Tomorrow is the first day of Halloween, I mean October, my favorite time of year.  Ghosties, ghoulies, and sanctioned dress up, oh my.  There’s ton’s of scary stories out there, in lots of fandoms: Supernatural, Naruto, Buffy, even Harry Potter.  Here’s one to get you in the mood. 

I’m sure it seemed like a good idea at the time.  Nielsen, the TV ratings people, decided to put up  their own brand of social networking site that thrives on the opinions of others.  But while they were busy watching for violent outbreaks between political parties or religious organizations,  fandom snuck in and took hold.  They never saw it coming.

It’s only been a few weeks since the site went live and already the nastygrams are flying between the Jericho fans and the Supernatural fans.  Accusations of stuffing the ballot box are running rampant and as one poster put it, "This seems like a fan club gone wild!"  Fans are nothing if not passionate, but you gotta wonder about what it all means when a show like House, that received one of the highest ratings ever for a season premiere, is barely a blip on the Hey!Nielsen radar.

Is it a case of "All’s fair in love and fandom" or is there such a thing as going overboard? 

Hey, Naruto fans, to go along with this week’s Fandom 411, I wanted to let you all know about an event going on this weekend, "Naruto Nation!"  It’s part of a celebration going on at almost 600 Toys R Us stores nationwide, this weekend, Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th. There will be Naruto backdrops to take pictures against, free stickers compliments of Cartoon Network, and a showcase of Naruto merchandise to try.  Cartoon Network will also be celebrating the kick off of a new season of Naruto, which begins November 3rd.

Here are a couple of Naruto fanfics that exemplify why the show is such a popular fandom.

Also announced, Naruto is being featured on a hundred thousand Langers Apple Juice multi-packs as part of a sweepstakes where you can win DVDs, keychains and a Viz Media shopping spree.

Sexy vampire.  Puzzling mysteries.  Fancy flashbacks and Veronica Mars‘ old pal as a blood-sucking playboy.  What more could you want from a series?  It’s Moonlight and it premieres tonight on CBS.

On the downside, this show has had a rocky start.  Nearly the entire cast has been replaced and former Angel showrunner David Greenwalt came and went and now former Dark Angel exec Chip Johannessen is taking the reigns.  Add to that the poor track record of horror shows on a major network and I’m thinking this series will have a very short lifespan.  That’s a shame because — vampires!  Alex O’Laughlin is sexy, Jason Dohring is fun.  The tone is dark and brooding and the costumes in the flashbacks, divine.   It may just end up being a case of fans writing better stories than the scriptwriters.  I look forward to that.

Until then, here are a couple of other fan favored vampires.

Behind the cut: An Interview with a Vampire

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Another big night of returning fan favorites and one new show that might get those fic fairies dancing for joy.  

Ghost Whisperer returns to CBS and they’re promising it will be spookier than ever when Melinda goes underground!  There are plenty of secrets to be unveiled as Melinda uses this new portal to tap into Granview’s haunted history.  Get caught up with the winning entry from the FanLib Ghost Whisperer Fan Finale Challenge.

Numb3rs is back with an explosive new episode directed by DeJa Vu director Tony Scott.  Last season’s thrilling finale left us cold with Colby under arrest for treason.  Now Colby’s on the run and his former teammates may actually be his only hope of getting through this alive.  Relive "The Janus List" through the eyes of Colby and his friends in this finale fic.

Over on SCI FI it’s the return of Stargate Atlantis. When we last left our heroes they were hopelessly lost in space.  Now it’s up to McKay and Sheppard to guide the damaged city of Atlantis to a safe haven but it’s going to be out of the frying pan and into the fire multiple times before all is said and done.  The addition of Stargate SG-1’s Amanda Tapping and Firefly’s Jewel Staite to the regular cast should set off more than a few plot bunnies. In honor of Samantha Carter, here’s a crossover fic.

It’s our first Fandom Friday, and FanLibber Kiyosan is here with the 411 on one of our most popular fandoms — Naruto. 

Take it away Kiyosan!

Naruto Uzumaki is a young hyperactive ninja who strives to become the Hokage, the strongest of his village Konohagukure. Shunned by everyone, Naruto discovers that the reason for this is because he has the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside of him, a demon who attacked the village 12 years ago. Despite learning what he is, Naruto becomes more than ever determined to gain the respect of everyone.

Put into a four-man squad with Sasuke Uchiha, who is the last survior of the powerful Uchiha Clan, his crush Sakura Haruno, and a famous copy ninja Kakashi Hatake, Naruto is introduced to the life of a ninja and its dangers. His rivalry with Sasuke makes him work harder and his strength of will to protect others makes others see him in new light and they come to respect him.

Over time he grows and encounters new friends and foes. He forms friendships with others while trying to avoid Akatsuki and the evil missing ninja Orochimaru. After his friend Sasuke leaves to become more powerful in order to kill his brother, Akatsuki member Itachi, both Naruto and Sakura become determined to get him back.

The show Naruto has many appealing qualities such a intense drama, humor, and enough action for everyone. Many of the characters are unique and there’s a lot of interaction between them. The Naruto fanfics here at FanLib.com vary from stories about the current manga to original works. There’s a little bit of everything, so come check them out and even enlighten us with a story of your own.

Here’s one of Kiyosan’s favorite stories:

And one of her own:
 

Don’t forget, the submissions are open for the Dexter competition.  It runs through Thursday, October 11th at 3pm Pacific Time.   Remember to read through your entry before you submit, as there’s no editing for contests; once it’s there, it’s there.  You can enter twice though, so put your thinking caps on and come up with the best stories you can.

There are prizes to be won, and they’re to die for.

When we last left the good people of Smallville there were three lives hanging in the balance.  Lana, Lois and Chloe all had their own brushes with death — but which one (s) are really dead?  What of Bizarro Clark?  Is it true that women like him better when he’s dark and dangerous than when he’s straight laced and stalwart? And what about Lex?  What about Lex, hmmm?

Fanfic writers will have plenty to type about when the new season takes hold, including the addition of Supergirl and guest appearance by Lois & Clark star Dean Cain.  Can’t wait for the season premiere?  How about a few fics to tide you over?

An idea?  A thought you’d like to share?  We want to hear it!  We know that our FanLib members are virtual fountains of knowledge on everything from the hottest fandoms to fan activities and creative works. So we’ve got a guest blogger spot open and waiting just for you!

Whether its a site you want us to check out or fannish work you want to shout about, log on to the FanLib Forum and leave your ideas in the appropriate thread.  We’re looking forward to sharing this space with the best FanLibbers have to offer.

And look out for our Fandom 411 appearing every Friday on No Hiatus where one FanLibber delivers the scoop on a fannish favorite.

Tomorrow is the season premiere of CSI  so we asked super fan and FanLib member purplepopple to give us the lowdown on this returning favorite and the fans who love it.

Okay, I’m beyond excited.  CBS has been hyping this premiere for at least three weeks.  Two weeks ago, I just wanted it all to stop because it was driving me nuts.  I’m going to watch! I’m going to watch! Stop with the trailers!  I’d watched all the trailers on-line already.  (Behold, the power of CBS’s website, YouTube and dedicated fans.)  It was just a bit too much.

Let’s not forget the fan fiction.  Last season ended with a cliffhanger.  Will Sara live?  Will she die? Did Jorja Fox sign a new contract?  Does she want out of the show to explore other opportunities?  Can you really kill Sara?  Oh, the fan fiction.  For me, it filled in that void to answer every possible scenario.  I read around FanLib, stories like:

All are good stories that look at the events and possible aftermath of the events of “Living Doll” from a Grissom/Sara perspective.  And it isn’t just on FanLib but all over the web.  There is the angst.  There is the fluff. There is character death.  There is working through the trauma. There is the inevitable Sara breaks up with Grissom after realizing Grissom is not meant for her so she hooks up with Sofia, Nick or Catherine instead.  It just got to be too much.  It was a moment of back away from the computer screen.

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If you can tear yourself away from the Dancing With the Stars results show, there are a couple of new shows and returning favorites premiering tonight.  

Private Practice, the Grey’s Anatomy spin off pops up on ABC at 9:00 against NBC’s Bionic Woman.  Both strong female leads but two very different shows.  Love and romance?  Go ABC.  Action and psychos?  Go NBC.   

At 10:00, you’ll have to make a choice because your DVR can only handle two out of the three new shows.  CSI: NY is the returning favorite on CBS.  ABC is hauling out the old Dynasty scripts for Dirty Sexy Money.  It’s a nighttime soap with plenty of quirky characters.  Think of it as Gossip Girl with grownups.  NBC might come in last with its new cop drama Life.  This one is about a cop who was falsely accused of murder and now he’s been released from prison with a huge financial settlement and an even bigger grudge.  Add in a bit of Zen philosophy and you’ve got a show people will either hate or love.  I loved it, which means it will probably be canceled in two weeks.  

And speaking of canceled, Fox has put Nashville on "temporary hiatus".  Yeah, we all know what that means.  

Here’s a CSI: NY fic to hold you over until tonight.

Well, I’m here to set you straight.  As many of you have noticed, the number of stories per fandom as listed on the front page of FanLib doesn’t match the number of stories as listed on the "Browse Fandom" page.  What gives?

It’s easy.  Take a look at CSI which has 190 stories (as of this writing) on the front page but 230 on the browse page.  Now click on CSI and check out the side bar.  You’ll see this:

• 13+ (118)
• All (74)
• 17+ (38)

Ah ha!  There’s the missing 38 stories!  They’re rated over 17**!  That’s why the front page number is short.  The fiction numbers on the front page only account for stories that are under a 17+ rating because anyone not logged in can’t see them. 

So if your fandom is heavy on adult fics, check out the browse page fandom numbers for a real look at how many stories are currently on FanLib.com. 

** And if you can’t see the 17+ stories at all, you need to go to your profile page and change your filter settings to allow them.

Did you know FanLib is on MySpace?  Yep, it’s true.  Not only can you embed lovely badges  on your MySpace page so your friends can easily read your fanfics, but you can also make us your friend.  Then, you can find other FanLib users easily on MySpace and leave comments for us.  C’mon, can you ever have enough friends?

Tuesday is a big premiere night for a bunch of returning fanfic favorites.

Starting at 8:00 is NCIS.  The series ended on a tight cliffhanger in regard to Tony and his lady love.  The first episode of the new season will answer all, and I hear you’ll learn something new and important about Gibbs so don’t miss a single second.

Over on Fox at 8:00, it’s the return of Bones! The new season promises even more sexual tension between Booth and Brennan and a silver skeleton will hold the key to a serial killer.  It’s more squints, more romance, more crimes to solve.  I know what that means!  It means Bones is back.
 

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We’ve kept the programmers locked in their offices for the past two months and as a result they’ve come up with some nifty new features and additions to FanLib.

Here’s what she wrote: 

- To reduce the potential of PM spam, now, only Friends may be added as recipients to a Private Message. You may still send PMs to non-friends one at a time by clicking the PM button by a member’s name. Bottom line: Multiple recipients must be friends.

- The link to the forums has been promoted to a top-level tab. It still exists as a sub-selection under Browse, but only for a short while as people acclimate to the change. Home is now the FanLib logo, as indicated by a rollover.

- A new step has been added to the Submit process, asking members to specify a submission "Type" in the first step before they enter or upload a story. This is pre-cursor to being able to submit video and image-enhanced stories. (Can’t wait for that to go live!)

- Word Count is now included in the badges on the homepage as well as remote HTML badges. Check out the sample below!