You are invited to a Caffrey wedding

You are invited to join Neal Caffrey and Sara Ellis as they attend the wedding of Neal's cousin Angela! The event takes place on San Juan Island in the Pacific Northwest, with guests staying in the town of Friday Harbor. There will be karaoke, cake, pirates, lavender fields, and dreams inspired by Jane Austen novels.

Spending Holidays Alone

As people contemplate smaller holiday gatherings, I'll share some of my experiences in case it helps anyone. And of course it will tie into writing.

Caffrey Conversation: Bonds. James Bonds.

This weekend after we learned that Sean Connery had passed away, Silbrith and I reflected on how he influenced our stories. His influence began in the White Collar canon, where we learned that before the FBI knew Neal's name, he was assigned the code name of James Bonds. It was a fun play on words, because Neal was investigated for bond forgery.

Caffrey Conversation: The Shark of SoHo

Did you ever wonder how Neal Caffrey became an expert art forger and con artist at such a young age? Peter stewed over that question for a long time, but by the end of the canon series, there had only been a couple of brief references to Neal's life prior to his arrival in New York. We learned that Neal grew up in WITSEC and that he didn't graduate from high school. He once mentioned having hustled pool in St. Louis as a kid, and that's about it. In fact, the canon episodes reveal much more about Mozzie's childhood than Neal's. Luckily for me and readers of Caffrey Conversation, we're no longer in the dark. Penna has provided compelling accounts of those missing jigsaw pieces in her stories.

Works in Progress: Fashion and Thievery

This week I'm writing the final scenes of Fashion Undertow, a first draft for Caffrey Conversation. The story takes place during Fashion Week in New York and includes a few Easter eggs to the canon episode "Threads" which also featured Fashion Week. Writing the draft in October seems fitting since the eleventh anniversary of White Collar's pilot episode was on October 23, and "Threads" aired a week later. Will my story also include supermodels and a chase through Central Park? I won't hazard any predictions. Like Neal, I've come to accept that no matter how much planning I make, I know the final product is going to change.

Roads Not Taken

This weekend I'm posting the first half of my newest Caffrey Conversation story: Roads Not Taken. After one of the characters experiences a death in the family, several of them think about how things might have been different.

Destination: Cheekbones Caffrey

Cheekbones Caffrey is the eleventh story in my Crossed Lines series—a fusion of Caffrey Conversation and Supernatural. Some readers have asked about the gore content in the tales. Although Supernatural can be quite bloody, the supernatural beings in my stories are more likely to use curses and spells than inflict physical wounds. The strong relationship between brothers Dean and Sam Winchester is what initially attracted me to the series, and it makes them a good fit for the family nature of Caffrey Conversation. For readers of Caffrey Conversation who'd like to give Cheekbones Caffrey a try, here's a brief summary of the main characters specific to Crossed Lines and their situation at the start of the story.

Six-Crossed Knot: Backdrop to Powder Keg

In the eleventh story of the Six-Crossed Knot series, the year is 1605. James I has been ruling England for two years. Over in France, Henry IV sits on the throne. Jack has been a vampire for two years. He's resumed his pre-rebirth activities, working as a musician with an acting troupe and occasionally getting commissions to paint murals which have become quite fashionable.

Backstage at Attack of the Kraken

When Peter heard that the inspiration for my latest Caffrey Conversation story was an ancient map of Scandinavia, he was excited at the prospect of Vikings being included. Alas, no. Although I do have a couple of stories in mind which feature Vikings, at this point they're just a random assortment of shy plot bunnies. If Peter had seen the map in question, his thoughts would have immediately spun to Rolf Mansfeld instead.

Arkham Vault: Queen's Gambit

Queen's Gambit is the 10th story in the Arkham Files series, a collection of meta tales written by Diana Berrigan and Mozzie in the Caffrey Conversation series. This story was conceptualized shortly after Henry Winslow joined the Arkham Files Round Table writing group, and his influence is evident in the plot. To name just one example, he uses his Arkham Files character Henry Chaseman to justify his solo work in Argentina in The Dreamer and Nocturne in Black and Gold.

Disorientation: writing a story is like moving into a new home

A couple of weeks ago I moved, leaving behind the first home I'd ever bought and settling into something different. Downsizing and simplifying had been a goal for several years, and telecommuting the last few months finally gave me the time, energy, and motivation to make it happen. After living in my prior place for so long, it's still a little disorienting to be someplace so different. And that reminds me of what it feels like to write a story.

Destination: Voodoo Remoulade

Voodoo Remoulade is the tenth story in my Crossed Lines series—a fusion of Caffrey Conversation and Supernatural. As you may have guessed from the title, New Orleans is the setting. Neal goes down to the Crescent City to celebrate Mardi Gras with some friends. Since the Winchesters are involved, you can also assume that one or more supernatural creatures will be on hand as well.

Caffrey Conversation: Backdrop to Progress of Love

A series of paintings called The Progress of Love by the Rococo artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard was the inspiration for my latest Caffrey Conversation story. Finding a slot for it in Neal's timeline was straightforward since the theme of the paintings called out for a Valentine's Day story. Devising the plot was more complicated. My initial thought was to feature an attempted heist, but the size of the panels made me reconsider. Even for someone as gifted as Neal Caffrey, stealing a 10-foot tall painting would be quite a feat!

Novel progress: police of the future

One of the main characters of Prime Conditions is a police officer in a world where part of the policing role has been taken away. While Zinnia misses that aspect, her heart remains with police work. But what is police work centuries from now?

Six-Crossed Knot: Backdrop to Masque

Masque is the tenth story in Six-Crossed Knot, a series based on the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. The story takes place in the spring of 1604, roughly six months after Jack became a vampire. Philippe has a larger role than his first appearance in the prequel, Walking Shadows. Matthew and Ysabeau are also in the story. Locations for this story include the Globe Theatre and two palaces -- Hampton Court and Whitehall.

Vault Acquisition: Standing Stones

Standing Stones is the ninth Arkham Files acquisition to the library vault at Miskatonic University. It is the sequel to Scorpion Hill and takes place in February 1976.

Writing retreat: 2020

A week ago Silbrith and I wrapped up our annual writing retreat, and I've been reading my post on last year's retreat to refresh my memory of what I said about the 2019 retreat. So much has changed...

Crowley: On the Outside Looking In

As Glass Angels draws to a close, Crowley reflects on the end of Astrena. Is he worried about his future as well? He's already departed from Supernatural. Is this the end of his involvement in my Crossed Lines series too? He doesn't appear to be concerned, and he has good reason to be confident. How could he possibly be written out when there's so much potential?

Glass Angels: Questions about Beethoven

Toward the end of Chapter 2 in Glass Angels, Neal dreams of Beethoven, or so he believes. Earlier in the day, he'd played on a square piano from the time of Beethoven. The piano, as well as a contemporaneous lyre-guitar, is located in an alcove of his hostess Electra's bedroom. That evening Neal and Richard gave an impromptu concert on the instruments for the group of amateur actors assembled in Electra's house. Was that the reason he later dreamed of Beethoven? For readers of my Crossed Lines series, undoubtedly several other possibilities came to mind.

Novel Progress: homes and clothing of the future

When describing the world of my sci-fi novel, one of my inspirations was the design competition shows my mother and I used to watch. Mom liked to pause those shows as soon as the challenge was revealed, taking time to think through what she would do before watching the direction the designers took. One challenge in particular stayed in my mind for days after I watched the episode. The challenge was to design the room of the future, and it inspired ideas that came back to me as I built the world of Arden for my novel.

Destination: Glass Angels

Glass Angels is the ninth story in my Crossed Lines series. The story begins a day after the conclusion of Silent Planet in the Caffrey Conversation series, but it's not necessary to read that story first. Neal's college friends are featured in this tale of a student film project where the lines between fictitious and real supernatural events are crossed many times over.

Novel progress: Solarpunk and Hopepunk

In trying to describe my non-dystopian novel, I'd used the term "green fiction" because the setting is a future world where the environment is healthy, where hovercars mean no paving over nature, and where technology has adapted to reduce pollution. Recently I learned there's an official term for this kind of story: Solarpunk

Reboot of the Arkham Round Table

After Rolf and Klaus Mansfeld were captured, Diana seriously considered hanging up her writer's hat. The Arkham Files fanfics had been designed to manipulate the brothers, and the strategy worked. What justification could there be to continue writing them?

The Pie Hole

Many months ago, I had an idea for a stand-alone Supernatural story inspired by Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network. Host Guy Fieri has classic cars that reminded me of Dean's Impala, and of course Dean likes diners.

Caffrey Conversation: The 2006 Road Map

Silent Planet is the first Caffrey Conversation story to be set in 2006. The story is not very long, but it contains several road signs for Neal Caffrey and his friends that they'd be wise to pay attention to. Some alert to speed bumps while a few have flashing lights, indicating danger ahead.

The Dragon Update

A few months ago, Silbrith and I declared 2020 the year of the dragon, representing our goal of facing and even befriending the challenges we encounter with our writing. We had no idea...

Celebrating Ethnic Diversity

April is Celebrate Diversity Month and in my first post of the month, I'd like to focus on ethnic diversity, in particular the international element in our stories. Most of our fanfics are for the White Collar fandom, where Neal Caffrey is a man of the world. Conversant in several languages, he traveled the world until his wings were clipped by Special Agent Peter Burke. Fortunately, in Caffrey Conversation, he never suffered the humiliation of going to prison, and the world is his oyster once more.

Blast Off to Silent Planet

Silent Planet is the first Caffrey Conversation story to be set in 2006. Neal has now worked at the FBI for over two years. This is also his second year at Columbia University. The story begins in mid-January, which is the first week of classes at Columbia University. Over the winter holiday, Neal and Sara revealed they'd been dating in secret for several months. Their relationship is no longer concealed, but dating is still a problem. Sara works as an investigator for the insurance company Sterling-Bosch and is currently working in London. She's applied for a transfer back to the States but has been told to not expect anything for at least six months.

My first narrated story!

Last week I decided to try something new, and worked with a narrator who created an audio version of one of my stories.

Comfort Stories for Stressful Times

Today I posted the first chapter of Merlin's Cave, a new installment in Tales from the Library (The Invisible Library fandom). The story seems very appropriate in this writing year of the dragon. One of the main characters is a dragon, and much of the plot is centered around his backstory. Kai is able to appear human and thus most people are unaware of his true nature. In the world he currently resides in, dragons are ferocious legendary creatures. The literature is filled with tales of knights riding off to slay dragons. This is not a welcoming society for Kai so he hides beneath his human exterior, in a sense placing his dragon nature in quarantine.

Novel Progress: LGBTQIA+

Last week I described the changes I made so my novel could pass the Bechdel test. Making those changes got me thinking about LGBTQIA+ representation.

Alien Politics

Now that Mozzie is co-writing Arkham Files with Diana, it's not a surprise to those who know him that he's managed to inject one of his favorite conspiracy theories into the stories. You've already encountered several candidates in Caffrey Conversation. Who can forget his obsession with Hitler clones? The otherworldly connection to tunnel slime is another example. In Arkham Files, Mozzie found an ideal breeding ground for extraterrestrial interference in global politics.

Novel Progress: Bechdel Test

A year ago this month, as I reflected on International Women's Day, I confronted the uncomfortable fact that the novel I'm writing didn't pass the Bechdel test. I decided to fix it.

New Women in Our Series

In honor of International Women's Day on March 8, it's time for the latest additions to the women in our stories to take a bow.

Shadow of Vietnam

Mozzie inserted a lurking anti-war sentiment into Arkham Files. His character, the astrophysicist Dante Atwood, was a vehement protester of the Vietnam War. Like many scientists and scholars, he was appalled by the toll taken both on people and the environment. Mozzie found an unexpected ally among the members of the Arkham Round Table writing group with Tricia who'd been an environmental activist in college.

Chocolate Box 2020: the new crop of stories

On Friday the AO3 Chocolate Box authors were revealed, which meant I could publish them on Fanfiction.net and can finally describe them here. I've been so impatient! Last year I posted about our attempts at having a more diverse cast in our stories, so I'll also apply that lens for each story.

Here we go, eight new stories!

Love Is in the Air

Valentine's Day is nearly here. What better time to pause and celebrate the importance of love in our stories! Thanks to the extended timelines in our series, we're able to create slow-burn relationships where love in many different guises can be explored. Cupid's arrow has not always been directed toward couples desiring sexual love. Love that is familial or platonic in nature is just as important as romantic love.

Vault Acquisition: Scorpion Hill

Scorpion Hill is the eighth Arkham Files acquisition to the library vault at Miskatonic University. It is the sequel to Sands of Abydos and begins three days after the conclusion of events in the previous story.

Backdrop to Walking Shadows

Walking Shadows is the ninth story in Six-Crossed Knot, a series based on the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. The story takes place in the second half of 1603, a year of great significance for Jack personally as well as for England.

A Tale of Two Dragons

In the last week I've faced two dragons in my writing journey. They are Cocoa the AO3 Chocolate Box dragon, and Sparkle the Twitter snow dragon. I'm still attempting to befriend both of them.

Venice and the Supernatural

Venice is a natural fit for Crossed Lines. It combines a wealth of Renaissance and Baroque Italian artists for Neal plus a rich history with the supernatural for Dean and Sam. I've been including references to Venice since The Mirror when I introduced Raquel Laroque to the Caffrey Conversation AU. I mentioned Raquel's jewelry boutique was in Venice because I knew someday I wanted to write a story about Venice. I didn't originally plan to make it a supernatural-oriented story, but the characters had other ideas.

First dragon of the year

Having declared 2020 the year of facing our writing dragons, I'm ready to describe my recent encounter with a dragon. This dragon actually arrived at the end of last year, and I'm calling her Bertrice.

Welcome to the Writing Year of the Dragon

Last year, Silbrith and I had an inside joke that 2019 was the year of the penguin in our writing journey. We've decided to designate this next year of writing as the year of the dragon. **

Why dragons?