This post is in regards to our last Monthly Pic Fic, which was posted last Sunday as our choice for the group review. Our process is this: All of the Lambs take one or two stories, post them as our choices for what we would like to see reviewed, and then we poll. It actually works quite well. Volturi Month, however, showed that we all had unique tastes. The story that was chosen was Only For You by Claerwen. It was a Demetri/OC story that is still a work in progress. It was the choice that I put into the basket, which is why I'm addressing this, because there are now TWO concerns that have been brought to my attention.
The first one was by Maj, who that night while we were putting our reviews together, stumbled upon the last review that the story received. Here it is:
M 2010-01-16 . chapter 2
Interesting. One thing I would point out that its eerily similar to a series of vampire novels by Melissa de la Cruz, called Blue Bloods. The protagonist goes searching for her grandfather Lawrence in Venice, hoping for answers about her comatose mother Allegra. Perhaps this should be revised, especially names and circumstances.
At that time, the only similiar circumstance was that the OC in Only For You, Victoria, does go looking for information about her brother who committed suicide after he visited Italy. She does search out her estranged grandfather, who is Lawrence, and she does have a comatose mother named Allegra. To be honest, I didn't give it a second thought because to me the story was original. It's centered mainly on the struggles of the character Victoria as she's introduced to the vampire world by way of the Volturi. Demetri is the other major character influence in this story, as well as the rest of the Volturi, but it does leave to question where we as authors draw the lines if we're influenced by other books or Fan-fiction stories. I think I've earned the right to say that it's a line that MANY of us have..bended to our own will. *Insert grin here*
The second concern was brought to our attention by an email from Saluki over at My Vamp Fiction. This email was precise, detailed, and gave a little more insight into the Blue Bloods issue. Blue Bloods is a series written by Melissa De La Cruz. Blue Bloods does have its own group on FF.net, and the author is NOT on the list of authors who do not want their stories or their characters used for Fan-fiction.
These are the issues that were brought to our attention in the email from Saluki:
- In the Blue Bloods series, the main character's (Schuyler) mother is named Allegra and is in a coma.
- Schuyler's grandfather is named Lawrence. She did not know him for most of her life. She finds him in Venice, where he is known as the Professor. In Only For You, Lawrence was a university professor at the Universita' Populare.
- Lawrence is a shape shifter in both Blue Bloods and Only For You.
- In the fic, Demetri is drawn to Allegra, like a mate. In the books, Jack Force is drawn to Allegra in a very similar manner.
- There is a scene in Masquerade in which Schuyler is at an art fair in Venice and has a conversation with a mysterious Italian man. Chapter 3 of Only for You has a scene that bears striking resemblance.
Now, my opinion is this, and please keep in mind that I have not read this series, so I'm only going on what I know, but I am taking the above into consideration because this email was sent and addressed in a respectful manner. I have read Only For You, and I agree with every reference that was made above pertaining to that story. I am, however, not going to go and buy these books to find out on my own because, frankly, I don't have the time.
I feel the plot is original because we're reading about a relationship slowly blooming between Victoria and Demetri. Victoria has just recently become aware that vampires do exist. Decisions are being made and secrets are being uncovered. You have to remember that this is a work in progress, and it's only 13 chapters in. Only For You is being posted on FF. Net, but the author lets her readers know in the last chapter that was posted (and by way of PM to me) that this story was posted on a blog or personal website at some point. I do, however, think that those...similiarities will cease to exist if she read this post, or they will be handled properly.
For me, I'd have to say at this point that this story needs to be classified as a crossover story labeled Twilight/Blue Bloods because it is a fact that this story contains main characters and traits from both. I'd also have to say that if it's not going to be classified as a crossover, the author DEFINITELY needs to put some disclaimers up on her chapters, and I'd damn sure hit every one, and I'd probably adjust the author's notes to include why or what she is using. We do know that she reads the series, so we can't push it off as coincidence. The series is listed as one of her favorites on her profile page.
Personally, I like the way this story is progressing, and I'll continue to read it when it updates. The author may have used elements from another story, but I still consider this one as unique. We're writing Fan-fiction, so elements being used from any based fandom are to be expected. But we should all give credit where credit is due, whether it be Stephenie Meyer or Melissa De La Cruz. Oversights happen, and so do disregards of courtesy (a.k.a. Assholism, I suffer from it occasionally myself.) It's that simple.
(Written by IdreamofEddy. My view point might not necessarily be agreed with by others on this blog, but it is what it is.)
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