Sunday, May 1, 2011

Fifty Shades of Thanks



As most of you know, MotUII ended recently. *collective sigh* I got several emails and tweets after the last chapter posted, asking if I was okay. I have been pretty vocal about my love of this story.


When you click on the link to preorder Icy's "Fifty Shades of Grey," you will find this in the synopsis:
Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.
It also explains why people were checking on me.


...obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.


Yes, yes, and yes.


MotU was the first "big" ff story that I read. It took relentless pleading from Dangrdafne and Twilight Cupcake, as well as Biel's epic video (here), to convince me that I needed to read it. I'm sure DD and TC had NO idea I would become Fifty Shades of f*cked up obsessed. They also didn't know it would ruin me for other "big" stories. I feel like I'm cheating on Fifty ;)


Zazzle T-shirts

Out and proud in Seattle with Mama Cougar and Mrs. P.
On our way to Forks.

Custom koozie - a gift from TwiWeasel

50 at the card store 

Fifty on an apartment awning in NYC

Looking up in awe at THE Escala in Seattle

My hero. Jen from Twired got us INSIDE Escala.
Read about our adventure here.

My boss (aka kiTT) over at Tongue Twied let me pick the first
Ficward featured on our collab TwiPeople covers. No brainer ;)

My tumblr tribute (click to enlarge)

My contribution to the MotU one-year anniversary tribute
(click to enlarge)

Speaking of the one-year anniversary tribute, I may or may not have stressed out a little bit over the MotU Quiz Contest hosted by Twilight Cupcake. I may or may not be a little competitive ;) The contest is over, but if you want to take the quiz to see how well you know MotU, you can start at Day 1 on TC's blog by clicking here. You can also access the amazing graphic designs she did for the anniversary tribute on her Twi-Mobile blog by clicking here.


I am nowhere near the graphic designer that TC and so many others are, but it doesn't stop me from trying. As you can see from the anniversary graphic I did above, I love making twitter avis. When I first introduced myself to TwiKiwi in the comments at Twitarded, it was to tell her that I loved her blogger name, which at the time was I_heart_Fifty. Since then, I have watched her blossom into a blogger in her own right, and I have designed twitter avis, blog banners, etc., for her. With her blog being named TwiKiwi, a change to her blogger/twitter name was called for. It pained her so much that she had her followers give her suggestions on what she should change it to. The winner was TwiKiwi50...a shout out to both her loves :)

So when TK50 (yeah, we even have nicknames for nicknames - lol) emailed me and asked if I thought a thank you to Icy for MotU was in order, you know I was all over it like Fifty on Bella in the RRoP. When she asked me to make a blog badge (top of the post) and twitter avi for the event, I was more than happy to do so. We invite all of you to switch your twitter avis to this one and tweet Icy with your thanks.



Note: The image of Rob used in the avi is Icy's personal vision of Fifty, as mentioned on The Cold Shower here. Bleriana, who runs TCS, is a huge supporter of MotU/Fifty. You can find all sorts of Rob/Fifty goodness over there. The work of the legendary Melbie Toast and Rose Arcadia are often featured there too. Bleriana had conflicting special events to post about this week (Happy birthday, Steph!), so be sure and check out TCS on (Fifty) Friday for her thank-you post!

Another very, very, VERY cool part about this whole journey is being a part of a fandom that is beyond generous . . . to each other and to great causes. The Fandom Gives Back helps raise money for Alex's Lemonade Stand in an effort to battle childhood cancer. We're talking nearly $150,000 raised in 2010 alone!! A big chunk was raised by fans bidding on a MotU outtake written by Icy and told from EPOV. You can check out all of the details about The Fandom Gives Back here. April's spotlight was Autism. May's spotlight is Cystic Fibrosis.

It is through last year's FGB fundraiser that I first "met" Squally and Hoot. They were also a part of the one-year anniversary tribute. Hoot designed a spectacular blog to host the tribute. (It is no longer a public site or I would provide you with the link.) As I told Squally and Hoot, I don't think of MotU without thinking of them. Many of you will also recognize Hoot's name from Icy's thank you's at the beginning of MotU updates.

So I contacted them because I knew they didn't have blogs and wanted to give them the opportunity to participate today. Now that I have rambled on way too long (shocker, I know!), I will hand it over to the girlz. Just a few more words. Just a few. LOL! I was blown away when they each sent me their contributions. I know you will be too.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

SQUALLY




Fifty Shades of Grey ~ by squally









Φ ∼ First chapter and there is a cold and Fifty Shades may be old and our heroine is quickly told “...I’m sorry. It took nine months to get this interview... go... I don’t want you to be late.”
The mini-disk she’s bound to hate.

Ι ∼ It quickly goes from bad to worse as clumsiness is her curse she’s nothing like the blondes that work. Perhaps he likes them or it’s a quirk, but who cares? He’s such a jerk. 

Φ ∼ Fuck he’s hot and young but then to say “... Have you had to sacrifice... Are you gay...” The way he acts as though it’s his game. The things he says as though to tame. His mannerisms and the way he looked. I know by now that I am hooked.

Τ ∼ Then at work. Who could it be? Oh gosh! Oh my! It is... Fifty. She tries to help as best she can but she’s hot and flustered over this man. Fifty Shades, the one, the same. Infatuated but who can blame?

Ψ ∼ Yesterday he gave his card now a photo shoot, this could be hard. To get the shots they do all they can. Set up, lighting at the Heathman. The way he looks, the inclination. When it’s over an invitation.

Σ ∼ ”Shit!” he says as he saves the day. He doesn’t do girlfriends and says he’s not gay. She’s breathing heavy but something’s amiss. The way he’s staring at her, yet will not kiss. A thousand questions he asked over tea. There’s longing, I know it, or perhaps that’s just me.

Η ∼ Heaving my chest as she walks away. I want them together but it won’t be today. Thank goodness for young girls who dial from booze. Commanding his speech and he just will not lose. “I’m coming to get you.” He comes, he saves her from the friend with the “look”. I’m beginning to see that he’s the king to her rook.

Α ∼ Awakened. Realisation that she spent the night. Fifty checking on her that she is alright. An orange juice left to quench her thirst. He slept with her – SLEPT in the bed and it was a first?

Δ ∼ Don’t even know, just what to say as he flies her to his place at the end of the day. A books worth of legal and an NDA. WTF is his secret. God! Red Room Of Pain!

Ε ∼ Ever the optimist as her virginity realised. He’ll fix it. He’ll solve her and have his way between her thighs. But he’s out of his depth, the rules are all gone as he passionately takes the breath of this swan.

Σ ∼ Sign? To control what to eat, when to sleep, how to dress? Her passion for him leads her to a mess. She must speak her mind before she can fade. His response, quiet politeness “Good point. Well made.” Now Fifty will own me the rest of the day.

It’s been a great ride reading this story, Icy. It won’t be forgotten of that I am certain.
Squally 2011

Note: I hope everyone caught that Squally used symbols before each stanza to spell out Fifty Shades :)


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

HOOT

Dear Icy,

Here is a little present to thank you for giving us MOTU and to express my excitement and support for the publication of Fifty Shades of Grey as well as all of your other future publishing endeavors. I cannot wait to buy, read, and share, share, share. Oh -- and smile and cry and swoon...


(click to enlarge)


Many thanks also to Lisa, for posting this for me on her blog.

Love,
Hoot xxx

Note: Hoot, I am not worthy. You have mad skillz.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Icy has given us so much of her time and energy. Now we finally have a way to repay her. Here is the link to preorder the first installment of the trilogy, "Fifty Shades of Grey," if you haven't already. The names may have changed from MotU for publishing purposes, but Fifty will always be Fifty and the love of his life will always be his biggest weakness...and his biggest strength.



Icy's Twitter Accounts
@snowqueensicedragon
@E_L_James

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

I encourage you to visit the following people who have also put together posts for Icy:



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Taking control.
Losing control.
Vanilla.
Lipstick boundaries.
Lost.
Found.
Faded jeans.
Bare feet.

Thank you, Icy, for breathing life into
Fifty . . . his Bella . . . and me.

22 comments:

Musing Bella said...

Epic! All three of you did a great job - love Squally's poem and Hoot's cartoon. Good work!

Jaymes805 said...

Post perfection! :)

twilightcupcake said...

Lisa - super big hugs for the shouts and comforting for the 50 withdrawal. As always a wonderful comprehensive heartfelt post. I absolutely love the graphics you've made - much more creative than mine for sure :)

Hoot/Squally - lovely graphic and poem ladies. Thanks again for asking me to be a part of the anniversary tribute. You were wonderful to work with.

Sigh that may have to come out of hiding to post about MotU again. Thanks Lisa :)

StephanieS74 said...

MotU has changed us all forever, Fifty will forever own me!!

Great post bb and thanks for the bday shoutout :) luv ya loads!!

BellaTesoro said...

I knew it would ALL turn out brilliant!
Wonderful post, graphics, and beautiful words.
Girls, you are all 50 shades of talented!

Icy, Your story was my FIRST ff, I was looking for more E/B after reading Twilight Saga. I found yours, and as I read on, my first thoughts were; "Did I just read what I thought I read?!" And from there on "Play Room" took on a whole new meaning for me! Your story became a Happy Place, waiting for Fifty to find his, and so he/I did.
Thank you for sharing, with an invisible reader such as myself!
Congratulations and wishing you much success and good health!
Fran
XO

Vintage Fangirl said...

Lisa,
First - I just got back from meeting Peter (squeeee!) and I want to thank you for making sure our post went through okay! :)

Second - I have to thank you for holding my hand at the beginning of MotU when I entered the story with some trepidation. You encouraged me (and Kassie ) to keep reading and I'm so glad I did because it is one of the best stories I have ever read.

And last, what a wonderful post! You are definitely our Fifty "go-to" girl!!!! Beautiful job with the graphics! I am so excited to see our Fifty in print and can't wait to get the book in my hot little hands!

Laters, baby
xo
Marie

CC said...

Woah! What an amazing post! Thank you Lisa, Squally and Hoot for all of that!

This has been an amazing ride, and I too can't wait to have 'Fifty Shades of Grey' grace my nightstand - I have a few favourite books, and this will most certainly be one of them (as will the sequels).

Thanks for helping co-ordinate this!

CC x

AllTwiedUp said...

Yaye! I loved reading your post! Thanks so much for your talented skills of awesomeness with the graphics, they were perfect!


ahhh, Fifty....

Unknown said...

Lisa, your posts always move me. You are a great bloggess. ;)

This is perfection. I especially loved the poem and your Fifty t-shirt.

Thanks for helping to put this together. You always show what a good friend and all around great person you are.

xo

Unknown said...

PS~ love the new look!

Demanda said...

Wonderful post!!!! :)

Chye-Lin said...

What amazing post of sharing the love of Fifty! :) Thanks Lisa for the Tribute Avi and banner! Hoot/Squally I enjoyed the poem and the "graphic novel" that could get really graphic...twitchy plam and all. ;)

TongueTwied said...

Squally...what a wonderful way with words you have. I greatly enjoyed!

hoot...I'm fascinated by your artwork!

Lisa...I had no idea how much this story meant to you, you've just never mentioned it. Okay I kid. Look at all the fine graphics this story has inspired in you. The TwiPeople cover will always be my favorite Fifty creation of yours!

Fab collective post!

I'm liking your spring redecorating on your blog. :)

Anonymous said...

My gorgeous, darling, Lisa. Where to start?

"I was all over it like Fifty on Bella in the RRoP." Yes, yes you were. You were one of my very first twitter friends. You made me feel included.

You comforted me when I felt like I was interrupting other people's conversations. You shared your love of Fifty with me. And thus, a beautiful friendship began.

You pimped out my tribute post on twitter because you knew it was 4am for me. You supported my little tribute idea, picked it up and ran with it.

For all of this, I heart you and I TRULY hope that one day we will meet.

Eternal hugs and love xxx

P.S. Oh yeah, and, FUCKAWESOME post. ;-)

StackedLikeSookie said...

Amazing post, all of it. I'm so glad I "gave in" & read it coz I was too big a chicken & thought I was too vanilla to possibly enjoy a story about that. How wrong I was. I'm looking forward to having my copy of Fifty Shades of Grey to lend to my friends who hang shit on me for reading Fanfiction to prove how talented previously unpublished writers can be. X

rpattzgirl survived Rob! said...

PERFECT!!!!!!!!!

Icy said...

Oh Lisa thank you for this lovely, lovely post.
I read it yesterday and it bought tears to my eyes...
And to squally and hoot too... thank you.
As ever all you guys just blow me away.
xoxo

17foreverlisa said...

Musing Bella: Loved your take on the tribute too. Thanks!

Jaymes 805: It was definitely a labor of love.

twilightcupcake: Super big hugs back. I miss you but understand that RL is pulling you in several directions right now. Selfishly, I would love for you to come out of hiding to post about MotU again! And you know how I feel about your graphic designs. They are amazing. You spoiled us for so long.

StephanieS74: Couldn't agree more, Steph. Glad you had a great birthday. Love you more :)

BellaTesoro: Thanks! You know better than most how wordy I can get. Lovely note to Icy.

UtterlyAbsurd Bell: I can't wait to hear about your trip to meet Peter. Wish I could have gone with you and Kassie. I totally understood your trepidation about reading MotU because I had been where you and Kassie were. I'm so glad you gave it a chance and fell in love with it like I did. Thank you for the kind words, as always.

Chloe Cougar: Thanks. I tend to get a little carried away, especially when talking about Fifty ;) You're so welcome and thank YOU for participating.

AllTwiedUp: You are too sweet. I'm glad you liked the post and the graphics. It's been fun reading everyone's posts. Yours was especially fascinating ;)

robzsinger1: Right back at you bb, and you're welcome. We have such a great group and everything turned out great. I was happy to help Amy get it off the ground. I'm glad you like the new look. When I was going over the avis and graphics I'd done for MotU/Fifty along the way, I realized they were very close to the new colors I picked out. I definitely seem to gravitate towards them :)

Demanda: Thanks! It was fun to put together, especially getting to include Squally and Hoot.

Twi-Lin: That means a lot coming from someone who is as big of a fan of Fifty as you are :)

TongueTwied: You are always kiTTing, but I love you for it. I still can't believe I forgot to include the TwiPeople cover the first time through. Thank you for letting Fifty be the first to grace the cover. I am still in awe out how creative your tribute post was. Starting it off with a MotU-style email was brilliant.

TwiKiwi50: As I was saying on your blog post, I have one more thing to thank Icy for...you! I love the confidence you have now out in the fandom. If I was a small part of that, it does my heart good. I'm so glad you came up with the idea for the tribute post and that we were able to coordinate everything with such a great group of girls. You are beautiful inside and out. I hope we get to meet in RL one day too. Mwah!

StackedLikeSookie: So many of us were in the same frame of mind initially. Just think what we would have missed out on if we'd given up on it! The level of talent in the fandom never ceases to amaze me...authors, graphic designers, videographers, etc. But there is only one Icy. It's validating to see her story get published, isn't it?

rpattzgirl survived Rob!: Ha! Look at you with your updated blogger name. Love it. Love you. Love that we survived Rob together in NYC. It was awesome getting to meet you in person finally. Thanks for stopping by. If you post about the NYC trip, be sure and email and/or tweet me!

Icy: Oh, Icy. Getting to type a reply to you means more than you could know. Another cool thing is that your comment was #17. *BIG smile* I know you think it's silly that we fangirl on you, but like it or not, you've made your mark in the fandom and have reached celebrity status ;) You know I'm Fifty Shades of grateful to you for sharing your talent with us and for also putting it to good use via charitable causes. Here's to success with the publishing of the trilogy. You know we will continue to dream that it one day becomes a manuscript that falls in the lap of your muse ;) Laters baby x

Dangrdafne said...

A perfect and beautiful post for a perfect and beautiful author and story.

I am glad I enabled you Lisa and I am thrilled that you became 50 shades of crazy for MotU.

Smitten said...

Lisa, Squally and Hoot: Wow. Just. Wow.

Brilliant tributes.

xo

jennykate77 said...

This is a fabulous post.

You know, I've spent the last year reading "Fifty this" and "Fifty that"...and "MoTU this" and "MoTU that"...and I never got it. I didn't even know what I was missing out on. I would say "WHY DIDN'T YOU GUYS TELL ME?", but you did...I just didn't listen.

I can't believe I waited all this time to read fan fic and MoTU.

Life changing. Srsly.

Wanna know something crazy? I had never even read a smut book...no Harlequin Romance...NOTHING. So, you can imagine what FF has done to me! It's crazy. It's like a drug...and I'm it's newest addict. I can't put it down.

MoTU was a beautifully written story. So so good. It's characters will stay with me forever. I LOVE Fifty! I think Icy is an AMAZING writer! Can't wait to own Fifty Shades of Grey.

rpfangirljr said...

Okay, well I should be prepped to duck as I mention that I have NEVER read MoTu. I don't know if I will ever get to it or not.

But, your post was all sorts of awesome. Maybe I'll read it?

Love the new blog look, too, Lisa.

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