ANNOUNCEMENT: MY GIRL SARAH HAS LANDED

Okay, after leaving you guys on a cliff for a couple of weeks, I can finally announce the thing I’ve been so excited about sharing for nearly a month now. Ready? Really, ready?

MXPW AND I HAVE CREATED FICTION.

It’s called My Girl Sarah, it takes place in 1949, it’s very, very AU, and best part: it’s complete. It’s a Chuck/Sarah story, though I warn you, we’re not going to throw them right together or anything. So if you’re looking for already!married Chuck and Sarah, you should probably go elsewhere. But if you’re looking for any of the following:

• Sassy Carina
• Even sassier Sarah
• Casey the 1940s hardened police detective
• Chuck who fought in WWII and has conviction
• Ellie destroying the glass ceiling
• Gangsters (though I don’t think we ever use the word in the story), mobsters, and pretty much every Chuck villain under the sun sporting fedoras and machine guns
• Bad puns, worse comebacks, and a masked vigilante…

THIS IS TOTALLY THE STORY FOR YOU.

Now, I know you have some questions, and I’ve anticipated a few of them, so I’m going to answer them here.

In Which I Announce That There Will Be Announcements

Hey all,

I know last time I was like, “STAY TUNED FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS” and I promise you, both of those announcements are forthcoming (I don’t want to spoil the first and for the second, I don’t want to announce it until I am 100% sure it’s going to happen). In the meantime, I want you to know that I’ve done a little more administrative work and have updated my entire list of fic, which you can find here.

Previously, I think the list simply listed where you could find various fics, but now it includes word count, the year I started writing a fic (as you will see from Bank Job, it is not necessarily the same year I finished!), and a link to the ebook. I’ve also added to the “LJ” category by expanding that to “LJ/T” (Livejournal/Tumblr), which means that I’ve archived several of the tiny Tumblr prompts I’ve written over the years.

Now, I know I do a lot of three-sentence fics and I didn’t want to go through the process of providing all of those with names and links. Instead, I’ve archived them under their own tag on my blog. So if you go to the “3 Sentence Fics” tag on my Tumblr, you will see an archive of every single 3 sentence fic I have written.

Including the ones that are four sentences.

So there might be some new Frea writing you haven’t seen on my Fic page. Have you, for example, read this tiny continuation of Walker’s Eleven that involves panini? How about this one where Sarah leaves Carina in charge of two-year-old Hunter Bartowski…unsupervised?*

Also, I’m not saying anything definitively but MONDAY MONDAY GUYS MONDAY YOU’RE GOING TO WANT TO MAKE SURE TO CHECK MY FF-NET NAME OR SOMETHING there are announcements coming.

Until then, as ever, stay sexy!

- Frea

*This may or may not have happened to me with my nephew, who will be two in a little over two weeks and OH MY GOODNESS HE’S GETTING SO BIG.

Not Dead, Just Busy

Hello, wonderful people!

I don't want to take up too much of your time, but I thought I would update you on some things. First off, I'm still going through and updating links on my ebooks page because I want to divorce myself from MediaFire in general. I've updated the coding for malamoo's Chuck vs. the Second Chance and the Authors Intersect's Chuck vs. the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Really Bad Day*. And best of all, I've added the wonderful Chuck Versus The Con Game by the even wonderfuller Steampunk.Chuckster to the downloads page. You can get that here and don't forget to leave a comment and tell her she's wonderful and she should get crackin' on taking over Curtain Call for Max and me.

Anyway, now that I've made Karen flee the country, other news. I haven't worked on the Greater!Carina story, so sorry about that. Other projects, including life, have taken priority. I will have a new fic out on August 20^th called Counterfeit and Counterpart, which will include the ebook for your downloading pleasure. Hopefully I will have a fic out at the very beginning of September, and next week or so, I will try to remember to post a link that you're going to want to watch.

I have updated my FAQ page to answer a question about Guide Us Home and to update my answers about Greater and some other things, so if it's been awhile, head over that way and take a peek. If you have any other questions, you can leave them here as comments, or hit me up on my Tumblr Ask Box, as I'll usually get those right away. I will be out of touch for half of next month, just so you know, as I'll be traveling. More to come about that, actually, later on.

Anyway, that's the news. Hope you're having a wonderful day!
Frea

*SERIOUSLY, IF YOU'RE GOING TO BASE A FIC TITLE ON ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHILDREN'S BOOKS, GET THE TITLE RIGHT.

eBooks, Updates, and Greater Sneak Preview

Great news first!

I’ve updated the That Which is Greater ebook on the Downloads page so that it’s now complete, with all 13 chapters, and the updated cover (which I think was on the last version of the ebook, too. I’ve got this stripey motif through all of the Greater stories and I’m still deciding on a color for Carina).

In addition, I have started to port all of my hosted ebooks from mediafire to sugarsync, which I just like and trust more. In doing this, I’ve realized how wonky some of the formatting on my first files is. Basically, I learned as I went by making these ebook files, which was an evolving process. Anyway, the point is: I’ve updated some books. Not all of the books, but some. They are:

• Chuck vs. the Simple Twist of Fate
• Chuck vs. the Fight
• Chuck vs. the Fight: New Year’s Eve Edition
• Sarah vs. Covers, Lies, and Ticking Time Bombs
• Sarah vs. the Ugly Truth
• And more to come…!

It’s going to be a long process and I don’t want to devote too much time to it. Next up on my list are malamoo’s works and ne71’s. I’ll also leave the original copy of Chuck vs. Fulcrum on the blog even though he’s updating for the sequel (and I’ll convert that copy over as well). Also, if there’s an ebook you want, let me know and, provided the author is okay with it, I’ll host it here on the blog.

Awesome news!

I’m almost done with the second chapter of That Which is Greater: Carina’s Story (working title). The first chapter is complete and it has some of the cutest Violet/Sarah in the entire ’verse, mostly because Violet’s not going to be in 60% of the story (please don’t give me trouble for that—Chuck and Sarah need some adult time without the four-year-old underfoot. It’s a family story, but it’s also a romance). I was toying with the idea of beginning to post on Monday, but I’ve got two other projects calling my name, plus I have to impress some people at my day job if I want to keep it. (speaking of which: if anybody knows of someplace that’s hiring somebody with excellent writing, graphic design, and web development skills, let me know!). Anyway, I’m not going to post stories until they’re complete from now on. It cuts down on some of the fun interaction with the fans along the way because I have to keep what I’m writing under wraps, but it’s a sacrifice I have to make.

Luckily, you’ll see a big story from me in August and another one in September. I can’t blab about the latter one, but the former is a work of love.

BEST NEWS

Want a preview of the Carina story?

I hope you said yes because HERE IT IS:

Greater Eve

News! So tomorrow I’m posting the next chapter of That Which is Greater, which I’m pleased to announce is called Riding in Cars with Villains (the last chapter was Riding in Cars with Boys). If you’ll remember, we’re in the middle of the Zarnow arc, which is a fitting place to end the story, given that the original Greater is thematically about Sarah and Chuck coming to terms that he’s the Intersect. Some things will be different, others the same. I’m sure those of you who read Fates are shocked that I borrow from canon and then sometimes twisted canon. SHOCKED.

I can’t give you a time that the chapter will drop other than “when I remember I’m posting a chapter today,” sorry. Sometimes I am flaky.

Other Greater news! I’ve figured out the next story somewhat, though I don’t want to give too much away. I will say a couple of things about it, though: one, I had to change a date in Greater: Pumpkin Carving to give myself a little room to play for the story. Two, we won’t see Peyman Alahi or the Nadan-I-Noor in Greater, so it’s not going to be the plot of Wookie. I’ll explain why not in-story, I promise. It’s one of my favorite episodes, so I don’t want to write it (you’ll notice in Fates, I skirted around the edges of it, too, only writing the aftermath in Not in the Stars).

Ebook News! I’ll be updating Nervert’s wonderful Revenge of the Bartowski ebook this week to reflect the latest chapters. When I’m done with That Which is Greater Original Story, I’ll of course offer that full ebook, as well as an ebook that has all of the little stories mixed with the bigger Greater stories. That ebook will get updated every time I finish one of the next three stories, too.

Story News! The Clintasha Promptathon is going on in the Avengers fandom (that’s Clint/Natasha fiction, by the way), and I wrote a couple of stories for it. They’re both short and fluffy, but fun. The Memory of Rain is on my LJ, but Domestic…Bliss? is on AO3 if you want to go there (and leave me shiny, delicious kudos!).

Miscellaneous But Awesome News! So you may not have been aware, but I had two bets going about finishing Greater. I bet mpxw I could finish the entire Greater story before he finished something that I’m not revealing here. He lost, so his avatar is my choice for two weeks….which is Joseph Gordon Levitt in garters. These are going to be an awesome two weeks, guys.

Also, Nervert and I had a bet going about who could finish his or her story first. Loser had to buy a goat. Baaaaaah.

Stay sexy!
Frea

GREAT NEWS

Greetings!

I know, I know, I’ve used this blog more in the past week than I have in the past year. Sorry about that. I’ve been playing in the Avengers fandom. You understand, don’t you? Natasha Romanoff is just so shiny. She’s damaged and stoic and can kill you with her pinky. I appear to have a type.

I also have News. Not just news, but News.

That’s right, I have finished That Which is Greater. The original story that kicked off, to date, eleven other stories involving one Violet E. Bartowski and her crazy adventures with her father and her father’s fake-or-maybe-not-so-fake girlfriend. And there are still three stories to come, two unwritten and one partially written.

But the original is done. I finished the first draft of the last chapter a little over half an hour ago and I’m still sitting here in shock that soon I’m going to be able to take that “WIP” status off of my blog. One more story to mark “Complete” on ff-net, to reach its 13/13 chapter status on AO3. To finish up on the ebook.

Wow, I offer this story in a lot of places. Huh.

Okay, I imagine there are some questions, so I’ll answer what I can.

Because I Promised

When I last posted a Greater story on ff-net (which was over six months ago; it feels weird not to have touched that account in six months), I promised that I would keep everybody up to date when I started to work on any of my WIP projects again (they are, for the record, Spies and Nerds, Curtain Call, That Which is Greater, Guide Us Home, and Greater: Winter Break. I am no longer going to finish R&J, or, more accurately, I am not going to finish R&J in the way you think I am). I’ve finished one chapter of That Which is Greater, am about halfway through the next, and have one more to write. Yes, That Which is Greater Original Flavor will only have 13 chapters.

There are probably a few things that stand out about this:
That’s not much time for the story to end!

Well, no. But if you look at the Greaterverse on AO3, which has the complete archive of Greater stories in chronological order (except for one or two prompts I’ve written on Tumblr), right now we’re at the end of September and the next story takes place in mid-October. So we’re not really skipping much time. Which actually brings us to our second point.

Wait a second, Frea, you dropped hints about Carina in the New Year’s story and we haven’t seen her in any of the stories yet, and if you’ve only got three chapters, that’s not enough time, either!

Again, you’ve got a point. Which is why I’m actually going to write another, stand-alone Greater story. The holiday it’ll revolve around will be Violet’s birthday, and a certain redhead may or may not be at her birthday party.

I’m choosing to write the Carina arc separately from the main story because thematically and tonally, it’s different, and blending it cohesively with the story would have caused about ten or eleven chapters extra, which I’m frankly not willing to write for the story at this point. So it’s three more chapters for the original story, and one stand-alone that revolves around the women in Chuck’s life—Sarah, Carina, Violet, Sophie, Ellie—and then I’ll move on to finishing Winter Break and will likely, at that point, close the book on this universe. I can think of one plot point I can’t tie up, but I’m not too fussed, truthfully.

Does this mean you’re going to return to your other projects?

I am not sure. Currently, I have to focus on what’s in front of me and can’t think of those other stories without my work flagging on this story. Either way, keep checking the FAQs, and I appreciate the patience. When I have the final chapter of Greater finished, I’ll start posting again.

Frea

Three Sentences

So yesterday on Tumblr, I challenged people to fill my ask box with three-sentence fic prompts that I would write in reply. Here’s an archive of what happened.

(I also wrote some Avengers fic, and some Chuck fic for a writing group I joined.)

But without further ado...writing prompts!

Monday Updates #2

It’s Monday!

...that should probably never be said with excitement, huh? Well, even so, it is Monday, which means if you’re reading this, you’ve survived the weekend, or you’ve got really good wi-fi in whatever part of heaven or hell you ended up in. I guess if you’ve got eternity, that might be a good time to read my blog.

Pardon Our Dust

I got bored with the layout.  We'll be seeing some changes going on over the next little while (the one I've chosen is temporary).  Right now, I've thrown up a Fauxlivia header because it's Friday and that means Fringe.  My plan is to update this blog in tandem with my Dreamwidth blog and my LJ blog (thank bob for clients that cross-post), which means this is definitely moving away from being a primarily Chuck fanblog.  Truth be told, I'm a little amazed that didn't happen sooner, as the proprietor of said blog isn't entirely a Chuck fan anymore.  But this is CI.  We don't let details get in our way!

Upcoming Changes I'm hoping to make:

• A set of regular graphics to denote what type of post each will be (aka, each post will be framed with icons similar to LJ and DW)
• A better, more comprehensive tagging system
• A unified theme throughout my blogs
• More cowbell
• A directory of junk I'm up to, which includes the free short story I will be releasing to celebrate Halloween next month, under my official pen name
• More posts on writing, as that has really fallen to the wayside. Maybe I'll even finish that Vonnegut series.
• An unprecedented show of unholy narcissism, aka more personal "What is Frea doing?" posts, including cross-linking to other stuff I'm doing on the web (*coughNiceGirlsTumblrMyOtherPenNamecough*
• Fan Recs/Vid Fridays/Suggestions

Something I'm Working On

Title: Chaos, Control, and the Color Red
Rating: PG-13 for Violence, Language, Possible Sexual Situations
Fandom: The Avengers (Movie Verse), Chuck
Pairings: Carina & Natasha, Natasha/Clint
Summary: It's a partnership that shouldn't work and yet somehow does. Mostly. Sometimes. Okay, not usually, but it's so much fun that Carina Miller doesn't give a damn.
Complete: In progress.
Length:  2,060 words

mxpw vs. Frea - Chuck vs. the Wookie

Chuck vs. the Wookie

Season 1, Episode 4, air-date 15 October 2007

A rival agent shows up; she needs assistance stealing a gem from a drug lord. Chuck's agents are reluctant to help due to past dealings.

Carina Hansen Miller.  She's been present in two episodes total of this series, but you wouldn't know it looking at the archives over at fanfiction.net. mxpw and Frea are even among the guilty who have written entire stories about this DEA agent they like to call "Loki in a Skirt" (one more so than the other!).  So when the opportunity to review her debut episode came up, they might have jumped at the chance.

And look, there's even a new mxpw vs. Frea graphic to, er, commemorate it.  Yeah, that's our story and we're sticking to it.  (Frea's note: Many, many, many, many apologies to Yvonne Strahovski).

Loki in a Skirt

So Frea and I were chatting one day, as we are wont to do, and somehow (I don’t remember how) the topic of conversation turned to Carina. Now Frea has a take-it or leave-it philosophy with Carina. I, of course, am a huge Carina fan. Have been since Wookie. And no, fellow pervs, it’s not because I like Sarina. Okay, not just because I like Sarina (come on, if you really thought an article written about Carina by yours truly would be completely devoid of Sarina content, you haven’t been paying very close attention). Anyway, we started talking about why I like Carina so much and why I wish we could have more of her on the show, when Frea suggested I write a blog entry about the character of Carina Hansen aka Carina Miller because she doesn’t necessarily get the appeal. It sounded like a great idea to me, so I agreed to write it, all while I was thinking to myself, This will be easy. I mean, it’s Carina, and she’s awesome. Everybody knows this. It’ll practically write itself.

Well, as it turns out, not everybody knows this, and to make matters worse, it certainly did not write itself. Most of the problem is that not even I’m sure why her awesomeness is apparent. (Please note, if you will, how hard I am trying to avoid the very obvious reason why Carina is so awesome, but I’m trying to write a semi-serious post here, so I’ll not resort to puerile statements. For the most part.)