"Takes Two" by Elize

Life is like a string of moments spun and woven together by the twists and turns of fate but most of all by chance and randomness. When we look backwards we see a clear path leading from there to here, from our past to our present life. When we look forward ... who knows what we see ... a vision of where or what we are meant to make of ourselves, a dream come true or just our tomorrow ... 

What Steph sees is the next port of call for herself and her six year old son Jason, and for Steph that next port of call is Port Baily. This is where we find Kate running the small restaurant above the harbour "Tavern-by-the-Sea" with her second generation Italian chef Fabricio.

What makes life special for Kate is the everyday life of serving her customers and following the seasonal changes in the little town on the coast from summertime with hordes of guests  to the quiet times of winter with just the locals looking in for coffee or an evening meal. 

For Steph life is her son Jason and "Voyager" the 42ft Hinkcley her father left her upon his death 3 years ago. The "Voyager" has taken Steph from San Francisco to the East Coast. A long way on a sea chart, but in life ... well you go and look for yourself Steph and Jason is just about to put down their anchor in Port Baily, and if you keep your eyes open you will soon find that fate or perhaps it's chance secure a bumpy meet between Kate and the newcomers.

As you might have guessed a bumpy meet will lead to an acquaintance, to friendship and perhaps over time to more.... perhaps even a new vision of life to be for our protagonists.

This is romance as I like it best! Slow moving with time for the characters and the romance to evolve through the little moments that makes up the beats on the string of life, but most of all it's well written. I say Elize has got a talent for putting words together and penning LesFic. 

"Takes Two" is an Uber archived at the J/7 Alcove. As usual I'm a bit out of my depth when it comes to the TV-series from which fanfic's originate. I get the impression that J/7 fanfiction originates in Star Trek. Please correct me if I'm wrong. This is not a universe that I'm well acquainted with, but I do seem to recall that one of my all time favourite stories "Campus" by Anik LaChev is also an J/7 fanfic.

 

I'm having Withdrawal Trouble Tonight

I've been spending the weekend with old friends.  A couple I've known for some time but haven't visited with recently even though they live within easy travel distance. 

When we first met they where not a couple, they were  professor and ph.d. student, professionals relying on each other for work related assistance and guidance.

A bit of time, a lot of patience and quite a number of misunderstandings later they got their act together and caught up with the underlying attraction that they both felt for each other. Their love story are one of those which remains clear in my memory even years later not least for the fact that it took place in Leipzig, Germany which is not you everyday LesFic setting.

Like Lori and Rio I might ask "Do You Know Your Uber" and let you make a guess as to which story I'm referring to, but I'm not going to let you wait for the link to one of the most well written and longest online LesFics I know, I'll let you have the link to "Campus" by Anik LaChev right away.

Campus is not only the story of Elaine and Johanna - professor and ph.d. student, out lesbian and "recovering" lesbian deep in the closet with all the angst of "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not", it is also the story of campus politics, and of living in a world where you can't be sure from one year to the next if you will be out of a job and forced to travel to new places to pursue you academic career, just because another department made a move for you funding.

What I really find intriguing about Campus though is Anik LaChevs ability to juggle two simultaneous romantic storylines and a large gallery of supporting characters, but most of all I'm in awe of her ability to get the storyline across to the reader. Campus is a really mushy romance - the way I like them best. 

If you take your romance long and angsty then you might also like the medical romance/drama "Jungle Fever". You can find my review if you look under the tag for Anik LaChev. I think that I might look in on Maca and Esther as a way of getting over the fact that I finished "Campus" tonight. On the other hand maybe I should just sweat it out - I surly won't have time to travel the distance with these ladies tonight and Monday is looming ahead ....

Ramble - a walk through The Top 100 of 2010

Why don't you walk with me as I explore the Top 100 list at The Athenaeum ? You might find a gem that you have overlooked or maybe an old favourite that you want to read again.

Before we start our walk you might want to read up on the site we are going to visit. So I will just give you some numbers to chew on. The Athenaeum list 6759 works from 1538 authors, with 485 of those works available in eBook format - impressive or what ? In 2010 a total of 2.847.848 links where followed to stories archived at the site or externally at other sites. The 100 links most often followed in 2010 ? Well if you want to know ... follow me.

Normally I would work my way to the top and save the best bit for last, but lets be daring today! The 2010 Story of The Year is ..... (a long drum roll can be heard) ...."Denial" by Omega13. This is a  loooong lesfic drama with a lot of angst, and I must admit that I never got through the story, probably because I found that it took to long to get to the LHEA ending. The core of the storyline is an attraction between Celeste and her brothers fiancée Amy. The story is very well rated at The Athemaeum. 

As the fitness freaks among you will know walking down hill is much more taxing than the walk up hill, so lets make this a slow stroll down from The Story of The Year to number 4 "Dark Side of The Moon" by my favourite pen BadSquirrel. Who by the way seems to have her first published fic in the works ! If you are into the gender bending and BDSM stuff this is a story for you. It is well written, but to me - a bit over the top. Should the BDSM theme be something you are interested in exploring through other fic's, you can find a few stories listed at the "Listmania" page. 

At spot number 11 you will find Fingersmith's new romance/drama "Critical" a well written story involving a restaurant owner, a food critic and an obsession that creates a bit of drama. It did remind me slightly of Creme Brulee's "Cooking on High" with a notorious chef that get's herself involved with "the help" and in a fight with a powerful man. I'm very fond of Creme Brulee's writing, but it seems that this pen no longer posts fic's on line - maybe someone know if Creme Brulee has published books under another name ??

My all time favourite fic "Rumors" by BadSquirrel came in 17 in 2010. This is much better than the 48th spot the story earned in 2009. Maybe some of you have followed my advice to look up this story ? If not - then put on your running shoes and go go go ... I have posted a review if you want an introduction to the storyline.

The short PWP  "IMPOTENT or maybe not" by Gracelan Chase came in as number 18 with the story of how to cure writers block. If you want erotica with a romantic twist you can also look up Vertigo's "Caution: Under Construction" or MJ and Cephalgia's "Unlimited Sexual Favours".

Of cause Mavis Applewater also made it to the list in 2010. This time as number 20. "Finding My Way" is my favourite story from Mavis' pen. If you want a well put together romantic storyline do not miss this one - look up my review if you want an introduction. "Campus" from Anik LaChev will take you into a similar University setting, but you will have to be a bit nifty with the Wayback Machine to locate the story as it has been taken off line for publication. With a bit of editing (it's a very long read) it will make a great book.

If you have not read any of Weebod's stories I think that you ought to give "Conflict of Interests" a try. It holds a broad, well developed storyline, some interesting characters,  and romance and angst in the right places. The story made it to place 24 on the Top 100. Should you fancy this pen do back up a few steps and look up number 6 on the list. Weebod's "The Player" is a romance mixed with a bit of field hockey .. you know hockey played on grass not ice. 

I am getting a bit tired from walking down hill so I think I will take a break and leave you at place 30 with A.K.Naten's "Turning Tides" so you can go visit a business tycoon with a habit of playing games of dominance with the women she finds attractive. Look up my review if you want further introduction. Alex Tryst's "Adventures of a Super Dyke" has a somewhat similar theme, but the storyline is not quite my style.

Maybe I will pick up the Top 100 list later. In the meantime do explore on your own - the list hold links to several good reads.

Jungle Fever* by Anik LaChev

Should you stumble on a rainy Sunday sometime with nothing better to do than putting up your feet, and you want to entertain your self with yet another Medical romance drama you could look up “Jungle Fever”. This is a long uber based on a Spanish medical drama “Hospital Central” a TV-series that I'm not familiar with. From a bit of browsing on the net I can see that it's a rather popular show and that AfterEllen.com has a number of articles and post following the series.

"Jungle Fever" is a sweet romance partly set in a Médecins Sans Frontières clinic in Congo where Ester, with a fiancé back home, meet and fall in love with Maca, an out lesbian hurt by a failed love affair, and the fact that her family can’t accept her lesbian lifestyle. The question is if this is just a “Jungle Fever” for Ester or if she will hold on to Maca once they return to Spain.

As the fic is set in a not so quiet part of the world, you’ll also see a fair bit of drama, and the story will keep you on the edge while you wonder if it’s at all possible that there can be a happy ending for Ester and Maca.

I liked the story for its refreshingly new setting, the a well put together cast of characters and of course for the believable progression of the relationship between Ester and Maca. I really do think that Anik LaCheve has a great pen and if you like the style of writing, you could look up her story “Campus” – not a medical drama though.

*The link is for the author’s homepage as she has asked that no direct links are established.

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.