Do you know KG MacGregor?

I bet you know KG MacGregor either for her published stories or like me by way of her online work. If you follow this blog regularly you will already know that I'm quite fond of MacGregor's "The Road from Kilimanjaro". It's a strong number 9 on my "Top 10s".

If you took my advice the other day and ventured out with Anna and Lilly by way of KG MacGregors "Shaken Series, you are already well acquainted with MacGregors online work.

In case you have had enough stories from this pen then go enjoy yourself somewhere else ... how about looking up the culinary skills of "A Butch In The Kitchen"? I think that the Strawberry Shortcake Cookies looks good enough to deserve a try, but then again I do have a thing for strawberries ! They spell S U M M E R to me, and I would really like to get me a bit of sun! It is not for the tan though, I'm just real tired of riding my bike in the rain or in below zero temperatures.

If real life is not toooo much for you then go read Randi Millers account of love "The Long Kiss Goodbye" - I take it you do know that LesFic is really, really far from a true account of romance ?

Should real life be too hard on your romantic heart then tag along as I walk you through my favourite MacGregor stories.

Let's start with "A Little Something" - a short story on how an impossible love might prove possible after all ... it's just a matter of whom takes the first step! Step into the world of advertising and see how Ellen and Shannon decide to take not one but two major chances in life. Just remember that it's not always that easy to find and hold on to love! Well if we are to judge by KG MacGregor's stories the "finding love" might not be so hard - it's the holding on to it that's complicated. Do you want me to prove it ?

Well ok ... lets look in on the Paula the Night Shift Manager at The Weller Regent Hotel in Orlando. If you ask me Paula takes the concept of “making the guests happy” to a new level when she starts  flirting with Wynne - a frequent traveller and marketing manager from Baltimore - who likes to stay at the Weller Regent when in Orlando. Paula and Wynne moves easily from an innocent flirt towards friendship and well you know .... love seems to be just around the corner when RL happens! Do you want to know if the women are ever "Getting it Right" ? Then follow the link - it will be well worth your reading time.

Let's move further down the line of MacGregor stories..... how about looking in on Leo ? She is the reason that all grandmothers have portraits of pretty, smiling 3rd graders on their mantelpieces. Leo is the photographer who makes the miracles happen and catches that perfect expression, but even if Leo is a good catch herself, love has not been know to stand in line at her door. So you might ask why you should spend your reading time with Leo? Don't be so impatient - you know that love is going to find us all at one time or another ... ok sometimes a little shove in the right direction will help to move things along. Look up "Expectations" if you want to know how Leo happens to find love and "Remembrances" if you want to know how things turn out for Leo in the long run.

"Expectations" and a "Little Something" are contributions by MacGregor to The Academy's romantic Valentines Series. If you are fond of a short romantic storyline you could also take some time with "Crush" and "Community Service". I'm sure that Community Service will put a smile on your face.

The last MacGregor fic that I'll mention is "The House on Sandstone". This is a story of young love that never dies - if this is your favourite storyline then look up other stories like this in Listmania. This time it's a kiss in the supply closet in the chemistry class that proves to be the defining moment in time for Justine and Carly, but even if the feeling is mutual at the crunch time - it'll take 25 years to go beyond that kiss! The House on Sandstone has a well developed storyline and a broad cast of characters that will keep you well entertained with all the little happenings of family life as a backdrop to romance.

Enjoy your reading time with KG MacGregor!

The Shaken Series by KG MacGregor

"It looks like you’re crawling in the doggie door naked ?" Well that's what Anna thinks ... do you want to  knows what might have caused her to get that idea ?

I have neither dog nor doggie door, but I might have to get at least the doorthing if it's at all possible that I will have the chance to find a beautiful, naked woman stuck right there in the middle ... neither in nor out!

I take it that you would have to be of a rather slight frame to actually attempt to use a doggie door to enter a house or at least you will have to have a real appealing reason to do so ... perhaps both. If you want to know Lilly's reason to attempt this way of entering her own home you might want to look up KG MacGregors Anna and Lilly series - "Shaken", "Stirred", "Strained", "Anna's Christmas", "I told You So", "Blood of My Blood" or you could move on to Bold Stroke Books and buy the published version of the four books in the Shaken Series.

This is basic LesFic romance with the standard storyline of out girl meets straight girl, friendship turns to love, and we - the readers - wonders who will make the first move to get the "show" on the road. This ever successful storyline is really well executed in the KG MacGregors pen especially in the first part of the series - "Shaken". 

The story setting is interesting with a catching combination of business woman, as in luxury car dealer Anna Kaklis, who is set to take over the family company, and social conscious attorney Lilly Stuart, who tirelessly fights the cause of battered women. The women meet under extraordinary circumstances that prove to be the starting point of a life changing journey of self discovery and one that will get us all we want from our LesFic romance ... the angst, the love and LHEA. If you choose to go "all the way" with Lilly and Anna you will get the chance to follow not only the process of finding and fighting for love, but also the building of family life. 

If you haven't started your reading of KG MacGregor stories yet then "Shaken" is a good place to start.

Looking at the World from above

There are many things that I would never do ....  One that comes readily to mind is this one - I would never attempt to do a free climb!

It's fun to go up on an indoor climbing wall, secured with rope and harness and with an able instructor at hand, but doing a free climb ? Please .... it would be tooooo taxing not to mention dangerous.

That said I do see the attraction of being able to control your body and mind in the way necessary to climb an almost vertical face of a boulder or cliff, and I do think that free climbing, mountaineering and the likes makes a great backdrop for a storyline.

So why not venture out with Rain for some free climbing ? Maybe you want to prepare yourself a little before you attempt your first free climb? You could join Theran Ryan for her free climbing courses with the master climber Kiera Aigner. If you are a novice Theran will lead the way as she is well prepared to take on the challenge of free climbing, but she might gain more than just a few new skills on the walls when she joins Kiera's courses. 

As for you - well you can enjoy a couple of crafty women and an introduction to free climbing, and even if the storyline is simplistic and the romance too shallow and much too fast moving for my taste - I did enjoyed the free climbing!

If you want to mix mystery and rock climbing you could try Manda Scott's "Stronger than Death" it's her third book in print of mysteries with the lesbian therapist Kellen Steward who lives in Glasgow, Scotland.

Once you have mastered the free climb you might want to put your feet a bit closer to the ground. You can still go up high, very high ... you might even attempt to reach the summit on Mount Everest, but if you choose to do so, you will need all the help you can get to succeed, and remember - as with the free climbing - you are putting your life in danger. 

If you have the wish to do the extraordinary then join Veronique "Ricky" Bouchard as she attemps to guide a group of wealthy climbers to The Top of the World and to get them securely back to base camp - something that might well cost Ricky her life. 

Bel-Wah's (aka Belle Reilly's) "High Intensity" is mostly the story of the Everest climbing team, the conflicts within the team and the disastrous climb, but you will find romance too - I just didn't find it real convincing. So if you choose to join Ricky for a chance to summit on Top of the World, do it for the right reason - to see the sight, to test your body and mind ... not to find romance. Remember - on a dangerous trek likes this one - love might make it hard for you to make the right choices and put you and those in your care at risk!

I found Bel-Wah's account of this disastrous climb to be close to Jon Krakauer's account of his summit in the spring of 1996 in his non-fiction account "Into thin air" - which is a real compelling read. Should you like to explore the topic further the author Rosie Thomas has a more general fictional approach to some of the same events on the expeditions described by Jon Krakauer in her novel "White".

Now for the easy stuff! Trekking on Mt. Kilimanjaro ..... you probably know where I'm going to lead you this time - on "The Road From Kilimanjaro" by KG MacGregor .... so I'm just going to say that this is where the less than perfectly fit women might want to go mountaineering. Even if it's not a walk in the park it seems to be doable and the romance ..... well lets just say that Mary Kate and Kristin do break the ice in the slow and believable fashion needed for a mushy romance.  

Ramble - Revisiting Old Friends!

Do you ever get tired of exploring new territory ? Meeting new people ? Do you sometimes just long to wander around all the safe haunts ... to go to that place by the river you know is so tranquil, to have a drink at the café that you know serves the best coffee, to meet up with the friend you know will make you laugh and kick your butt because you need it ... again!

In RL we can't always lounge around in the safe places, we have to venture out into the unknown, be daring, try our hands at things that we don't know if we can do, but in the world of fan fiction we don't have to be daring all the time. Sometimes we can just sit back with an old favourite fic and enjoy a good read - no harm in that! Let someone else struggle with all the new stories for a little while.

If you feel the inclination to visit with a few of my old friends from the mushy part of the uber fan fiction universe feel free to join me as is ramble down memory lane .....

This time my ramble takes off in Michigan with Keegan the pregnant ex-soccer player who still has a flame burning for her former partner Gwen "America's Sweetheart". However much I think that even expecting mothers should keep up with their exercises this is not about exercise or sport for that matter, but a mushy romance that will show us that it's possible to win back the love of your life if you are willing to risk your heart - and I guess that some things or rather some women are worth a bit of a risk.

Hmm I just realized that I never put "America's Sweetheart" on the Top10 page - what a miss - even with some rough spots in the dramatic parts of the storyline - this is a gem - if you like mushy romance.

If mushy romance wont satisfy your cravings you might want to wander down a little dark side street .... this is where you'll find the mushy romance with an erotic twist or maybe it's the other way around ... erotica with a romantic twist?? Anyway don't read these stories at work .... never did understand why anyone would take time out to read fan fiction during office hours - sorry I have high work ethics .. perhaps be course I love what I do?? 

"Caution: Under Construction" .... don't worry this is not an unfinished fic but an extra long and well crafted story by Vertigo sporting the ultimate butch construction worker Sheridan, her rather undisciplined dogs and a long legged brunette Keefer that proves to be just the thing Sheridan needs to quit her habit of playing ladies for one night stands. The women are sweet, the romance mushy and the sex scenes plentiful!

If you are still struggling to keep warm take a few step farther down the little dark street and look up Wilder and her long time friend Darcy while they take an almost scientific approach to establishing whether sex with a woman is more pleasurable than with a man. You might take a guess at the outcome before you look up "Unlimited Sexual Favours".

Let's move back up toward the main street where the light is better and the atmosphere less steamy ! This time lets knock on Delaney's door, she is a player like Sheridan, the butch construction worker from Vertigo's "Caution: Under Construction", and like Sheridan she has a soft heart under her tough exterior, but it's well hidden and even her friends aren't quite sure that she has one. The woman to teach Delaney to play by a new tune is Hannah. A sweet woman who needs a friend and certainly shouldn't be used for an one night stand, but that's all Delaney is about isn't it ? If you want to know what made Hannah vulnerable and how Delaney tackles the new challenge then look up "Endgame" by Meghan O'Brien.

The view is even better if we aim for high ground or perhaps even the summit of Kilimanjaro. If you feel like taking a real hike whiles relaxing on the sofa then venture out with Mary Kate when she decides to follow her dream of trekking to the top of the Kilimanjaro. This is not just an adventure but turns out to be a well crafted romance when Kristin joins the trekking party on "The Road from Kilimanjaro".

I have several "old friends" that I revisit from time to time, the above mentioned fic's are just the one's I have revisited recently. If you want to know a bit more about the stories mentioned before you venture out for a first time visit then look up the reviews by way of the author tags. 

I would love to know if you have a favourite story that you revisit from time to time - maybe I've missed out on something ;-)

Getting it Right by KG MacGregor

Would you ever want to be "the bad guy”, the one to break up a relationship? Would you want a lover that you knew had cheated on her – former - girlfriend; would you be able – not – to think that she might do the same to you?

Well you might tell me to get down off my high horse and be realistic. Love isn’t something you can plan for. Some might even say that love is not easy to come by, so once you find it, you hold onto it and fight for it no matter what. Well I might as well admit that I have no experience with cheating. I have never – to my knowledge – been cheated on, and I haven’t cheated on anyone myself!

So why this stuff about cheating? Well I can’t really tell you without the risk of spoiling your fun so for once I’ll try to keep quiet … gee it’s hard!

If you haven’t looked up KG MacGregor's “Getting it Right” yet and you want an entertaining novel length romance with well-developed characters and a storyline that goes beyond the romance then go look it up. It’s a classic lesfic story of woman meets woman, a spark is ignited and a budding friendship slips over into love… sex, only to be crudely tossed aside as an insurmountable obstacle occurs and sidetracks the women, but in the end …. no I won’t tell this time. If you want to know if “Getting it Right” has a “living happily ever after” ending you’ll have to read the story!

Let me just tell you a bit about the women that you’ll meet. The first one you bump into is Paula McKenzie at The Weller Regent Hotel in Orlando, a nice upscale business hotel where the frequent business traveller might choose to return. Paula is the blond and single Night Shift Manager with her eyes set on a career that will take her to the top in hotel management.

I guess that you could say that Paula takes the concept of “making the guests happy” to a new level when she starts a little innocent flirting with Wynne Connelly - our frequent traveller and marketing manager from Baltimore - who likes to stay at the Weller Regent when she is in Orlando.

Wynne is in town for a strategic planning project with the tour and travel company that she works for. A project that might result in her planning herself out of a job! To Wynne travelling between Baltimore and Orlando on a regular schedule is taxing and Paula proves to be a pleasant diversion – it’s nice to see a friendly face every once in a while.

The friendly face of Paula McKenzie proves itself to be good for more than just a little flirting. Paula and Wynne starts to build a friendship and soon they begin to think about each other in more than just a friendly way, but as you might have guessed there is a secret that can only be kept undisclosed for so long, and then - bang – it’s out in the open! The secret is no longer a secret and a budding love is no longer promising the beginning of something more but a dead-end.

What you’ll ask your self reading this story is if the ladies are going to "get it right" ? Can an unforgivable mistake be forgiven, can you build trust anew, can love conquer all ?

Ok so maybe I’m overdoing it a bit – this is a nice story but by no means the best from KG MacGregor – that title goes to the first two instalments of “The Anna and Lilly” series ("Shaken" and "Stirred") and “The Road From Kilimanjaro”. Go look for the reviews under the KG MacGregor tag in the author section.

You can get this story in a printed version under the title "Just this Once" from Bella Books. I actually bought the book before I happened to stumble on MacGregor’s online stories. Yep – there was actually a time when I didn’t know the Fan Fiction universe or the archives!

Mulligan by KG McGregor

This is a continuation of the Valentines Day KG McGregor special that I started the other day. So if you’ve already had enough of this pen – skip this review and go look at The Uber ect. for something else to spend your reading time on.

I for one am quite pleased that I stayed with McGregor for a visit with “Mulligan” as this fic introduce us to a couple of women that you don’t meet in your every day fan fic and to the fact that you are never to old to experience romance or to find new love! And should you be into golf you can even get a few words of advice on how to improve your game.

Mulligan is the story of Lou – a retired math teacher – and Marty the local golf pro, both women in their 60’ies, single and not really looking for love, but through golf and the meddling of friends they strike up a friendship that will *** SPOILER ALERT*** eventually lead them down the classic path towards “living happily ever after”.

This short story has a nice positive overtone and no real angst, a few funny episodes and a well constructed dialogue, but the most notable thing about it is the fact that the protagonists are women in their 60ies – so if you're well beyond your tweeny years, you might like to visit with Lou and Marty and see how life can turn out a bit further down the road. If you feel comfortable in their company you can follow the “story of their life” in “Mulligan II: In the Rough” “Mulligan III: Teachers Pet”, “Mulligan IV: The Cart Path Not Taken”, “Mulligan V: Best Ball” – I must admit that I didn’t get any further than Mulligan III.

If you are not familiar with KG McGregor’s novel length work, I urge you to get your act together and go look up “The Anna and Lilly stories” (Authors page at The Academy of Bards)or “The Road From Kilimanjaro” which are among my favourite online fic’s – both have been reviewed here.

Expectations by KG McGregor

Is it Valentines yet ? If Valentines Day was just around the corner I would treat you to a guided tour of the world of Valentine themed alt romance stories, but as that’s not the case I’ll just let you join me while I reread a bunch of KG McGregor’s contributions to The Academy of Bards Valentines Specials as it’s really to summery at my neck of the woods to start reading any lengthy stories at the moment.

I started my Valentine tour with KG McGregor on “Community Service” sharing a bit of dirty work with Alice Boyd the volunteer coordinator for Habitat for Humanity an organisation that provides housing at affordable prices to families who needs a bit of help.

I guess that Alice would love to spend her weekends holding hands and whispering sweet words to an attentive lover, but as it is she spends her time organising the work at the current building site for Habitat as they work on finishing a new home for Ms Annie and her grandchildren. But rest assured that a possibility of new love will find its way into Alice’s life ….. just wait for the white sports car and the tall and slender woman with long blond hair to arrive.

This is just a short story that leaves you with a little smile and with the prospect of a couple of women getting themselves started on a path that will lead to a bit of hand-holding etc.

****

How on earth do you hold the attention of a full class of third graders while taking their portraits? If you ask Leo Simms it’s a job that qualifies you for combat pay, but I think that Leo might just take her pay check in the form of a date with the lovely new teacher Claudia Galloway, who seems to have exactly what it takes to handle a bunch of unruly students and perhaps a photographer too.

But don’t get you hopes for a romance up to high - if Leo won’t ask for a date and Claudia won’t offer her one – how do we get the girls to go out? Well leave that to Leo’s sneaky friends who love to meddle.

I think the short story "Expectations" has a bit more depth than “Community Service”. I found it to have a well constructed dialogue and a few funny episodes - you can do worse than give this story a little bit of your reading. There is a sequel titled “Remembrances” that you should read if you want to know how things turn out for Leo and Claudia - its real touching.

Licit Cusp by Weebod

I’ve been following a discussion on the blog ”Woman and Words” about how a good lesfic should end. The question posed was whether we - the readers - needed lesfic to have a “Happily Ever After” ending. Well for me the answer is easy. I’m into romantic fictions - at least when I’m on line - and I do want a happy end of sorts, but I can easily do without an “I do”, a kiss and a hug between the protagonists is enough. As you know this condition is almost always met in the on line universe of f/f romances – if not, I for one won’t mention the story at this site, should I be unfortunate enough to have spend time reading it – uuhhhh what a waste ;-).

I thought that this review could focus a bit on the HEA type of fiction which in my opinion includes the move from attraction, being in love to the more complicated everyday life of a relationship with the ups and downs. A number of this type fiction has been reviewed at this site. My favourite would be the “Anna and Lily stories” by KG MacGregor “Shaken”, “Stirred”, “Strained” a lovely series of stories that take the time to develop the characters and give the romance a substance that serves well as the basis for the ups and downs of the relationship, that I for one deem to be a HEA.

Another favourite of this type would be “All that matters” by S X Meagher in this story we follow friends turn into lovers, and the “sharing of a house” kind of living together turning into a relationship. No worries there are so much more to this looooong story that just these bits, so I’m certain you will enjoy it, even if you know by now it is also one of those stories, that I deem to have a HEA ending.

To put something new into this mix of stories that you properly already know, I’ll pass the Weebod story “Licit Cusp” on to you, this is a sweet story of a first love, that seem to be the love of a lifetime – definitely a HEA ending.

In “Licit Cusp” we get to meet the young Shona MacLeod, who has moved from the small Hebridean island of North Uist to Edinburg to study history at the university. Edinburg is not only far away from North Uist in terms of geography, but also in the way of life. North Uist is a small society and Shona’s father is a hard and religious man, who keeps his four children on a tight rein.

The move to Edinburg gives Shona the opportunity to experience new sides of life, to grow up and gain her independence. Taking up a job in “The Railwaymen's Club” a local bar, run by the slightly older Toni, is a corner stone in the process for Shona, as Toni proves not only to be a good friend, but also a woman who can show her new way’s of life, and as you can imagine life have some love in store for Shona and Toni.

The story gives us the opportunity to follow a few years in the lives of Shona and Toni and that of their friends and family. It’s a nice and mellow, well written tale, without much angst and heartache. A good read in my opinion. You could say that Toni is perhaps too good to be true, but who cares - it’s not real life, and I guess some of us might take the hint from this leading lady, and look if we are sufficiently supportive of our partner, spouse, gf, lover or what ever you might call your “leading lady” - should you happen to have one of those.

The Road from Kilimanjaro by KG MacGregor

It’s not standing on the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro that will change your perspective on life; it’s the trek it takes to get there that makes the difference. This is a coming out story set against the backdrop of the holiday adventure of a life time. Mary Kate travels alone to Africa to join a travel party for the trek to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. This will not only give her a break from her small town life, but also a chance to ponder the future with her boyfriend, Bobby.

As Mary Kate is alone, she is paired for the trek with Kristin, who is also a single traveler in need of a break from a life. The girls hit it off from the start and a playful banter between them accompanies the week long trek towards the summit. If it’s not an attraction that draws Mary Kate to Kristin, it’s got to be Kristin’s willingness to share the toilet paper, which she brought with her! 

I won’t disclose any more of the storyline, I think you should go look in on the girls while they freeze their butts off on that mountain knowing that the statistics show that only half of their party will make it to the summit.

This story is the closest I’m going to get to any kind of traveling in Africa or trekking on a real mountain for that matter, so the setting is a plus to this classical romance. Furthermore, the story has well developed characters, a good supporting cast, and funny dialog in places. If I’m to point to something negative, it’s the fact that I would have liked just that extra 20 or so pages to give the story a more fulfilling ending. Maybe KG MacGregor has added that to the revised version available in print from Bella Books under the title “Worth Every Step”.

Perhaps you already know KG MacGregor as this author penned the stories of Anna and Lily (Shaken, Stirred, Strained), which has been reviewed at this site. If you haven’t looked in on Anna and Lily yet, you ought to do so as the quality of these stories are way better than a lot of other on line fiction available.

Enjoy your story time!