TWILIGHT OVERLOAD

Status: In the middle of a housing crisis and not able to write on my projects currently--even though I'm still wanting to! lol

Doing: Transplanting my peppers into larger pots. (At least--I think those are peppers!)

Watching: The shadows on the wall--as the sun goes by.

Listening to: Nothing at the moment.

Reading: Kushiel's Scion. Page 504.

TOPIC: ONE OVERWHELMED AUTHOR

I don't touch base on this--hell...I try to avoid discussing anything related to Harry Potter or Twilight--because neither book is my cup of tea.

I prefer to set my own course in life as a writer. I don't need to imitate someone else's success--when I have my own to rely on for inspiration and personal guidance.

But this article I found on the internet reminded me that not everything is so cut and dry when it comes to being published in the mainstream industry.

With each passing year, I find myself glad that I'm not going to be a part of it.

I don't need the headaches of becoming famous or finding myself overwhelmed--which I already am--or something that forces me to forget what it means to be a writer; than just being a commercial and literary success to someone else's bottom line.

Fans I can do without, the media attention I can ignore without regret, all the hundreds of thousands of dollars made from an advance...?

Nothing replaces the joy and the relief of having completed something that took a very long time to come to fruition.

Something I can take personal pride in--knowing that no one else will be able to duplicate what I set out to do and been able to do.

The article also served as a pointed reminder just how difficult and bad things have gotten for the publishing industry as a whole.

Things for them aren't getting any easier.

Which is why I avoid becoming so limited in my pursuits of becoming a self-published author under my own specialized imprint. (And that by itself--isn't evil; considering all the immense time, effort, and money I have been putting into this little venture of mine.)

I'm expecting some good to come out of all of this heartache, anguish, and personal pain which I've endured all these years.

Think of me as another Prometheus--pushing that giant boulder up that steep hill; according to the Greek mythos.

***

The Online Fan World of the Twilight Vampire Books

Harry who?

A year after J.K. Rowling wrapped up the blockbuster Harry Potter saga, author Stephenie Meyer has booksellers almost ready to forget the brilliant young wizard.

Her Twilight books, about the tangled relationship between a handsome vampire and an endearingly ordinary teenage girl, have become reliable smash hits.

When Breaking Dawn, the last of the four-book series, comes out on Aug. 2, it's expected to surpass all her previous efforts, with an initial print run of 3.2 million copies.

Meyers success isnt due simply to her vivid imagination for vampire romance. She also figured out before almost anyone in the book industry how to connect with readers over the Internet and inspire them to build on her work. Since Meyer published the first Twilight book in 2005, she has reached out to readers on social networking sites, such as MySpace (NYSE:NWS - News), and participated in online discussion groups.

Fired-up fans have championed her books on Amazon.com (NasdaqGS:AMZN - News) and set up their own sites, such as Twilight Lexicon and TwilightMOMS. That has helped propel sales of the series to 7.5 million books. "Other authors have pockets of fans online, but nothing to this extent," says Trevor Dayton, a vice-president at Indigo, Canada's leading bookseller. "Stephenie Meyers Twilight series is the first social networking best seller."

Executives in the book industry have long understood that the Internet can help authors connect with fans, of course. Major releases are usually backed by author videos, a Web site, and interviews with influential book bloggers.

But Meyer, a 34-year-old mother of three from Phoenix, went well beyond standard marketing. She engaged with online readers to answer their most detailed questions about the star-crossed lovers, Edward Cullen and Bella Swan. She put up her own Web site, in addition to the one by her publisher, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, posting her personal e-mail address and family photos. And with Little Brown's help, Meyer threw a real-life prom for her Net fans last year, drawing a huge crowd decked out in flowing vampire capes and fake leg casts in homage to the accident-prone Bella.

Meyer's readers have responded by creating an entire world of Twilight on the Web. Cousins Chris McElvogue and Georgina Tena launched Twilighters.org last year to discuss the books with other readers. Now their site follows every stitch of Twilight news, from plans for book release parties to gossip about the Twilight movie due out in December. The Internet is the best way to connect with other fans, says McElvogue. Twilight has grown into such a sprawling franchise that it has become difficult for Meyer, who declined to comment for this story, to stay as involved online as in the past.

Her success is a rare bright spot in the gloomy book industry. Book publishers have struggled for years as Americans turn to other forms of entertainment, from cable TV to video games. Publishers have responded by cranking out ever more new titles, hitting 411,422 last year, up from 247,777 in 2002, according to researcher R.R. Bowker. Yet industry revenues, at $41 billion, are barely growing.

With hits increasingly rare, many book publishers suffer from boom and bust cycles. Most major houses live and die by the blockbuster, says Michael Norris, analyst with researcher Simba Information. A publisher's revenue may be up 10% one year and down 10% the next, depending on the performance of just one or two books out of thousands. Scholastic pulled in $240 million from its Harry Potter franchise in the first quarter after the release of Deathly Hallows last summer but saw that figure drop to a mere $10 million in the most recent quarter.

Now authors are beginning to imitate the online strategies Meyer pioneered in hopes of creating communities of engaged readers.

The hits Freakonomics, The 4-Hour Workweek, and The Last Lecture have been backed by similar efforts. "Her success has inspired other authors," says Jennifer Northcutt, fiction buyer at Borders Group, the second-largest U.S. bookstore chain. "Theyve learned you have to be active online."

Twilight was born on June 2, 2003. As Meyer explained on her site, she woke up that morning after a dream about a striking teenage vampire in a sunny meadow with an ordinary girl. The youngsters were falling in love, but the vampire was torn between his desire for the girl's affection and for her blood. That day, between making lunch and taking her three young sons -- ages 1, 3, and 5 -- to swimming lessons, Meyer wrote 10 pages. After that, she couldn't stop.

She moved a desk into the middle of her living room so she could work while her kids played nearby.

She wrote late into the night, blasting progressive rock on her headphones.

In those first few weeks, Meyer was exhausted but ecstatic. After graduating from Brigham Young University with an English major in 1995, the stay-at-home mom could never finish the stories she tried writing. Twilight was different. She says she could hear the couple's voices in her head. The writing came easily. The series begins with Bella moving reluctantly to soggy Forks, Wash. She meets Edward on the first day at her new high school. The dangers of their forbidden relationship propel the story. Meyer finished writing in three months.

She soon had a $750,000, three-book deal, a vast sum for a first-time author. (With the millions in royalties since, her husband, an auditor, was able to quit his job recently to look after their kids.)

Marketing for the 2005 book launch started with the standard Net fare. Meyer did interviews with bloggers, and Little Brown created a darkly gothic Web site. But the author thought the site's design didn't fit her personality. So she created the more lighthearted Stepheniemeyer.com.

She plastered it with photos of herself and her fans at readings and provided a wry autobiography, with tales of growing up in a Brady Bunch-size family. She also gave bubbly updates on her book tours and peeks into her home life. One photo showed her sons at Halloween, dressed as a Power Ranger, Napoleon Dynamite, and Captain Hook.

Fans were drawn in primarily by their love of the book. The relationship between Edward and Bella may be the stuff of fantasy, but it mirrors the real-life angst and passion of the teenage years. What set Twilight apart was the way teens tracked down fellow readers immediately after closing the books. Within a month of the first book's release, fan sites began to appear. Brittany Gardener started a MySpace group to discuss the book after reading it in one night in December 2006.

Her group eventually drew 60,000 members.

Meyer eagerly followed her fans online. She'd never heard of MySpace, but once she discovered Gardener's group, she signed up. She started dropping in, answering fans' questions. ("If Bella ever had a pet, would it be hard for Edward to come around?" "What percent of vampires occupy America?")

Meyers involvement inspired her fans. Lori Joffs, a stay-at-home mom in Nashville, fell in love with Twilight in early 2006 and began writing a version of the book from Edward's point of view. In February, Joffs posted her rewrite of four chapters at FanFiction.net.

Two weeks later, Meyer left a review: "I'm having a great time reading your vision of things." Joffs says she was thrilled and e-mailed Meyer explaining that she wanted to start a Web site to organize the book's facts. Meyer replied that she loved the idea and offered to fill in the characters' backstories. That April, Joffs created Twilight Lexicon, now the most popular fan site, drawing 30,000 daily visitors.

In 2006, Meyer used the Net to meet fans in person. On her Web site, she arranged "I Love Edward" parties, gathering with her readers in libraries and bookstores. Fans began traveling thousands of miles to participate.

Meyer kept trying new ways to reach out to readers. During a book signing in the fall of 2006 for New Moon, the second book, college student Kady Weatherford joked that Meyer should throw a Twilight prom. Meyer relayed the idea to Little Brown, which liked it and helped organize the event. In November, Meyer announced the prom online just ahead of the launch of the third book in the series. The 500-guest event sold out in six hours, prompting the committee to add another prom. It also sold out.

On May 5, 2007, fans crammed into an Arizona State University gym. They whooped wildly when Meyer, in a burgundy dress with her dark hair up in ringlets, climbed onstage.

After the release of Eclipse in August 2007, thousands of people started showing up at her signings. Meyer took her e-mail address off her site and kept in touch mainly through exchanges on fan sites. In December she visited TwilightMOMS. "Hi, my fellow moms," she wrote. "It's just so cool that I'm not the only 30+ mom and wife in love with fictional underage vampires and werewolves."

Still, the distance between the superstar author and her Internet fan base is widening. Meyer has two books out this year, Breaking Dawn and The Host, her first adult book. She also consulted on the $37 million Twilight movie. While Meyer and her publicist keep fan sites in the loop on key events, she can't maintain the close personal contact with readers she used to have.

On her blog and MySpace page, the chatty, personal reports have given way to more standard marketing.

And in a major shift, Meyer is asking fans to pull back online. On July 7 she asked the top sites to close their forums three weeks before Breaking Dawn's premiere so that early readers couldn't spoil the plot by revealing details. Most fans are complying. But some aren't happy. "This seems so incredibly counterintuitive to me," wrote one on TwilightMOMS.

Meyer may have been far ahead of the book industry in building a fan base online. But she doesnt have all the answers to balancing accessibility and fame. "Stephenie is a total sweetheart," says Michelle Vieira, who started trading e-mails with Meyer in 2005. "She was open for fans to talk to. Now it's impossible. She's hugely busy."

THURSDAY'S LEXICON SOUND OFF.

Status: Writing on Chapter 146 of Starchild Duel. (Page 1,321)

Doing: Writing on this blog; answering e-mails; working out, and well...you know the rest! :0)

Watching: Nothing. Usually during the day hours--up till 5PM; the TV stays off.

Listening to: Nothing at the moment. Have a bit of a crushing migraine at the moment. (Weather changes yet again--forcing yet another sinus cold onto me.)

Reading:

Kushiel's Scion. Page 252.

Star Trek: Crucible: McCoy:-Provenance of Shadows. Page 11.

TOPIC: WHY DO SOME PUBLISHED AUTHORS TREAT THEIR FANS LIKE SHIT?

I know I'm going to get snarked on this one. I mean nobody should go and upset the Miss High and Mighty J.K. Rowling.

But a recent article in the New York Times had me pissed! So I had to stick up for book fans everywhere. If anyone here is concerned about copyright issues and the like--you can go and kiss my red and white butt.

This isn't about author rights and such, but how most fans these days have been treated like crap and garbage for so long--underfoot--by their uncaring authors.

Fans should be treated with respect and like a precious commodity. This article I read just proves that fans are run ripshod over the very people they look up to.

And the question is why? Why are some authors real bitches and assholes about how their work should be perceived and coddled? If they didn't want their fans to get this heavily involved in their work--impassioned would be more like it--then maybe they shouldn't have wrote it!??

Heavens to Mergatroid! Sheesh!

***

The thing about this article is that it reveals a lot of things about the state of mind of an overtly successful author whom pigeon-holed herself into just writing one series based on one concept--and never branched out to distinguish herself into a well-rounded writer over the years.

That's the one thing that has doomed Rowling forever and ever.

But she sits there and complains that someone is taking something from her that's already been a universally recognized and established cult icon.

It's not even close to being true.

Vander Ark's lexicon is nothing more than a dictionary-compendium filled with terms and definitions written about the HP universe--along with some of the book's passages and examples.

A fan's most exalted version of a fantasy guide come to life. And Ark is a die-hard fan. And he did it because he truly loved her work.

Not because he wanted to insult her intelligence.

The only reason why Rowling is trying to stop the lexicon from being published is because she had intended to publish a similar book--but Vander Ark torpedoed that idea out of the water--years earlier than she was expecting.

But also for control of the idea and the notion that she alone has absolute rights to the HP theme--and no one else. (Reason why she's suing RDR Books for copyright infringement.)

Which is why Vander Ark felt betrayed by her in this whole affair.

She's not doing this because she feels "angry" or "outraged", but because HP was a major cash cow for Rowling (to the tune of billions), and she doesn't want to see a penny of that being challenged by some then unknown fan on the internet.

So money is the sole reason for this suit. But it's a bit hypocritical for someone whom is sitting on $300M dollars in assets--isn't going to hungry any time soon--to complain about some poor fan's intent to publish an entertainment lexicon that charges only $24.

But what she wants from Vander Ark is "control". She's okay for the book to be published--but so long as it doesn't take away work that's been already in print for the last decade.

It would be a completely differently story if the man took the HP theme and characters and copy-cat her work on an entirely different level--but he didn't.

The article clearly is trying to make it so that Rowling is the victim here. When in fact, she went and endorsed the site from the get go, admitted freely that she often perused the site to keep her own facts in the books'--straight--and said nothing about keeping the site information from ever seeing print.

Not once.

And the idea that people won't read anymore HP books if the lexicon ever goes out to print is utter foolishness. How many here have read HP more than once? How many of you have read spin-offs, compendiums, and whatnot--on HP alone? Did it stop you from going back to reading the originals?

I don't think so.

That's like saying: "There's hundreds of STAR TREK books out there, I guess I don't need to watch any of the series, now do I? I got all the information I need right here."

Screw that! I'm still watching them! lol

The argument is lame to the extreme. In their minds, it's all about money-making schemes and everyone else--not counting the millions Rowling's raked in in toy endorsements and food-related contracts with major companies here in the States and over in Great Britain.

The lexicon won't take anything away from what's already out there.

What I got from this was some amusement as well: Ms. Rowling being so distraught over the idea that someone was going to publish this lexicon--it gave her writer's block.

On what? A book that can't possibly surpass the overpowering success of HP? This is what I meant by being "pigeon-holed" earlier. If you only write one thing and one thing only, you're not going to be able to branch out to other genre--let alone other books.

Because people will link you to whatever success you had before and they won't accept anything less than that.

That's why I branched out to as many genres as I possibly could. If any one of my books were to make it, I wouldn't be confined to just one book series. I have many to choose from.

Rowling no longer had that luxury. In the 10 years since the first book came out, not one other book came out to compliment HP as a companion book.

And the idea that if Rowling loses this suit, the "floodgates will open" and writers everywhere will "lose control over their material".

Pardon my frankness, but that's literal bullshit.

One? Fan-fiction on HP has been written for the better part of the decade. The moment the book went into extreme-success mode, all bets were off on fans, readers, and writers to not capitalize on the sensation which Harry Potter was generating.

How many spin-offs of HP have their been in the 10 years hence? I lost count.

Two? Since when did Rowling ever give a damn about writers everywhere? Ever since this saga of hers went gangbusters, this woman has been on a vanity trip that would make the 60s love and peace movement look like a cakewalk.

She's been so high on herself, salivating on her on self-importance, that she hasn't cared one whit about the rights of other writers--up until now.

This is all about herself. This is all about her. This act of hers--in this instance--is more of an insult than a nod to us writers everywhere. She's trying to cry victim over an act that is widely as being more asinine than having any real substance or value.

At some point in her life, she's going to have to realize that she has next to zero control over what happens with the Harry Potter books. People are going to continue to prosper off of her work--for good or not.

Three? Unpublished writers like myself have had our works on the net for the better part of the last decade. I'm working on 6 years myself.

So why would the publishing or writing world care about what I put on the net?

I'M UNPUBLISHED. I'M A NOBODY!

Hel~lo people! No one's going to care! (lmao)

And thus far, I haven't lost control over my work. My books are so massive and complex, who the heck is going to spend hours over hours on end--trying to take something that their collective 5th-6th grade education and comprehension skills can't possibly grasp--let alone understand well enough to duplicate and then try to publish on their own accord?

Personally? I'd give out the Freedom Medal if someone were out rightly successful in their endeavor 10 or 20 years down the road. I'd like to shake their hand personally and congratulate them on the one thing which I've been failing at for the last 8 years!

("Hey, buddy? What's you're secret?")

But...? That's not going to happen.

So I'm not worried. Because--again?--no one cares who I am or what my books are about.

And my wife--whom is an avid fan of HP herself (I'm not)--put everything in contrast to this court-room drama by saying this the other night: "Someone should shut the bitch up with a doughnut.“

Sky

WHY I WANT FANS TO COLLABORATE WITH ME!

Status: Writing on Chapter 146 of Starchild Duel. (Still battling the flu while watching the snow continue to fall. 2.5" so far.)

Doing: Writing on this blog; answering e-mails; working out, and well...you know the rest! :0)

Watching: KIRO 7 NEWS; couple of Disney tapes.

Listening to: Dance Hits of the 90s (mix tape); "Round Round".

Reading: Kushiel's Scion. Page 252.

STAR TREK: CRUCIBLE: MCCOY-PROVENANCE OF SHADOWS. Page 11

TOPIC: THE ROWLING CONTROVERSY CONTINUES

It's strange how some people respond to an e-mail by recklessly implying that they intend to take what you've published and make some money off of your works--just because you came to the defense of someone who has the balls to take on someone like J.K. Rowling.

Talk about your amateur hour at the Improv! Or is that blind arrogance I so detect? Hmm? Such statements remind me of a comment found one of my brother's beloved Cracked cards from his Magic-The Gathering decks: "Whatever I do comes back and sticks onto you."

From what I've been able to uncover, it's nothing more than a simple power grab by Rowling in her attempts have absolute mastery over the print media. She apparently doesn't give a rat's ass about what one of her fans want to do. It's all about her and no one else.

And this is what had got my goat this week--during the bouts of the flu--authors who feel that no one but them should have the right to publish their works.

I have to agree that this is what being a writer is all about. But what I am not in agreement is with is that the fans and readers have to be forced to abide by a set of rules which spells out that they can and cannot do with the published authors' works after the book has been published.

If someone wanted to collaborate with me on any of my books in the future--a fan-based collection of short stories set in the Starchild Universe--I wouldn't be sitting there and denying that fan a chance to flex his or her imagination on the book idea.

I would be all for it.

Set up a contract that spells out what will go down and write it! Y'know? Because even though the author has sole ownership rights to his or her works, it doesn't necessarily mean that readers and fans alike can't share in the fun as well.

I think this is what needs to change and needs to be more clarified. In order for an author to be successful, it requires both sides to come together and share in the same unique vision set forth in the books themselves.

The author themselves can't expect to do the lion's share of the work--without the help of his or her fanbase and readers. Without involving them in the process of taking part in the actual writing.

Fan-fiction by itself isn't enough for most loyal fans, because they can't share what they've created with the creator or the author. All they have is a cyber audience that is presently engaged in other things--least of all in what the fan had gone and created--and that doesn't help them any.

Nor can they get it published. And that is where the problem lies. There is that roadblock which tells the fan that they cannot go and get it published--without the threat of being sued.

And that's the problem. We are in effect telling our own fans and readers: "Don't publish anything based on my works--because I'll have to sue you at my convenience."

Why? Didn't we just give them the greenlight to go ahead and write fan-fiction based on already published novel? Why don't we all sue them for even making the attempt in the first place?

I wrote some Robotech fan-fiction based on a series I hope to complete one of these days and publish.

A saga I started 13 years ago.

Why hasn't Harmony Gold or any of its creative-license members sued me for even writing it? It doesn't detract from the original vision set forth by Carl Macek and his crew of 'robbies'.

So why can't I publish it?

The problem lies in the control of the idea and the vision. Not what we all have written. It has to fly in the face of what the concept was based upon, not go fly off on a handle--with a completely different idea using the base pair of concepts.

What I want to do with my work is create stories based on what's taken place--written by fans, for fans, and published by fans.

All I would need is a contractual agreement and everything is fine.

I may not have all the time in the world to write every story based on every book I've constructed over the years, but I would like to--no: love--to see what someone else can come up with in their spare time.

And get it published through an equal-rights partnership and collaboration. I'm just tired of seeing the fans and readers get screwed by things that hamper our abilities to think and dream up shit--based on some published concept that's more outdated than a 50-year-old Twinkie.

Lawsuits are for power-hungry peons and people whom have nothing better to do with their time than make other people fucking miserable--because they've lost sight of what it meant to be flexible and understanding.

Money isn't forever. We all have to share in it at some point. But as an unpublished author myself, I want to involve my fans and readers in my works than just simply having them read the adventures of my varied characters.

I want them to experience and take part in it themselves. So that they can witness first-hand their own impact their writing has on my books.

But if people are going to be worried that it's going to take away the vision of what I've set in motion, I don't think you're going to have much to worry about: I'm already set in what I want in my books.

I know what I want. But I want to see what others can come up with.

But there's a lot in my novels that have yet to be explored. And I don't think I'm going to have time to write them all.

Which is why I want people to be involved in what I'm doing. It's not just me I'm writing for. But I'm making it possible for other people to share in what's like to have their name on something that I've created--written by my own hands--and bottom line...?

Have a little piece of the action themselves.

If people think that all it's doing is taking money away from me, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I've gotten used to living on such limited income as it is, I don't think having less money is going to impact me anymore than it already has now.

Yes, I've had my share of difficulties financially, but seriously? I don't need money to be rich. I'm already rich in ideas, concepts, and my imagination.

I will have all I will ever need to become a successful author. I just others to share in that glory and happiness. And make a little money on the side.

Others still may not understand, some may think I'm shooting myself in the foot, but it's not the mainstream that I'm doing this for.

I'm doing this because my fans and readers deserve it. Not because some overbloated egghead of an author thinks that they are too high on themselves to even notice the negative impact of denying them the opportunity of sharing in a unique collaboration.

A chance to expand and branch out.

It's part of the reason why some of my books don't have a defined beginning or an ending. Because there's a lot I left out. Not on purpose. Not by accident. Because that's that way the books wrote themselves.

I want the fans to help me fill in the blanks. In their own words.

Screw the mainstream way of thinking. This was never theirs to begin with.

It's mine and anyone else's who wants to share in this.

Sky

WEDNESDAY'S CHAOS THEORY STARTS OUT LIKE THIS...

Status: Writing on Chapter 146 of Starchild Duel. (Last one was Chapter 145. My bad! See? This is what happens when: A) You're me, and B) You've had nothing but 2 full months of nothing but bad luck left and right.)

Doing: Writing on this blog; answering e-mails; working out, and well...you know the rest! :0)

Watching: KING 5 DT CH 5.2; WEATHER PLUS

Listening to: "Passion's Killing Floor" by H.I.M.; "Visions" by Razed in Black

Reading: Kushiel's Scion. Page 252.

TOPIC: THE ROWLING LEXICON CONTROVERSY

Just so everyone knows, I'm feeling a lot better today. But boy...! Do I have a shit load of things to catch up on. MY WRITING INCLUDED.

I just got done pasting the Starchild of Ancient Lore into the ground in my latest chapter. (Trust me: She's going to be feeling much better later on--after she gets some quality nap time. :0) The battle with Cara Hastings (or Nemesis--as she likes to be called) has taken a much greater toll on the embattled surface dweller. And her boyfriend Bayen Yelou...?

Let's just say that he has his own problems at the moment. (Praetorial Guard issues as usual. It doesn't help their case much when a wide area of the Barren Wastelands gets annihilated in the process by the other stranded Starchild of Ancient Lore--as she was left to battle Cara on her own terms.)

Anyway...not to distract anyone from the reasons why I'm writing today, the issue surrounding J.K. Rowling and that website which some 50-year-old fan had created a lexicon around the whole entire Harry Potter universe is something which had only recently caught my attention. (Being sick doesn't help my case much.)

With his intent to publish what is on the website--which has roughly 1.5 million hits per month. (Or is it per day?)

And the kicker? It got a full endorsement from the writer herself. Not the publishing aspect, but the fact that she endorsed a website which took full advantage of the HP phenomenon.

And now--suddenly--Rowling's trying to sue this one fan to stop him from publishing what's already on the website!

So why the John Kerry-style flip-flops on Rowling's part? The full and undeniable fact that she wants full and uncontested control of her creation and life's work.

See, this is what I don't get. The most popular icons of the 20th century--from Green Gables to Star Trek, to The Blade Runner, Star Wars, and so on...get gobbled up by generations of fans alike.

We didn't hear George Lucas suing that group of fans for creating that one hour long--STAR WARS: REVELATIONS--episode 4 years ago. (Which was profiled on CBS News.)

So why take this issue to court? It's all about control.

"Fuck my fans and readers alike! I want TOTAL CONTROL!!!"--shouts J.K. Rowling; a.k.a: Queen Witch of the Known Universe. "None of you empty-headed peons have any rights to enjoy my work! I make the money, I make the damned rules around here!"

...

And right then and there, authors like Mrs. Rowling gets screwed in the long run over how people view her novels or any future releases that will bring on board new generations of dedicated readers.

Her book sales may not be in danger of going the way of the dodo, but her reputation and credibility gets taken down a notch.

See, this is the price of vanity which some established authors fall prey to in the long term.

They no longer see value in what their hard-won fan base has labored long and hard for--to pay homage to and give out to their respective readers as a bonus treat to some of the die-hard book worms (or movie buffs). At some point the allure and glitz dies down...and maybe it's age or something else that takes hold and the author of this and that book suddenly feels threatened by what he or she sees as treading on some unclaimed--personal--turf, and now...?

They have to make one big fucking stink over it. Given by what the creator of that lexicon site has said in his defense of his intent--you would think that Rowling would welcome such a move.

Because why? Nothing on the site distorts what the Harry Potter universe represents. It is just a collection of terms, dictionary eulogies, and lots of other fun facts based on Rowling's already published books.

So where's the fire? The fire is that one fan has one-upped Rowling's intent to do one compendium herself at some point before HP becomes a faded memory in the back of everyone's mind.

This man went and pissed all over what Rowling's grand plan to make what again...?

That's right kiddies!

MONEY!

LOTS AND LOTS OF MONEY! CABBAGE, BREAD, DOUGH, SCRATCH, MOOLA, WHATEVER YOU CALL THE GREENBACK, THIS IS WHAT SHE WANTS THE MOST.

Rowling created this massive money-making cash cow from the start about 11 years ago--with the first Harry Potter book--and now she wants to milk everything for what is worth--even at the expense of her fan base loyalties.

See, this is where I draw the line.

Copyright infringement and legalities aside, fans should reserve the right to go fucking nuts with the author's works--so long as there is no preverse scheme involved to take away the original vision set in place by the original creator or author.

The money making schtick involved in this pointed mess is something I'm still at odds over. If there is money to be made, the author should get the lion's share of the profits made from this little venture, while the creator of the said lexicon should get a modest repast for his efforts and hard work.

But the two of them should be working together on this, not fighting it in federal court.

That in itself would give fans like my wife a bit of a breather and not grant everyone a severe migraine over the issue of free creative license and who should benefit it the most.

Because--should the court rule on this--if things go awry and the judge decides that it's Rowling's sole inheritance to claim eminent domain over anything put out now or in the near future--it's going to make it damned impossible for anyone to rightfully enjoy what an an author puts out--because he or she is going to be afraid of being SUED or taken to court over fan-created works of interest; based on the original idea.

This means anyone--including the guys whom made STAR WARS: REVELATIONS--can be dragged into a court of law and sued for everything they got.

Because they happened to step on the toes of either the original author or the original creator/producer of said movie or book.

And that is going to freeze everyone's personal enjoyment of reading that book or watching that movie--because a federal judge said that fans everywhere have no rights to do anything that will upset the money-making status quos of the authors or anyone else.

As an unpublished author myself, I am a man of free will and free enterprise. As much as I want to make a sickening amount of money off of my books (a man can dream--can't he?)...I also have to realize that once the genie comes out of the bottle, it's virtually impossible to put back in.