YA Writer, Tech Support Girl & Tea Addict

We’re back in business!

That feels like a lot longer than it was.

“E.Maree On Writing” disappeared for a little while there in one very messy weekend. While struck down by some demon hybrid flu bug that turned my stomach into corrosive acid, I clicked onto Twitter (to tweet about how I was dying horribly, probably) and saw a trending (popular) topic about a security issue with WordPress.

I dash over to check my blog is on the newest version of WordPress (as it were, it was on 2.8.2 instead of 2.8.4, which isn’t a huge difference) and get greeted with a lovely fatal error letting me know the blog was dead.

I stared stunned, quivering and whispering dramatically “I…I think my blog’s been hacked” to anyone nearby. This was Dave, who was horrified at the loss of the swine flu pig image, and his little brother – who decided I had gained all my knowledge of FTP usage and website making in Computing class, and asked if I was having fun.

I’m gonna cut this short because what happened after was complicated – I realised my blog database was missing, was confused at to how hackers managed to do that, got an e-mail from my host saying ‘Hi there! We moved your site!’, sent off an e-mail to Support and got a lovely and prompt reply saying the server had been lost in the move and was now back where it belonged.

They also gave some advice to fix WordPress, which was still looking fishy – but after looking into it I think this is to due with new version changes, which has some oddly named directories – a ‘pomo’ directy looks mighty odd when there have been hackers loose.

Thanks also go to MyNairn’s Brian Turner, who offered some help sorting the site out. I managed to get things back up with a little help from Google, but it was nice to have help offered (especially when no one else understood what my distraught ranting was about ).

Oh, while all this was going on, Nairn also flooded:

Pic from A Gurn From Nairn - click for more!

…Lovely.

So in short: we’re back, I learn far too much via Twitter, and Dreamhost support are lovely. <3

Just getting back into gear after all that chaos – I haven’t done any proper writing in long enough for it to bother me, and I’ve still got plenty of freelance website work to keep me busy. =)

Until then,

E.Maree
xoxo

• you are whatever a moon has always meant
  and whatever a sun will always sing is you #
• Morning from hell. I want to say ‘never again’ but it’s not over till I find my key. On the bright side… bathroom window. #
• My bowl is back, though. That’s pretty cool. Guessing someone put it in the dishwasher. WE SHALL NEVER PART AGAIN, MY CERAMIC LOVE. <3 #
• I just confused RSP and ISP. RSP is Rail Service Plan, ISP is Internet Service Provider. SUDDENLY, RETAIL SERVICE PROVIDER IS BORN. =O #
• Om nom nom carrots. Cutting down on the chocolate and upping the excercise to shed some podge gained over the ever-so-sugary Easter season. #
• I remember now, @Falken1 lives near Shoebox Zoo town! Place of awesome accents & school uniforms. Edinburgh can be a kink if I want it to be #
• Fighting to resist the allure of the chocolate in the vending machine. What’s really going to be hell is when I get home, though. D= #
• Dan and I made pizza & chips/fish & chips respectively and talked about zombie invasions. House is quiet now… Might go shopping. #
• Tried out the pen tool. I understand it a lot more, but it’s still such a pain remembering all the shortcuts and fiddling, for a _line_ #
• Dim firelight, a cup of tea, and some time to spend writing. …Wish Dave was here, but he’ll be home soon. =] #
• Wrists hurting so much atm. I’m getting wrist pains so much more often now… #
• Talked with Cat on the phone for 30mins, 1st time in ages, met Dave for a drink in the cafe. Great lunch, tho my sammich feels neglected. #
• My phone died a death while I was discussing the news with Dave. The news about dead polo ponies. 21 of them work £69k each, oh my! #
• Some guys in Forres have come up with a sweet idea that lets you draw light over a partner’s body from far away. http://tinyurl.com/c2xte4 #
• EMaree@markinscotland @Falken1 Pervs. =P @Falken1 I think it’s creeping up on me. Think it has been for a while. But I can be neurotic. #
• Dan showed me the secrets behind “Titch’s Special”. It involved something white and creamy so I wasn’t too interested. #
• Muffins are ridiculously difficult to make and my attempts can only end horribly. #
• Fantastic morning, sunshine galore. =D Woke up at varying points in the mornignwhich means I felt like I’ve had a lie in, and that’s awesome #
• EA are making a video game adaption of Dante’s Inferno. I sort of wish it was just the name for the next Devil May Cry… #
• RT @mashable Was The Pirate Bay Judge Biased? – http://bit.ly/WdYdl #
• Oh my god…. Stationcat. D= http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1176144 R.I.P. Diesel. #
• Myself and @Daveface have plans for the gym after work. I’m a little worn out, but it’s still kind of exciting. =D #
• Seems like @Daveface is still asleep. I hope he’s recovering okay. Might get an empire biscuit on the way home. =D #
• I think I’m going to have to lecture Dan on how a mixing bowl is not what you eat microwave meals out of. It’s all stained, bleh. =P #
• GET WITH THE PROGRAM GUYS. We have more than one shiny black hard drive. #
• COOKIE DOUGH. <3 Oh man, Ben & Jerrys’ Cookie Dough ice cream is paradise. I am so hyper off the DELICIOUS TASTE. =D #

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• Drawing some St. Sui character art instead of writing the #scriptfrenzy script. Fail, but it’s a fun fail. #
• There is a bed in the kitchen. This makes that plan for a cup of tea a tad more difficult. #
• Woks were bashed, spoons were scavenged and eventually, Dan’s mattress was conquered. Thanks for watching ‘This House Keeps Changing, WTF’! #
• Twitter’s not lying when they call Twistori hypnotic. Wow. http://twistori.com/ #
• Designing ‘buy now’ buttons is a pain. Going against a site’s colour scheme drives me mad. #
• Dave was licking me and Dan decided to join in. After the amount of bare flesh this morning, my personal space is now thoroughly invaded. #
• I’ve been using PCs for almost 10 years, and I’m only just finding zip files remotely useful now. xD Sleep soon, omgyay. <3 #
• Feeling really uninspired for #scriptfrenzy atm. I’d just rather be writing prose than script. #
• I am discovering the ‘Johnny the Homicidal Maniac’ fanfic scene and it’s pretty amazing. http://ashido.com/igtky/ (Falken, leave me be =P) #
• Picked up my sandwiches for work, on the bag is ‘Emma’s Lunch (I Got Hungry)’. There’s a bite out of one of them. xD lol, dave. <3 #
• Beautifully sunny day in Nairn, think @Falken1 will like that. =D No doubt Dave will drag him into gardening. And cookie making? =O #
• I’ve decided the world would be a better place if they brought back the old presenters and made The Crystal Maze mainstream TV again. #
• It disgusts me that things like this can happen to honest designers: http://www.jonengle.com/2009/04/accused/ (#SaveJon) #
• Dave & Gordon came to visit me at lunch. =] Dave looked gorgeous in his leather jacket and Gord was cute ‘n fluffy. Had a great time. <3 #
• Going home in ten mins. Hoping @Falken1′s journey is going okay, thinking he’s been caught in traffic. Can’t wait to be home with my Dave.<3 #
• Almost time! =O *suspense!* #
• Twitter is being a twat… showing my profile as blank. Bad Twitter. #
• My updates have all been wiped. Anyone else experiencing this issue? #
• A philosophy student, for his final exam, was asked to define courage in an essay. He wrote three words – ‘This is courage.’ Got an A. #
• I am very quickly getting _very_ sick of this bull. #
• Dave’s been away all night. D= Missing him. But Titch made me a roast chicken dinner! =D Gonna watch ‘Taken’ with him. #
• Wishing I could just shut down for a while. #
• OH GOD. I CAN’T TELL WHAT’S SARCASM ANYMORE. srsly wtf you two. xD #
• Treated myself to a Boost bar. Never had one before, and haven’t had much glucose in a long time. I may die, but I will die hyper. #
• Page 18/100 for #Scriptfrenzy. Behind, but back on my feet – and roughly achieved the standard ‘plot twist by Page 15′, once it’s edited. #
• Word decided to bury my last page of ScriptFrenzy out to sea. Grr. I have the prose though so it’s k. #
• Off in four minutes. Viva La Easter! It’s the Zombie Jesus season again and I’m on hol ’till Tues. =D #
• Worried things are gonna get broke. @Daveface – teh MSNz don’t work. If you keep FB open I can use their IM. =D #
• Fantastic night and day with all the guys – @Falken1, @daveface, @alexnessie, @StarShineNess, Neezy, Titch ‘N Doug. Booze, beach, and swans? #
• Watched Doctor Who (cheers @nopolymerchains for mentioning BBC iPlayer). Spin off series, Michelle Ryan’s Magical Mystery Bus? #doctorwho #
• Doing some work in Alias Sketchbook. I don’t know why I love this program so much more than photoshop, it’s weird of me. #
• Been cleaning the house with the guys. Falken is now dishwashing, Titch is making cookies. I am exhausted. x_X;; #
• It’s Zombie Jesus Day! Go eat chocolate, it gives your brains more flavor. #

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• In Inverness for Mothers Day. If you wanna hang out before I return to Nairn, feel free to fire a text. #
• OH MY GOD. THERE WAS JUST SOME WEEBL ON MY TV. THIS IS AMAZING. http://www.118247.com/ #
• So confused by ‘Dancing On Ice’ being about wirework tonight. Nobody is ice skating. They’re just twirling on wires. This dissapoints me. #
• Alright. Despite my bias, Ray (and Maria)’s performance was fantastic. I have a weakness for Take That’s “The Greatest Day” as well, shh. #
• I’ve decided that I’m entering Script Frenzy – adapting a novel into a stageplay. I just hope I can get enough of the novel done for it. xD #
• Doing some practice attempts at the stageplay. This is brilliant. <3 Cutting down everything – it’s like editing, but fun! #
• Nearly hometime. Going to go see Alex tonight so there should be some internetting going on. Buh-bye. <3 #
• Oh man. I know I should keep the fangirl under wrapped, but omgomgomg DO WANT – http://tinyurl.com/db6wlf #
• Against all common sense, I have decided to let Dave use more spices in his cooking. It may kill me, but it’ll speed up my metabolism! #
• I go on my lunchbreak, and SUDDENLY. CALLS EVERYWHERE. what the hell. xD It’s been dead all day and then, boom! #
• Good luck to Dave today. <3 =] Also, speaking about and to someone else entirely: Don’t you dare hurt him. He deserves happiness. #
• Dave and Alex have me drinking Bovril. It’s such a weird drink. Like cheap soup, and manliness in a cup. And it wards away the smell of fish #
• When I passed the butchers this morning, my first thought was “It smells like Bovril, but more REAL!” I have the dumb. #
• RT @Agent_M Wolverine, in the art styles of Dali, Van Gogh, Lichenstein and more: http://tinyurl.com/dg6nc4 (via @Marvel) #
• Got a nice amount of writing done today in the quiet moments. Happy with progress of the ScriptFrenzy plans and related novel. =] #
• Good morning, everyone. Daveface has a job interview today, so wish him luck and cross your fingers for him, ok? =] #
• Dave’s interview is in 15 minutes! I’m so nervous and excited. <3 You know the drill – wish him luck. =D #
• Forgot to mention – dealt with my first major issue at work today. It was terrifying. Lucky I’m so hardcore. =P Good luck, Dave ‘n Stephi! #
• Spoke to Dave Interview went well, looking rly good – tho I swear he said “she wants to put me on bar cos she thinks I’m an alcoholic”. #
• DON’T BREAK DON’T BREAK DON’T BREAK. I ONLY HAVE ONE HOUR LEFT TO WORK, PLEASE DON’T BREAK. IT’S ONLY ME LEEEFFFTTT. D= #
• My tax rebate came through ok, and it’s amazing. With Dan helping out as housemate, things are going to be financially sound for once. Wow. #
• Thinking of switching gas and electricity providers, but I have no idea how to do so. Parents, expect a phonecall at lunch. #
• Dave’s Valentines Day roses died yesterday (twas a long life). Strewn across a bin bag it looks like the impromptu grave of a small animal. #
• I keep getting teased for being the youngest analyst on my row. xD My Team Leader was ribbing me for being too young for the Watchmen. =P #
• ribbed, rib·bing, ribs

  To shape, support, or provide with a rib or ribs.
  Informal – To tease or make fun of. See Synonyms at banter. #

• “Slang A teasing remark or action; a joke. ” Why does nobody know this?http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ribbing #
• Trying out Ubercart with Drupal. Thinking of changing PunkEthicProductions to use Drupal, seeing how my experimenting goes… #
• I have such a thing for Drupal, it’s so easy to use. Might visit Alex and steal his internet for more experimenting later. =D #
• I dreamt that I was the Doctor (of ‘Who’ fame) & I was in a relationship, but pie charts of it showed blank wedges where love shoulda been. #
• It was weird. In other news, DRUUPAAAALLLL. #
• Ran into Nairn, met Dave for tea, a bacon roll and a cake-biscuit thing, and legged it back with him. =] Twas a good lunch. #
• Been passing the time browsing the latest in web-design. Going to end up going home & re-doing used-goods.net. It needs more typography! #
• It took me far too long to figure out if ‘typography’ was the right word. ‘the study of… typos?… that can’t be right…’ #
• Suddenly pouring rain. Anyone got an umbrella I can borrow for the walk home? #
• I just got an @ reply from psychics wanting to tell me the meaning of my Doctor Who ‘pie charts of love’ dream. What. Oh, Twitter… #
• Playing “The World Ends With You” and feeling time slip away as fast as it always does. At least I have chocolate! #
• If you play Animal Crossing, Missouri thinks you’re a paedo – http://tinyurl.com/dapvqy . But so is Rorsach. http://tinyurl.com/dcs7l9 #
• hoooot chocolate <3 I mentioned wanting it and Dave’s just brought me up a cup. =] #
• My bank card’s been retained thanks to a replacement card that never arrived. It’s just after payday, prime time for shopping and bills. FML #

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[Readers notes: Not only is this a critical review which may offend the (scarily easily offended) fans of Twilight, but it’s also a time-constrained post, meaning until I get to edit it, expect typos. You have been warned.]

My bi-polar romance with the ‘Twilight’ series has been well documented across these pages. The general summary of it is that I treat the books as a guilty pleasure, reluctantly admitting I can relate, that I have read them all, and even that I approve of how well she has managed to target an audience so specifically and made huge monetary gain out of it. But I’m not afraid to take a stab when the narrative is weak, if the plot is poor, or if she messes up in any other way.

So my opinions on ‘Midnight Sun’, the companion piece to Twilight written from the romantic interest Edward’s point of view, might not be entirely welcome. Especially because the book surfaced as a 12-chapter leak, leaving Meyers distraught, and many fans refuse to read it even after she posted it on her website to be ‘fair’.

Eh. I take the posting of something like that on her own site as a clear invitation – for the more cynical of you, an even clearer publicity stunt – and hold no qualms about reading it. In fact, I’m even a little irritated by her reaction – I know what it’s like to have your copyright taken advantage of, and it hurts, horrible. But I also know that when writing becomes a career, you have a responsibility to employers and fans to keep writing.

I’m far from blunt about how awkward it can feel rewriting ‘Dragon Tamers’ as ‘The Network’, but I keep doing it. I have a duty to fans and my agent to do that, even if original material would be more fun. The fact that it’s already out there in a much rougher, more basic form (the original books) doesn’t stop me.

But hey, I’m not rich from the pocket money of teenage girls, so maybe life’s different that way. (Take a joke please, fangirls.)

Anyway, the main focus on this post is the novel itself, Midnight Sun, and a very quick look into my opinions on it.  Click below to read more…

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