Breaking Dawn Part 2 Movie experience

I went to see the TWS marathon starting at noon on Thursday 15 November 2012. The line started forming about 9am. I got there closer to 10am. Chatted with folks standing or sitting around in the line. Had my picture taken in front of the BD2 stand up display in the theatre lobby. I wore my Twilight Mom workout slacks, TWM necklace, silver wolf earrings and BD1 T-shirt and silk thermals to keep warm - really glad I did, they were needed.

They started letting us into theatre about 1045hr. We got pink wrist bands and a nice lanyard as we went in. The lanyard had a placard with TWS Marathon BD2 15 Nov 2012 on one side and small images of all the movie posters on the other. Nice. I found a seat in very back row in corner next to projection outcrop, so could stand up if necessary during film. They did not check bags to confiscate outside food.

The same “First Look” was shown before each movie – boring after the first time.

Shown before each film was a short clip of Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone and Elizabeth Reaser talking about their Twilight experiences associated with each film. Nikki was really intense, Jackson really laid back, Liz the ‘interviewer’.

There was about 15 minutes between end of credits and start of “First Look” which gave us about 30 minutes between films.

I had a good time, chatting with neighbors off/on between films and just enjoying the films again. It was nice to see all on the big screen for one last time. There was about 45 minutes between BD1 and BD 2 – previews before BD2 started at 2200hrs which did not include The Host, did include The Hobbit and Mortal Instruments.

If you have not yet seen the movie and want to remain spoiler free, read no further. If you have seen it and really enjoyed and liked it and don’t want even a sprinkle of rain on your happy parade, read no further. I have already been hit up side of head figuratively for sharing why I have a different opinion when it wasn’t wanted. I hope my apology for that sharing will be accepted. From the comments that I’ve read on Twilight Lexicon about the movie, my opinion is a very small minority opinion.

Details about the movie and comparison to the book, some good, some not so good. My general disappointment level is decreasing as time passes. Posted today, Monday 19 Nov, on Fanfiction.net is a story that gives an acceptable explanation for movie/book reconciliation that has further decreased my disappointment level  by Camilla10 http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8716970/1/Seeing-the-Wolves.

BD2 movie was good. I enjoyed it overall. The special effects were good; young Renesmee maybe was a little strange. Bella’s first hunt was terrific. The difference between book and movie is acceptable for better visual effect. Her meeting Renesmee the first time was good. The differences between book and movie again are acceptable for the visual effect – her dragging Jacob out by neck almost better than book.

The trip to cottage and vampire sex was well done.

The scene where Jacob reveals his secret to Charlie was ok. Why have the wolf snarling as appear? Yes, anger is the emotion that triggers the shape shifting, but Jacob was suppose to be very controlled. Eventually they did have the Jacob-wolf lay down at Charlie’s feet.

The scene teaching Bella to appear more human like was good. Edward remarked about Bella feeling like hot poker iron down her throat to Jacob. I don’t recall seeing his remorse at putting Belle in pain with Charlie’s visit. Then Charlie’s visit – Big mistake in movie was having everyone abandon Bella while visit with Charlie alone. Gross over confidence in her control. If her thirst had overcome her, no one would have gotten to her in time. Alice would not have had warning to help prevent disaster. In a Twilight Lexicon review it is stated that she couldn’t think of things missing from book to movie. How could she not remember how painful and how nervous Bella was and how supportive her Cullen family was by staying there during her visit with Charlie? Instead they discount her nervousness and show their support by leaving her alone like Edward did in New Moon? Would it have been so difficult to have had Edward at least stay with her?

This scene threw me out of the ‘suspend disbelief for movie’ mode and brought back all the skepticism I had about this movie and the battle scene resolution, still to come. For those that have only seen the movies, this is likely not a big deal as Bella’s concern about seeing Charlie was not expressed in movie.

The arm wrestling scene was good. Missed Renesmee being there and laughing. Bella seeing herself in sun first time was ok. Would have liked it to been closer to book with her holding Renesmee and standing next to Edward as he sparkles too – missed that smoldering gaze between them. 

It took Bella a while after Alice and Jasper left to find the second message Alice left specifically for her. The J Jenks scene was good and the difference was acceptable.

I did not like Edward, Bella, Jacob and Renesmee going to Alaska.  No explanation was given as to why they left to get the Denali clan. Who was home to welcome other visitors and nomads? Scene was well done, just could have been done at the Cullen home to be closer to book and even make sense within context of movie.

Benjamin making water dance was nice. You could tell that there was some tension already between Amun and Benjamin. Showing Zafrina’s power was good. Kate’s showing Garrett her power was great. Alister’s comments were well placed.

Our first look of the Romanians was different from book and kind of fun. It could have happened as that scene in movie takes place before they show up in book. Vlad and Stef were part of the great comedic relief in the movie. Jacob was also part of comedic relief with some really good snarky lines.

Loved the ‘Redcoats are coming. Redcoats are coming’ line from Garrett.

Liked the Romanians saying the Volturi will not give up.

The way they get Charlie out of the area was nice and maybe better than the book.

The scene where Bella lowers her shield to Edward did not take place until Springtime in the movie, kind of a too long delay. It was very nicely done as a tribute to all the films. Seeing all the movies together noticed it was also done while Bella burned. Taking place in the meadow was a nice way to bring back to beginning and the dream that started it all.

Now for the Cullen / Volturi confrontation. The cover of BD is a chess board with a red pawn and white queen – representing Bella’s journey. The cover and then Alice using the Merchant of Venice book as note paper foreshadow the fact that the confrontation is going to be between two mind readers and likely more courtroom drama than physical battle. Yes, there is a statement from Edward about how the battle would have gone if there had been a physical battle in the post confrontation wrap up, so the battle in the movie is not out of line with the book.

I was very disappointed in the book to movie reconciliation that TwilightLexicon had reported fit and was satisfactory. Those comments raised my hopes up that it would be ok. It wasn’t. My expectation had farther to fall after being raised, making the disappointment greater. In New Moon movie Alice states that she can’t see the wolves. Yet in BD2 the battle is her vision that she shares with Aro. The battle shows the wolves fighting and Jacob taking off with Renesmee, who she can’t see either though that is not stated in the movies that I recall. Jacob even fights and destroys a vampire chasing him with Renesmee on his back.  All this is Alice’s vision. NO! NO! NO!  Did everyone conveniently forget that Alice cannot see the wolves and Renesmee? Only saving grace was after the Bella / Charlie alone scene I was already out of the ‘suspend disbelief for movie’ mode.

If they had only shown the vampire on vampire fights, that would have been acceptable for Alice’s vision. If they had shown the battle as someone’s nightmare or fearful thoughts, that would have been acceptable. If I can come up with those ideas, how is it that the much more creative people involved in making the movie couldn’t? If they did, then why did they not go that route instead of the very wrong Alice vision? Easy and convenient and less expensive?  Why could SM, BC, or MR not have provided Camilla's acceptable explanation as part of the movie?  Thank you Camilla!

Characters die in her vision on both sides. Volturi – all the big wigs. Cullens - one gasp surprise starts it all and lots after. It was well done. Just the wrong reconciliation!

Bella’s shield effect was nicely done, but it was not played as the important factor that it was in the book C/V confrontation resolution. Instead it was Alice’s vision that saves the day and gives Aro reason to retreat, Alice becomes the queen not Bella. So not right! And Alice in the movie knows it…I’d like to wipe the smug smile off of her face at the end – and I like the Alice character and Ashley Greene playing her.

Overall I enjoyed it. Overall I liked it. Still I am very disappointed in it. The parts that are wrong are big parts of the book saga and an important part of Bella’s journey. Maybe they are not so important or maybe they fit and make sense for someone that has not read the books. I know that books are not going to translate to movie well. I accept that and all the changes made in the previous TWS movies. For me these two scenes are too big and too important to the overall saga; and could have been done to fit the book more closely without lot of effort.

It could have been worse. The battle could have been real and there could have been real character death during that or some other time. But it could have been better so easily. For me the movies ended on a flat note, not a satisfactory note at all.

In seeing all the movies together, I was reminded there was a fight in NM movie that  wasn’t in the book, the fight in Eclipse movie between Edward and Victoria went way different than what was in the book, there was a fight in BD1 that wasn’t in the book. Why all those fight scenes? To satisfy Hollywood box office needs? At least they were not a major part of movie and did not change Bella’s journey as the battle being Alice’s vision did in BD2.

As stated earlier, my level of disappointment is decreasing as time passes. I think that with these major changes this second part will remain my least favorite of the movies. It would be nice to get an answer from Stephenie Meyer and / or Bill Condon as to why they went with Alice’s vision.

The actual ending of the movie and the credits were a wonderful way to wrap up the TWS movies. 

BD 2 Climax / Ending Controversy

Breaking Dawn Part 2 Movie is getting closer, less than 50 days as I write this. We've seen the trailers and some stills and heard/read interviews with the actors, director, author, screenwriter. There are two issues that have generated some buzz.  The climax confrontation with the Volturi and the ending of the movie. 

In the trailers it looks like there is an actual battle between the Cullen side and the Volturi guard. This did not happen in the book. Some people wanted a physical battle in the book and felt let down by how it played out as a mind game / court room drama. It still amazes me that people expected something different with the 'battle' between two mind readers and a chess board on the cover. So what happens in the movie? A big change from the book? 

We've been told that Ms Meyer approved the changed ending. And therein lies the key - ending, not climax. I admit it took a couple of readings of the interviews for that difference to sink in. Before it did I did submit some not nice comments, that were not posted by a couple of web sites. Thank you for that. 

It has been suggested that the battle is a vision of Alice. But there are wolves in it and Alice can't see the wolves. It has been suggested that it is a dream or nightmare of someone. That could be Renesmee or one of the wolves, most likely Jacob or possible but less likely a 'day dream' of a vampire. 

It hasn't been suggested that I've read, but another possibility occurs to me - it could be campfire 'story telling'. We have stills of the Cullens and friends around a campfire waiting for the Volturi to arrive and likely telling stories and / or planning strategy. Bill Condon could have chosen to have that presented visually along with a voice over talking about it.

One of the things missing from the 'battle' in the trailers is Bella's gift of shielding. That did not manifest itself fully until the actual confrontation. So no one dreaming or talking about the 'battle' beforehand would have that information to put into the action. That was another piece that calmed my fears about the 'big change' from the book. I am still concerned, but hoping that one of these two possibilities is how it is handled. 

That brings us to the part that Ms Meyer has approved of - the ending. The book ends with Bella lifting her shield so that Edward can read her thoughts and she goes through some highlights of their time together. A nice montage from the earlier movies would be a good way to present this. But it has been said that the ending is expanded, an added scene. Hints lead to possibility of some future scenes of Renesmee and Jacob; maybe what Bella and Edward think may happen or what Jacob hopes will happen. That was done briefly when Jacob imprinted on Renesmee in BD P1. That would leave things open for a possible next installment being R&J's story. This does not bother me. Don't forget to stay through the credits for whatever scene is presented there. 

I have decided to at least find out where and when and how much the marathon will be locally. Tickets go on sell in couple of days. Twilight Lexicon will be having their Breaking Dawn P2 event in Tennessee. There are so far two web sites doing 'win tickets to premiere', I've entered both, info and links on TL. There are special edition of magazines coming out. A new BDP2 movie cover of paperback is out. The other licensee's will be providing lots of other TWS and BDP2 items to buy. Things to look forward to while we wait for the movie release date. Things to do while waiting -- read fan fiction, reread the books, watch the DVD extras or watch the movies if not going to the marathon. Until then we are at 48 days and counting.   

Ads on site

The ads now found at the top and bottom of page are not my doing. I am not making any money from people clicking on them. They are being placed by Blogger. I am not happy with the content of some of the ads. There may not be much I can do about them. The Blogger is 'free' of monetary exchange on my part, but these ads may be the new cost of this blogging service. I am going to see if I might be able to select the type of ads placed. I hope no one is more offended by them than I am. 

My AU part of Breaking Dawn

I was reviewing Breaking Dawn preparing for the movie release on 16 November. Ms Meyer has Edward being rather quiet during Bella's transformation. I don't think so. He would have been through his own change and the others and had an idea that talking might help distract to however a small degree the person being changed. 

I think he would have music playing all the time in the background. Debussy, his own compositions, other soft calming, romantic works. Certainly Bella's Lullaby would have been part of the music and he'd be humming the work in progress for Renesmee. 

He would have read to her from her favorite books. He would have talked to her about their time together, maybe working backwards from Isle Esme.  Their school friends could have been a topic of his talking and definitely her parents. All this to maybe help her remember her human time better.

The other family members would have come up and visited and talked as well. Renesmee would have been brought to Edward and just the three of them at times.  

Bella may not have heard any of it consciously, but maybe it would have helped both to retain some memories and as a distraction.  Distraction not only for her but also for Edward. Calming music might have helped him too.

Almost back

I do have a new computer. I am working on getting it set up and getting use to MS Office 2010 and Windows 7 versus the old version that is on the old computer. So maybe another couple of weeks before regular posts again. I know there are so many of you missing me, just hang in there. 

computer problems

My computer is seriously ill. I am looking for new one. In the meantime too much trouble to post regularly and I have so much to say about bunches of stuff which will be outdated by time get new computer. I will be back eventually.  

Author: Debbie Macomber

It is time to get away from science fiction and show some diversity in my reading.  This week my author to highlight is Debbie Macomber. She writes romances and some non-fiction. I was introduced to her through a 2009 Hallmark Christmas film, Mrs Miracle. It was nice, not too sweet, but maybe a bit predictable; strong moral values displayed, some real life humor and enjoyable. There have been two more Hallmark films, Call Me Mrs Mircle and Trading Christmas. Her non-fiction includes cookbooks and knitting books and some inspirational books. She also has a couple of children’s books. More information can be found on her web site http://www.debbiemacomber.com/

After the movie, I decided to check the author’s other stories and see what the books were like. She has written a few dozens books, grouped in seven series. I have only read a few. A number of the books are two stories together; my older paperbacks have fewer pages than current ones, so I figure, these are shorter and older stories put together to make a current size paperback. In bringing them back into print some stories are edited with updated technology added.

The books that I’ve read are generally like the movie that introduced me to Ms Macomber. They are enjoyable reads. The characters have good strong moral values. The circumstances varies – single and looking, single not looking and stumble over, widow/widower, children or not. Some of the series do take place in the same area. There are others that are in different locations around the world, as well. There are perhaps some life lessons that you can take from some of the stories, but you are not hit over the head repeatedly with any message. Ms Macomber has a nice touch of real life humor.

My favourites are stories with three somewhat mischievous angels. The first I read was a combination of two stories into one book currently – Angels at Christmas. The situations get a little out of hand for the angels and they have to kind of scramble to fix things.

Ms Macomber’s stories are gentle heartwarming romances. They are G rated. It is so nice to know I won’t have to filter any vulgar language or skip paragraphs or pages of sex. There can be some passionate kissing, but generally that is a far as it goes. If it does go further, you need to imagine your own details. The character’s thoughts may indicate a desire for more, but doesn’t happen often. I highly recommend the good clean fun reading that she delivers.

Story Recommendation: TWS from Alice by Nostalgicmiss

Alice and Bella are best friends. This recommendation is dedicated to my best friend, CJ. She prereads most of my posts here. She comments on them too. We have been supportive of each other for long time now -- hopefully in a well balanced way. 

I came across these three Alice’s point of view stories, by Nostalgicmiss, awhile ago and just recently finished reading them. They were written before the book Breaking Dawn was released back in 2008.  She posted a chapter nearly on a daily basis. There are missing scenes galore. The characters are canon. The rating is T and all are complete.

The Twilight version, Through the Eyes of Alice Cullen, was Nostalgicmiss’ first fan fiction. The other stories right after that. She did not have a beta and her grammar is not good in spots – especially the various verb tenses for sit and stand. There are more than a few typos. She mentions this in her profile, so I read being forewarned. In spite of the errors, I found the time spent reading enjoyable. Reading the series from another character’s point of view is a nice way to go through the series without reading the original again.

Nostalgicmiss has some more recent work that is M rated and I likely won’t read them. There is one more T rated story about Nessie that I am currently reading and she mentions finding a beta. I am looking forward to less errors in that story and see how she does with more original material.

Hopefully you can look past the errors and read the stories from best friend Alice.

Thank you, CJ for all your support and being my best friend.

Author’s FFn profile : http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1544699/Nostalgicmiss

This is the Twilight story through Alice's Eyes

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4188861/1/Through_the_Eyes_of_Alice_Cullen

Alice's Version of New Moon, her voyage of Self Discovery and the vision that changed everything.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4256119/1/Darkest_Night

Eclipse through Alice's Eyes. Alice's soon-to-be-sister and best friend is finally joining the family in every way, what on earth could get in the way?

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4305601/1/The_Dark_Side_of_Light

Story Recommendation: Guarding Edward by Katmom

Mystery recommendations continue, this one by author earlier this week.  Guarding Edward has won several awards as noted below. Guarding Edward has more than one mystery.  Edward has a mysterious stalker for the first part and meets Bella as a body guard service.  He recognizes Bella even though never met her before this assignment. Then there is a second stalker. The second one they know is coming and preparations are made to deal with that.

The tension builds nicely as look for the first stalker and what may be happening between Edward and Bella.  There is a sweet interlude with just Bella and Edward. That is interrupted by cousins, before returning to Seattle area and finding out someone else is now after him.

  

Awards for Guarding Edward :

Guarding Edward was Runner Up in the Cute category at the Mystic Awards!

Guarding Edward was the Fan Fiction of the Month....August 2009 at Twilghters Anonymous!

http://forum.twilightersanonymous.com/fan-fiction/

Guarding Edward has won Best Supernatural Award

at the Silent Tear Awards!

http://silent-tear-awards.webs.com/

Indie TwiFic Awards, Guarding Edward was nominated for:

Best Alternate Universe WIP and Most Original Story Line WIP

I didn't win, but  I was in the top 10 out of 94 and top ten out of 114 in the final round...that amazes me!

Guarding Edward by Katmom

A stalker is trying to get close to 24 y/o Human Edward Masen, a concert pianist. He hires Elite Guardians to keep him safe and to find out who is hunting him. Bella Cullen is the owner/operator of the company and she's a 110 y/o Vampire. AU/Canon couples Rated T with 50 Chapters

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4823993/1/Guarding_Edward

Author: Katmom

Katmom has 21 fan fiction stories for Twilight and Dragonriders of Pern on her Fanfiction.net profile. They are a mix of T and M rated stories. There is a mix of one chapter and multi chapter stories. Some are canon; some are very much in a different universe. Some are really just for fun -- beware of your sugar tolerance. There is one Pern story and one almost a crossover between Pern and Twilight.

Katmom writes happy ever after (HEA) and low angst stories. I’ve read all but four. Two of the stories I did read I do not like.  Both are well written. In one, the freedom to choose, was taken away from the characters, at least that is how I look at it. The other is just way too dark for my taste, unusual for Katmom.

She has a pet peeve list of spelling and misused words on her profile that needs a wide distribution to every new writer. She has written some stories from visual cues and has links to those on her profile. Six stories have won or placed for awards in the fandom community.

Stories with awards: Couple in the Woods, EAC: The Journal of Edward Cullen, Emeralds to Rubies, Fairies in Forks, The Gift of the Knife, and Guarding Edward

For fun: Fairies in Forks and Who Needs a Fairy Godmother?

Pern related: Dragon Stones and K’din Bronze Meertanth’s Rider

Five of my Favorites: Dragon Stones, EAC: The Journal of Edward Cullen, Emeralds to Rubies, Guarding Edward, and Letters from Esme

http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1774644/katmom

Story Recommendations: Cullen and Holmes by persephonesfolly

To continue on with Twilight mysteries, there are three stories with Carlisle Cullen and Sherlock Holmes by persephonesfolly. These are not strictly canon as Carlisle came to America well before Holmes' time, but Carlisle is within canon character.  There is a bonus mystery with Carlisle and Edward working alone.  All four stories are rated T and are multiple chapters. The first one is on both R&T and FFn. In December 2011 another of her stories was  recommended, Christmas in Ashland. She has written some other enjoyable stories that you can find on her profile. Today is mystery day. I love mysteries and having my favorite vampires working with Sherlock Holmes is a real treat. Hope you enjoy too.  Comments are appreciated by the author on the individual stories and by me at the bottom.  

http://www.fanfiction.net/u/854398/persephonesfolly http://www.ramblingsandthoughts.com/twilight/viewuser.php?uid=6389


Dr Cullen, I Presume?
When a patient goes missing, what's a vampiric doctor to do?  Consult the celebrated detective Sherlock Holmes, of course. 
Rated PG13 / T with 4 chapters

http://www.ramblingsandthoughts.com/twilight/viewstory.php?sid=1182
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5598412/1/Dr_Cullen_I_presume

A Mystery in Windermere
In all my years among the undead, I've never met anyone quite like Sherlock Holmes. When he called for my assistance in a perplexing case of murder, how could I refuse? 
Rated PG13 / T with 5 chapters

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5846985/1/A_Mystery_In_Windermere

A Chicago Story
Chicago 1912, a city rife with crime and secret societies, and Dr. Carlisle Cullen finds himself caught up in one of them.
Rated PG13 / T with 10 Chapters

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6255987/1/A_Chicago_Story

Death and the Vampire
School life has its challenges, especially for a vampire like Edward, but throw a serial killer in the mix, and academia turns deadly.
Rated PG13 / T with 14 Chapters

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7880894/1/Death_And_The_Vampire

It is getting harder to read the HTML code to get spacing, text colour correct and no background white on text. Your patience while I learn this aspect is appreciated. 

Authors: Dr Isaac Asimov and Sir Arthur C Clarke

More classic science fiction authors this week. For details use your search engine of choice. Wikipedia links are at bottom. I’m not sure when I started reading either one. Both Asimov and Clarke write non-fiction as well as fiction. Their science fiction tends to be more science based. I’ve enjoyed stories from both, but I have never been a consistent reader of either. It has been a long time since I read a story or novel by either one. I have enjoyed their short stories more than their novels.

I’ve only read the first two books of the Clarke’s 2001 series. Enjoyed the first book and the movie based on it. I don’t really remember anything about the second book. Same happened with the Rama series. There are a couple of short story collections out that I’ve read and enjoyed. He has written a number of other novels that I haven’t yet read. A major novel that I did read was Childhood’s End. I read that novel while on a remote duty station assignment. That was the wrong place to read that novel. I needed people, lots of people, to be around at the end of that book and there weren’t a lot of people available. Few of the people around read a lot of science fiction. The end was very unsettling to me and no one around to talk with about it added to being unsettled about the story.

The one stand out short story, for me, from Clarke, is The Star. This one has a nice twist at the end.  The Sentinel is the short story that 2001: a Space Odyssey is based on. Against the Fall of Night and the expanded revision The City and the Stars were both enjoyable to read and also had interesting twist on things.

I know I read the Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy Series, original ones only. The middle one was not all that good as I recall. Interesting concept ‘psych history’ that was proposed in the books. Also read a few of the robot books/stories. I read more of his short stories in science fiction and mysteries.  He wrote a lot of popular science books. He had a way of explaining things so non-science people could understand the concepts. He also wrote a series about the Bible and some annotated works on classic novels.

He liked puns and twists at the end of his short stories and would usually have the end be a sentence or two on the last page. The one stand out short story, for  me, is Nightfall.  It won a few awards with good reason. It has a bit of a twist at the end. No details, no spoilers, go find it and read it. It is well worth the effort.

While stationed at McGuire AFB in NJ, I attended a lecture by Dr Asimov for Library Week. The title of the talk was “Escape to Reality”.  He repudiated the idea that reading science fiction was to escape. As I recall, the talk was both entertaining and enlightening. Unfortunately, I was too intimidated to take any books with me to get signed or a camera. I did hang around and listen in while he chatted with other attendees after the lecture and signed books. He was very nice to all those that wanted books signed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov http://www.asimovonline.com/   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke

Story Recommendation: Morning

Morning by Carson Dyle is an interesting story. The time frame for the main story is after Breaking Dawn. It is canon. Bella meets a stranger and the next time she sees Edward she screams in terror. What happened, who is this stranger, how did it happen??? The middle section is a look back at Edward's rebellious years. We get those years in well researched details. It is overly long, in my opinion. There are three pay offs for that look back. Only one is really worth the length and time invested, in my opinion, and deals with the mystery.  The mystery did keep me turning pages for an overnight reading session. Overall it was a good read.

Morning by Carson Dyle

What might life be like for the Cullens after the events of Breaking Dawn? So many possibilities. This is one.

Rated T with 35 Chapters
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6165839/1/Morning

4 July Memories

I have an author post and a story recommendation post nearly ready. Instead of working on either of those I want to write and share my 4 July memories. This is not being preread, all mistakes are mine. Please let me know and I will update with corrections. 


My father was stationed at Scott AFB, Illinois when I was in kindergarten through second grade. We lived in a small town close by. There was a park with a log cabin community center between where we lived and the school. That was where the town celebrated the summer holidays. We had a parade for 4 July - decorated cars, little red wagons, baby prams, bicycles, what ever else came to mind. There was a military unit from the base and boy scouts. Seems about half the population was in the parade while the rest watched.
 
I got roped into being in the parade one year. A neighbor girl and I decorated a pram. We tried to dress up a pet - I can't remember if it was a dog or a cat - and have it in the pram. The pet was not going along with it at all. So being younger and smaller of the two of us, I was the "lucky one" to get costumed as a baby all in red/white/blue outfit. I was not thrilled at this at all either, just couldn't move as fast and slippery as the pets could to get away. At least I was pushed along the parade route rather than walking and pushing the pram. We had a change of clothes for me at the end of parade, so I wasn't embarrassed walking around as a baby. 


As a family we would have a BBQ and make ice cream - usually blueberry or strawberry flavoured. I'd help hand crank it even as a child, just not for very long. I'd sneak some rock salt and suck on it. We did this every year until I went away to college. 


I was stationed at Vandenberg AFB for 4 July 1976. The closest city was small city / large town size. Very community minded with celebrations. There were fireworks planned for the HS stadium. There is a big problem with Northern California coastal areas - fog. It does help keep us cooler in summer, but can make lousy viewing of fireworks. And that 4 July we were very well covered with fog. It was still fun, just hanging out with friends from Church, eating too much, watch what we could of fireworks. 


While growing up I don't remember doing much in way of family fireworks, just the sparklers. Those were fun and colourful. We'd hold on to them and wave them all around - being very careful to keep good distance between us.


Currently at Church we have a flag raising and pancake breakfast for 4 July. Nice company, but the pancakes are always cold by time get to eat. The bacon and sausage are warm. It is the brethren that do the cooking for this. Kind of fun watching them in the kitchen and grill. We have had competitions of table decorations. The children sometimes have a parade of decorated bikes, wagons. It is a neat way to start the day.


There is a regional science fiction convention - WesterCon - around 4 July holiday. I've gone a few times - Phoenix, Mesa, Las Vegas and the local ones. Fun watching the local fireworks with bunches of people. I would see relatives when went to Phoenix and Mesa. 

Those are my personal memories of 4 July celebrations. I invite you to share some memories in the comments. I hope everyone has had a safe, fun and enjoyable 4 July 2012. Take care. aw

Story Recommendation: Soul Regret

This is not the story I planned on presenting today.  I just came across this yesterday. It is a sad tale, which I generally try to avoid. This may express how any single person may feel at times. I do not believe there is only one soul mate that is meant for each of us. I believe there are different possibilities for each of us, which one we meet depends on what path each chooses. I believe we will only meet one of the possible soul mates at a time - to prevent confusion and conflict. There is no guarantee that we will meet our soul mate. I believe we can be happy meeting, loving and marrying someone who is not a soul mate or be happy and live a fulfilling life never being married. I believe in an afterlife and all things will be taken care of during our mortal life or in the eternities. The story holds for Bella and Edward and other romantic literature couples, but in real life we have more options than just one. Think about what Alice does in Openhome's Singularity.


Soul Regret by Smittenwhenbitten
If Edward had known Bella would turn his quiet life upside down and inside out as she did, what would have happened to Bella if no one could convince him to stay around and they never met? Would her soul still yearn for mate?
Rated K, one chapter, complete

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6280433/1/Soul_Regret


The author has written two other Twilight stories around Charlie. Both are good. This one just struck me and I had something to say about it. 

Author: Virginia May

Virginia (Ginnie) May is one of my favorite fan fiction authors. She has stories posted on both Ramblings and Thoughts/Twilight Fanfiction and Art and on Fanfiction.net - links to her profile pages are at the end of this post. The profile page gives summaries for all of her stories posted on that site. There are more stories posted on FFn than on R&T. So far all the stories are TWS related. Her Twilight characters are mostly canon within her alternate universe, be it vampire/human or all human stories.

As I recall we started exchanging emails more or less regularly over the background of a story she has written - Need You Now. It is all her fault that I got started reading more and more alternate universe stories and I’m glad she did. Not sure exactly which story I read first. I have enjoyed all of them. There are some M rated ones for the sexual content; that are tastefully done, though I do skip over those parts really fast.

I discovered her What Drives Her story because of a banner that showed up on a mutual friend’s Facebook wall. I started reading What Drives Her and fell in love with the older and more mature Bella. My poem, Dream Can't I? is based on the beginning of What Drives Her. I think I have reread the posted parts of WDH more times than the original TWS books. Not quite as much material as in the original books helps make it easier to read multiple times.

WDH has one of the best departure points from the canon story – Edward leaves the day before Mike asks Bella to the girl’s choice dance. One of my favorite things with this particular story, is how she weaves in lines from the original books, but in different situations. Bella has one of the best uplifting quotes in this story. [favorite quotes at bottom] The story is almost completed. I really want to know how she gets them to the end, but it will be kind of sad to see the story end, too. Great stories leave you conflicted like that.

Another work in progress is Arms. This is an all human story where Bella goes into Witness Protection and runs into Edward literally. I had a complaint about this one from the first chapter. I stuck with it and like the story. The way the story went, my complaint didn’t matter that much. It made things a little more difficult but not a big deal. It won’t be a favorite of mine, but it is well written and I care about the characters. I am looking forward to see how the story ends. The opening scene has a violence warning as it is the aftermath of a gun shooting, but Bella’s recollection later in the story is more graphic in detail, in my opinion. There are some sexual content scenes. One starts off kind of funny with nearly breaking a coffee table. A nod to a Breaking Dawn honeymoon scene perhaps?

Ginnie has two other stories that are in progress – A Broken Hallelujah and An Immortal Wish. Both of these are awesome stories. ABH is further along and there are so many lines that smack me upside the head saying – this is a truth, pay attention it applies to you – that sort of smack. ABH has short chapters and she was updating for awhile nearly every other day. Unfortunately real life is currently delaying updates.   

An Immortal Wish has a spiritual aspect to it. The Prologue and first chapter sent shivers all over and had me in tears from the spiritual power I felt. This will be a story to savor slowly. She is having some difficulty with a particular chapter and again unfortunately real life interferes with this work in progress being updated.   

She has another all human story and two twists to Twilight scenes posted on FFn. I won’t go into details on those at this time. There is one story started that is about a new character that comes across the Cullens and is connected to one of them. It has a very intriguing start and I hope she gets back to that story at some point in time.

There was indication in a Facebook posting that she is working on polishing an original fiction that started as part of the National Novel Writing Month contest, NaNoWriMo. More information about that contest can be found at NaNoWritMo.org.

I look forward to that original work and any other fan fiction she writes. Based on past stories any future ones will be well written and well proofread and very enjoyable reads. May she be blessed with whatever she needs in overcoming the real life situation.

Favorite Quotes

Bella to Edward "Life has a way of blessing you when you least expect it. Sometimes, just when you think all is lost, more good comes your way than you ever thought possible."

Virginia May, chapter 14, What Drives Her

Edward to Bella  "I'm happy because I've made peace with the things I can't control, and taken control of the things I can." 

VirginiaMay, chapter 6, A Broken Hallelujah

Edward to Bella  “…I was sick. I was suffering from a disease that I had no desire to cure or recover from. I still struggle with it, but at the time, I didn't even want to try. I didn't want to get better…”

 Virginia May chapter 9, A Broken Hallelujah

Edward to Bella  “If I was ever good at anything, it was acting like I was somebody other than who I truly was…”

Virginia May, chapter 28, A Broken Hallelujah

Links:

R&T   http://www.ramblingsandthoughts.com/twilight/viewuser.php?uid=6560

FFn  http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2216692/VirginiaMay

Story Recommendation: EC's b-day and Summer

Two stories today - one for Edward Cullen's birthday and one for summer solstice. Both stories are a little sweet and fluffy. Hope you enjoy.
Handmade by aliceinwonderland101
Bella wants to give Edward a hand made birthday gift. One chapter, PG13
http://www.ramblingsandthoughts.com/twilight/viewstory.php?sid=1081


Sunkissed by Ren
Only Bella, of all people, would manage to get a sunburn in Forks, leaving Edward to fumble with her fragile condition and sooth the burns as only a vampire can. One chapter, PG13
http://www.ramblingsandthoughts.com/twilight/viewstory.php?sid=760

Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jules Verne, HG Wells

Classic science fiction authors. More info can be found by your search engine of choice. This posting is dedicated to a friend that has encouraged me in writing and 'publishing' my poems and starting up this blog. We were talking about the John Carter of Mars movie and he was not familiar with ERB writing science fiction...so I said next published author post would be about ERB. AM, thanks for all your help and encouragement, here is info as promised, took awhile I know.

I've read some books by all three authors, don't remember exactly which ones. I don't remember much of anything about the books, but one and that is not about the book.

Pretty sure I started reading ERB along with Andre Norton when I was 8 or 9 years old. Read some Tarzan books that I don't really remember. I do remember reading the John Carter of Mars books. Most likely initially borrowed from my brother's room. I read the Venus series in college. He has written other science fiction novels and a variety of books in different genres. These two series are just straight out for fun as I think most of his fiction is.  They are pulp fiction adventure stories plain and simple. The movie, John Carter of Mars, was recently released and based mainly on the first book of Mars books - Princess of Mars. I enjoyed the movie.

I've read some Jules Verne novels at various points in time, but not recent enough to remember. I remember the Disney movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea more than I remember the book. He is considered one of the fathers of science fiction. A number of his books have been made into films - Journey to Center of Earth, is the other major one I can think of.

My father had a major heart attack the day I was home sick from work reading HG Wells' War of Worlds. That is what I remember of that book. Guess I should read it again. Did not see the movie with Tom Cruise. I did see the Time Machine movie, the 1960 version, and read the book. Like ERB, Wells wrote novels and other things outside of science fiction genre. He is considered one of the fathers of science fiction. To finish the story of my father, with the help of a client at the place I worked at and an uncle I was able to fly home that night.  I met my brother flying in from another state at major hub and we arrived home together.  My father passed away later that day with all of us at his bedside.

Story Recommendation Father's Day part 2

There are two story recommendations today. Hope all the fathers out there have a great day. AW

Here is a thoughtful moment between Carlisle and Edward.

Sola Fide by Mackenzie L
"When God gives a gift He does not take it back." A conversation in a deserted cathedral leads to a surprising revelation, and a defining moment between a son and his father figures.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6650691/1/Sola_Fide

Here is a little piece the night before Charlie picks up Bella from the airport.

Behold the Child by HelenahJay
Charlie, just before Twilight. Second chances.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6205724/1/

Story Recommendation Father's Day part 1

Happy Father's Day! There are three stories recommended today all one chapter long. Two are with Charlie with Bella and Edward separately and one with Edward and Nessie. Hope you enjoy.

Chatting with Charlie by silly bella
Charlie feels protective of Bella, and he's not thrilled with Edward at the end of New Moon. He also remembers being a teenager. It's time for Charlie to have a chat with Edward.

http://www.ramblingsandthoughts.com/twilight/viewstory.php?sid=63

Like Father, Like Daughter by silly bella

How can Bella make Charlie understand why she welcomed Edward back?

http://www.ramblingsandthoughts.com/twilight/viewstory.php?sid=82

Music Lessons by blondieakarobin

A missing moment from Breaking Dawn of father daughter bonding time.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4457477/1/Music_Lessons

a side note: My apology for the distraction of the way the middle story is displayed. I don't know why some text is being 'highligthed'. I've noticed it in earlier posts and will look into it. If anyone already knows why, please leave a comment.  update 24 June: found partial solution, fixing old ones, hope to figure out how to stop it from happening in future.

Story Recommendation Memorial Day part 2

Monday 28 May 2012 is the day we set aside to honor and remember our fallen military men and women, Memorial Day. It use to be 30 May no matter what day of the week, but changed so always the last Monday in May. People now seem to concentrate on the long weekend aspect and forget why we have the holiday. My father was in the Air Force, my brother in the Army, an Uncle in Navy, two cousins in Navy/Marine Corps and I was in the Air Force. Memorial Day, July 4, and Veterans Day are important days not just for the day off from work. Remember and honor those that have fallen defending our freedom as you go about the holiday weekend festivities. Safe and enjoyable weekend to all.

Here is the story recommendation to honor Memorial Day. Not exactly canon story as we know Carlisle didn't return to London, but a 'what if' he had story. 

Abide With Me by latessitrice

When the Blitz begins, Carlisle returns to London to offer what help he can to his home town. One chapter complete, T rating

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7389910/1/Abide_With_Me

My Mother

A week ago Sunday was Mother’s Day, Sunday there was a solar eclipse and next Sunday will be my mother’s birthday. The last time there was a solar eclipse visible in western US was 10 May 1994. My mother was visiting me at the time. That trip was the last time I saw her healthy. Less than six months later she was dead. So excuse me if I spend some words and space to talk about my mother.  I am missing her.

She was on the short side, about 5 feet 4 inches. She had red hair and temper to match it at times. She had freckles to match the red hair too. Her hair was always on the short side. She kept it all, it just turned a nice shade of white eventually.

She was a military wife. Dad went to Korea in 1950 and there were lots of temporary duty assignments in his 25 year career when she was left alone to take care of my brother and I and home.

In 1957 she started have health problems, surgery for this and then that and then something else. Looking back some could have been lessened with better diet, we had too many meat and potato dinners growing up. Some could have been avoided by never smoking, but didn’t know things about smoking back then.  She quit smoking about 1970. She smoked Parliaments.

It was kind of scary for a 7-8 year old to have their mother laid up in bed from surgeries. My brother and I had to help with household chores more and take care of mom too until dad got home. She didn’t like being laid up, didn’t complain, wasn’t hard to be around, just not so physically active. We would go in and talk to her like as if at kitchen table with all the ‘news’ of the day at school and whatever else we were doing.

She taught me how to bake and cook, how to set a proper table and use the correct utensils in the correct order. Both parents passed on a love of reading. Books were also used to balance on my head to learn correct posture when walking. Nothing got me to sit up straight though. Learned how to carry a full cup on a saucer without spilling a drop. We made cookies, pies and cakes – ok, she made and I helped some and then more as I got older. We shared licking the batter off the beaters and laugh about it. She made really good fruit cakes, much better than the really heavy ones you buy in store. Recipe lost somewhere. She taught me to sew and knit. I wasn’t really interested, but still can do either one when have to.

She was a good mother for the most part. Generally a nice lady, but could out swear a sailor. Her artistic creativity was expressed in sewing clothes and eventually oil paintings.          

She would like this blog and understand why I do it.

Story Recommendation for Memorial Day part 1

Time to transition story recommendation tribute from Mother's Day to Memorial Day.  Memorial Day is a day to honor our fallen military personnel. There is a story that really does that especially for Jasper, but I've not found it again. May we also remember the horrors of war so that we try harder to avoid it. 

This story takes place in the early days of WWII while the Cullens were living in Alaska. Hope you enjoy this piece about Emmett and Edward 'enlisting'. This was an entry into the Canon Tour PreTwilight.

Called to Serve by BellsJust Bells

In great times of need we are all called upon to serve our country in some way, whether you’re the walking dead or not. PreTwilight, rating PG13/T, one chapter that may or may not be complete. 

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7395485/1/Called_to_Serve

Author: Kayla Griffith aka Openhome

The next author I want to discuss is Kayla Griffith, aka Openhome.  She is an administrator for Ramblings and Thoughts / Twilight Fan Fiction and Art web site [link on the right side of this site]. She gave me my first break into fan fiction. I sent her my first Twilight related poems and asked if they were suitable for the site. The next thing I knew they were posted. Wow! Heady experience! She has encouraged me in other ways as well. My first fan letter was to her after I finished reading Singularity. I had posted regular reviews, but when finished reading that story I needed to send her a separate emailed letter as a fan. We have continued with occasional email exchanges.

Openhome is her fan fiction name. She has completed two books about Alice and Jasper and working on the last book. The first two were completed before the Illustrated Twilight Guide was published so the story does not agree with the new information found in the Guide. The first book, Singularity, is about Alice’s time from waking as a vampire until meeting Jasper, about 30 years. It was written in response to discussions with her daughters about what Alice was doing during those years of waiting. The story is an interesting character study of how one adapts to a new unexpected life and the challenges that life throws at you while waiting for fulfillment of a vision. Alice is searching for what / who she is and for home. She finds out things about her new self and learns about who she is through her trials and joys.  She is helped along the way by some human and vampire friends and some alone time of self reflection.

None of us are immortal vampires, but we can still relate to some of the experiences Alice has. Alice knows who she loves and the family she will eventually be a part of, but has to wait for those things to actually happen. So what does she do? Sit and mope or goes after life? What do we do when waiting for someone? She gets some disturbing news, what does she do? How do we react to bad news? She has human friends that die. She has vampire friends that need her help. She has choices to make. Some are not well thought out and not well executed. She learns. Reading Alice’s story prompted me to look at some of my decisions and how I’ve lived my life. It shed light on topics in ways that I hadn’t thought of. It has given me a different perspective to some topics. I appreciate this fresh look at things for my own self reflection time.

The second book, Coalescence, is about the time Alice and Jasper have together until about 7 years after joining the Cullen family. It is their journey of discovery of each other. It is their journey together as Alice supports Jasper as he learns to live off of animal blood.  The third book, Rogue, is more about Jasper finding peace after the life he led before finding Alice and the Cullens. There are elements of post traumatic stress disorder for Jasper in Coalescence and I think some final resolution to that will be in Rogue.  It is good to see this issue tackled in fiction as so many people today are dealing with it themselves or helping others deal with it in the real world.

In reading the Twilight Saga books, I’ve not understood why after nearly 50 years the lure of human blood was still so strong for Jasper. Reading Kayla’s stories helps explain that aspect of his character. Jasper is one of the minor characters that changes between beginning of Twilight and end of Breaking Dawn. The end of his change is mostly due to Bella and Nessie. Kayla is giving Jasper a fuller story of that change. That is the appeal for me of Kayla’s stories about Alice and Jasper, getting into their heads as to how and why they change. That also applies to her other stories, just not as detailed being shorter.

Kayla has also written other fan fiction stories – based on Twilight and other fan favorite books.  Those stories can be found through her profile page on R&T and FFn, links provided below. She has a blog about life and writing that shows off her sense of humor. There are at least two original novels that she is working at getting published.  The first is a PG13 romance called Casserole Committee where a town’s casserole committee interferes with the love life of two ladies – one divorced and one widowed. Results are funny and touching. I hope it is published soon so more people can enjoy the small town happenings and Kayla’s delightful and clean sense of humor. The second one is still undergoing final edits.

It is good to see a fan fiction author moving on to being paid for their work, even it means less fan fiction stories. Fan fiction can be purely for fun and self fulfillment or for fun and practice. It is exciting to watch as Kayla’s practice writing in someone else’s universe yields published original novels of romance without all the sex so prevalent in books today. I look forward to whatever else she may write.

Below are links to her fan fiction profiles, a blog entry on R&T and the final link is to her web blog.

http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1797881/Openhome

author profile

http://www.ramblingsandthoughts.com/twilight/viewuser.php?uid=6365

author profile

http://www.ramblingsandthoughts.com/blog/

Tells how peanut butter and cat paws got her to write fan fiction.

http://kaylagriffith.net/

The Comfort of Chaos

Story Recommendation Mother's Day part 3

Best wishes for all the mothers out there to have a wonderful weekend! and especially great Mother's Day!

This will be the last Twilight fan fiction recommendations for Mother's Day, next two weeks will be in honor of Memorial Day.

Mother's Day 1986 by ECABS
Esme's Mother's Day with the Cullens 20 years ago. Dedicated to all the wonderful mothers out there.  Completed, 1 chapter, PG13

http://www.ramblingsandthoughts.com/twilight/viewstory.php?sid=258

Anchor by Eowyn77

How did Esme the quintessential mother, cope with the worst fight the Cullens had ever had? (the night after Edward saves Bella from Tyler's van)   Completed, 1 chapter, PG13

http://www.ramblingsandthoughts.com/twilight/viewstory.php?sid=450

Author: Anne McCaffrey

Anne McCaffrey is the second author that influenced my pen name. She is a more recent arrival on my author list than Andre Norton; think I was in my very late teens and at college. Dragonflight was the first of her books that I read, it is also the first in the Dragonriders of Pern series. The living quarters for the dragons is called a weyr and picked that for my pen name's last name. I have over a dozen 'dragons' living with me, so seemed an appropriate name to pick. Also like that the initial are AW.

I like things that fly - butterflies, dragonflyis, birds, planes, spaceships, dragons. I like stories where there is a link between animal and human companions. The Pern dragons imprint on a human companion right out of the shell, they have a telepathic link and they fly. What more could I ask for in a story. Story captured me immediately.

Another series is the Crystal Singer. This one is my favorite. I'm not sure exactly why. It does not have the things I generally like in stories, but it is the series I have reread the most. I'm not at all musically inclined so have no connection to that aspect.

She has several other series of books and some stand alone books.  Most are science fiction / fantasy.  I've probably read about half. All the ones that I've read are clean, fade to black suggestion of intimacy. That may or maynot hold true for her romance books which I have not read. Her son, Todd McCaffrey has taken up writing in the Pern universe, I've not read any of those books yet.

I met her once at a book signing for the White Dragon in 1978 and seen her at two WorldCons. Similar to Andre Norton as she got older she collaborated with different authors. I've read some of those authors books too. Nice way to be introduced to another author.  A couple of links for more information:

http://pernhome.com/aim/
http://www.annemccaffrey.org/books/index.html

Story Recommendations: Mother's Day part 2

Continuing my tribute to mothers here are two more stories about Esme Cullen as a mother. Both of these are complete in one chapter. The first one is humorous. The second is more thoughtful.  Hope you enjoy. Have a great week.

Esme's Etiquette by Saiyachick
Esme lectures the Cullen kids on their bad manners. Even vampires aren't perfect.  One chapter completed, PG13
http://www.ramblingsandthoughts.com/twilight/viewstory.php?sid=1025

Kindred Spirit by Eowyn77

Esme protected Charlie from Victoria while James was hunting Bella.  What were her thoughts and feelings about this unusual role?

One chapter completed, PG13

http://www.ramblingsandthoughts.com/twilight/viewstory.php?sid=1147

Author: Andre Norton

I thought I would start writing about some authors, why I like their stories, highlighting some particular favorites. First up is Andre Norton since part of my pen name is a tribute to her.

Andre Norton was the first science fiction author I read. The story was Star Man's Son. It is the first story I remember specifically reading. I read lots of things before that, but this is the first book I remember specifically. I had been reading lots of books for years but don't remember titles or authors.  There were the usual variety of series books like Bobbsy Twins, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Tom Swift Jr books before picking up Andre Norton's book when I was about 8 years old. It was likely 'borrowed' from my brother's room. It captured my attention. I went looking for other books by her along with reading other authors and other topics too. Elementary school had a summer reading contest, don't remember winning, but did read a lot.

Most of her books are fantasy / science fiction - coming of age, adventure stories. There are some mysteries involved in some. There are a few here on earth romance novels with supernatural aspects. A few historical fantasies are part of her body of work. Most are young adult books. She has a number of different series she wrote. Best know are likely the Witch World books and Solar Queen books.

I enjoyed the books in my youth and at my advance age still do. It seems to me that the lessons taught in coming of age stories need to be retaught later in life at times.  Maybe it is just to remember them better after being cluttered over with other life experiences, clearer and simpler reminders. All of the stories are clean, hardly any kissing. She has female and male main characters - sometimes as one person alone, sometimes a couple kind of thrown together suddenly, sometimes groups working together.

Some of the female characters start off the story in an Abbey, as orphans or otherwise abandoned by society. So Abby is a tribute to her.

Of special interest to me were the ones working with animals, especially cats, that would be able to communicate with human companions. I really like cats, but can not have any due to allergies, so reading about them is next best thing. Growing up our family pets were dogs because Mom didn't like cats. She had good reason beside allergic.

There are no favorites - love most all of them. There are a couple of really dark stories that didn't like so much. I've not taken a look at list of books to actually note down how many I've read, not all of them, but most. I recommend any of the books to anyone age 8 and older. I've passed along my collection of paperback books to the Santos Fire Relief. Ms Santos is a Twilight Mom, book blogger, etc who lost her home to fire earlier this year. The word was put out to stock a new book collection for her and her family. I hope the Andre Norton books will become beloved by them as they were by me.

link to an Andre Norton web site:  http://www.andre-norton.org/

link to Santos Relief:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Santos-House-Fire-Relief/180505755384026

Story Recommendation for Mother's Day

Happy May Day! In honor of Mother's Day being this month the highlighted stories will be about Esme Cullen and a couple of stories about soldiers for Memorial Day.

The first story is a multi-chapter story entitled A Mother's Choice by dsolo. It covers the time from from birth of her son to end of Breaking Dawn from her point of view. It has been a while since I read the story. I found it enjoyable hearing from an alternate character's point of view. She saw things that Bella and Edward didn't. As I recall the characters and story are canon. No major complaints about how it was written that I recall. It is complete at 45 chapters, rated PG13. The link is to Ramblings and Thoughts, Twilight Fan Fiction and Art web site.
http://www.ramblingsandthoughts.com/twilight/viewuser.php?uid=3298

The second story is an one chapter story submitted to The Canon Tour, http://thecanontour.tumblr.com/ for main page and http://www.fanfiction.net/u/3041014 for the story collection site. 

The story taking place during New Moon is by Katmom, Letters from Esme - a mother's love (and meddling) knows no bounds. Unbeknownst to Edward, Esme stays in touch with Bella. It is rated T. Does reference 'shouty caps'. The link is 

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7817330/1/Letters_from_Esme

The Canon Tour should be having the Eclipse round starting this month. The previous time frames have already been covered. Check out the other stories, all are canon. There are some very good stories.  

Story Recommendation: Finding Fred

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6389768/1/Finding_Fred by Willowby

This story ties in with the novella The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer. Fred was one of the characters that helped Bree and left before the battle. Edward decides to go find him. The story is almost complete. The characters are a little out of true canon characterization in my opinion. There are some really good honest open conversations between Edward and Bella that should have taken place. There are a couple of rather very embarrassing long moments for Bella.  The one in chapter 14 had me laughing way too much. There are some additional characters that come into play in the latter half of the story that are interesting. There is humor, mystery, drama, and romance in this story. Hope you enjoy it too. Reviews and comments are much appreciated.

Story Recommendations of Bella Growing Old

Bella Grows Old

In canon TWS Bella is transformed to vampire right before her 19^th birthday.  Some fan fiction authors have had her stay human until middle or old age. Two of the four stories I am recommending also deal with dementia.  All four are one chapter and completed. Other stories by LJ Summers are well written, some a bit too far away from canon for my taste and haven’t read, some too sad.  Other stories by Eh Bien have been enjoyable, most are on the short side with little drama, just nice quiet pieces that are well written. The other two authors I’ve read just the one story. I’ve chosen these to highlight because they are completed and one chapter and I don't read many with Bella getting older.  Comments are appreciated by the author of these stories as well as by me.  

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5351456/1/Do_You_Remember

by LJ Summers

A winner in the Sort of Beautiful Challenge, this is a story about unconditional love and the value of memory. Jacob and Bella have been married for about forty years when the Cullens want to visit for what is possibly the last time. One-shot.  Rated K+ 

MayDecember
by Eh Bien

"Of course, if you outgrew me - if you wanted something more - I would understand that, Bella." Bella had once thought that was an impossibility. AU, Canon. A sort of spinoff from a not-yet-published story.  Rated K+

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5666540/1/Sundowners

by missbluejuju

Sundowners

On the evening of Bella’s 85th birthday, Edward reflects on the recent past and its trials, Alice helps out with the future, and Bella finally realizes her last human milestone. E/B, AU, Character Death.  Rated T

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6897688/1/bIrresponsible_b_bAngel_b

by ContentedTwiCow

Irresponsible Angel

Edward and Bella 70 years after they met. Bella has never been changed. Death bed scene. POV Bella's guardian angel from Midnight Sun. Vampire creation history too. Rated T

Sorry for the strange lighter boxes around some text. Not sure what that is all about or how to get rid of it.  

Mundane Life Interference

My how time flies.  I didn't realize I've gone nearly the whole month of March with no postings, not even a story recommendation.  Real life work has interfered with blog posting.  I am still alive and well.  I have a couple of topics that I am working on, but haven't been able to finish.  Things at work will continue to be distracting for another week or three. There will be posts in April.  

Have a blessed Easter and a belated Happy Spring Equinox.

Enjoy General Conference too.