... and the winner is....

This time a round I picked a winner .... and no I am not talking about picking out the right number in the lottery  ... that would have been nice though ! But I did vote for the story "Nevermore" as winner of the 26. Bard Challenge at The Academy of Bards and it seems that several fanfiction readers agreed with me on the merits of this little tale of impossible love come true.

If you joined me in trying to guess the pen of each of the stories you might have picked Ann McMan was the writer of the winning tale ...  like I did. She has a very distinctive pen ... I for one is a fan! But I am sorry to say that I got all the rest of the names of writers wrong.

And while we are on the subject of Ms. McMan I will leave you with a link to her website. At the site she has posted an essay that I have not found at other sites.

Ramble - on this and that

As you might have noticed I'm not really doing any reading at the moment! Well that's not entirely true, I do read stuff but either I'm just jumping from one "old" and well proven online story to another or I'm enjoying myself with general fiction which does not really fit the theme of this blog.  

So this time I'm just going to give you a mix of whatever comes to mind....

Have you been following the news on The Royal Academy of Bards ? If not then perhaps you ought to look up the entry for the 11th of August and learn which bards was voted into the Academy's Hall of Fame this summer. If you need a suggestion on what to read you can look up the list of the stories voted into the Hall of Fame as well.

I'm happy to see that Ann McMan and her story "Jerico" was voted into The Hall of Fame. It's a fun, mushy romance with a killer dialogue, but I guess that you know that by now ? 

McMan's latest story "Dust" made it to the Hall of Fame as well. This is a quite different type of story, a sort of "political thriller" with a romantic twist, not the mushy romance type of story that I'm so fond of ;-) 

"Dust" is what Evan stirrers up when she goes hunting for the dirty parts of an up and coming politicians life before the party decides on the backing of the candidate. This time she finds not only dirty secrets but also an estranged, but very good looking - lesbian - wife, lurking in the side wings of the up and coming senator's life.

This is LesFic so YES Evan and the senators wife do get to know one another "up close and personal", but somehow I keep looking back ...is this for "real" of just a trick for Evan to get close to the information that she is looking for or for the senators wife to keep a close tap on what Evan is digging up?? If you like LesFic thrillers don't miss this one - it's very well written. A tight and precise language and a well structured storyline even if it drops of a bit at the end.

You can find both "Jerico" and "Dust on the Academy and on Ann McMan's website. "Jericho" and  "Dust" might be the last free fic's from McMan's pen - it seems that she has made it into print with her first book. This is great as she really do turn out stories with a good quality of writing.

While we are on the theme of Hall of Fame Stories lets take a stroll back in time at The Academy's Hall of Fame - maybe you have missed out on a really great read. Come along if you need a bit of guidance.

2010 was the year that one of my favorite romances with humor entered The Hall of Fame. If you have missed "Miss-Match" do not hesitated to look it up - its everything you need in a LesFic - jumping the fence, coming out, a blind date, women looking for the one to spend their life, and everything in a mix of great dialoge and a well put together storyline with likeable characters.

While we are on the subject of A.C.Henley - one of the two co-writers of Miss-Match - I might as well tell you that she also penned "One-Two-Oh" a little story of cowgirls and on how come every lesbian within a 500-mile zone decides to show up on Rose's doorsteps, even though she really only has eyes for Charlotte. 

From The Hall of Fame Voting in the year 2010 you might also like Zee's "Comic Book Life" this time you'll get a story based on the concept of "young love that never dies" mixed with a bit of fun and a child that you have to keep your eyes on.

I'm not going to walk through every Hall of Fame voting with you - you can do so on you own, but I might just point out a few other favorites that have earned a place in The Hall of Fame though the years.

Artemis Callaghan's "Something so Close to Love" received the necessary votes to enter The Hall in 2008. I do like Callaghan's writing and "Something so Close to Love" has characters with more depth than the usual online fic. There is a review somewhere on this blog - if you want to know more before you commit yourself to a reading.

The first year that The Hall of Fame voting took place some of the best uber writers was voted into The Hall ... Radclyffe, SX Meager, Missy Good, LJ Maas, Ali Vali and KG MacGregorer. Among the stories chosen for The Hall of Fame that year is another long time favorite of mine "None So Blind" - it doesn't get more romantic than that. You can look up the review on the blog by looking up the reviews on stories by LJ Maas.

Should you want to take a break from the world of words maybe you can relax with some pic's - no, not interested ? Well what if I told you that we are talking "America the Beautiful" by Elle ? As a teaser I'll give you Hillery Swank.

Elle says: "We searched from coast to coast to find the loveliest celebrity native of each state in the union (plus the District of Columbia!)".

If this is not the kind of pic's you fancy you can always look up the latest show from "The Big Picture at Boston.com". Beware - it's not always pretty !

For pretty and adventurous pic's I always visit National Geographic. Last time I stopped by I met with "The Rower". Did you know that it takes 2.5 mio. oarstroks to cross The Pacific ?

Have fun !

V1:A Valentine's Day Odyssey by Ann McMan

"The eagle has landed. Goldilocks headed to big house to catch Mama Bear with fingers in porridge bowl.".. hmm are you thinking; hey they are putting a man on the moon ! Old fairy tale ? or Lesfic ! 

Yep - lesfic it is and if you have learned your basic lesfic lessons well, you will be expecting angst as in a spouse trying to have a little fun "on the side" and the wife trying to catch her in the act, but I would not put my money on that interpretation in the case of Ann McMan. She does not seem to get high on the real angst themes. Her focus is on the dialog and she can craft a whole story around her killer dialog.

What you get in "A Valentine's Day Odyssey" is not a whole story, but a short sequel to McMan's  "Jericho" and you can guess the essence of the storyline by the title. I will leave you to explore it on your own. 

This sequel is not a further exploration of the original storyline of "Jericho", it is more like an extra set of scenes with the original set of characters. So if you are looking for a continuation of "Jericho" this is not it, but read it anyway - if only for the great dialog. As for the storyline it did seem to come to a somewhat abrupt stop like when you are on a deadline and have to cut your work short as time is running out. Maybe Valentines came too soon for McMan this year ? 

Anyway I for one would love to have more fic's from the pen of Ann McMan her writing is witty and catching, and she gives us great vines to drink while we enjoy her storytelling skills  ;-) 

If you have not read "Jericho" yet I would suggest that you do before venturing out on a Valentine date with Maddie and Syd - you can look up my review if you want a little appetizer to the storyline.

Jericho by Ann McMan

What would it take for you to uproot you life and move to a small town in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia ? Well perhaps the question should really be directed to Syd our young librarian who has packed her ’95 Volvo station wagon with her belongings, a good number of books and pointed her car in the direction of Jericho, Virginia.

Syd might say that she is excited about the prospect of setting up a new local library in Jericho to provide service to the locals, but what she really wants is to have some time to rethink her life now that she is about to finalise her divorce and join “The First Wife Club”.

If you are a soft hearted romantic looking for some mushy romance to feed on, you will most likely support Syd’s decision on moving to Jericho right from turning the second page of this fic! Well that is if you are comfortable spending a bit of time with a short blond - Syd - and a tall brunette - the local doctor Maddie, and you ought to be because Syd and Maddie are a strikingly good looking pair.

The doctor is nothing but remarkable with an impressive professional record and her willingness to go out of her way to help just about anyone in need - even a stranger stranded in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire and no mechanical skills to speak of. Will you take a guess .... who might that stranger be ?

So what is a 34 year old - good looking - doctor doing in the middle of small town America .... alone ? Well this doctor has decided to leave behind a thriving medical career in Philadelphia, a record of bad relationships and return to her hometown of Jericho to reconnect with old friends, and take over as the local GP after her father - who died unexpected - and left her his clinic, house and his dog Pete.

Even if the locals are a friendly bunch Maddie do miss something in her life, someone beyond her dog to share a sunset with, a glass of wine, a pizza and a laugh, and it seems that Syd is willing to provide the friendship to go along with the shared pleasures.

The question of couse is if Syd is willing to share more than friendship with Maddie - it is after all a romance! Well “more” do require Syd to jump the fence and I guess that it would help if Maddie did come out of her semi closet and reveal to Syd that she is gay, but all come to those who wait, lets just hope that it’s worth waiting for!

“Jericho” is a great, well written romance with a killer dialog between the protagonists. The dialog is one of the best I’ve come across in fan fic, it’s fun, entertaining and displays a great wit - this might actually be the strongest feature of the fic.

The storyline might be described as simple with little drama and the likes. It’s just a slow journey of getting to know each other, seeing new possibilities and trying to let go of old habits, and for once we are spared the usual improbable misunderstandings, misconceptions and any other “misses” between the love birds that we usually bump into in romantic (fan) fiction.

You might ask - if this is a slow moving romance, with little drama and none of the usual bumps on the road towards “Living Happily Ever After”, then what’s in it for me - except waiting for someone to jump between the sheets ? Well - besides the dialogue - you will be treated to well-develop cast of characters, not only the protagonists Syd and Maddie are well fleshed out, this is also the case with Maddie’s friends the gay inn owner David and his partner Michael who plays central roles in this fic alongside a number of local Jericho characters.

If you like mushy romance, and you can live without the drama and lady knights in shining armor, you really should look up "Jericho" - it’s a great and long romance. Once you have finished the story you can follow this link - nooo read the story first!