Reading list ...

No words just a list

A few fic's on the topic of reunion:

• "The Camp Reunion" by Kim Baldwin - an all girl's camp a few years down the road 

•  "Beach Encounter"  by Mickey Minner - a high school reunion and a new chance of finding love?

• "Truth or Dare" by Meghan O'Brien - a reunion with a college friend ...

and if you take your reunion a bit unplanned but perhaps even sweeter ...

• "Hindsight" by Lois Kay - they where meant to be together but something or someone broke them apart

Please add any stories on the theme of a planned f/f reunion with friends from high school/college/summer camp ....with a romantic twist!

Reunion Week

At the Fan Fiction Reviews Lori and Rio gives You a list of themed fic's every week! As You might know I'm quite fond of this particular way of listing what to read, and You might be too if I judge by the number of hits on "Listmania".

This week Lori has chosen the theme "Reunion" which I haven't explored before so here we go... (I'm not trying to steel Lori's idea we sort of corporated on this theme - Lori supplied the theme idea, I gave her my list of Reunion fic's.)

I never went away to camp. Judging by my reading of Fan Fiction - which should probably not guide my view of the world ... it is after all fiction - I take it that sending your kids off to Summer Camp is a real American way of life. I guess that this for some can be a blessing and give you good memories and perhaps friends for life? I'm not real fond of Kim Baldwin's writing, but if you want to go on camp and come away with something that might last a lifetime maybe you should look up "The Camp Reunion". If you do you'll meet up with  Kerry as she revisit the site of her old "Summer Camp" for one last time to meet up with friends from her childhood and maybe, just maybe she will have the chance to do something about her life long crush on Mac.

If you didn't do Summer Camp when you where young, you must at least have done the high school thing. If that experience is worth revisiting to meet up with old friends then you can get your hands dirty with Mavis Applewaters "Truth Or Dare" and the sequel "Blissful Surrender". If you where closer to your college friends maybe you would rather play the game "Truth or dare" with Meghan O'Brien, no matter which reunion you choose a PWP is all you'll get.

Should you want to get a bit more storyline and a little less of the ”hot and steamy" action you should go for Fingersmith's "Beginnings". This is the story of Lou and Ashley, a story spanning 30 years from almost toddlers to mature women, a love that never dies - you can find the review here.

You could also let your mother or perhaps this time Tessas mother do the nessecary pushing and pulling to get the reunion under way. You know mothers and I promise that Tessas's is no different from the ones you know. Mothers are conniving, persistent and they use guilt to pressure you into doing the things you don't want to do, but they think that you ought to do, because it's "gooood for you". And who can really put up an argument against giving your best friend a lift home for the Holidays. You might think that you have a valid point if your "best friend" is no longer your "best friend" but your "ex-girlfriend", but don't hold your breath it is after all your mother that you are talking to..... so I take it you are going to give Lindsey a ride? This is Mavis Applewater "Home For The Holidays" and the first story in a longer series. I found "Home for the Holidays" and "I'll be home for Christmas" quite enjoyable and above the level of PWP.

Now the best is yet to come - I'll leave the reunion theme with "Unbreakable" by Blayne Cooper (Advocate). It's quite a while since I read this story but it stayed with me for the quality of writing and the storyline with drama and romance in a well woven tail. This is the story of 5 women who was close from childhood and onwards, but lost touch and of how they reunite and come to terms with the things that broke them apart.

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 ;-)

Who We Are Not by Meghan O'Brien

Meghan O’Brien doesn’t seem to write the fluffy kind of romance stories with dove-eyed lovers. The on-line stories that I’ve come across by this writer – if it’s not erotica - has a touch of something a bit more serious, something that might make you a bit uneasy. In “Endgame” it was the story of a cruel rape that acted as the backdrop of the romantic storyline, in “Ritual” it’s about family acceptance and in “Who We Are Not” it’s the pain you can inflict on the one you love the most.

Jess and Kendra meet in college, fell in love and build a life together. Easy enough, standard romance stuff told in flashbacks, but the flashbacks aren’t just there to tell you how the girls got to be a couple, the flashbacks also show bits of information about the women and their personal stories, and gives an insight into how they ended in the situation that we are invited to watch through this short story.

I liked the serious tone of the story and found it entertaining, even if it’s perhaps a bit simple in construction. It’s nice with a bit of a break from the fluffy romance stuff. Meghan O’Brien has published a few books through Bold Strokes Books.

Endgame by Meghan O'Brien

Romantic (fan) fiction of the alternative nature is often just a bit of light reading, for girls who love to be girls*, but sometimes you’ll stumble on a romance with a setting which is too disturbing to carry the label ”light” even if its basically just another entertaining romance. Fortunately only a few of these “not so light” fic’s turns out to be real sad or depressing. Mostly the setting is just used as a way to give some background or motivation for the storyline and actions of the protagonists.

“Endgame” is based on the story of a rape and one of the scarier ones at that, but the rape it self is only the backdrop of the storyline and even when reference is made to the act its not too explicitly described. The story is mostly just a touching romance where the emotional development within and between the protagonists is the sole focus of the tale. One might say that the story is a bit one dimensional, but if you read enough (fan) fiction you get used to the fact that the romance and the road to "hot sex" or the “living happily ever after” is the goal that we never loses sight off.

If you can handle the setting you could joiner the party at Max and Lories place and see if Delaney has any luck with her pickup line; “"I'm really embarrassed to admit it, but I was standing over there," I pointed with my finger, "in the corner, alone, wishing I didn't feel so out of place and awkward. As much as it shames me to ask, I was wondering if you'd pretend to socialize with me for a minute or two until someone rescues you?". Delaney has a lot of practice at picking up woman, but no inclination to look for a relationship lasting longer than a night of hot sex – preferably with her in a dominating role.

Hannah on the other hand is the woman her friends think of as “the girl who was raped”, but Hannah feel’s that she has moved on and she is looking for something or someone that will give her the fresh start, let her regain her place in life and feel strong again. In the eyes of Max and Lorie, Delaney is not quiet what Hannah needs, and they are not subtle about telling Delaney to go look for her fun elsewhere, but Delaney really can’t get around to letting go of Hannah and their slowly developing friendship in the weeks after the party.

Well if you read the story you can make up your own mind as to Delaney’s personality – is she the single minded womanizer or just someone who as never found love before?

I guess that I should tell you that the writer has included a sample of Delaneys’s sexual encounters that portrait her as a sexual predator. If you are of a positive mind you could say that this helps to paint a picture of Delaneys personality, to me it’s a bit out of place in the storyline, but maybe the writer needed to let go of some hot steam.

* The quote “The best of light reading, for girls who love to be girls” was attributed to Jeanette Winterson on the cover of a lesbian romance from an English publishing house named Silver Moon Books years ago. I basically borrowed the wording and changed it a bit, but I want to own up to the fact that it’s really not my words at all.