I started writing fanfiction when I was a freshman in highschool. Now that I'm a Jr. in college, I feel that my writing has vastly improved and that I have a much better understanding of literature (seeing as that's my major). I want to be an author eventually, but that requires time that I just don't have right now. Hence why fanfiction makes for good practice.

To see my original works (mostly from a few years ago), go here: http://www.fictionpress.info/~marscraven .

If you want to contact me with questions, comments, or you just feel like chatting with an overly hyper person with access to a keyboard, you can e-mail me at PhoenixVisions@; IM MarslxlRaven; or find me on Facebook, to which I will provide a link under Homepage.

Again, thank you all for being so great and I promise I will work hard to make the wait worth while!!

Sonnet 18:

This is the promised rewrite of Tom Riddle Lives. The title comes from the Shakespeare Sonnet 18, as does the chapter titles. It reads:

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate.

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May

And summer's lease hath all too short a date.

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines

And often is his gold complexion dimmed

And every fair from fair sometime declines

By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed.

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ows't

Nor shall death brag thou wanderest in his shade

When in eternal lines to time thou growest.

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

There's probably a few mistakes in there, but I typed it from memory, so I'll fix it later. This poem is profoundly important to the fix - for literal and symbollic meanings. Shakespeare and lit buffs will know why it's so important, but if you have any questions, feel free to put them in a review - I'll address questions at the end of updates.

All Perform Their Tragic Play:

All perform their tragic play,

There struts Hamlet, there is Lear,

That's Ophelia, that Cordelia;

Yet they, should the last scene be there,

The great stage curtain about to drop,

If worthy their prominent part in the play,

Do not break up their lines to weep.

This title comes from the famous poem by W.B. Yeates, Lapis Lazuli. It's too long for me to put the whole poem on this page, so I chose the most pertinent lines from the beginning of the second stanza. The theme of inevitable death - and how death should be regarded - carries throughout the poem. If you really want to know about it, just do a quick search on google to read it and feel free to ask a question in a review. Though it's not necessary to know about the literature that I use to support the fics, I can promise that it will enhance them drastically.

Chosen:

This fic will be strongly, strongly tied into the Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey. Technically, it will not be a cross over since the characters will remain Harry Potter characters. The driving plot will come from Lackey's ideas, but you should be able to understand and enjoy the fic without having read anything aside from Rowling's series. Lackey fans that stumble across this, however, will probably get a little more out of it.

The title comes from the concept of what Companions do - they must choose a Harald who best matches their abilities. "Chosen" is also how they often refer to their Harold, making it into the form of a title, and both Harry and Sirius will be Chosen to revive a type of magic that has been lost for centuries.

A note on slash:

While I personally do not write it explicitly or feel attracted to reading it, there are many authors that do and some of them create truly beautiful pieces of work. As individuals, we may decide for ourselves what we care to read - I don't read sex scenes of any sort, het or homo. Regardless of your own personal beliefs, religious or otherwise, wonderful writing should be valued for the art that it is. I ask that you do not flame me or anyone else for writing where slash might be mentioned.

Please check out anything and everything written by the author, Lightening on the Wave. She recreates Harry Potter with epic proportions - it's so complex, deep, and amazing that it will blow your mind. It is slash, later on, so if that bothers you, either don't read it or just skip past the parts that make you uncomfortable.

It was Aristotle who said "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." You don't need to personally like something in order to appreciate or accept it.

Updates:

4/19/08: It looks like the next update for Sonnet 18 will be ready by Tuesday, 4/22. I'll post a notice if it's going to take any longer than that since this chapter could get pretty long if I let it - I may end up cutting it in half. We'll see. When it's done, the first chapter of All Perform Their Tragic Play will get some long overdue attention.

4/21/08: I kept my word and updated Sonnet 18! A day early too... I have three essays and an exam coming up, so I knew it was now or never. Thanks to those of you who have been reading and please review so that I know what you think about it so far!

4/22/08: So, I've been thinking... I may push back posting the first chapters of All Perform Their Tragic Play and Chosen a little since I'm in the flow of Sonnet 18. I don't want the writing for any of the fics to feel or seem forced, so it may be best to follow the creative pull - especially since some of the things, if properly tied up, will get a little complex. If anyone feels very strongly about which fics should get attention, of course let me know, but for now, I think Riddle is being the loudest in my head.

4/27/08: Chapter 3 of Sonnet 18 is up. It's a little early, and may have a few mistakes, but as the chapters get longer and my exams get nearer, the updates may become a little more stretched out, so... this is my gift to you. Let me know what you think of it!

4/30/08: Okay... so, this isn't directed at all of the wonderful readers who have politely asked in reviews, cause you guys are awesome. This is more so at those who have been incredibly rude. NO - Tom Riddle Lives is not getting updated; hence the reason why it says Complete. Sonnet 18 is my redo of it and that's it. If you don't like the direction of the redo - I don't care. No one's making you read it. So, kindly stop sending e-mails or reviews accusing me of not updating like I promised because I have. The new fic IS the promised update. It doesn't take a lot of intelligence to click the author link to find it.

To the rest of you, thanks so much for your encouragement! I've put a lot of thought into where this fic is going, so it's wonderful to have readers who see what's going on, then comment before I even have to spell it out. The above pissy moment is not meant for you at all - some people just have difficulty following direction. I still want everyone to feel free to ask me questions, send e-mails, etc. Strong language, accusations, and incompetence, however, need not apply.

Current Schedule (subject to revision):

Sonnet 18 (Tom Riddle Lives Rewrite) - 5/04

All Perform Their Tragic Play (To Cry As a Phoenix Rewrite) - 5/08

Chosen (I Remember Rewrite) - 5/15