Mafia Princess...Good news!!

Mafia Princess was just featured on Ms. Swan's Bookstore Blog, recommended by Prachi! Thank you so much! Check out the review on the website...http://swansbookstore.blogspot.com/2013/12/mafia-princess-by-tufano79.html. Also, look at the pretty new banner that Mandy created for the story...Thanks to you, too!

Rantin' and Ravin...

FYI ~ For everyone who follows me on FFn. If you’ve noticed, I’ve pulled all of my stories, save for the first chapter for the remaining stories. I will keep them up there, because I do not want to lose the reviews, or whatnot. I will not be updating on FFn at least in the foreseeable future (except to post this message as an author’s note). They removed two stories…A Prescription for Love and A Ilha do Amor…both of which were ‘award-winning’ because of their douchetastic reasons. 

I will be posting on TWCS, AO3 and FictionPad. All of my stories are currently on there in their entirety, unedited and filled with smut. 

To say I’m pissed is an understatement. A warning would have been appreciated so I could have pulled it on my own accord, not losing the reviews and followers. I will post COMPLETED fics in the files as PDFs or EPUBs. If you can’t access them, PM me and I’ll send them to you via email. However, it would mean more to me if you find them on one of the other sites…review and leave them love. Please?

Also, there’s another ban on FFn starting tonight and goes through the weekend. If you’re interested, ban it with me…

Hugs ,

Josie

Excitement!!!

So, earlier today, I received a PM from someone in the fandom (Noreia) on my FF.net profile. One of my stories was nominated for an award. A Ilha do Amor has been nominated for an Energizer WIP Award for Most Promising Twilight Fanfiction ~ Canon Pairing.

Energizer WIP Awards

I was completely flummoxed when I received this notification, not to mention humbled and excited beyond all recognition! I enjoy writing immensely. I'm happy that so many people care about the characters that I create (okay, borrow).

If you want to vote for A Ilha do Amor, voting starts on July 13th and continues until July 20th on the aforementioned website. I'd love it if you could vote for A Ilha do Amor. Please and thank you!!!

Public Service Announcement

Hey all...

I hope you are all doing well. Things are starting to pick up on my end, though. I mean, really, really, REALLY pick up. In real life, that is.

Anyhow, in addition to my job as a teacher, I've also been asked by 30 students to accompany them for solo/ensemble contest. The students play their instruments or sing while I play the piano underneath. That means I have 30 pieces of music that I need to have learned by the last weekend in February.

Can I get a drink yet? HA!

PLUS, I've been asked by one of the high school choral directors to be one of the assistant musical directors for their production of Singing in the Rain. I'm over the moon excited about this but slightly stressed at the sheer amount of work that's entailed. As far as I've been told, I'm responsible for teaching all of the vocal parts, obtaining props and writing the program. I think? It's good money, but a ton of work and a lot of extra time at school.

I've got those two things. On top of that, I'm moving on March 25th into a condo. (Go me! I'm a homeowner! WOOT! WOOT!) Zero time to pack though.

Long story short, my time will be at  premium until the end of April. I am still planning on updating my stories but you won't get as many updates as you're accustomed to from me. I'm hoping I'll have updates for you every two weeks. If I'm lucky...

Yeah...this picture kind of describes how I'm feeling right now...

Oh My!

Hey all...

I just notification that two of my stories are up for 'Top Ten Completed Fics in August' on the TwiFanfictionRecs website.

Please vote for my two stories... Voting is open until October 1st.

Figure Eight ~ Bella Swan is a nationally ranked paired skater with Jacob Black. Edward Masen is beautiful British skater paired with Tanya. However, both of their partners fall into hard times. These two try to navigate their way through life, both on and off the ice. 

Finding Love Through Music ~ Edward is a choral director, reeling from his recent divorce from his wife, Jessica. His world is filled with his daughter, Emma, his music and his job. Bella is an English teacher, running from her past and wary of love. ExB, AH, AU

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN - PART 2 - Teaser Trailer #2

Letter to ff.net

Okay, yeah...I grew a spine...

Dear Fanfiction,
I am very concerned about the purging of stories you have undertaken recently. You have done this without warning to writers and without notifying members of your site that there would be a tightening of policy. I believe this is a reaction to a vocal minority that call themselves the Literate Union or LawlClan Critic Group, or something like that.

I have many loyal readers who have pushed my total hit rate to 1.5 million hits. Each of those hits is a chance for your site to earn some advertising revenue. Do the above groups write fanfic? Do they earn income for your site? Somehow I doubt it.

My stories are rated M because I rate most of my stories M and M ratings ARE allowed on your site. This is a shotgun blast from someone who can barely write and clearly cannot read. At the very least in their cut and paste response, they could have turned on spellcheck and grammar check. This person presumes to tell me that my writing is below par.

I truly hope that you are not taking their complaints seriously.

These people are expecting you to protect their children, and you can't. Access to images that are pornographic on the internet is remarkably easy. The children of today are digital natives; they understand this world and they can pretty much get around age restrictions or any other limitations on websites. If they are reading fanfiction at least they are reading. It is the choice of such complainers to block certain sites in their own home if they wish to. They should not presume to parent my children.

Nor is the fanfiction site a parent.

You are losing members on a daily basis. The site has had problems for more than a year now with issues in logging in, posting reviews and disappearing content. Each time you do not admit that you ARE having issues. You do not respond to complaints from members. Members are lucky to get a one word response. You post nothing on your home page saying that you are fixing it or that you are even aware of the issue. You respond to clearly wrong complaints and change the names of characters and yet do not fix other issues. You delete people's profiles on the basis of anonymous complaints.

Now you are deleting stories and removing profiles with no warning and no message to the members to make sure they have time to back-up a copy. Nor do you give them a warning or an opportunity to fix the issue.

This is poor business practice.

If there is one thing the recent popularity of 'Fifty shades of grey' has shown, it is that fanfiction can be a force for change. You could have ridden on EL James' coat-tails to greater success. You could have said loud and long that it was YOUR site that published her first as snowqueensicedragon. You could have attracted many, many new readers to the site.

But you didn't.

And now you are in effect, book burning. Censorship and freedom of speech are our constitutional rights. Do not let a minority of small-minded humans ruin what is an escape from reality, a place to relax and bond over literature. 

Shame on you, fanfiction.

Yours, 

Josephine Beckmann

Voting Open

So, I got some good news on Wednesday. (Re: check out Holy Crap! post). A Nerd Story of Love is up for Best Romance in the Twilight Eclipse Awards. Voting is now open and I'm shamelessly asking for some votes. It is amazing that I was even nominated, but hell, if I won? I'd shit my pants. Okay, not really, but I'm just saying.

Twilight Eclipse Voting

Holy Crap!

I just found out that I got nominated for two awards! I'm so incredibly shocked, humbled and squealing like a crazed maniac. *Channeling my inner pixie, you know?* Thank you to those of you who nominated me. I never even imagined being nominated or even considered. So, thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm up for Best Romance for A Nerd Story of Love in the Twilight Eclipse Awards:

Twilight Eclipse Awards
And Best Edward for The Geek's Guide to Parenthood :

Wordsmith Awards

Again, thank you, so much for reading the ramblings from my brain and yeah! I love all of you! Hugs!