I are nommed for "Best Author Collaboration," among others, so be sure to check those out, and drop us a vote, or not....but we'd appreciate it if you did.

That's all for now. Behave yourselves.

ETA: Chelsi pointed out that we're also nominated for:

"Most likely to become a famous author" (*huge hugs on that!*)
"Story That Everyone Needs To Read"
and
"Best Hanfic Site" for Last Stop.

You guys rock. :) We appreciate votes if you like us. :)

Don't abandon the ship, you'll never know what it could've been....

Hey everyone.... I'm not sure what's up with the Notify List lately, but I've sent out two messages through NL in the past two weeks, and Chelsi and I didn't receive either. So I don't know if you all got them or not.

Just a heads up:

NOMINATIONS CLOSE SATURDAY, APRIL 22 for the "FEEL WHAT I DREAM AWARDS"
Spring edition.

So, if you liked "Crash" or any other stories. Hop over and nominate them.

http://fwid.aloneinthepretense.org

NL Members, please check your e-mail that you signed up with.

No one will ever compare, will ever be better than you....

Wow.

What a long and weird (but fun) trip it's been, kids.

Okay, before I go into a bunch of stuff, please read the story before you read the comments people leave, (because we know you will leave us comments, because you're awesome like that,) otherwise, lots of stuff is just going to be very confusing for you.

And, we'd also recommend checking out the uh, music, you know the drill.

That said, Tiff here. Your slave to the weekly updates for over a year now. A LONG time. LOL. Chelsi and I are really glad you all have taken this trip with us into the lives of these characters. So, as you might guess, the final two chapters, 14 & 15 of "Crash" are now up at Last Stop.

They're waiting on you, RIGHT now.

That's right. RIGHT NOW.

That's right, the "Cannonball" trilogy is complete. And oh yeah, after you check those out, be sure you read the final words too. *wink*

And please, if you feel inclined, go ahead and nominate us at the "Feel What I Dream Awards," the link is over there ---------> .

We also hope you'll comment, and take time to e-mail us a review of the story, to be posted.
*nods and grins*

Rock on,
Tiff

Chelsi says: Here it is. The end of a series. Is it everything you wanted? Is it everything you thought it would be? Tell us. We want to know your thoughts.

*Tiffany nods in agreement*

So let it fly.

"It's almost over...."

And once again, Tiff here, doing what we do best. That's right folks, update time. Before I get to that, a couple things.

Feel free to NOMINATE us for the FEEL WHAT I DREAM awards,
if you should feel so inclined, and you think "Crash" is good and all of that stuff.

Second, after today's update we have exactly 26 typed pages remaining to post. Eeeep. I had NO idea we were this close to finishing things up. Wow. That said, chances are, next week the story will end.

But...... Chelsi and I have both been lazy, and we haven't written our reflections, and I haven't gotten the extra stuff together yet. LOL. So, chances are, that won't happen for a couple weeks after the story ends.

And.....we're in a pause with our current project, which is mostly my fault, because I got stuck and held us up for nearly a week. LOL. So that's going to be a while coming too. But you guys are probably tired of us anyway, right?


And, one more thing. On a personal note, I've made a decision today. For now, I won't be continuing writing my personal hanfic (as in my solo stories, I'm still writing with Chelsi, don't panic.) I've worked on "Fatalistic" for a couple years now, and I've never had the time to actually get it going, and as of now, I don't have the energy, time, and I do feel I need to focus my creative energies elsewhere. I actually think I'll take my Last One Waiting site down, but I'll leave a redirect to Last Stop, with my solo stories. (That I think suck, LOL.) But I'll continue to do the blog, myspace, and livejournal.

Sometimes, change is a good thing, and I do totally appreciate those of you who have supported my solo stories for the past few years. I hope you'll continue to read my efforts with Chelsi. :)


All that mumbo jumbo, and now I get to what you care about. Chapters 12 and 13 of "Crash" are up on Last Stop.

PLEASE COMMENT PEOPLE. :)

....and c a n n o n b a l l into the water....

S U R P R I S E !

'Tis Monday, and Chelsi and I thought you guys might enjoy a SURPRISE update, that is NOT part of the two chapters I'll post later this week. That's right, this is a goody post. Yep.

Maybe I scared ya'll with my randomness in the last blog, because we've only received three comments, and we know at LEAST twelve of you read this story. LOL. That makes us sad....like maybe you decided you didn't love us anymore.

So please, please, please, please comment on this chapter and the two before it. We really like to know if you all think we're totally insane, if you hate what we did (our characters,) or love it. Because see, we're in the "Cannonball" bubble, so we think all of it's good, and that might not be true. So you've got to tell us!

And did fewer comment because they weren't chapters that focus around Taylor? I'm just wondering, because we thought maybe that was it..... His character is captivating, isn't it? And trust me when I say, as we wrote him, he did exactly as he wanted, we had no control. LOL.

Good times.

Okay so, now you have a surprise update,
chapter 11 of "Crash" is up at Last Stop.
PLEASE COMMENT.
*big grin*

We love you if you do. ;)