"Single White Female Looking for a Woman like ...."

I know that every morning you go thumbing through the personal want ads. You grab the latest copy, a cup of coffee, and settle in for a good time, trying to find something to catch your eye, hoping and praying that today's edition is gonna catch your attention... 

"Single white female looking for that special lover. A one Women Woman who doesn't want no other !  

Oh, you never can tell She just might be your dream come true. A single white female looking for a woman like you !

Ok ... so this is definitely not my choice of words, not that I wouldn't want to put words together like that. It's just that they are not mine! The words are a slightly adapted version of Cheryl Wrights "Single White Female" - a popish country song. You can watch the music video here or the slightly twisted edition from Capital Pride here).

I've been pondering the question of Looking. Not the stalking kind of looking, but rather the kind of Looking you would do if you where Looking for Love. For a woman to share your life with or maybe - if that's your thing - a woman to share a shortish fling.

Who will catch your eye ? The Bookish Butch Woman from Montréal or the Femme ? I for one hate the labels ! Why would you want to divide the world in Butch / Femme ... in those who put on a nice shade of lipstick to go out and those who keep their hair short, in whom shave their legs and whom doesn't, in which women wear heels and which prefer comfortable shoes, in who reads F/F romance's to relax and who tinker with her car for exactly the same reason ?

And what about the woman who change the wheels on her car on Saturday morning, puts on comfortable boots for a walk in the afternoon, and gets herself ready for going out ... in lipstick and heels in the evening ? What label would you put on her ? 

Let's leave the labels behind and take a look around the F/F Universe. This is a place for stereotypes and that's actually a lot like labels, but who cares it just for fun .... right?!

So I'm out looking for love ... hopefully in the right places ... and where would I go if I wanted a gentle(wo)man. "Love in Photographs" by Alex Tryst would be a good place to start. I'm not really an Alex Tryst fan, probably because the stereotypes got to strong for me, but the photographer Torrance might be a match for ... Annett Benning. Torrance is talented and rich (a nice combination), and she finds what her heart is looking for in her model Helen ... but she has to put in a bit of work to get what she wants !

I am a big Badsquirrel fan, but "Dark Side of the Moon" explores a way of life that is really not my cup of tea, it might be yours, so if the world of BDSM and a bit of gender bending is what you are looking for then I think that Jordan -  master of the house - might be able to match Annett Benning in style!

I know that Milla Jovovich and her Versace Jeans is not new to you, but this picture reminds me of Sheridan of Vertigo's "Caution: Under Construction". Sheridan is a woman in trades, a skilled construction worker and a womaniser, who meets her match in Keefer, a building inspector with a love interest ... Sheridan! You can read this for the hot stuff .... or just for the romance.

When we speak of women of trades I have to mention "Rumors" by Badsquirrel. This is where you'll meet Kelly the auto mechanic with the softest of soft hearts, all of it invested in the memory of a teenage crush on Hannah - the owner of "Doggie Styles". This is among my absolute favourites.

I'll leave the picture of Milla Jovovich while pointing you in the direction of Eunice, the owner of a horse farm (is that a rancher ??) with a broken heart, which will heal to the tones of Molly's guitar and soft songs in Dee's "Fenced Fields", but I'm not done with the women of trades. I have to introduce you to Sara from L.A. Tucker's "The Light Fantastic". This is a great story where you'll find Sara playing the role as "Jack of all trades" at her brothers up and coming golf course while hiding from the world. Well that is until Chloe gets her hands on her heart.

If you like the women of trades, you might also fancy Cordie. She is captain of the swordfishing boat "Dawn Piper". You might ask why you should go visit with Cordie .... what kind of romance could a week long  swordfishing trip amount to for a lesbian among a crew of fishermen .... ok ok - I'll give you a clue ... Cordie is ordered to take out the boss's daughter and introduce her to the world of swordfishing! I'll leave the rest to your imagination or to the pen of Barbara Davies in "Beneath the Surface". This is Bound to fascinate you ;-)

It's been rather easy to find F/F stories picturing the stereotype gentle(wo)men wearing a suit, sporting a manish name, and harbouring a heart just waiting for the right woman to tear down the walls build around it. 

I find it a bit more difficult to locate the "women I want" when I go looking for the opposite. The women with a clearly feminine touch, a nice shade of lipstick, wearing skirt and heels, not for the sake of an office job, but because this is her preference. It's not that these women don't exist in F/F stories, they do. I think that it's just that they don't stand out as much as the stereotype manish lesbians. If you are looking for the feminine touch you can follow along as I hunt for women in heels. 

A couple of women in heels and nice dresses ..... well I do think that Beth and Amy of Fingersmiths "Once" lets our minds eye enjoy them in pretty gowns for a wedding. Now don't jump ahead of the storyline - it's definitely not their wedding, they are just friends (!) - but I guess that it's safe to say that each of them would love to be more than that .... if they could only find a way.

I think that it's also safe to say that Mimi looks quit stunning in her gown for the charity auction which proves to be her first date with her stepsister Jolly, whom Mimi has had the BIGGEST crush on since puberty...... I guess that the almost incestuous reference might sound a bit upsetting, but trust me on this, Mimi looks good in her gown and equally good when dressed in leather or in the buff ... and once her master carpenter and architect Jolly gets past the sisterhood thing Molly do get a chance to take charge of her life and of Jolly's. In case you are wondering this is Ali Vali's "A Place to Dance"

As for heels I do think that Torrey fund a pair to go with her pant suit when Taylor finally found the time and place to take her out! This is B.L.Millers "None So Blind", and if you haven't read this romance yet, I think you should. Torrey and Taylor goes way back, but - as usual - a misunderstanding had them separate before they could declare their love. So we get their story in flashbacks while we follow the slow rekindling of their friendship and the reshaping of their future ... it's an enjoyable read.

I'll keep on the lookout for women in heel's - let me know if you get lucky .... NO not that kind of lucky ! Just you know lucky ...  as in stumbling on a woman in heels - preferably purple ones in your reading.

By Request

Looking for a story ?

The Listmania page on F/F Fan Fiction Reader's Corner is my favourite feature on this blog, and I'm happy to say that Listmania is also by far YOUR favourite  too. That is if we go by the statistics offered by Blogger. In the last week You've viewed Listmania 198 times - well perhaps not all those page views were YOURS but someone did go search for a little something to pass time!

Listmania is the crutch I lean on whenever my memory of a storyline don't really match up with a title or author or when I need a little taste of romance but can't come up with a story that fits with my mood, and I do hope that you find it helpful too.

The categories listed on Listmania are put together to tease ... and guide (!) your search for a  romantic online fic and I must admit that I have great fun putting together the teasers.

Now I've received a request to add a topic to the list of categories on Listmania and that's great as I'm running low on ideas of my own! So if you have a theme or topic that you would like to focus on in your online reading don't hesitated to ask for a list. Who knows I might have come across a story that fits with your interest that you haven't read yet. You can post a comment below or PM me on The Athenaeum Forum (User name UNKN) if you have a suggestion.

Now lets get on with the new list. The request I received asked for a list of stories focused on a pair of women who "met as kid's" and I was lured onto the theme by a teaser .... a link to a medical romance that fits right with this new category of fics! I guess that some of you've realized that I favour romantic fics that includes a lady in a white coat! 

So why not start the new list with a doctor ... you know one of those women with a white coat, warm hands and a wondrous heart that you will find in the first category on Listmania.

Follow me or perhaps you would rather follow a seven year old blue eyed girl who tags along with  her father on his rounds in the paediatric children's ward at Bostons Children's Hospital. If you do you'll witness the first meeting of the blue eyed girl and a green eyed toddler, who is a surgical heart patient at the Hospital. Now hold on as we move fast forward to the present day and the paediatric ICU ward at Egelston Children's Hospital in Atlanta where you'll meet the 30 year old Dr. Alexander Morgan a brilliant surgeon who goes by the name "The Breathtaking Bitch" and her favourite nurse Bryn O'Neill, who just happens to have a special gift for telling the little patients stories that keep them calm and rested while they recover.

You might have guessed that this is almost as Xena Uber as it gets but what you might not have guessed is that the women have no clue that they are "old acquaintances", so what we are about to experience is the slow process of realising that the bond the women feel they have is not a new thing, but a bond that was formed between to little girls almost 25 years ago. 

"Mended Hearts" by Alix Stokes doesn't have the most well developed storyline or interesting characters that I've come by, but if you are keen on the Xena Uber genre you might have a bit of fun with this story.

With the request for a list of fics on theme "Met as Kids" I also received links to several stories that fit in this new category:

• "Within The Heart" by Lady D (Met as Kids)
• "Tomahawk'd" by DS Bauden (Met as Kids)
• "The Enemy Next Door" by Silverwriter01 (Met as Kids)
• "South Africa" by Anne Azel (Met as Kids)
• "Peruvian Encounter" by Anne Azel (Met as Teens)
• "Family Reunion" by Mavis Applewater (Met as Teens) 
• "The Reef" (Sam and Jody series) by Lois Kay (Met as Teens)

As you might have guessed I haven't had the time to read the stories mentioned above so I'll let you explore these on your own.

I have however pinpointed a few fic that fits in this category as well:

My favourite "Met as Kids" fic is "Beginning" by Fingersmith. This story has a little of everything - love and romance, drama and spice - if you want to know more follow the link to the review.

A close second in this category is "Comic Book Life" by Zee. This is romance and humour all in one but as far as the romance goes it's rather one sided in the early years. You can read more about this fic if you follow the link above to the reviews of Zee's stories.

I think that I'll also include one of my favourite PWP/romances in the category "Met as Kids" even if one of the kid's is actually a teen when the girls meet. If you haven't visited with Wilder as she tries to convince Darcy that sex with a woman is much better than with a man - you ought to run along right away and do it - visit with Wilder I mean ... well that is if you are not at the Office. Ups seems I forgot to mention in which story Wilder and Darcy appears ... if you haven't guessed by now its "Unlimited Sexual Favours" by Cephalgia and MJ. I might have mentioned it once or twice before.

It will also be worth while to spend a bit of reading time on Dee's fic "Fenced Fields". Even if this is much more romance and a lot less spice compared to "Unlimited Sexual Favours". This time we move into the rural area of the States to follow Molly as she works hard to convince Eunice that love might be coming her way. And while we are hopping around in the rural areas of the States I might as well mention "One Two Oh" by A.C. Henley. I'm not quite sure when Rose and Critter actually met for the first time but I gather that they both lived on Rose's father's ranch for quite a few years before Rose was caught by her father while in a lip lock with Critter at the tender age of 14 ... need I mention that he was not amused ? I'm a fan of A.C. Henley so if you don't mind a bit of horse manurers then ride along with Critter and Rose into the sunset.

I don't know if you'll be willing to go native but if life on the prairies are not too much of an outdoor experience for you then look up "Drifter" by D. This time you'll get the complete story of growing up and falling in love with your best friend. While we are on the subject of going native you might also want to take a look at Kim Pritekel and Alexa Hoffmann's "Wild". This time we will find one of our girls living her life in the woods in Main but nevertheless the story is set in modern time.

The last fic I can think of right now is "My Sisters Keeper" by Mavis Applewater. This is the story of a first love that never dies even if you are broken apart by a hideous mother and the strict rules of Convent ... yes you will find a nun in this story.  

I'll merge the fic's listed above with the existing category on "A Love That Never Dies" in Listmania and create subcategories for the stories involving women who "Met as Kids", "Met as Teens" and "Met in College" - I hope that this will help you in your search for an entertaining romance.

White Coats, Warm Hands and Wondrous Hearts

White coats come in many tones of colour and in an infinite number of shapes. You can get a brand new white mink coat - if you can afford one that is - or a shabby woollen one. You can put on a navy dress white uniform - if you earned the right to wear one - or you can put on a lab coat. Clothes make people and the lab coat can - almost - make a doctor.

White coats, warm hands and wondrous hearts or doctors, nurses and the romances they inspire - it’s medical dramas with a romantic twist or perhaps romance with a medical twist. Whatever the case if you are obsessed with bodily welfare or think that trauma and the people who fight to preserve life is entertaining you have probably watched a few episodes of a medical drama or perhaps read one of Radclyffe’s medical lesfic’s. You might even have looked up some E.R. or Grey’s Anatomy fan fiction. Have you had your fill ? Or do you need another fix ? If you need some private time with a capable physician you can look through the list of my favourite medical romances in Listmania.

Still not healed ? Ok then you could visit with some of the doctors and nurses that populate the fic’s mentioned below.

“The Healing Touch” series by K. Darblyne features Trauma Fellow Garrett Trivoli and Trauma Nurse Danni Bossard and a whole lot of ER traumas. The series gives us an in depth description of Garrett’s and Danni’s work to save lives in the ER and as a Flight Surgeon’s team going out by helicopter to give medical help at accidents - so if trauma is your thing, go right ahead and follow the links below. Should you look for a little romance I can assure you that even if the godlike doctor Trivoli do find teamwork and friendship a demanding task  Dannie will inspire the her to take a chance and reach out for something beyond her usual safe zone.

The series consists of two stories “The Fellowship” and “Up in the Air” and you’ll have to read both to work through the infinite number of misunderstandings etc. that the ladies have to endure on the road towards a romantic union - this time it’s above and beyond reason! The series is relatively well rated on The Athenaeum - I on the other hand found the romance to be a bit lacking and rather long winded.

If winter, snow and frost are taking its toll in your neck of the woods you might want to go down south to Louisiana and visit with Harry and Desi. It’s the love of a lifetime come true when Desi is brought into the ER with a broken leg after a fierce beating with a bat swung by her husband. Desi’s high school sweetheart Harry will mend her leg and her heart with her loving. Along the way Harry will find time to perform orthopaedic surgery on the old and wealthy - which will more than pay the bills - as well as the less fortunate with a need for a “do-good-doctor”. If you ask me Harry is too good to be true! Which is probably why I did not find the romance really catching.

And while we are on the subject of Ali Vali who penned “How Do You Mend a Broken Heart” and the sequels “All it Took Was You” and “Bell of the Mist” with Harry and Desi, I might as well mention that my favourite Ali Vali romance is “A Place to Dance”. You won’t find any lab coats in that story but you will be treated to a woman with able hands - give her a tool belt and she will craft the most beautiful furniture you can imagine. If you are a romantic at heart you should not miss this story.

Should you want for a little private healing at the hands of a capable ER physician you could venture out on Dupont Circle in Washington and watch out for Q as she exits the subway always on the look out for the neighbourhood tugs who will beat her up given half the chance. This time the tugs get lucky which lands Q in the able hands of Dr. Taylor Winslow at D.C.Metropolitan Hospital who will eventually provide private care for the homeless Q, who in return will show Taylor a bit of drama and a lot of loving. "Street Life" by J.A.Zollicoffer is drama and romance all in one and I found it catching enough to read a second time.

Now do not think that the world of medical fiction is dedicated to doctors alone - after all what would good doctors do without the warm hands of capable nurses to sooth and comfort the patients and their frightened relatives ? “The Heart of the Matter” by Cephalgia is a romance centred around Davey, a little boy with a heart disorder, and his mother Crystal, who lives her life wondering just when their visit to the hospital will be fatal for Davey. Into this little family enters Lauren an ICU nurse who makes Crystal and her son the subject of her master thesis and in the process gains a family.

This story focuses on the patient and relatives rather than the medical personnel and even if it centres on a boy with a servere heart condition the heart of the matter is the romance between the lesbian nurse and her new found - perhaps not so - straight friend. It’s a sweet and well written story.

There is a time and a place where the white lab coats and the doctors who wear them no longer matters. A time when only warm hands, love and understanding gives you the ease of body and mind needed to face the ultimate challenge in life ... to let go. We cannot play around the medic’s without happening on tragedy at some stage and this seems to be as good a time as any to let Dee introduce Isabelle and her nurse Marty, their friendly and loving banter and their fast rolling romance that starts of in a hospital ward and end a too short time later when there is just no more fighting left to do.

You should not read “Isabelle” unless you have hankies close at hand, and you can handle the big C without getting bad dreams. “Isabelle” is just a short story, but it’s touching and very well written - especially in the dialogue that presents a fun and easy banter between the ladies that you do not come across too often. Do not miss this one - it sort of puts all the medical drama and romance in the right perspective.

Blazing Dreams by Larisa

Are you into construction workers and the likes? You know the strong butch woman with powerful forearms, muscular thighs and perhaps a stocky build, the women who are really soft at heart when you get past the tough exterior? Well if you are then you have amble chance to meet a woman of your heart in the world of f/f fan fiction.

You might already know some of my favourite characters in this genre - how about Sheridan in Vertigo’s “Caution: Under Construction”*, she is not only good at putting up drywall but also an imaginative lover, or Branson in Larisa’s “Phantom”*, who looses her heart to a farmer.

Actually you’ll find a huge number of these big softies in the stories by Larisa, like Taylor the cement truck driver in “Kicking and Screaming”* who will win a toaster own and the heart of a rather confused straight woman, Rouge from “Rough Warrior” who comes to the rescue with her strange truck when Taylor needs a friend, or Ed in “Haunted Past” who mourns the loss of her wife who left her because ... well you’ll have to look up the story if you want to know why and to learn if she will ever return.

You’ll probably find the farmer Elise in “The Harvest”* by G.E. Birch a bit less butch than Larisa’s characters but she does have a trade that requires quite a bit of muscular power, and a heart looking for someone to love. If you find female farmers who wears their hearts on their sleeves alluring you could also go meet up with Eunice in “Fenced Fields”* by Dee.

Should you prefer the female characters with a tough job on the sea you might want to look up Captain Cordie in "Beneath the Surface”* by Barbara Davids, who will take you and Piper sword-fishing which proves to be no easy trade.

As I said the butch women are plentiful in f/f fan fiction and if you want them at the roughest go look up the ones in the Larisa Universe. They all have big hearts that needs a special woman to love, and more often than not it’s great fun to watch how the romance unfolds.

If you know all of the stories mentioned above you could try Larisa’s “Blazing Dream” sporting not one but two women with a strong connection to the world of construction, but maybe you should take a quick peek at life in the woods before you decide to venture out. The first thing that you’ll notice is the sound of axe and chainsaw that create a steady flow of noise from dawn till dusk as Rowan tries to fight of her demons by cutting and splitting logs.

If you choose to stay home to have some peace and quiet, I know someone who will venture out - that's Brandy - she has just inherited a rather run-down property from her aunt, and now she is looking to spend some time fixing it up with her next-door neighbour Rowan looking on.

If it wasn’t for the noise of Rowan’s axe and chainsaw or the occasional gift she leaves at Brandy’s door, Brandy wouldn’t know that anyone was around watching her work, that’s until the day - months later - when she slides of her roof only to be caught in Rowans strong arms! From then on thoughts of soft black hair, blue eyes and a gorgeous body crowed Brandy’s dream, but it will take Latisha the Queen to bring Rowan out of her hiding and into Brandy’s life.

“Blazing Dream” has a standard Larisa storyline, a funny dialogue, weird characters and a couple of woman who really needs someone to love. So if you like the strong butch characters in a funny setting, and can accept a fast moving romance - you could venture out into the woods with Brandy, Rowan and Latisha the Queen.

* These stories have been reviewed at this site and at Fan Fiction Reviews. You can look up the reviews by way of the list of author tags.

Fenced Fields by Dee

If you can handle a sweet and sentimental story about the healing effect of love you should look up “Fenced Fields” featuring Molly and Eunice.

Molly and Eunice grew up together, but while Eunice wanted nothing more than to live her life on the family farm, Molly was determined to leave small town life. She wanted to go to college and to be a writer. Following her dream Molly left her best friend behind never looking back. Returning 5 years later to care for her terminally ill mother, Molly finds Eunice as helpful and sweet as ever, but with a lingering sadness in her eyes.

While Molly was away, Eunice experienced love, betrayal and a rather rough outing, which has caused her to lead a life in solitude, with little hope of ever finding love or companionship. Back home, older and wiser Molly is uncertain how to go about putting the sparkle back in Eunice’s eyes, but seeing that Eunice might not be an unobtainable goal, she starts a slow insistent campaign to heal the heart of the woman she wants to spend her life loving.

The ladies are sweet, and the romance rings true with the slow and steady seduction engineered by Molly, but I’m afraid that the story could have benefited by some extra editing, but don’t let this scare you off – if you like sweet - you could do a lot worse with your reading time than spending it on “Fenced Fields”.