.... I don't tell lies!

I know it's a little late for April's Fools Day so I won't be telling any lies and I promis NO pranks! 

But you know not everyone adhere to that rule, some actually do "Tell Me Lies" this time in SX Meaghers pen - so maybe you'll be curious enough to take a peek? 

Anyway this is just one of a number of short fic's posted at "The Academy of Bards as an April's Fool or whatever special" go look around and let me know if you have a favourite.

This and that...

Grab a cup of coffee, put up your feet and relax while I ramble a bit about this and that.

• Ylva Publishing has announced a "Romance Month" due to the upcoming Valentines Day. If you are inclined to pay for your Lesfic romance addiction you get a discount on your romance purchases in February.

• Lee Winters (Lesfic writer) has ventured out with a guest blog at Ylva's and taken a guess as to how we want our Lesfic romance. Do take a look - perhaps you'll find time to put up a comment ?

•  And while we are on the topic of making someone happy. You could look into how to score with your favourite Lesfic writers. Fletcher DeLancey otherwise know as The Oregon Expat (an American living in Portugal) will give you a hint. Fletcher is a writer of Lesfic Scifi but I've found a few of her contemporary romantic stories quite nice. Look up "The Essay"and "Mach vs. PC"

• If you want to sample Jae's writing before you decide to put money on the table and purchase one of her books at Ylva's romance sale, you could try out the free short story "The Midnight Couch". It's a well written short romance on how to move on your secret infatuation with a co worker. If you want to know how Jae handles the "heavy breathing" parts of her romantic Lesfic writing the try out the equally free "Dress-tease" a short add-on to her Hollywood series romance "Damage Control".

• Should you be wondering if all our usual hunting grounds of free quality online lesfic has dried out the answer is yes - almost. I came across yet another fic by Kelly Aten on Acadamy of Bards recently "Rules of the Road". It's well written, with a couple of soft butch protagonists and a slow moving romance - so cheer up! 

• If you want to rest up with a lesbian themed movie you could look up the list provided by Bitch Media in the "One-Sentence Review". If you have access to Netflix US you might still find some of the titles available to stream. You'll find a more extensive blog on Lesbian interest movies, web-series, short films etc. here. 

This made me smile

This video put a smile on my face - can't have too many of those - maybe it'll make you smile too. Who knows ? Ups fiction but no fanfiction this time!

It takes two to tango

No matter the time or the place there is one couple that you can't separate - want to take a guess ? Nope ..  you won't find the answer in the picture this time, even if pictures paints a thousand words! .. and this is an awfully nice picture ... it could very well be the climax of a lesfic story line as in ... no I'm not the writer - I'm the reader! And that's who they are, the couple .. not the dancers silly ! The couple that you can't separate, the couple who need each other like ... well whatever You Need.

... the reader and the writer .. it's a bliss when you find each other. You can be her first, she can be your latest and you can be each others ... whatever you are it might be for life. 

You can bookmark her, put her among your favourites or on a shelf - she won't mind. She will think of you while she puts her words on paper and ponders the story line, but you don't have to brush your teeth before you take her to bed. 

It's a match made in heaven, but it's not free. You'll have to commit your reading time as she will have to commit herself to slaving over the keyboard. She will wonder if you read her lines, as you will wonder the meaning of her words. 

You are together yet separate, your lives merely touching, but still she can linger in your head for days like the tune of a favourite song that you hum to yourself over and over again.

What you do to her is your choice, but if you like her writing drop her a line - STOP lurking and be a pal feed the bard!  ... now I don't know the couple but they could easily picture characters from a favourite story line - even if short blond and tall dark aren't in the picture.... could it be Caid the "Balantine Babe" from Dabkey's "And Playing the role of herself" and her love interest Robyn who just happened to be sporting both a very visible boyfriend Josh and a less obvious stalker. Well probably not as both Caid and Robyn tends to be a bit protective of their private lives and not much is private when you are an actress. On the other hand it might be Mimi and Jolly as you might say that privacy is not high their list. Mimi is waiting in the wings - and not quit patiently - for the love of her life, Jolly to notice what is right in front of her eyes ... the love of her life, and once the cobweb has been dusted of Jolly's mind, they find "A place to Dance" very much in the spotlight or rather in their fathers face ...yes check it out!

Dancing is certainly not uncommon in our lesfic story lines and to some it's almost a lifestyle. Take Sheridan who is a regular on the dance floor with just about any hot babe that she can lay her eyes on ... well that is until Keefer happens to put herself firmly in the picture, but "Caution: Under construction" might just leave you a little breathless even if you aren't  joining the ladies on the dance floor. 

If you go for the more serene dancing then an evening in the company of D.S. Bauden and "A Saving Solace" might be more to your liking. It's just one dance in the confinement of Kelly's home but it does take the story and the ladies to the next level. As is the case for Laurel and her friend Caden in Kim Pritekel's "Again". A dance in the privacy of home is just the thing that gets things moving towards the living happily ever after. If this is playing it a bit safe then try your hand with Xenasgrll's "A Safe Place" where Paige treats Madison to a dance which would not be deemed safe in a public place. Do you want me to go on .. then lets turn up the heat a notch with J Brownell's "Now and Forever" this time the ladies doesn't even make it to the dance floor even if they are dressed up to the nines and almost there, but then again they don't really need to go to the next level, they are already there. 

Now don't get the impression that a dance is all it takes, sometimes a dance can spell disaster waiting to happen as is the case for Clancy in "Miss-Match" by AC Henley, but then again Max wasn't really whom she should have chosen for her first dance and she might think to thank Carmen for getting her ass out of trouble. As for dancing with the "wrong" woman Artemis Callaghan will set up Kit for trouble in the long run by accepting a dance with the wrong sister at the right time. A mix up YES - is it easy to fix - NO or YES - as long as you don't mind playing the fence a bit. Follow the ladies in Hen Night, Wedding reception, Honeymoon, Divorcee.

Go on there is a woman and a writer out there who is the ONE for you....

Friends are the family we choose for ourself

No matter who we are, how we define ourself or the way life throw us around, we need a family. Family is our history, the starting point of our future, and the backdrop to all the happenings of our lives.

Family are our blood relatives, our parents, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, cousins ... however far apart we may seem in distance, in age or how we choose to live our lives.

But family is not just about blood, it's really about who you are, and who you choose to settle with. Who you trust and who trusts you in return. Friends may just be the family that you trust the most because they are your friends, not a relative "just" by blood, but trusted because you earned that trust by being the best friend you possibly could.

In the world of lesfic, some has no choice in the matter of family. Blood relatives may die or choose to distance them self from a way of life not conforming to their beliefs. If you are an old hand in the world of lesfic you will know that we do find a good number of lesfic protagonists travelling a lonely journey through life in our neck of the wood, that is at least until they can find that elusive someone to share their lives with.

And a lonely journey through life might just have been where Kyri was headed had it not been for a chance meeting in the woods with a band of armed men and a lone Amazon fighting for her life. Yes ... I'm talking Amazon as in "woman clad in leather" - and not just for a fun night of dancing ! I know I don't usually go there, back to the ancient or the land of fantasy fiction, but why not ? If the writing is entertaining why let it pass you by ? 

If you're game then tag along as I travel with Kyri, who is almost at the end of her training as a master Fletcher (the), when she finds herself on a journey to a new beginning and perhaps in time a new family among the tribes of Amazons. For Kyri and the reader this is a journey into the Greek myths of women warriors and I promise the Amazons are fierce warriors as well as gentle lovers and true friends.

You might ask how Kyri - a young woman who has spend most of her life training with her father learning the craft of fletching arrows - will do among a band of marry sword wielding maidens but do not worry, Kyri has what it takes to make a place for herself among the Amazons. While she might not be a warrior at heart she will fight for her new family of friends even at the possible cost of her own life. Does it ring true ... i don't know .. who cares - I love the fact that Kyri masters not only the craft of fletching but is also above and beyond any Amazon as an Archer (the) a fact that Kyri will prove in battle as well as in the numerous tests put to her on her way to gain a place with her new Amazon family. 

Is this a romance ? ... well if you are the "love them and leave them" type of reader going for a fast "kill" then look elsewhere. The Fletcher is a slow paced start on a long journey of finding a new place in life and gaining a family of your own choice. If the myth of the Amazons are well known to you, you might find this to be a bit long winded but then just scroll on for a bit, and catch up with Kyri as she prepares for her initiation with the Amazons and catches the eye of the Queen. 

I can hardly remember where "The Fletcher" (1 part of the series) ends and "The Archer" (2 part of the series) takes over, but I do remember that the first and second instalment of the story of Kyri are paced differently. With "The Archer" Kelly Aten has decided to give us a more fast moving storyline where the daily life, battles and rituals of the Amazon tribe are interwoven with the romance needed to make this a true lesfic ;-) ... but if you are looking for LHEA be warned ! When I left Kyri and her Queen to write this post they where far from happy ! ... I'm not telling you why but I'll let you know that Kyri will need all her abilities and perhaps a little help form her friends to make it back into the arms of her Queen.  Right now Kyri's faith is entirely up to the bard - the third and final ? part of the story is still on Kelly Aten's writing desk - I for one hopes that she will soon find the time to lend Kyri a helping hand - she really needed it when I saw her last !  

Just want to let you know that The Fletcher and The Archer are available on Archive of Our Own in re-edited versions, and if you are hooked on the story of Kyri and her Queen then follow where Kelly Aten leads ... the third and last book in this series The Sagitarius This is hosted on The Academy of Bards and much easier to read than fic's on Archive of Our Own!

Another pen unveiled

If you know your way around the world of published lesfic you'll be quite familiar with the fact that a number of published lesfic writers started their career as f/f fan fiction writers offering their works online for free. 

Should you need a hand finding published fics from your favourite fan fiction pen then take a look at the list of pen names/authors on the page "Unveil the pen". I just recently came across another two fan fiction writers who has had stories published (Minerva and Zipplic).

Leave a word if you have a name or two that could be added to the list.

Back in business

Thought that You should know that The Athenaeum is back in business. Well it never really went completely off the grit, but it has been a few years since the regular updates came to an end... and now the updates are back ... !

The Athenaeum is a great place to look for online f/f fan fiction / lesfic as the archive lists 6955 works from 1589 authors.

One of the best features on The Athenaeum is The Forum. It is a great place to chat with fellow readers and writers about fic's and whatever, and the members of The Forum are really good at lending a helping hand identifying that special fic that you just have to reread.

So help yourself to a good reading time and hop along to The Athenaeum. If you do find a story that you like then take the time and write a recommendation. It's an easy way to "feed the bard" and help your fellow reader choose where to spend her reading time.

See You around The Athenaeum! 

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!

Reading list

No word's just a few fic's that you might find worth your reading time

• The Grand Old Lady by Lois Cloarec Hart - a Valentines Story of a love lost but never forgotten - a little sweet something.

• Eye of the Beholder by Lois Cloarec Hart - a baby, a number of stuffed animals and a couple of hearts ready for Love. 

• Snowbound by Margaret A. Helms - a reunion and not purely by chance.

True Love in pictures

"True Love" will find You, not when You need it, not when You're looking and not always in places that society deems respectable or legal. 

True Love has no colour, gender or age. It's bound by no law, it sees no limits and it has no label.

True Love has no pride. It can't be measured or balanced on a scale. It's freely given, has no price and You can not fight it or turn it away when it finds You.

True Love is a feeling, a voice that speaks to You from Your heart. You might not recognise the voice when You first hear it or understands the words spoken to You, but whether You listen or not, You'll find yourself following the voice of Your heart.

"True Love" is simple. It's takes no elaborate storyline or exotic screen shots to convey. There is no need for naked bodies or heated encounters. It's just a look, at word, a risk taken and a hand held.

Don't miss out on this short story of love in the wrong places, but still "True Love" no matter what.

"True Love" Episode 3 BBC One

If you would rather take the the student/teacher theme of your f/f romance in writing try "The Essay" by Fletcher DeLancey. This time the professor acts with a bit more restrain, and while we are on this theme you could try out "Jaeger's" by Dragonjuls. Once again restrain or perhaps patience is the operative word 

And if you want a longer more elaborate storyline of finding love in the wrong places but still as "True" as it comes then don't miss out on "Kyss Mig" (trailer), it's among the best F/F movies - perhaps this link works .

"Kyss Mig"