A Throwback Holiday Treat

This year my holiday story is "Henry Takes a Holiday." When Silbrith and I played bunnyball with the concept during this summer's writing retreat, we envisioned a light-hearted caper with references to an old TV show: Remington Steele. 

Caffrey Conversation and the Heroine's Journey

Recently I attended author Gail Carriger's class about the Heroine's Journey. In the class she gave an example of a show that began as a Heroine's Journey, and how viewers felt betrayed when it changed into a Hero's Journey. That was a lightbulb moment for me regarding my feelings about White Collar. My final dissatisfaction with the show ties into the fact that the first few seasons had given me an expectation that wasn't delivered in the final seasons. That dissatisfaction drove the direction I took with the Caffrey Conversation series.

Found Families

The found family relationship in White Collar is generally acknowledged to be one of the most appealing aspects of the TV series. In the world of Caffrey Conversation, Penna and I super-sized it.

Witches and Demons

Halloween is still several weeks away, but any holiday featuring black cats, owls, bats, witches, vampires, and ghosts deserves a month-long celebration, at least in my household. This year to mark the occasion, I'm revisiting my Crossed Lines stories.

A Fresh Take on Complications

Complications was the first story I wrote for Caffrey Conversation. This summer I decided to revisit it, placing it more in the context of the stories immediately preceding and following it. Several characters waved their hands to be in the refresh, including Henry, Tricia, Mozzie, and Noelle. A few other characters you'll recognize snuck aboard too.

Angst ahead: The James Bennett/evidence box arc meets the Caffrey Conversation AU

One of the most common questions I receive about our AU is when (or if) we'll tackle the James Bennett/evidence box arc from canon. It took multiple years of planning and working up our nerve, and it's finally here! I'm posting the 14 chapters of Full Circle in September and October.

June Writing Projects: Retreat in Pride Month

The writing highlight of June—scratch that, of the year—was Penna's and my annual writing retreat. Five glorious days of plotting stories and exchanging ideas. This year was particularly meaningful since we'd been forced to postpone our trip because of the pandemic. Originally, we'd planned to scheme about Angela's wedding which was held at our retreat destination of San Juan Island. The year's delay meant that instead we were visiting sites mentioned in Penna's now-finished story Lavender Dreams. It was a thrill for me to see the places Penna had described so beautifully in her story.

Writing retreat: 2021

Last week Silbrith and I went to San Juan Island in the Pacific Northwest for our annual writing retreat. We visited settings from Lavender Dreams, ate a lot of seafood, and did our usual plot daydreaming.

Caffrey Conversation Revisited

Eight years ago I was in the middle of writing Caffrey Conversation, with no idea it would spawn an entire AU series. Now I'm about to post an additional chapter of bonus content to thank the many readers who have made my day over the years by leaving kudos and comments for the series and for this story in particular.

April 2021: Writing Projects

The arrival of April means that it's once again time for Camp NaNoWriMo. Last year, my camp project was writing the first draft of Dawn of the Jackalopes in the Crossed Lines series. It was published last month. This year my project is Set in Amber, a Caffrey Conversation story. With amber in the title, some of you may wonder if it has anything to do with a certain music box. That's a canon element we haven't touched on yet. Has its moment finally come? The story is set in late 2006, roughly 3 years after the start of Caffrey Conversation. Penna and I have let the characters evolve over the years onto different paths. One question that has been much on my mind lately is what the future paths should be for Raquel and Alex. Perhaps writing this story will help answer it.

Chocolate Box 2021

This year I wrote two stories for the AO3 Chocolate Box challenge. One of them is a crossover, so I covered three fandoms. As I did last year, I'll describe the stories and include notes about diversity and the Bechdel test.

The Year of the Cat

The arrival of a new year has a special significance for Penna and me. It means we can feature a new animal! We've designated 2021 to be the Year of the Cat for our upcoming writing adventures. I'd started the tradition of associating our writing with an animal two years ago in honor of Penna's birthday which occurs in mid-January. The initial idea was to sneak references into my stories as Easter eggs for Penna. Penguins are one of her favorite animals so 2019 was the Year of the Penguin. Penguins popped in as Christmas ornaments and dancers. The penguin analogies in the stories I posted that year were all waving at her. I was thrilled when Penna joined in the fun by writing one of my all-time favorite Chocolate Box treats, Bah, Humboldt. The White Collar Psych crossover features a Humboldt penguin named Pilar.