2/12/12 - Finally got around to reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Wrote a review here: http://musingsofafictionfanatic.blogspot.com/2012/02/book-review-hunger-games-by-suzanne.html

I've been busy as of late, but it should interest my readers to know that I've begun Ch. 16 of The Waiting Place (Ch. 17 counting the prologue) and should probably post by the end of the week. In the meantime, you may read a small excerpt here: http://musingsofafictionfanatic.blogspot.com/2012/02/teaser-waiting-place-chapter-16.html

2/6/12 - Moved my profile's updates for the month of 1/12 to my blog, where I also post fanfic recs, book recs, the occasional movie rec, and other randomness: http://musingsofafictionfanatic.blogspot.com/

Also, I cleaned up my profile & sent my removed "fanfic pet peeves" to my blog.

Got Twitter? Follow me for status updates on my writing and more: @Kari_FicFanatic

I don't always auto-follow, but I do follow back those that I notice mentioning/addressing me more than a time or two.

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About me:

I'm a writer & avid reader; a Texas girl, born & raised; wife to a good ol' boy; mom to a couple of ADORABLE toddlers; a military vet with a couple of deployments under my belt. All it really takes to make me happy is some Godiva chocolate, a bottle of Cabernet, and some well-written fanfic, & I'm good to go. ;)

I have a long history with reading/writing fanfiction & have participated in multiple fandoms since the mid-90's, but I've recently spread my wings into writing original fiction for the paranormal romance genre. When I participated in the Twilight fandom I wrote book reviews, guest columns, and was a validation beta for a popular site about vampire fiction.

Obviously, I'm a HUGE Harry Potter fan, and I've loved the Ron/Hermione pairing since I first started reading the novels in 2003 during my first deployment. Harry/Ginny is all right, in my opinion, but the Ron/Hermione dynamic was always so much more interesting to me.

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Why Ron/Hermione? Why not Harry/Hermione? Or Draco/Hermione? Or Fred/Hermione? Or Snape/Hermione?

Why, indeed? First of all, I would like to state something very clearly: Yes, I have delved into the often OOC world of Hermione paired with some of my favorite male characters other than Ron. After all, Hermione is the heroine of the series, so it's natural to want to explore the idea of pairing her with other male characters (or female characters) that we love, but the truth is very simple: JK Rowling created this universe that we love so much, and her word is law. Don't like Ron as a character? Don't think Hermione and Ron are well-matched? Well, that's too bad, because I think Rowling would understand her own creation and the characters therein better than anyone.

Rather than an indication of "incompatibility," Ron & Hermione's bickering was how they dealt with their mutual attraction from a young age. They were too immature to put their feelings out in the open - even if they recognized those feelings for what they were - so instead they expressed their unspoken passion through the next best means: by arguing heatedly.

Ron's loyalty, heart, and humor counterbalance Hermione's rule-abiding logic; he helps her to lighten up and not take things so seriously, and she does the exact opposite for him. Although not as "brainy" as she is, Ron is far from stupid. Like a lot of young men, he might not have been particularly motivated in school, but he wouldn't have been an excellent strategist in chess or have gone on to be an Auror if he wasn't intelligent. Just sayin.' Also, was he oftentimes oblivious when it came to matters of the heart? Of course he was! He was a teenage boy, for crying out loud! Not every young guy can be as perceptive as Harry.

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Please be aware before reading my fics: All of my M-rated fics contain sexual content, adult language, and, in some cases, violence and disturbing subject matter, and as such are intended for adult audiences only. Hence the rating & the posted warnings. Since this site does not offer specific guidelines pertaining to what is/isn't permitted under its "mature" rating & thereby leaves it up to the subjective interpretation of its users to determine what is allowed, I personally tend to view an "M" rating as being the equivalent of an R-rated movie. (Generally, R-rated movies permit sexual content, nudity, adult language, and strong bloody violence.) Therefore, if you're unable to get into an R-rated movie without adult supervision, then my stories aren't for you.

While Harry Potter is a "young adult" series, I cater specifically to adult fans of the series such as myself; there are plenty of fics out there much more appropriate for younger audiences. By reading my M-rated fics and observing the posted rating and warnings, you are certifying that you are of the legal age of consent in your country or place of residence.

Furthermore: Most of my storylines are centered around pregnancies, so if that's not your cup of tea (and I realize that not everyone likes pregnancy storylines), then my fics probably aren't for you. Also, I do not view Ron as having been a saint when it came to Lavender, and I don't write him as such. I don't necessarily believe that they engaged in actual intercourse, but he's Ron Weasley, not Edward Cullen. If you think that all they did was snog, then that's great, and I respect that. I've heard all the arguments - he would've waited for his true love, he was raised with more respect for women than that, et cetera, et cetera. Read my fics or don't, but please don't PM me your arguments, since, as I said, I've heard them all. Let's just happily agree to disagree, yeah?

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My advice to readers: Always check the update & published dates before beginning an incomplete multi-chaptered story. That will give you an idea of whether it's abandoned &, if not, how often the author updates. (If a story was first published in 2009 but only has ten chapters - even if the most current was posted recently - chances are good that the author is too busy to actively work on it, so you may be waiting...indefinitely.

Also, before reading a story, if you don't wish to ultimately be disappointed, check the author's profile page: Does he/she have multiple incomplete stories? Does it seem that he/she likes to start stories and never finish them before moving on to a new one? If so, I'd hesitate before getting into one of his/her fics, since the chances are good that the author will get bored and simply move on.

Lastly, please be aware that the large majority of multi-chaptered fics eventually DO get abandoned for whatever reason, since this is all done on a voluntary basis, & fanfic writers aren't getting paid to do what they do. Sometimes real-life obligations get in the way, or their circumstances change and they don't have as much time to write as they did, and they can't finish their stories. If you're not prepared to accept that, then my advice to you is to stick to reading completed fics only.

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Pet peeves in fanfic (yeah, most of us readers/writers have got 'em):

*12/12/11 - Plagiarism.

A friend of mine was recently plagiarized, word for friggin' word, by an "author" who goes by EdwardsCougar33 (I'm really hoping that 33 isn't her actual age, since a grown woman should know better.), and who has since removed several of her "borrowed" stories, including my friend's, from her profile. Honestly, I really don't get it. I mean, plagiarizing fanfiction seems a bit pointless to me because the "payment" we receive is entirely in the form of feedback, so what sort of satisfaction could possibly be derived from accepting praise for work that isn't even one's own? For that matter, she goes on a rant in her profile about rude reviewers, but why should it matter to her when the work in question being flamed isn't even her own? Really, I have no idea what some people are thinking.

*10/10/11 - Authors who beg for/solicit reviews but don't practice what they preach.

This is pretty self-explanatory, but I'll elaborate anyway: If you want/expect others to review your work, then it's a given that you should be setting a good example by reviewing the work of others that you read. And if reviewing in the spirit of community member isn't enough motivation for you, there's a benefit for you as well: The more reviews you leave, the more links there will be on this site back to your author profile and therefore your fics.

Spelling/grammar/punctuation/"fanon" nicknames: While I realize that most of us aren't professional writers on this site, and I'm certainly no grammar Nazi/punctuation expert myself, please keep in mind that when you post publicly people from all over the world will potentially read your story, so we should always strive to sound as professional as possible, right? Hey, just 'cause you're 13 & inexperienced doesn't mean you can't proof your own work for common mistakes that are glaringly obvious to experienced readers/writers & serves as an instant turn-off. Certain errors can be distracting from the over-all reading experience, and I'm personally prone to dropping fics with incorrectly punctuated dialogue - an EXTREMELY common mistake that's particularly annoying when the fanfic is based on a BOOK or a book series. I assume you periodically reference them if you're writing fanfic about them, so incorrectly punctuating your dialogue is a bit unforgivable, in my opinion. Let's play a game that I'm calling What's Wrong with that Sentence?, shall we?

"Lets go for a ride on my broomstick 'Mione." He said.

Any guesses? First of all, there should be an apostrophe in the word "let's," since it's a contraction for "let us." Second of all, there should be a comma following "broomstick," since Hermione is being addressed. Otherwise, it sounds as if the speaker wants to go for a ride on someone called "Broomstick 'Mione."

Thirdly, there should be a comma in place of the first period, and "he" shouldn't be capitalized. (If you don't believe me, I challenge you to open up ANY book for an example of how to properly punctuate dialogue. I promise I'm not making this up, but you'd think I WAS judging by the amount of fanfic I look at that has this same repeated error.) If it was a question, however, then the sentence should look like this:

"Want to go for a ride on my broomstick, 'Mione?" he asked.

You'll note that "he" still isn't capitalized.

Aaaaaand, lastly: "'Mione?'" Really? While it's not a bad nickname, it's not canon but, rather, "fanon," and makes the author sound as if they're screaming, "Look at me, I'm a fanfic writer!!"

Honestly, do we need the reminder? We're already well aware that this is fanfiction, but, personally, I like to believe that what I'm reading COULD have happened in canon, and throwing out fanon nicknames is a jarring reminder that what we're reading is amateur. Same thing goes for "Ronald." PLEASE reserve this for when Hermione is particularly irate with him.

"Come on, 'Mione, just let me copy the first paragraph!"

"Absolutely not, Ronald!"

C'mon, people. If you can find me at least one example (other than when Hermione was wailing on him in Deathly Hallows) of them addressing each other as thus in the novels, I'll give you a cookie. Yeah, not really, but I'll retract my previous statements. ;p But I digress - To get back to my original example, the corrected sentence should look like this:

"Let's go for a ride on my broomstick, Hermione," he said.

Other common errors: In published fiction (And we all strive to sound as professional as possible, right?) it's always "all right" rather than "alright," "okay" rather than "OK," and "alot" isn't even a word, so just don't do it; it's "a lot." Oh, and if you write "Would OF" rather than "would HAVE" or "would've," I'm going to assume that you know absolutely nothing about the English language & will drop you faster than Severus Snape might drop a bottle of shampoo that he mistook for Draught of Living Death.

"Your" - possessive ("Don't forget to grab your broomstick.")

"You're" - contraction for "you are" ("Hermione, you're brilliant!")

"Its" - possessive (The dragon was forced into its cage.)

"It's" - contraction for "it is" (It looks like it's going to rain.)

"Weasleys" - plural (They had Christmas with the Weasleys.)

"Weasley's" - possessive (Hermione was Ron Weasley's girl.)

"Weasleys' " - plural AND possessive (The Burrow was the Weasleys' family home.)

"To" - a preposition (She drove to town.) or used in the infinitive form of a verb (He wanted to become an Auror.)

"Too" - means "as well" or "also" (He wanted to eat ice cream, too.) or "excessively" (They are too busy this year.)

I'm not going to comment on spelling too much, because in this day & age EVERYTHING has a spell check, but be mindful of words that are spelled similarly but have completely different meanings and/or pronunciations. This is one I see a lot: "Defiantly" in place of "definitely." I'm sure I'm guilty of this on occasion myself, so don't be shy to point it out to me. ;) Oh, and PLEASE spell the characters' names correctly. If you're too lazy to do that, then I'm going to assume your story is just as lazily written & not give it the time of day.

Again, I'm aware that my own writing isn't perfect, but I do aim for perfection, nevertheless, and when I go fic-diving I'm generally looking for stories that have a professional "feel," since, as I stated above, a good fanfic piece should make me feel as if what I'm reading could have happened in canon.

Hold the cheese, please.

A little fluff goes a loooong way, people, unless you're a 13-year-old whose target audience is other 13-year-olds. While heart-to-hearts are sometimes necessary, PLEASE keep them realistic, and don't write one every freaking chapter, or else you risk a major cheese infestation. That is all.

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My pledge as a reader/reviewer: Since this is a symbiotic community of writers and readers/reviewers (Writers on this site gain experience and a chance to improve their craft while readers get a bit of free entertainment), I vow to always take a moment to express my appreciation for the authors of this site that have taken the time out of their busy lives to entertain us for no monetary gain (except when I simply have nothing nice to say). Furthermore, I vow to utilize tact in my delivery, even when the critique isn't exactly praise, and to remember that most of the writers on this site are amateur and could stand to use CONSTRUCTIVE criticism.

(If you take a pro-reviewing stance and wish to promote reviewing, copy and paste the above into your profile.)

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Best book I've read in the past 2 years: Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward. Can we say HOT? Not to mention incredibly romantic/touching! In my opinion, the entire Black Dagger Brotherhood series goes downhill after that one; I would've been a happy camper if the entire series had focused on Bella & Zsadist, or at the very LEAST the original brothers. I don't give a rat's fart about John Matthew, Xhex, Qhuinn, or Blay.

Best book I've read in the past 3 years: The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I loved the sci-fi-ish, Invasion of the Body Snatchers-type plot, & I found it to be very edge-of-your-seat. From a literary standpoint, the novel was far superior to the Twilight series. Too bad Mrs. Meyer refuses to grow some balls & write some SEX, even of the PG-13 variety, especially in a novel intended for an adult audience.

Favorite novel of the past decade: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling. Hands down, this is my favorite novel of the series. In fact, it's one of my favorite novels period.

One of my favorite novels of all time: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. Think Stephenie Meyer is the queen of vampire literature? Think again. If Bram Stoker is the father of modern vampire literature, then Anne Rice is the mother. Besides, Brad Pitt as Rice's Louis is WAAAAYYYY hotter than RPatz as Meyer's Edward. Just sayin.'