No no, she originally had the series published (by Bloomsbury I think), but on the website for the books people started submitting their own fanfics based on the series. She put a few up on the website, and then put up a link to Stravaganza's ff.net page.
The series is about a group of people (the Stravagante) who time-space travel between modern-day London and a parallel version of 16th-century Italy (called 'Talia') where things are basically the same as 16thC Italy but a bit different (silver is valued over gold, what we might call magic they would call science and vice versa). The head of the ruling family of about half of Talia (the country is divided into 12 city-states, a bit like Italy itself was at the time, each with a head of state - usually either a Prince or Duke, but one has a Duchessa and at least one a Governor, the two latter of whom are elected - and the di Chimici family rule/have ties with 6/12 of those states and seek to conquer the rest) are fiercely opposed to the Stravagante (partly because they believe what they can do i.e. time-travel and some of what we'd call magic like being able to cast glamours over people,although they don't actually know what the Stravagante can do for sure so it's more fear of the unknown, but also partly because they covet the Stravagante's gifts for themselves and their family) and are essentially the 'baddies' of the series, but some of the di Chimici turn out to less 2-D baddies than that (really it's only the head of the family and a couple of his sons who are so against the Stravagante, but because of the power and influence they wield the rest of the country is very sceptical about them). Anyway, I think it's a surprisingly complex series in spite of it being YA :)
The main problem I have with reading fic on LJ is that not everyone posts here. I know not everyone posts on FF either (or even on AO3 or DreamWidth), but FF does have a much wider selection of fics for almost all the fandoms I'm in (with the exception of A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones - LJ takes the biscuit there). It does take a while to sieve out the silt, and it's annoying that you can only label each story with two characters and two genres, but overall I find it easier to read masses of fic on than LJ. That said, I much prefer LJ's format, and interactivity.
I'm not sure I see Isabella as helping Robin to grow up (IMO it's Marian's death that really does that =/) - personally I see their relationship as a far more volatile and destructive power, but nonetheless fascinating to watch. I see Isabella's primary goal being power, not a relationhip (except as a means to power - like how she interacts with Prince John), and I can't imagine her choosing a relationship with Robin over a position of power (especially not when one so definitely means the lack of another - Robin being an outlaw, and Robin being so opposed to those in power). Interestingly, I think the only way Isabella could have gotten almost everything she wanted was if she and Guy had worked together; she'd have had his apology, trust and forgiveness (provided she didn't muck it up), power (perhaps not of her own, but certainly power-by-association), and a meaningful relationship with another human being (admittedly not romantic, but I think it's not necessarily romance she's after - more someone she can be close to and trust, like she once did Guy).
Sounds great! Are you familiar with FF.net's Document Exchange (DocX) feature? I find it's the most convinent way to beta-read :)
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The series is about a group of people (the Stravagante) who time-space travel between modern-day London and a parallel version of 16th-century Italy (called 'Talia') where things are basically the same as 16thC Italy but a bit different (silver is valued over gold, what we might call magic they would call science and vice versa). The head of the ruling family of about half of Talia (the country is divided into 12 city-states, a bit like Italy itself was at the time, each with a head of state - usually either a Prince or Duke, but one has a Duchessa and at least one a Governor, the two latter of whom are elected - and the di Chimici family rule/have ties with 6/12 of those states and seek to conquer the rest) are fiercely opposed to the Stravagante (partly because they believe what they can do i.e. time-travel and some of what we'd call magic like being able to cast glamours over people,although they don't actually know what the Stravagante can do for sure so it's more fear of the unknown, but also partly because they covet the Stravagante's gifts for themselves and their family) and are essentially the 'baddies' of the series, but some of the di Chimici turn out to less 2-D baddies than that (really it's only the head of the family and a couple of his sons who are so against the Stravagante, but because of the power and influence they wield the rest of the country is very sceptical about them). Anyway, I think it's a surprisingly complex series in spite of it being YA :)
The main problem I have with reading fic on LJ is that not everyone posts here. I know not everyone posts on FF either (or even on AO3 or DreamWidth), but FF does have a much wider selection of fics for almost all the fandoms I'm in (with the exception of A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones - LJ takes the biscuit there). It does take a while to sieve out the silt, and it's annoying that you can only label each story with two characters and two genres, but overall I find it easier to read masses of fic on than LJ. That said, I much prefer LJ's format, and interactivity.
I'm not sure I see Isabella as helping Robin to grow up (IMO it's Marian's death that really does that =/) - personally I see their relationship as a far more volatile and destructive power, but nonetheless fascinating to watch. I see Isabella's primary goal being power, not a relationhip (except as a means to power - like how she interacts with Prince John), and I can't imagine her choosing a relationship with Robin over a position of power (especially not when one so definitely means the lack of another - Robin being an outlaw, and Robin being so opposed to those in power). Interestingly, I think the only way Isabella could have gotten almost everything she wanted was if she and Guy had worked together; she'd have had his apology, trust and forgiveness (provided she didn't muck it up), power (perhaps not of her own, but certainly power-by-association), and a meaningful relationship with another human being (admittedly not romantic, but I think it's not necessarily romance she's after - more someone she can be close to and trust, like she once did Guy).
Sounds great! Are you familiar with FF.net's Document Exchange (DocX) feature? I find it's the most convinent way to beta-read :)