...potions are the only magic...

I could go on and on and on about this, giving lots of details and links, but you know, after a couple years at this, I have a method that works for me:

Put everything on pre-order at Amazon.

Yes, I know Amazon has some potential lurking evil, but I am monitoring them and if their evil ever becomes full-fledged, then I'll figure out something new. Until then, pre-order works for me. I have a card I can dedicate to it, the titles come out sporadically enough that I'm not actually spending the total amount of my preorder at once (far from it), and Amazon guarantees that I'll receive the lowest price the book was at throughout the pre-order period. If I buy a book at $10, and at some point, it goes on sale for $9, I receive a $1 refund notice. Nice!

And Amazon generally offers the BL books from 20% to 38% off. Not a bad deal when I still want to support the BL publishers by buying their books from a marketplace that gives them credit for the sale. I feel like I receive a discount and the publishers still make some money, which is a bit more fair to me than having to purchase the books full-priced from a publisher storefront like Akadot (which is DMP's store site).

I know pre-ordering isn't ideal for everyone, and OMG you can end up with a lot of mail to follow from Amazon (you have to approve some delays and not others, and I have no idea why), but it is nice to have a new title or three show up every month, and it's nice to know you WILL get a copy if Amazon decides to order only the bare minimum of books from the publisher.

Of course, this method works best for someone like me, who's likely to read or try to find most BL books eventually. I definitely became tired of hunting, hunting, hunting for the books and the best prices. Amazon lets me be lazy about it at a discount. Huzzah!

*****
November 30's BloMo will be about making good comments/giving good feedback in holiday exchanges (and in general), because December 1 will see most holiday exchanges getting underway and there will be a rush of excited commenting. Also, the Snupin_Santa lurkers might want to try to come out and participate in Stuff the Stockings, so a confidence-boosting guidance post might help them.

If you have any feedback/commenting tips you'd like me to consider for my post, please let me know what they are before November 30.

love, lore

• 18:25 Oh man... December is gonna be such a heavy fanfic reading month with SnuSa and Star Trek Advent Calendars and old BigBangs to catch up...XD #
• 19:21 can cake ever be too sweet? let it be known from here on out. yes, yes it can. #
• 20:59 i dunno why but gonna contribute to #Aladdin being a TT. I believe it's the only disney movie to have successful/good sequels & tv spin off #

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Hello, and welcome to the latest issue of snapenews. Thank you all for your continuing support and useful links! Feel free to comment (either below or at snapenews@gmail.com) and let us know how we're doing!

META/DISCUSSION/RANT

fayzbub opens a discussion about an essay focusing on the Snape/Lily pairing.

CHALLENGES/CONTESTS

This week's challenge on snarry100 is Flourish and Blotts.

This week's challenge on quiz_sshg is Prolific Author Series: MiaMadwyn.

REC LISTS/ARCHIVE UPDATES

Moonshadow (the Snape/Lupin archive) has added two new stories. For more info, click here.

hgss_digest has been updated here.

TODAY IN FIC

Het

lesyeuxverts posted "Le Ténébreux" (Snape/Lily. R. Warning: Character Death)

DISCLAIMERS: The warnings listed here are those given by the artist/author/poet. Please pay attention to all ratings and warnings when following links.

We aim to bring you the latest Snape-centric items in the fandom but some might slip through the net! You can help to ensure this doesn't happen by sending us links via email to snapenews@gmail.com. There are submission guidelines in the snapenews user profile, but for the 'Today in' sections we just require the basic title/creator/rating/warnings/link info.

A while back, I wrote an overview of the BL publishers that existed about two years ago. Time for a quick update!

DMP's BL imprints are June, 801 Media and Doki Doki.

June used to be known for pretty tame BL fare, but now it has become a better mix of tame-to-racy. 801 Media is still the imprint to go to for more explicit stories. Doki Doki is an imprint created to cater directly to a Japanese publisher. Most of the DD releases have been BL tales, but not all, and most of the BL titles have been the kind of tame June used to be known for. Still, people seem to appreciate the DD titles for what they are.

Aurora Publishing has the Deux line as well as the Luv Luv line for Girl Love titles.

I think if Deux existed on its own, it might still be a healthy company. As it is, Deux releases have slowed to a crawl with the rest of Aurora's titles, and I'm seriously worried for Aurora's survival. The Duex imprint put out some excellent titles over the years. You should look into them soon, before they all go out of print and everyone in the world starts chasing the titles for stupid prices.

Tokyopop's BL titles usually end up under the BLU imprint (this could confuse Snupin fans ~_^).

Tokyopop has admitted that their BLU titles always sell well, yet the company treats the imprint like a red-headed step-child (for those who don't recognize the saying, like it doesn't belong to them). The web site, long neglected, is just now showing signs of life this month, and releases have still been coming from the imprint, even if it's only about 1 title a month. BLU titles are rarely anthologies, and they usually have only mild BL content, although there are a couple exceptions to this.

Yaoi Press - the publisher's name kinda speaks for itself.

There is nothing but Original English Language BL to be found here, ranging from super-dark to sickeningly sweet - in fact, most of the YP titles exist at one of the two extremes.

Netcomics - This company has an interesting set-up. You can read chapters of a book online for very little money. When a title becomes popular enough (and, probably when Netcomics has gathered up enough capital in general), it is then printed and offered for sale as a book.

Netcomics has put out some eclectic work over the years, ranging from Korean titles with only implied BL to some fairly explicit works. You never quite know what you're going to see next from NC, and their release schedule is sporadic, with no titles for months and then three at a time. I'd say that this is the place to go for edgy material, exciting new artists and a-typical BL reads.

Yen Press began offering some BL titles late last year.

They seem to have taken to Lily Hoshino, and their other BL title so far is also fairly explicit, so I'm hoping for good things from Yen Press next year in terms of BL. They put out nice, compact little books.

Go! Comi thinks it sells BL titles.

No, seriously, Go! Comi's only true mature BL offering is Wendy Pini's Masque of the Red Death. Cantarella is considered mild BL at best and then the most recent books GC listed as BL this year were...not. They were general stories with very bishie characters. I'm not sure where Go! Comi is headed next with BL, but I'm hoping it will at least swerve back into true BL waters.

Media Blaster's BL book imprint is Kitty Media. I don't suggest going to the site. In fact, just go here, it will make your life easier.

Kitty media books are generally the most explicit tales out there, and while I hammered the company a couple years ago, I have to admit, the books have steadily improved at KM. Series are published from the beginning, rather than starting in the middle, and the translations and paper quality seem to have improved. The books themselves are still among the smallest in size, but good paper goes a long way toward readability.

Yaoi Generation is a new publisher, dating back to last year.

So far, YG has put out 4 volumes of a 5-book series over the past year and a half. It finally announced its next two titles around the time the 4th book came out. Honestly, I don't see this glacial pace as a bad plan. Sure, I'd love to have lots of new titles to pick and choose from, but I'd much rather the publisher take it slow and steady than to see it put out a bunch of work all at once and then fold from too much overhead. I was surprised when YG announced itself just as the economic crisis started, and even more surprised when the first book actually came out. YG seems to have a plan, and I think as long as the people behind YG stick to the plan, YG can become an exciting new company - one I'll still be talking about in two more years. ~_^

love, lore

Stories added to Moonshadow, the Snape/Lupin archive, during the past two months:

Title: Alpha Male (29 K)
Author: sweetmelodykiss


Title: Back (4 K)
Author: astopperindeath


The archive is located at http://www.ssf-moonshadow.com

Also, the Crack Broom masterlist-by-author is now current.

Title: The Way of the World

Author: McKay (scribbulus_ink)

Commentary: McKay's "Way of the World" contains some wonderful domestic scenes between Snape and Lupin in the kitchen, where, for example, Lupin teaches Snape how to cook (and survive) in the muggle world.

McKay already posted a great recipe from the story, so I hope no one minds that I'm posting one for brownies inspired by this delightful scene:


Excerpt:

"Laugh at me, will you?" Severus snarled. "You'll pay for that!"

And suddenly, Severus reached into the bowl, scooped up a huge handful of batter, and advanced on Remus.

"No -- Severus, you wouldn't!" Remus stared at him, wide-eyed, as he began backing away.

"Oh, wouldn't I." Severus' voice was a silky purr now, but his smile was pure evil.
( Remus couldn't help but think that batter-covered Severus would have been even better. )

( Easy Brownies recipe )

Title: Smooch
Author/Artist: jin_fenghuang 
Rating: PG
Pairing(s)/character(s):Snape/Lupin
Summary: Just a sweet little kiss
Warnings: none
Notes: This drawble is for r_grayjoy  , who writes the most awesome limericks ever XD

• 23:05 @Shuttlecock actually, when i go to conventions, i can survive on 5 hours as long as it's a solid 5 hours. If not, i tend to oversleep lol #
• 10:54 at tanforan seeing 2012 #

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Title: Sheath
Artist: ghot
Media: PS
Characters: Hermione/Luna
Rating: R
Warnings: femmeslash, cosplay.
Themes/kinks chosen: Costumes
Artist's notes: "I'm Ursula, a Bavarian witch queen who freed her people and brought revolution to her country." "I'm Xena."

( sheath )

Title: the invisible line
Rating: R
Pairing: Snape/Lupin
Warnings: unbetaed, post-DH.
Word Count: ± 2,050 words.
Disclaimer: Not mine, I'm just borrowing them for my twisted means.
Summary: maybe one day we won't need to stay in the dark.

I wonder how many National Blog Posting Month entries today will be quickie "Happy Thanksgiving" notes, or will make Thanksgiving the topic or will just have Thanksgiving in it?

Because hey, no one loves to reduce a holiday down to math more than me.

Have a good one, loves. May Morimoto himself guide your hands if you're cooking. *gobble gobble*

love, lore

• 10:52 @nathantamayo =) #
• 12:05 halfway thru my volunteering @ project open hand. having a nice lunch =3 #
• 21:07 @jothorp Thanks for the thanks =D it was a long day but a good one. ^_^ #
• 21:13 long, fun day volunteering. Am glad to be able to sleep in tomorrow. Now time for a bit of Assassins Creed II~! =D #
• 21:38 Boo, everyone online is apparently too busy to chat... i may do something crazy and go to sleep at a normal hour! *gasp* #

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This will be hard, but I thought I'd talk about a song I've been pondering a while:

( Meet Me on the Equinox lyrics and video link )

Ok, I can see Severus starting the song and Remus finishing it, but I don't necessarily like the "Everything ends" chorus. It's certainly a good canon song for them, and I can see around "everything ends" by it meaning something more elusive in the future or as Severus' doubts. But what do you all think? Add it to my mental Snape/Lupin soundtrack or not?

And we'll just forget what really inspired this song, natch. ~_^

*****
In other news, We've come up with a contest for snupin_santa readers this year called Stuff the Stockings. Interested? Check it out!

love, lore

Arionrhod and I are looking for a story that's Remus/Severus/Regulus, but it starts off with Remus and Regulus together, not Severus/Regulus, and Severus was brought in later. Remus hated the way Sirius was treating his brother, and he and Reg got involved. Marauders Era, not very long (we think).

Any help would be appreciated!

Issue # 791: Tuesday-Wednesday, November 24-25, 2009

Hello and welcome to today's issue of  snapenews.  Thank you all for your continuing support and useful links! Feel free to comment (either below or at snapenews@gmail.com) and let us know how we're doing!

COMMUNITIES

The deatheaterfest mods have sent assignments

snupin_santa has made a Mod post about Snupin Santa 2009

NEWSLETTER/ARCHIVE UPDATES

hgss_digest  has been updated here and here

CHALLENGES/CONTESTS

snupin100 has posted Challenge 235: Teeth

TODAY IN FIC

Het

lesyeuxverts has posted Le Tenebreaux (R; Severus Snape, Lily Evans; Warnings: character death)

DISCLAIMERS: The warnings listed here are those given by the artist/author/poet. Please pay attention to all ratings and warnings when following links.

We aim to bring you the latest Snape-centric items in the fandom but some might slip through the net! You can help to ensure this doesn't happen by sending us links via email to snapenews@gmail.com. There are submission guidelines in the snapenews user profile, but for 'This week in' sections we just require the basic title/creator/rating/warnings/link info.

Oh my dearest Snupineers, I don't do this often... but it is driving me (and Zephre... who I've bugged) CRAZY.

I'm looking for a fic where Remus is confined to a wheelchair, and Severus is forced to care for him. Dark!Harry, who is clearly trying to both keep Remus secluded and get Severus thrown into Azkaban.

Help??? Pwease?

Title: Le Ténébreux
Author: lesyeuxverts
Characters: Severus Snape, Lily Evans
Rating: R
Warnings: character death
Themes/kinks chosen: symphorophilia
Word Count: 1,095
Summary: " Je suis le ténébreux,- le Veuf, - l'inconsolé, Le Prince d'Aquitaine à la tour abolie: Ma seule étoile est morte, et mon luth constellé Porte le soleil noir de la Mélancolie."
Author's notes: Huge thanks to bewarethesmirk for the beta, and thanks to the folks at the slashretreat_dc for the brainstorming help! I was heavily inspired by Nerval's El Desdichado, and this work owes a great deal to that poem (although I was very nearly distracted by the fact that he kept a pet lobster … but I managed to finish this in spite of that, so all credit goes to Nerval!)

( Le Ténébreux )

• 15:34 @syrosis lol, where where? XD #

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Title: All for you
Artist: wallflowergirl@IJ kath_ballantyne @LJ
Media: Photoshop
Characters: Remus Lupin/Sirius Black
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: nudity
Themes/kinks chosen: clamps
Artist's notes: Sorry I missed my original posting. I contacted the mods and they said to post it today.


( All for you )

And with this, I'm caught up to all that I've done so far at bridge2sickbay! =D These are mainly Kirk/McCoy with slight variations, one gen, and pretty much ALL angsty for some reason lol. The theme this past week was "song lyrics."

Prompt: Kirk/McCoy - I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut. My weakness is that I care too much and my scars remind me that the past is real /I tear my heart open just to feel (Scars, Papa Roach)
Rating: PG
( Read more... )

Prompt: Kirk/McCoy - I want to stand with you on a mountain / I want to bathe with you in the sea./ I want to lay like this forever./ Until the sky falls down on me... (Truly Madly Deeply, Savage Garden)
Rating: PG
( Read more... )

Prompt: Author's Choice - Take this sinking boat and point it home. We've still got time (The Frames)
Rating: G
Gen. Only one of the lot, I'd probably wanna redo. XD
( Read more... )

Prompt: Kirk/Author's Choice - I watched it all up close. / I knew more than most. / I saw a side of him he never showed. Full of sympathy for a world that wouldn't let him be. (Shinedown, What a Shame)
Rating: G
Implied K/S/M
( Read more... )

Prompt: Kirk/McCoy - Am I the habit you're too tired to break? (Dar Williams)
Rating: PG
( Read more... )