House of Demeter

demeter94 @ 2014-11-02T15:16:00

2014-11-02T20:16:04Z

Okay, so I'm giving it one more try to post here--LJ has been bugging on me for the last two attempts. You may or may not have heard that I'll have a new book coming out. The Interpretation of Love and the Truth is my own interpretation of traditional lesbian romance (oh well, it's me, right? Expect drama before the happy ending--if there's one at all. *teasing*).

I'm not sure if posting the pic worked this time... And I hope I could ask you for a little click. I'm doing a Thunderclap campaign for the first time, and if you could lend a tweet or FB post, that would be beyond awesome. There's no spam, just this one post that will go out on the scheduled day, on your normal timeline, no PMs.

Thank you all, and have a lovely time leading up to the holidays! :) Wishing you snow if you want it, and as little as possible if not, and everything else you wish for. :))

Email list

2014-03-10T17:06:35Z

Hi there,

I finally caved and started an email list--something very simple for now, and only for new releases and BIG news. I promise I won't bombard anyone with stuff on a regular basis (I know I sign up for things sometimes and then totally ignore them). If you'd like to be on said list, please leave me a message wherever you're most comfortable, or just email me: BarbaraWinkes (at) hotmail (dot) com.

It occurred to me that there are many readers out there who strongly dislike Amazon, and they either go to the sites of all lesbian publishers, or sites that promote self-published lesbian authors. This is kind of tricky, so eventually, I hope the list might help.

What you can expect this year is book 3 of Callie and Rebecca, and another standalone romance (as close as I'll ever get to writing something along the lines of Bridget Jones meets The L Word)--I have a handful of submissions to make soon-ish, we'll see how that turns out.

Thanks & have a great day! :)

Giveaway

2014-01-17T14:39:30Z

Hi! :) Anyone still out there? I finally decided to do a giveaway via this site, so if you're interested in a signed copy, here's your chance.

From the back cover:
"Disillusioned with the direction her life is going, Marsha Taylor wants to get away, to find out what’s left of her dreams. Picking up a hitchhiker along the way wasn’t her intention, but Jessie, a woman with troubles of her own, is hard to resist.

A mishap on the road forces them to make a stop in a small town called Diamond Lake. Residents are on edge since a brutal murder happened in the area not long ago. Everyone has their secrets…some of them are deadly."

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Secrets

by Barbara Winkes

Giveaway ends February 07, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

And just for the record, I still love WMC, and Lindsay/Cindy more than anyone should be invested in fictional characters--but there's something really cool about having your own. Subtext, text, it's all in your hands, and you never have to worry about disclaimers and such, because they're all yours. Nevertheless, it's all the experiences in fanfic and the awesome people I met that helped get me here. Thank you! :)

Women’s Murder Club Day 2012: What Doesn’t Kill You…

2012-05-13T01:27:46Z

On the 4th annual Women’s Murder Club Day, I’d like to kick off the discussion with a simple question: Where do you think these characters would be and what kind of cases would they deal with in 2012, in their 5th season?

We learned a long time ago that the representation of women in the media is not accidental, but very much intersected with political interests and gender ratio in the places where media is made. Fictional characters are just another expression of these facts, and if you want all of it summed up, I highly recommend the documentary Miss Representation. In 2007, Women’s Murder Club and its themes were clearly ahead of its time. It wasn’t around long enough for feminists to find and love it and hate groups to protest it; sadly it couldn’t really benefit from twitter as much as shows do now.
The idea of women connecting on a professional and private level for change in a setting where minorities were not blatantly overlooked – sounds almost radical in 2012 where there’s a real war on women and their rights.

We can only imagine what this extraordinary show, if it had still been in the talented hands of Sarah Fain and Elizabeth Craft, would look like. That’s what I want you to do. Tell us about your season 5 and what happened in between and, just generally, your WMC story.

(PS: Also check out wmcday and @wmcday1 on twitter).

Thank you!

Legal advocacy by fans, for fans

2012-04-19T17:45:18Z

Edited to say: They are heroes.

Originally posted by kristenmurphy at Legal advocacy by fans, for fans

Advocating for the legitimate status of fanworks is an ongoing battle, and OTW's Legal Advocacy project is at the forefront.

Our legal committee is currently working to renew an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for makers of noncommercial remix videos such as fan vids, AMVs, and political remix videos. In 2010, when OTW joined with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and other like-minded organizations to win this exemption, we knew we'd have to return and defend it again only a few years later. Unlike the copyright expansions of recent years, the DMCA exemptions expire unless they're reinstated every three years.

Legal's chair, Rebecca Tushnet, says that although it's hard to say at this point how different this year's DMCA process is from the previous one, she's certain of one thing: "the MPAA and other organizations took us much more seriously this time, since we were basically ignored until we had a success under our belt."

We're also gaining a valuable network of allies in the larger free-expression, pro-fair-use activist world. As well as working closely with EFF, we've had positive interactions with groups such as the Documentary Filmmakers' Association and USC-Annenberg's Norman Lear Center. Tushnet, who will be testifying at the DMCA rule-making in May and June, points out that "the DMCA affects all sorts of creators, and as we work with them there's a great opportunity for mutual learning."

Although the DMCA exemption has been central in our thoughts and efforts this year, volunteers from Legal have also worked on contributing to the Wikipedia page on legal issues in fanfiction to provide a more law-based discussion of fans' rights; advising fans who have been sent DMCA takedown notifications; and providing assistance on an amicus brief in an ongoing case regarding the right of publicity. Legal is also always at the service of fans who have questions regarding non-commercial fanworks. You can contact the legal committee here.

The OTW is a dedicated champion of fans' rights, with an established track record of success — but there are many battles, large and small, still to be fought. Help us fight those battles — please donate today.

Mirrored from an original post on the OTW blog. Find related news by viewing our tag cloud.

Fanfic Auction for Japan

2011-03-14T18:59:39Z

My little contribution to help_japan.

Giveaway!

2011-03-02T19:15:00Z

1) German article in 'Hörbucher', Angie Harmon on the cover, interview with Tess Gerritsen

~~The first season of Blood Ties (still wrapped) region code 2~~ Sorry, it's gone! :)

All you have to do is pay the postage. Interested? Please comment or send PM.

I Dare You :)

2011-02-06T10:29:12Z

Jane: "Wtf is Women's Murder Club Day?"

Maura: "You know, Jane, it's about very efficient networking that we could possibly adopt..."

Jane: (glares)

Maura: *I win* "I wanted to go to San Francisco anyway."

Disclaimer: Those two lovely ladies used in a little impromptu fic in order to promote Women's Murder Club Day, are the creative property of Tess Gerritsen, Janet Tamaro & TNT.

... to the graphic-making Rizzoli & Isles fans - to get creative and come up with something to remind fellow twangels and beyond that May 13th, we all have a party to attend.

"Why, you wanna tell me how to live my life? Who are you to tell me if it's black or white?"

2011-01-17T21:09:55Z

For the upcoming #wmcday, I plan a vid contest and making Angie a trending topic on twitter. Among other things. Raise the fan voice in a good, non-obtrusive way.

Credits for giving me the idea of the TT go to redbossfan and the Poets Of The Fall folks - TT time for #potf is on Saturday, so let's help out.

This is what fandom is really made of, a passionate positive force. <3

Book Giveaway: Blood Trail by Tanya Huff

2011-01-16T11:05:45Z

Okay, folks, here it goes. The first person to comment on this post gets it, condition as new, I just got this double once and wasn't quick enough to return it. You pay just for the postage, the book is for free.

'Blood Trail' is the second in the Vicki Nelson series, fun to read even for someone who, like me, is pretty opposed to all things vampires and supernatural.

I'll do more of these book giveaways over the next few months if I find more on my bookshelf that might be interesting for anyone who's not a shrink and/or can't get enough of the lady detectives.

Rules will always be the same, just shipping to pay.

However, it would be great if you could spare a few bucks for the Teddy Bear project to fight breast cancer via fansofwmc.

My two cents

2011-01-15T18:32:13Z

The truth is, I like Angie Harmon a lot more even than I did before for speaking her mind clearly.

You can't call a person insensitive or worse, homophobic, simply for being straight. Sure every celebrity is somewhat prepared to deal with fan fantasies, but if we don't check them every now and then (and I totally include myself, because I'm not perfect and might have gone overboard at times), we really turn into someone out of a Stephen King novel. You know which one.

So I'm a lesbian (yep, big surprise there). I have shipped Lindsay and Cindy rather obsesively, I believe that Jane and Gabriel are a great match. I believe once those characters are out there, fans may interpret them, but there's no reason to feel offended if the people who played them see things differently.

And yeah, I'd be over the moon if Angie and Aubrey followed each other on twitter, but with the way the ending of this show broke our heart, we were just hoping so much that everyone parted on a friendly basis at least. What they actually do in real life, that's really none of my business.

If any of them chooses to share tidbits of their lives with fans, I say, it's great. And if you don't like it there... well, just as the woman said.

It's one click to unfollow.

Writer's Block: One day

2010-11-21T09:01:20Z

Ha, what do you mean 'a favorite band'? With THE favorite band, there was the danger only one time, back twenty years ago. And they didn't. So, no worries.

Writer's Block: Must see TV

2010-11-17T09:13:18Z

Of course it would be a crime drama starring Angie Harmon and Aubrey Dollar, why are you even asking me that?

Writer's Block: A real eye opener

2010-11-07T16:47:32Z

There's not just one book. Reading is feeding the soul. :)

Fair Use. Fair To Say: I love these people.

2010-10-24T09:45:29Z

OTW

So I renewed my membership. I'm not nearly up to date with all their projects, but they actually go into courtrooms and speak out about what fandom actually is. From a legal and cultural perspective, this is simply amazing.

And see:

"You've been added to our queue! Yay!
Invitation Status for Demeter94@yahoo.de
You are currently number 211 on our waiting list! At our current rate, you should receive an invitation on or around: November 01, 2010"

They are very efficient, too! I'd thought there'd be a longer wait. I'm amazed, but secretly dreading having to upload ~ 150 fics. No one's going to do it otherwise, though, and the Archive Of Our Own is a great place to be.

Plus, as for now, there are only 8 Women's Murder Club fics. We can do better than that.

Remember to wear purple tomorrow for Spirit Day ;)

2010-10-19T19:58:10Z

MTV Shows

Spirit Day

2010-10-05T08:42:36Z

Originally posted by neo_prodigy at Spirit Day

It’s been decided. On October 20th, 2010, we will wear purple in honor of the 6 gay boys who committed suicide in recent weeks/months due to homophobic abuse in their homes at at their schools. Purple represents Spirit on the LGBTQ flag and that’s exactly what we’d like all of you to have with you: spirit. Please know that times will get better and that you will meet people who will love you and respect you for who you are, no matter your sexuality. Please wear purple on October 20th. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and schools.

RIP Tyler Clementi, Seth Walsh (top)
RIP Justin Aaberg, Raymond Chase (middle)
RIP Asher Brown and Billy Lucas. (bottom)

REBLOG to spread a message of love, unity and peace.

Beyond The Glass Ceiling: From The Club To Rizzles

2010-09-25T19:38:03Z

Beyond The Glass Ceiling:

Rizzles, TNT’s Smarts & ABC’s Fifteen Minutes Of Shame

What happens when the people who own the rights to a TV show are really behind it? Something like the record ratings of TNT’s Rizzoli & Isles , and the phenomenon of ‘Rizzles’, a large portion of the fan base who sees the main characters as a couple and is not reluctant to tell the world about it. In a world where classic networks seem to have completely lost touch with their audience, hanging on to a certain demographic in their sexist way, that is refreshing, to say the least.

Rizzles creates visibility. TNT has a great track record for shows with strong female leads like The Closer and Saving Grace, and they seem to understand that women, gay and straight, indeed do watch TV, and these are the kind of characters they want to see. That’s why we’ve seen billboards advertising the show, and that’s why it’s being aired right after The Closer.

Add to that Tess Gerritsen, the original creator of Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles, stating on her blog that she’s amused to see people taking her characters into this somewhat different direction, it really feels like everyone’s on the same page here. Which is a relief for fanfiction writers and vidders who have been taught the Fear of the FBI knocking on their door by other authors (you know who they are). Already renewed for a second season, Rizzoli & Isles will continue to build its fandom. It’s all good. It’s the way it should be, isn’t it?

But if you’re a fan of chicks in charge, the action, the friendship and the love spread in fanworks, know your history. There’s a grain of salt in it though, because between then and now, there could have been three seasons of Women’s Murder Club. Everything TNT did right in the case of Rizzoli & Isles, ABC neglected back then in a way that makes a person suspect intentional sabotaging.

Let’s not even talk about the trashing of the original pilot, because allegedly it contained too much plot. Then there was the Writer’s Strike which admittedly left hardly any show unaffected. But how come that a show that killed its competition before all of a sudden ended up on the bubble, with its original showrunners (female) fired and replaced by somebody (male) with a name in the business, but no grasp of the characters? All coincidence, wasn’t it? After the strike, the last three episodes of Women’s Murder Club were aired on Tuesdays, which is not spectacular by itself. Consider though that the time slot was the same as Law & Order SVU’s, with the Robin Williams guest starring episode as competition for a show in its first season. You don’t have to believe in an anti-feminist conspiracy there. Look at it from a strictly economic perspective, and all of these decisions make no sense whatsoever, unless a the network really wanted to get rid of this show badly. ABC has been titled The Network That Hates Women before, and the now retired president has little to show against that theory.

Women’s Murder Club, as we all know, was cancelled on May 13th in 2008 (the day that is now Women’s Murder Club Day, initiated by a fandom that stubbornly refuses to die). There are no official DVDs to buy. At the moment, there is actually no legal way for interested new fans to watch it.

We’ll probably be able to buy a Season 1 DVD Box of Rizzoli & Isles before the nest season starts, people in some countries can watch it online on the TNT site, or buy it on iTunes.

We love it when Jane Rizzoli gets up into the creepy killer’s face, when she and Maura turn to each other in times of crisis or sometimes to just have a drink together after a long work day.

We have to remember though that it’s all been there before. If Rizzoli & Isles can rise above the glass ceiling, it’s because the Women’s Murder Club shattered it, walking on broken glass while The Network That Hates Women sat idly by.

Not so the fans.

The Campaign
The Virtual Season
And beyond.

Honestly.

2010-07-06T09:26:12Z

I guess there are some things I still need to sort out. Fannishly, that is, because otherwise, the sorting out never stops ;)

So I've been going on for a long time about how there are not enough shows focusing on women and real friendship and so on. There are women superiors, the token women as part of the team, but having their stories be the main focus - clearly not enough of them. So, realistically, the point where WMC couldn't be saved anymore had been reached pretty quickly. If its own network trashes a show every which way it can, fans can rage, but it's all they can do. Well, they can rage and boycott and move to other networks, whatever, but nothing could bring back the golden days as they were.

From a feminist POV, you then take a look around and be very happy when you at least find another show where the women are main characters, and not desperate. I am, I am, I swear!

And you get all your theories confirmed, like Sarah and Liz before, Janet Tamaro seems to have a good grasp of the audience. Women behind the scenes mean that you'll get more out of it than the obligatory explosion per episode. Procedural plus relationships, and didn't we all miss the girl banter over a dead body badly?

Unless in the next few weeks Mr. Mc Pherson becomes the president of TNT, I don't see how I'm not gonna love the show.

I still can't get over the meaning behind the 'I Kissed A Girl' episode, and I'll rein in my excitement over it until we've actually seen the episode. Still, it's the stuff that usually fanfic is made of, and when TV goes like that, it's usually good.

Still.

The heart aches for the BEST OTP EVER.

Another One Bites The Dust

2010-06-16T08:14:28Z

Well done, CBS. Welcome to the Hall of Shame, joining your buddies from ABC & Fox.

Disclaimer - it's a mildly bleeding heart post. I never watched the show, though I still want to get to that one episode. I'm kinda the nightmare to TPTB because I want my shows *focused* on the female characters. Yeah, my bad. No wonder I don't get to see much.

Anyway, the blatant sexism in this is hard to ignore (budgets cuts, but they have money for a spinoff??) so, for whatever it's worth, doing my part. Sign here..

I've got a suggestion for CBS: Drop one of the guys, cut down the role of boss man, keep JJ and make Emily boss woman. Yeah, that might be reverse sexism, but how else are we ever going to make things equal?

Yeah, I know. Whoa, scary thought there, isn't it?

Remember the good times:

Unbound

& one I might have rec'ed already, because I love readthesubtext's vids. Smooth Criminal.

I still say things are never gonna change until women get their hands on some real money and power.

I have small hopes for TNT. I mean this is almost unbelievable, 4 seasons of Saving Grace, 6 of The Closer, they have the Hawthorne gal, Leverage with 3 guys, 2 women and now R&I. When you look at their poster for '100 days of drama' - all of these women are over 35! This is awesome. I'm just not ready to trust.

As for Women's Murder Club - whenever I see another screw-up of the people in charge, it's confirmation. It's important to keep the memory alive, because whatever they say, we were there already. We got a glimpse. And then they trashed it.

Aside from the important cause, that's what fansofwmc is also for: Never Forget.

The next step: Fans Of Women's Murder Club

2010-05-17T16:32:55Z

Dear f-list, there will be some more poking and prodding. Your fault, really, for teaching me so much about fandom, love and what is possible! :P

So, about Fans of Women's Murder Club:

The big deadline would of course be next WMC Day, but before that we have October 12th, WMC's 3rd b-day so to speak. Taking part is actually very easy. On the lj community, there's a link where you can donate for the Avon Walk For Breast Cancer. When you do so, you simply mention 'Fans of Women's Murder Club' in the personal note, email me a copy of your receipt and I will - count. That's all, there'll be no names revealed on any comm (well except if you want me to), just a final sum, Oct 12th, 2010 and May 13th, 2011.

It would be great to have some fanwork auction in between, on the comm or on private journals, but that's for the future at the moment. We're not TS fandom (an approx of $10,000 a year for Moonridge, well, it boggles the mind! ;)) - we're just starting over. And every $ helps a good cause.

Come on board even if you can't donate yet. Your support & ideas are valued. Please help spreading the word.

Thank you! :)

Live Journal
Twitter
Facebook

If you have any questions, you know where to find me. :)

Women's Murder Club Day 2010 "I'm Not Dead"

2010-05-13T09:22:11Z

Happy Women's Murder Club Day!

Like last year, I'm leaving this post open for all kinds of thoughts and ideas regarding WMC. Can you believe it's been two years? Almost half a year since the VS ended?

Come on over here and share what's on your mind. Come join fowmc_beta ( a community where we plan for the fandom to support a charity) for the next step. Where are we going? Are we going anywhere or is it all just a beautiful dream that's coming to an end?

Edit: Please note that the former fowmc_beta community is now fansofwmc . Come on over! :)

Just when you think you've seen everything the net can possibly yield.

2010-01-27T20:27:36Z

Talking about WMC for a change :P. Little interview snippets mixed in with scenes from the episodes.

I love them so, so much.

Also, qbeck has the patience of a saint. Just sayin'. <3

Sad.

2009-11-15T13:34:56Z

According to queer.de, in 8 European countries they asked 1,000 people each if they thought gay rights should be improved. 43% said 'hell, no'. So much about the European version of Prop 8. That's one good thing politicians did here, not ask 'the people' for their opinion before.

*headdesk*

Writer's Block: Unlikely Benefactor

2009-08-09T08:24:08Z

Family, friends, charity... buying ABC and bringing Women's Murder Club back plus original... okay oops I might need more than a million.

How about... family, friends, charity, producing a web series.