"Hindsight" by Lois Kay

I say that these two cute cupcakes are meant to be together! On the other hand sometimes fate or perhaps - in hindsight - a bad choice will decide a different future not only for a "couple of cup cakes" but more likely for a cute pair of lovers.

If you want to explore the matter of "bad decisions" a bit closer you might tag along as I tell you about my latest venture into the world of F/F Fanfiction. This time I went out with Lois Kay. Lois has a nice backlog of stories with "Hearts Choice" being my favourite by her pen.

Before we put on our clogs and starts prowling hospital floors looking for Hannah - yes we are looking to find doctors and nurses this time .. yumi (!) - we might just take a minute to explore the topic of bad choices. I guess some us have a vivid recollection of a date gone wrong, time wasted looking for love in the wrong places or how we mistook a smile, a dance or a kiss for more than just a casual interest. Some might even have managed to do the U-haul thing just to find that living together gives the word  INCOMPATIBLE a new meaning!

If you are experienced in the world of LesFic you know that the authors have us - or rather the protagonists - take more than just a slight detour on the route towards LHEA. LesFic gives the matter of making bad choices a new meaning all together! Now I'm not saying that Hannah made a bad choice when she started going out with Rachel back when she waited tables to pay her way through nursing school or that Rachel wasn't serious about their relationship while she went to medschool or did her residency, but four years ago Rachel did make the choice to leave Hannah with no farewell and certainly no reasonable explanation, she just disappeared!

So where does that leave Hannah ...? Well I found her in the home of her Granny, who seems to have picked her up and put her back on her feet these last four years since Rachel left. As you might have guessed by now Lois is not telling us the story of how Hannah got herself back together and took up life looking for love in the arms of a woman more loving and caring that Rachel.

This is the story of Rachel returning to her home town and ... well yes taking up work at the same hospital as Hannah, and running into Hannah ... and ... nah I wont tell, but I'll let you know that if you are looking for a mushy romantic tale of how two women pick up the love that even a bad choice can't kill, then put your feet up and enjoy this read.

"Hindsight" is a tale of love, family looking out for each other and for some family members maybe even looking a little too closely in on each others love interest. Yes I aim to make you wonder ! But I'll let you know that once the mushy love turns solid, you'll be treated to a bit of a thriller - not quite my ball game - but I found the mix enjoyable enough.

I should perhaps point out that Lois is not one to invite her readers into the bedroom of her protagonists, so if you are looking for love with a spicy flavour, I suggest that you look elsewhere. A visit with CK and Branson in Larisa's "The Phantom" might be to your liking. It's not a read big on mushy romance, but a great mix of romance and humour all the same. This is among my absolute favourite Larisa stories and Larisa is high on my list of all time favourite Fanfiction writers - so I say if you haven't been to CK's farm then don't hesitated...  run along and see if you can catch a ride with Branson, she has a pair of fast wheels at least when the destination is LOVE !

It Started With a Kiss ....

Well it did start with a Kiss ... The Hot Chocolates song that is ... aaahhh no you wouldn't be thinking that I was referring to ... no no ... that simply won't do ... according to my version of The Lesbian Rule Book there is No Lusting after Your Brothers Girlfriend, Your Neighbours Wife and certainly no "funny" stuff on or before the first date!

On the other hand what would Larisa be without a daredevil like Striker. Well it's not really Striker who gets the brilliant idea to kiss the first person she stumbles upon in the bowling alley, but she is the one to put a lip lock on Chase ... her fathers "Tall, Dark and Extremely Hot" new employee ... and puke all over her shoes even before they have been introduced! I guess no one bothered to let Striker have a copy of that very important Rule Book ... but then again Striker is straight, so why should she be reading that particular book?

I know I'm rambling, but the lyrics to the Hot Chocolates song "It Started With a Kiss....." just kept popping up in my head, so I thought that I should put it down somewhere, and I guess this place is as good as any - so bear with me or hop along as I ramble on.

Now let me introduce you to the girls .... Striker, the "Kissing Bandit" ... well you've already meet her, she just turned 21 and "The Kiss" was the daring end to her birthday party, and Chase ... the woman with the strikingly blue eyes... well it's anybody's guess who she really is. 

So now for the BIG question does a Kiss make you gay ? Well we could look that up in the Lesbian Rule Book .... but who cares about rules and regulations when love is concerned ... I for one think that in "Love and War" everything is fair as long as love always wins! 

With "Striker" what you get is the standard Larisa fair with a couple of likeable main characters and two crazy hangarounds who makes things as odd as Lari-usual, but you probably have to be a Larisa fan to like it ... and I'm one of those fans !

Today I met someone who new about the Lesbian Rule Book ! Well she is under the impression that it's really just a Handbook, but I guess it's not all that important what you call the book as long as you know about the rules of Lesbianship, and I'll say that Amanda is a real pro at least when it comes to the business of toasters. If you want to meet Amanda then make a short stop with Kelly Q.'s "Toasted", it is a short story in her book "Cupid Pulls a Prank and Other Lesbian Tales" it's free on Smashwords.

If You Can Carry a Tune

If you can carry a tune you might be one to sing those awfully sad songs of love lost ... at least on a rainy day? Or like Erin with her "Haunted Past" (**) you might just hear the echo of a sad tune while you nurse a drink meant to sooth the heartache .... but I guess you know that a drink will not get Erin anywhere but closer to the memory of the terrible day when Gillian left her. Knowing Larisa we won't have to watch Erin waste away though, but we may have to watch the ladies dance around a bit before they kiss and make up.

Now grab a coffee while I find something with a good tune for you to read ..... how about Kim Pritekel's "Twilight"(**). In this story there is music to be found, as in the popular singer and songwriter Christine who is badly in need of a helping hand to get her act back together and find a little happiness ... and she might just find what she needs in Willow a nurse, wife and soon to be expecting mother ... yes you might say that Kim Pritekel has her work cut out for her if she wants the ladies to be more than friends. If you choose to sing along with Christine and Willow then settle in for a long read - it's a catching one with hurt and comfort, drama and romance and a well defined cast of characters. I would say that "Twilight" is among Pritekel's most well tuned stories.

Sometimes the tunes you play will get you fame and a truckload of money but most often it might not even put bread on the table or a roof over your head. Take Sam for instance she lives her life in her car going where the next job is most likely to be found. One day Sam finds herself stranded in the small town of "Piperton" (**) and her ability to play the piano and sing a tune the shortest way to a bit of cash. Even if her tunes ain't getting her a world of fame, Sam's soft songs of lost love is what gets her a new chance in life .... the attention of Janie. I'll leave you to explore the route that Sam and Janie travel on your own.

When we leave Piperton I suggest we explore one of the less talked about F/F fiction sites "Sapphic Voices" lets do so by listening in on Storm and her Stormtroopers soon to be Stormclouds in F.J.Davey's "Images"(**). This is music meeting the world of business and an unnourished heart finding love in a new and unexpected place. It's also a chance for you to explore the overseas .... well I guess that really is a question of where you have set up home ... but to me Australia and Zimbabwe is definitely out of everyday reach. So if you are willing to take a chance with the popular tunes of the Sixties, Eighties and even Nineties then follow along and see how the fierce temper and hot looks of lead singer Storm sparks when met with Kathryn's smooth businesslike manners and cool distance. The question is if there will ever be more than just sparks flying .... and I might warn you it's not just you and me looking in on Storm and Kathryn we got another a pair of eyes, a pair of too interested eyes, following the moves. So watch out !

I'm going to leave you to the music of your own choice but on my way out I'll set up a list of stories sporting protagonists who have a connection to the music scene. The stories might not quite match the above mentioned in quality but you might still find something that matches the rhythm of your heart:

• Sidney's Serenade by JL Nickey 
• Two Part Harmony by Colleen
• The Sister by Zuke
• Magic of the Heart by CJ Harte
• Whips and Chains by Larisa

If you have stories you want to add to the list please let me know!

The Tribe of The Big Round Bellies

Once the Wedding Vows has been taken care of the next thing your woman will start hinting is that it is time for you to start a family.

You might try to suggest a dog would be a perfect match - how about helping out a lovely creature from the animal shelter? Well if that does not work out I guess that you have to start reading up on immaculate conception or perhaps just get your ass down to the local hardware store ... or wherever you go to get your cooking utensils ... 'cos you will be needing a Turkey Baster!

On the other hand when I think about it all the fan fic's I've read featuring a pregnant woman I can't say that I've ever come across any Turkey Basters or the likes, so I guess that there are other ways to get the deed done?!  

Now settle down and let me run through the stories with a pregnant protagonist and let's see if there are any turkeys running loose.

Usually the conception in question is quite natural - if I may say so - as in Man and Woman get close and rather personal. Now don't shoot me - I'm only en innocent bystander telling you what I've read (!) If you don't believe me then look up "Strings Attached" by Inyx. I don't think that it gets more natural than an awful lot of alcohol and an one night stand! With Inyx it's the getting up close and personal with your room mate / (girl)friend of seven years that might prove a bit difficult. Look up the review if you want to know the details.

You still don't believe me ? Ok then try "An Innocent Heart" by Heike Freudenmann and G. S. Binkley. This time it's not an one night stand but a steady - but soon-to-be ex-boyfriend -  that does the deed and puts Kim in a family way! So where do we go from here ? Will Kim be "doing the right thing" and make up with her ex or can she pursue a life as a single mother.... I think that her childhood friend Robin will help her make up her mind - look up a review here.

Luckily enough even devious boyfriends like Tucker Dane's Steve in Larisa's "Blue Calm", who sets out to get Tucker to marry him by getting her pregnant by "accident", can put into motion a change that will give us a lovely f/f romance and the start of a happy family of two mothers. Well in the case of Tuckers new love - Duncan - you might wonder if it's just the luck of genes of if she herself - Duncan that is - "fathered" the child 'cos Tuckers baby daughter looks an awful lot like our Dunk!

If you are "into" devious boyfriends you could also look up Terri, who ends up staying with the wealthy Noemi while she carries her child to term, and if you want to know how that happened and if Terri is going to move on when the baby is borne, you'll have to look up Katia Ruiz's story "Noemi" for your self.

I can think of just one more story where the expecting mother got pregnant the natural way and that's "When We Met" by B. Soiree. As I remember its an awful long story that takes you through the hardship of pregnancy and setting up family life with a newborn baby, but don't worry there is still a little time for romance now and then.     

Now if you are looking to get pregnant with a little help from a very good friend and a doctor you could look up "A Place to Dance" by Ali Vali. This time "the getting pregnant thing" is very well planed, but there is still the small question of putting the news to your partner.... It's really not as odd as it might sound and "A Place to Dance" is a favourite of mine so don't hesitate to look it up if you have the urge for a good romance.  

While we are on the question of favourites I might as well mention "All That Matters" by SX Meager. I know that this is another very long story, but that can't be helped as SX Meager is the master of the long winded romance. Should you have the time then look in on the life of Blair and her husband David who is out looking to have a bit of help with the "getting pregnant thing", which lands Blair with a divorce and on the road to become a single mother (!) ... you might ask how that happens and as you can imagine I won't tell you! I will however let you know that Blair has a very supportive - and surprise - lesbian friend Kylie who lends the pregnant Blair a helping hand when she leaves David. Look up the women while Blair is carrying her child to term and see if Blair is lucky enough to score the "girlfriend" job with Kylie.

You still haven't got enough of all the round bellies getting bigger and bigger and .. ? ... ok then look up Keegan and follow her as she is carrying her child to term as a single mother... hm you want some romantic action as well - don't worry Keegans former girlfriend Gwen is around and she is trying hard to persuade Keegan that what she should take a chance on love, and I ask you who can say no to an offer like that when it's put forward by "America's Sweetheart" ?

If you think that children are a great part of the equation of love and romance then look up the list of stories that I've put together in Listmania or my ramble on this topic. 

"Gone for Soldiers Every One" or just "Women in Uniform"

I am really not in favor of War, especially not when the result is coffins with the bodies of young soldiers brought back from faraway places, but with the recent repeal of DADT in the US I thought that it was time to venture out to look for a few "Women in Uniform".

This time we could start out in the movies! The first female soldier I think that I came across was "Private Benjamin" as in a Goldie Hawn flick from the '80's - a lot of fun at the time, but perhaps a bit out of date by now (?) - and even if there is a hint of bisexuality in the movie it's all just for "fun".

Kelly McGillis as Top Gun Instructor

I know that Kelly McGillis wasn't really a soldier in "Top Gun" and that the movie was too high on testosterone to ring any bells, but I am pretty sure she would have been able to find a well fitting flight suite had she needed one!

Demi Moore as Lt. Jordan O'Neil

If we continue down the movie trail we will eventually hit the ocean ... you know that the sea is the perfect element for a SEAL, don't you? So I guess that we could go see if "GI Jane" chose to ring the bell ... now this woman IS a soldier and she chose to be tested with the best, but I think that she might be overdoing it just a bit - even if her one-handed push ups is impressive.

We might want equal opportunities, but should it be on male terms and standards ... ? 

On-handed push ups!

In "GI Jane" we get a hint on the consequences of living as a homosexual in the military, but even if Lt. Jordan O'Neil turns herself into one hard butch GI for the sake of joining a SEAL team, and has her sexuality questioned in the process, we don't really get to see if this has any impact on her love life.  

Glenn Close

Glenn Close and Judy Davis

Further down the movie trail we encounter "Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story". This is the real-life story of Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer of the US National Guard who was involuntary discharge when she admitted she was gay. This is the story of her coming out and her legal battle following the discharge.

I think Glenn Close and Judy Davis made a nice couple and it's fun to watch the slightly up-tight colonel trying to find equal footing with her more bohemian love interest, but beware this is a movie from the mid '90s  - you might find it a bit dated!

Should you want to explore the theme of real life LGBT veterans, you can look up the publication "Proud to Serve". Some of the pictures from the book is available here.

Now lets turn to Fan Fic's with a theme on "Women in Uniform" or perhaps just a woman in uniform. I think that we should start out with the end..... serving in the military and especially at a time when your country choose to go to war might bear the ultimate consequence for you and your family. This is the theme that Cheyne explore in "Requiem" - so don't go there unless you have a tissue handy.

While we visit with Cheyne I might as well tell you that she has written a much longer story with Women in Uniform - "Permission to Recover". All 582 pages (!) of this story is posted at The Athemaeum and very well rated by the readers, but due to the length I've never read it. So I can't really tell you if the story is worth you time - let me know if it's a good read!

Moving on to Ft. Bragg we get to meet the Top of Headquarters Company. The long and lean 1SG Karen Wilson and her new "butter bar" 2Lt Whitney Gordon who is going to serve as the company XO. What could have been a nasty battle of strength between a competent NCO and a still "wet behind the ear" officer, turns out to be a - not too mushy - but still enjoyable meeting of two women both in need of a new friend and perhaps more .... if just one of them has the nerve to break the silence that DADT and the band on fraternisation poses on them. "XO" by C. Paradee is not a story of war but a little romance and drama mixed on the backdrop of an army base and some military jargon. 

If you want real fighting you could look up Larisa's "Da Nang", but you will be looking at VC snipers and sneaky fighting, dirt, blood and death bodies - so join the fun at you own risk. If you want your soldier in Dress White you can take a look at Pez in Larisa's "The Ice Princess", but even though Pez do her fair bit of fighting, it's still in the relatively calm scenery of an ER and not on the battlefield. Should you on the other hand want to go to Officer Candidate School you can join Brennen Magdonn as she enters at The Quantico Marine Corps Base, and don't worry there are lot's of butch lesbians who is always faith full ... "Semper Fi" by Larisa.

Leaving Larisa will get us into combat again this time with Master Sgt. Halley a Marine trained for specialized missions in hostile countries. 15 years in the service and wondering if this is what life has to offer, Halley starts to question her heart and what she find is the blue eyes of Commander Eden a Top Gun Navy Aviator. But before Halley and Eden can say more than "Hallo" the women find themselves on a deadly mission in enemy territory, where finding cover is much more important than "Finding Your Heart"!

I for one prefer to have my soldiers in a more relaxed setting, so I'll venture out on a "Blind Date" by D with a nervous marine by the name of Lark, and an annoyed Mel who has been pushed hard by her best friend Claire to have dinner with Lark, while she is home on leave. You won't get much soldiering done in this fic, but you will get to "see" our marine in her green class A service uniform - a formidable look if we go by Mel's judgment!

For a more humorous outlook on life in the service look up Major Sheila Patton when she attach "The Nipple Factory" .... only to find a lonely and frustrated woman in need of some hand holding.

Now I will leave you to your reading - please dodge any bullets coming your way - stay safe!

When Your Heart's on Fire .... Smoke gets in Your Eyes

Sometimes it's easy to see yourself in someone else's line of work. To imagine going through the doors of a Hospital or an office building on a Monday morning ready for another workday. To see yourself interviewing patients, victims of a felony, "pushing papers", attending meetings and generally just doing the things we watch professionals do in RL and on TV.

But can you imagine yourself heading down the road in a speeding fire engine, can you imagine going towards a burning building instead of running away from it or donning a breathing apparatus preparing to go in ? Probably not ! But don't worry you don't need to harbour a death wish to look up the stories mentioned below sporting fire fighters and the ladies that they cast hot glances .... just stay clear of the fire!

So where to start? Well fire fighters of the female gender got to be kind of butch, so I thought that we could head in the direction of Larisa to see if she has a fire fighter among her protagonists. Yeps - found one .... her name is Jake, she has raven coloured hair and lives at the fire house or she did until she got suspended for putting herself at risk ... again. It is Artemis luck that Jake did put herself at risk, otherwise Artemis would have died, stuck in her car when it caught fire in a crash. "Flames of a Soul" is a pretty standard Larisa fic - go for it if you want to watch a fire fighter do her heroic work of saving lives and getting singed by hot flames and ... a bit of loving.

Let's move on to something a little more poetic this time a fic sporting Jo - chief of the local fire department - and Sisters - a twin house on a lakeside. If you listen real carefully you will probably be able to hear Jo's cursing over the noise of hammering and electric work tools being put to use next door. Miranda and her young daughter Hope has taken over the other half of the twin house, and Jo is not amused - this is after all "her" house, where she can mop around - undisturbed - thinking of her disastrous relationship with Laurel, her fights with the Town Council and her latest conspiracy theory. This time Jo has a lucky mix to brood over - one dead man, a murder suspect on the run, an innocent child, a woman with a lot of cash, a new beautiful, and blond neighbour, and her own heart. If you look up "Where There's Smoke" you can watch Jo do her heroic fire fighters act while she looks for a murderess and gets tangled up with a hot blond. I found the story well worth my reading time.

Now imagine yourself in a burning building, smoke making it hard for you to see your surroundings,  then a fire fighter comes along .... what to you do - get up and follow her or sit back and let her walk away?  Well if you have tried just about everything to kill yourself you might be thinking that this is your best chance of getting rid of your life, so I guess you might actually stay. If that fire fighter is worth anything she will probably just throw you over her shoulder and carry you out. This is not really a story on fire fighters as Alley - our heroic fire fighter - is just doing her stretch of community service as a fire fighter, her day job is much less heroic, but to Erin she proves to be a real life saver. Look up "Trial by Fire" if you want a short humorous romance with just a little bit of smoke inhalation.

Fire fighting is a dangerous business, but somehow even in the worst of times our protagonists always, always ....  manages to walk out of the blazing fires alive. But Cheyne Curry do makes you wonder if this is also going to be the case for Jenna once she joins her colleagues of fire fighters at the site of the World Trade Centre on 9/11. If you want to know if Jenna makes it and reunites with her lover Brynne then look up "The Pocket Watch". This is not a mushy romance but an account of the devastating experiences of 9/11 - so don't open "The Pocket Watch" unless you are ready to turn back time and relive the terror of 9/11.

As you are probably aware Fire Fighters are not the only emergency personnel who will lend a helping hand to a woman in need. So if you have finished putting you life at risk then join Donna and Aleta who are paramedics when they respond to a 911 call at four o'clock in the morning. I guess that in this line of business you get to see the most bizarre things and finding a tennis shoe attached to a nice but very swollen calf protruding from the living room ceiling of a house must be classified as bizarre  - at least if you take account of the hour. "Match Made in Heaven" is a short, fun fling - it wont take you long to read, and it might put a smile on your face. 

Now lets get back to business - when that 911 call comes in and the dispatcher calls your unit you don't have time for flirting even if you line of business is not to run into the flames, but to administer to the sick and wounded as a paramedic. Don't worry we will still find a few tough cookies in this line of work .... even some of those delicious ones, you know the one's crispy hard on the outside and soft ... when you bit into them!

"Lights and Sirens" by Jeanine Hoffman is the story of Chloe, a paramedic who is able to put her own life in danger to save others, but is too scared to face her feelings and risk her heart for love. This time though Chloe is in luck as Cait - her best friend and love interest - is willing to step up to the plate and ask for what she wants. If you choose to look up the story of Chloe and Cait you'll be treated to the story of their lives and those of their close friends and colleagues - romance in the line of fire and such seems to be the order of the day. The story is well worth a read if you take an interest in the work of paramedics and fire fighters.

There are still a few stories with prize fire fighting women to explore if you fancy this theme, but the once mentioned above are the ones I prefer:

• "Incendiary" by Geonn Cannon
• "Blown Away", "Fire and Ice" and "Second Wind" by Kim Baldwin
• "A Fire Ignited Within" by Nanook
• "The Blaze", "Inferno" and "Flashpoint" by ArdentTly

Operation Drop Zone by Larisa

There is Obsession as in an oriental fragrance with a blend of vanilla, amber, orange blossom and oakmoss from Calvin Kline, and then there is obsession as in a clinical diagnoses of compulsive cleaning. I say that Judge Bloodstone might smell nice, but she really is overdoing it with her cleaning. On the other hand would you really blame her if you take into account that she had a bit of a run in with a former client and a truckload of cow dung that got her and her small convertible buried in ... shit for a while?

If you want to know how to get rid of a cleaning obsession like this, you might want to look up Larisa's "Operation Drop Zone". It's a long story so I guess that I could let you in on part of the secret, it's a ...... Murphy Whistler. She is a "pay for one get three" kind of deal, and I promise you that you wont have a boring day if you take her on. Murphy and her family is something else or rather they are presented like you steady diet of Larisa freaks. I for one would lose my breath just listening in on a "conversation" in that family, but hell there is a lot more than talking going on - nahhh I'm not talking about that (get your mind out of the gutter woman!)

Well neither Judge nor Murphy is exactly who they seem to be. "Judge" is not a judge but a lawyer, and Murphy is not a just a weirdo shelf-filler at Wal-mart, but ... well I think that I should let you figure that out on your own. It's sufficient to say that nothing is quit what it seems to be except for the fact that Murphy does wish to get up close and personal with Judge - really bad.

Story of the Year 2009 at The Athemaeum "Operation Drop Zone" is more than just a classic Larisa story it's a looooong drama blended with a number of crazy episodes and characters. It is a story of missed childhood, maniac mothers, monster kids, the value of the family you create for yourself, loss and gain .... you name it ..... it's there and with a dialog that constantly keeps you breathless. For once I think that Larisa might have overdone the crazy dialog just a bit though - going without oxygen for 342 pages is just a little too long even for a persistent Larisa fan like me.

If you are not familiar with Larisa's writing I think that you should look up "The Phantom" for starters. This will key you into the classic Larisa style and humor. Should you like "The Phantom" there is a lot of Larisa stories to choose from in the archives. Once you have got acquainted with the Larisa style you can drop in on Judge and Murphy and their friends and family - this will keep you confused for a while.

A number of Larisa stories has been mentioned at this site - look op the stories by way of the list of authors - if you want a laugh Larisa is a sure bet .... every time.

Women in need of a place to call home

This World is not a perfect place sometimes things turn out wrong on the global scales like say a war, global warming, financial crises and the likes, and sometimes life turn real bad on an individual level when someone looses her health, job, family or home. Loosing everything - even a place to call home, somewhere to lay down in safety and sleep, that has to be a really scary thing. 

When you have got nothing left to lose and see no future, no way to get yourself back on track towards a better life, you need a helping hand, and if you have read your fan fiction, you know that someone WILL come along and help you! Never despair! (I know that this is not the case in RL, but lets enjoy the fantasy for just a little while).

If you have been around fan fiction long enough you must have had a run in with a homeless women and her saviour. Several of these fic’s have a soul mate theme - so if that is something you fancy ,please follow me as I go for a ramble through the dark streets of an unknown city looking for a scrappy girl, sleeping on cardboard and stashing her belongings in plastic carrier bags.

Well the first woman I run into are not really scrappy, she is strong and able to fight for herself, but she does need a bit of a helping hand while she waits for her broken leg to heal, and perhaps she also needs a reason to find a way to solve the conflict, that put her out on the streets in the first place. You can look up Q and her “reason” Dr. Taylor Winslow in J. A. Zollicoffer’s “Street Life”, it’s a good read with a mix of romance and drama.

Now lets move downhill a bit. If you favor a mix of drama and romance, and you like the humorous writing style of Larisa, you could look up “Street People”, but do watch out for the traffic or you might get run down by Jocelyn, a social worker who likes to get her hands dirty trying to help homeless people towards a better life. A better and preferable safer life is something that Sammy needs. Living life on the streets of Washington DC is not safe as dirty cops round up street people and make them disappear. Beware nothing is what it seems to be ;-) Everything moves a bit fast in this short story, but  it is ok for a quick read on a lazy afternoon. 

Let’s move along now and see if there are more souls, that needs saving. I think that it’s time we moved out into the “Cold” by Midget, this is where you will find the rich and idle, but do not worry Joanna Holbrook-Sutherland might be the daughter of a Lord and lead what we deem to be a shallow life, but she is persistent when she sets out to find her soul mate - a young vagrant woman she saw in a photograph. And persistence is something that Jo will need if she wants to help Rocky, as Rocky is not really in the mood to be saved, least of all by someone like Jo. The story is an entertaining and well written mix of romance and  drama - even if the soul mate theme is not a favorite of mine. If you want to explore the future of Jo and Rocky look up the sequels “Remember Me” and “Winter Thaw”.

While Rocky was at the bottom of the pit when Jo found her, Grace is hanging on to a scrappy life just above homelessness when she meets Allison, a rich gallery owner who takes an interest in her sketching and commission a portrait. If you do not mind the rater quick and surprising interest Allison takes in Grace you could tag along and see how the painting is going in “Love's Rendition” by Tragedy88. Even if the meeting with Allison could give Grace the chance she needs to get a firmer hold on life, her declining health gets her on a downward spiral that is hard to break if she keeps questioning Allison’s motives for trying to help her - so maybe she should just follow her heart? The story is entertaining enough even if I never really found out why Allison took such an interest in Grace in the first place.

To finish off this list of stories on the topic of women in need of a place to call home, I will just point you in the direction of DS Bauden’s “A Saving Solace” featuring a young woman who has recently pulled herself out of homelessness with a little help from a kind soul - read the review here.

If you are really fond of the theme on homeless women you can look up “Linger” by Minerva it’s different from the stories mentioned above, and it might linger on you mind awhile longer than the easy romances.

Should I have missed out on a good read that fits with the theme above please leave comment.

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.

Blind Date by Larisa

Looking for love is like looking for a needle in a haystack, but I guess that’s not so surprising, at least if you believe that everyone has a “soul mate” waiting somewhere. How on earth are we supposed to find “The One” among millions of people? Are there special paths to follow? If so why aren’t we given a rout plan at birth to guide us, and why haven’t Google released a special designed “Pathfinder to love”?

There has to be another path to love than one involving blind dates, but if it was an easy one to find I’m quite sure that Levi Straussenhofer – survivor of an infinite number of horrible blind dates - would have found it by now. On the other hand if she hadn’t done that final blind date with the vampire like college professor, she wouldn’t have found herself stuck under a table and between Brody O’Sullivan’s legs, so I guess that a blind date can bring you on the right track.

Levi is a food critic and a blond, green-eyed woman with a couple of crazy roommates, desperately looking for someone to share her life with, and Brody, who works in a fish market, is exactly what Levi is looking for – tall, dark-haired and with blue eyes! Did I hear anyone say soul mate ?

Well it might be something very close to love at first sight for Brody and Levi, but this is not one of those “falling in love and heat at first sight” kinds of stories. The women will – naturally - meet obstacles before they can consummate their love. One being that Levi find it quit possible that Brody is connected to mobsters on account of the bio hazard bin that she keeps at her front door with bloody clothes, and the amount of bleach that can be found in her bathroom… possibly for taking away blood stains!

Don’t worry even if it’s nothing like real life – its fun – at least in the standard Larisa fashions of crazy episodes, strange happenings, odd balls and a pair of gorgeous women stumbling all over them self and each other while looking for love.

I like the first part of the story the best. This is where you’ll find the description of a number of rather unsuccessful blind dates. Even if it’s exaggerated in a Larisa like way, it still reminds me why I would never go on a blind date – the memorable quote from Forrest Gump comes to mind ”Life Is like a Box of Chocolates... You Never Know What you’re Gonna Get!“I say the same goes for blind dates.

If you are fond of the crazy humour in Larisa’s stories, you will probably get a good laugh out of this one too, but if you aren’t a Larisa fan - I think that you should find something else to pass your time tonight.

The Nipple Factory by JLNicky and Honeybakedham

Don’t you just hate that - the beginning of chaos in you world of definite order. It might be a stack of books not put away on the right shelf in the bookcase, a number of half-finished items of food in the fridge, the enormous amount of shoes that accumulate in the closet with every change of season …… Well actually I’m not a neat freak; I do tend to leave little piles of things lying around the house, where I think that I might need them ….soon. I mean why put yesterday’s newspaper away if you didn’t finish reading it? I’ll surly …not… get around to reading it tomorrow, but one can always hope.

Major Shiela Patton certainly don’t agree with leaving piles of stuff around that don’t fit in her well-ordered military warehouse, so when a delivery from Babies 1st Nipples of 100.000 baby bottle replacement nipples arrive at the door she immediately set into action – this stuff has to go back NOW. Unfortunately that does prove to be a rather difficult task to carry out, even if you have a commanding attitude like Major Patton.

If you want your protagonist butch, look no further for your fun. Major Patton is everything you need - six feet tall and sharply dressed in fatigue and combat boots, with an athletic body and raven coloured hair, wearing sunglasses regardless of being inside, or out. So what can wear down a career soldier like our Major Patton ? Surly you must have guessed ? A woman’s tears !

And tears are what Major Patton encounters when she tries to get Bobbi Dellicroix - the owner of the Babies 1st Nipples company - to pick up the out-of-place goods from her warehouse. As you can imagine the tearful apologies of Bobbi convinces Major Patton to help rectify the problem herself - she loads up a 5 ton truck with the goods and drives off to meet Bobbi.

Did you guess ? You probably did! Yes - Bobbi is a small woman with the most beautiful green eyes! But she has something above and beyond green eyes which will keep Major Patton occupied for a while. If you want to know what it is, you will have to look up this story and go visit the war zone that the Major has landed in.

This is humour and at places actually rather fun, even if "The Nipple Factory" doesn’t really have a consistent storyline. When I think about it this story is essentially a number of funny one liners, and I guess that I chose to let you know about the story because I liked the basic idea of the storyline even if it wasn’t really explored to its full extent.

In the story a number of – let’s say – unnecessary characters fools around for no apparent reason. I get the feeling that some of these extra characters are moulded over “well-known” fictional characters that I’m not familiar with? What ever else might be the reason for including something like 15 siblings of the Major in a story 44 pages long?

As you might know I’m partial to the humour you can find in a standard Larisa storyline – so if you want humour and a bit of romance in a more structured storyline you could look up my favourite Larisa story “The Phantom” or perhaps “Kicking and Screaming”. Larisa has also written a story featuring a protagonist in the military it’s titled “Da Nang”. I didn’t find this story to be quit so funny and catching as other Larisa stories, but it seems to be well-liked by other readers as it has a high rating on The Athenaeum, so maybe it’s just that the war theme is not my cup of tea.

Game, Set and Match by Ali Vali aka A. Valdivia

For some the World Cup (football / soccer) is the focus of attention right now, others might spend time watching the Wimbledon tennis tournament and some - like I - am waiting for the cyclist of The Tour de France to get on their bikes and pedal out of Rotterdam in The Netherlands on July 3rd.

If you get tired of watching the sports on TV, you might want to take a little time with a (fan) fic touching on a sport theme. So I invite you to pick your favourite game on the list below and to relax while you “watch” the ladies work out!

How about starting off with a game of field hockey ? If you like this game or if you are just curious as to what it’s all about, you might look up “The Player” and join Gil and Emma while they play the game and get to know each other – review.

Should field hockey not be to you liking, you could look in on "America's Sweetheart" by Catherine Burke a sweet romance written on the backdrop of women’s soccer in the US (review).

If golf is your sport – you can stop by “The Deal” by M. Ryan (review) in this story you’ll be treated to an almost play by play run through of the game, while you follow Kaz’s in the world of News.

“The road from Kilimanjaro” (review) might be somewhat off a strict sports theme, but if you are not too keen on chasing after a ball you might like to go hiking up the mountain slops of Mt. Kilimanjaro or journey along on a safari with KG MacGregor, while Mary Kate and Kristine get acquainted or perhaps you would rather join Ryan and Jamie on a bike ride in the “Beginning” of their rather long relationship in SX Meagher’s ”I Found My Heart in San Francisco” series – by the way - you’ll find plenty of sports played out in this series as Ryan is a real sports jock (review).

“Blue Calm” by Larisa will give you a touch of the atmosphere on the beaches of Hawaii while Tucker learns to navigate the waves on a surfboard and Dunk takes her last win in the Pipe Master Competition (review).

Finally I’ll leave you on Centre Court with Parker King and her racket as she whacks the ball and let it fly past the player on the other side of the net to win the women’s singles final in Wimbledon. Parker is the “bad girl” of the tennis world – dating and discarding women as “just another notch in my lipstick case” (That’s a new one … I think?) and it’ll take a transatlantic flight and a disastrous - but funny - meeting with a blond pilot to changes Parkers lifestyle.

Emily - the blond pilot in question - on the other hand takes her love life serious. Returning from a three weeks stretch of transatlantic flights she meets Gail - her partner of three years – for a short vacation at a rented beach house to reconnect, but this is just another disaster waiting to happen as Gail’s long time habit of drinking becomes unbearable.

Luckily enough it turns out that Parker resides next door to the beach house that Emily rents and I guess that that is all the invitation needed to start Parker and Emily off on the road toward friendship and perhaps, who knows something more. Hey don’t get too excited – you’ll have to watch the ladies work through some misunderstandings before they can walk the path laid out, but that’s just the way it is in romantic fiction !

Ali Vali has penned a number of stories among these “A place to dance” which is the one I like best, but “Game, Set and Match” is a nice romance with a sprinkle of drama and a bit of funny dialogue that’ll keep you well entertained. Just bear in mind that Ali Vali has a tendency to be a little lax with the editing, which might be slightly confusing at times.

In case you are wondering - I do know that you can find a ton of (fan) fic’s on the theme of women’s basketball. I might get around to do a list of basketball fics later – perhaps when the indoor season knocks on the door again.

Blue Calm by Larisa

I know that you probably don’t want to hear about it no more, but I’m a biiig Larisa fan, and well I’m the blogger, your the reader, so at least in this aspect of life I’ll lead and you follow … well I guess that’s just until you hit the keyboard and quell my ramblings while you turn you attention onto other more interesting topics on the net.

According to the calendar it’s summer – it’s supposed to be warm, sunny and dry, but it’s not! It’s lukewarm at best; the rain keeps falling and the sun …. well I haven’t seen it for days.

So I for one needs a bit of sunny weather to keep my spirit up and I know just where to find it! I’ll pack my bags and take the surfboard on a spin in the waves of the coast of Hawaii – ups I think that I got to get myself a new bikini or something – the granny black thing in the back of the bottom drawer in my dresser certainly wont do at a surfer paradise … OK so while I go pick up a chick bikini why don’t you entertain yourself with a couple of Larisa goofballs and a pair of women making go-go eyes at each other?

Let me introduce you to Tucker Danes, her fiancé Steve, the bartender and surfer Dunk and her friends Ripples and Furball (the Larisa goofballs) and their sunny retreat in Hawaii.

Tucker Danes is not having quite the kind of vacation in Hawaii that you would usually dream of – at least not in the beginning – but after having dished her fiancé and making the acquaintance of Mama - who rents out guest houses on the beach - things turn for the better when her green eyes meet Dunk’s baby blue.

And yes – they are “baby” blue – Dunk might have been around the block a few times – but deep down she is just a searching soul looking for someone to love and to love her back – and it seems that Tucker might just be that someone Dunk needs to fill her soul, body and mind.

If you want to feel the sun warming your skin and a romance your heart, join Tucker as she hangs out with Dunk at the beach learning to surf the waves, while they skinny dip at secluded waterfalls or hang out with Dunk’s best friends the goofballs Ripples and Furball. I guess that they could just be new friends taking pleasure in each others company, but if you believe that a leopard can changes its spots or a tiger its strips you might just believe that the hereto straight Tucker can fall head over heels for her butch new friend Dunk in two weeks.

This is classic Larisa fun with laughable scenes and funny dialogue, a bit of drama and of cause true love! ***Spoiler alert! This time Larisa even throws in a home birth and baby stuff,yes believe it or not Dunk – almost – got Tucker pregnant all by herself.

Passion's Bright Fury by Radclyffe

I’m not really a big fan of TV-series but I must admit that I have a thing for Medical dramas. I think that it started with “Chicago Hop” back in the ’90, followed by “ER” and now “Grey’s Anatomy”. So I guess it’s no real surprise that I also like my online romances with a storyline set in the medical world.

I my opinion the queen of the alternative medical romance drama is undoubtedly Radclyffe. You will find a number of her published books in a medical setting among these “Turn back time”, “Fated love” and “Night Call”- go look at the Bold Stroke Books homepage if you want to have a closer look at those. “Turn back time” is the one I like the best.

A number of Radclyffes stories are also available online, among these you’ll find “Passion's Bright Fury” which sports Dr. Saxon Sinclare, Chief of Trauma at St. Michael's Hospital in lower Manhattan and Jude Castle, director of a documentary medical series to be filmed at St. Michales featuring one of Sax’s first-year trauma fellow. As you might have guessed the filming of a documentary at St. Michales is not Sax’s idea, but professional disagreements aside Sax and Jude do seem to have something in common - a love of good coffee, an appreciation of good looking women and a life devoted to work, not leaving time for love. But even if they have common ground to explore, Sax and Jude are still in for a bit of fighting about how to incorporate filming into the hectic life of medical trauma and along the way - how to act on the attraction building between them.

Saxson Sinclare is moulded over the basic characteristics of a Radclyffe protagonist – a tough, confident, butch woman with a soft, tender and wounded heart needing true love to heal. As always you’ll find a number of well filled out characters in the vicinity of the plot, and a well put together storyline – so you have something to look forward to if you haven’t been looking in on this Radclyffe fic yet.

If you like a Medical drama setting for your romance you could also look up one of Larisa’s fics “The Blues” or “The Ice Princess” where you will find the usual number of dumb ass Larisa hang a rounds and a couple of good looking doc’s with a love interest, or you could look into "Jungle Fever" by Anik LaChev, which I'll tell you about in a separate review.

Kicking and Screaming by Larisa

If you think that a romantic storyline benefits from a sprinkle of humour and you don’t mind a rather butch bunch of girls running around, you’ve got to look into the stories written by Larisa. I’ve already reviewed my favourite “The Phantom”, but I think that “Kicking and Screaming” is also worth reading, if you are fond of Larisa.

Larisa normally uses two set of characters, the protagonists and a couple of rather hilarious sidekicks, who helps to get the ball rolling when it comes to creating the funny scenes and dialogues. In “Kicking and Screaming” we only have one set of girls to focus on, but they have a unique way of attracting small mishaps and the likes, and its fun to “watch” from a safe distance.

This story centres around Aeryn who works as an investigator at her father’s law firm, which leaves her with a lot of shitty jobs, and often a bit to close to her colleague’s grubby hands. And grubby hands is exactly what lands Aeryn in yet another mishap, as she declares to everyone that she is gay, just to avoid the unwelcome hands. This declaration gets Aeryn an invitation for her and her girlfriend to a charity dinner - and 4 days to find … a girlfriend.

This is where Taylor comes in; she has a bet going with a friend that leaves her with the task of saving a damsel in distress and get her to go out with her on one date. After Taylor has spent her day looking for just the right opportunity to do her “saving”, she gets the chance she is looking for, when she sees a woman being assaulted, and this is how Taylor and Aeryn meet.

From here on it’s just a matter of getting “the straight girl” to wonder if she is really straight at all, and the “out lesbian” to decide that she ought to take a chance on love with a woman, who has just “jumped the fence”. Yes - Larisa uses one of the standard romantic storylines as a basis for the story, but it works just fine - even if we’ve seen it all before.

What I like about Larisa is the fact that she is able to come up with an interesting and funny setting for her stories, with a witty dialogue and some very likeable characters, but I’ve got to warn you about the editing. In “Kicking and Screaming” you will find all the usual problems that a good beta-reader would properly weed out.

If you like Larisa’s stories and you have read “The Phantom” you might want to look in on Aeryn and Taylor in “Kicking and Screaming”, and perhaps you should put one or more of the stories listed below on your reading list for a rainy day. You just have to put a bit of space in between reading each of the stories listed as you might otherwise get a bit tired of reading stories written from the same basic template.

The stories listed are not in the same league as “The Phantom”, as the they are too short for the characters to really develop and benefit from the imaginative setting, and for the reader to realise just why the protagonists falls in love and heat, and they do that .. fall in love and have lots of rather stereotype sex, but I still had fun reading as Larisa has a great sense of humour:

- “The Ice Princess”
- “Mender of Souls”
- “Emotional Paralysis”
- “Reason of Insanity”
- “Rough Warrior”.

By the way I’ve saved the latest Larisa story “Operation Drop Zone” for a stormy weekend; I hope to get one of those soon!

Enjoy your time with Larisa!

The Phantom by Larisa

If you can make a girl laugh and her heart beat fast – you can make her do anything! But I guess that Callaway didn’t know that when she took out Branson with her Tazer gun. Dressed all in black and out to stop the company that is cutting down the lush countryside she loves, Callaway meets head on with the big, and rather strong, construction worker who’s waiting for “The Phantom”, that has been causing her company trouble.

We are out somewhere in rural America for once and we are meeting up with a bunch of butch women with their hearts in the right places, and it’s a lot of fun. But let me give you a bit more of the storyline. After having Branson pass out on her, Callaway brings her back to her farmhouse and strikes a deal with her, she will get Branson to see the value of the country life she is about to destroy, if she’ll just stay on the farm for one week.

And Branson is in for the experience of her life. Days at the farm start really early in the morning and there are lots of chores to do but, on the other hand, the food is nice and the company is really great. Somewhere along the way the big butch construction worker turns into a softie, trying to ease the hard farm life for her newfound friend, and Callaway - well she just gets really used to having company on the farm. So a path towards romance is at hand, but don’t worry there is lots of drama and tons of fun for the girls on the way, and they get to share it with a couple of good friends.

All in all, a sure recipe for a time well spend should you chose to read the “The Phantom”, but I’ve got to say that there is one thing that I just don’t get, and that’s the fascination with women standing up to pee. Sure, it would be practical when you are outdoors, but please spare me all the practicalities and the trial and error thing.

Enjoy your story time!