Fic Reccs (Or, What To Read Since I’m On Leave…)

My apologies, loyal readers, for lack of posting. Life is… well, pretty shitty right now. That about sums it up. Doucheward and Bitchella would definitely endorse my getting tanked on a daily basis and listening to Nine Inch Nails. Hmm… You know, I don’t need their endorsement – I’ve been doing that anyway. But I digress, gentle readers.

While you’re waiting for me to get off my ass and post new chapters, here are some of my favourite stories I keep up with these days. These links are Twilighted, which is where I primarily do my reading (when not beta’ing… Damn, I’m behind on that, too. Failboat!).  This is by no means everything; I plan on featuring an author down the road, and have others to pimp out.  But this should get you started.

Love Amongst The Ruins by theladyingrey

When it comes to fanfiction, you could say I’m a little overwhelmed at the moment. Between managing three multi-chapter stories, playing four more, providing beta services to two people and assisting at Twilighted.net, I scarcely have time to stop and simply read anymore. But when I do make those few minutes, there are certain stories that are prioritized above all others for catch-up.

Love Amongst The Ruins is one of them.

As with 30 Days of Night by Villandra, I stumbled onto this story by chance, on a long night of insomnia where I was too tired to compose a sentence more taxing than, “I’m hungry.” What drew me in to this AU-AH tale of Bella and Edward was, first of all, the delicious obscenity of Curseward, as I call him. To have Edward portrayed as a younger version of House, sans medical licence, made me giddy. There is something incredibly sexy about it to me to see the faces we know and love pulled a little out of character (see also Dirty Dancing With The Devil Herself by JayJayHale’s Izzy), and yet, it seems fitting for him. Edward is such an obstinate, self-sacrificing sort of man, born to suffer and revel in said misery. Why wouldn’t he curse and recoil from the world when in pain? After all, we never truly experienced his time away in New Moon in the canon of Meyer. Bella in this story is a little stronger in mind, a little more mature, and yet, she’s still the same shy, caring individual we know from the books.

The premise of the story is a meeting of our pair in the library of Berkely, where each is employed. Bella’s first day unfolds in typical canon fashion, with her tripping and falling into Edward. What makes this almost cliched start to the events unique is that Edward is rather fragile mortal, and is rather angry with Bella for her clumsiness. These feelings are quickly set aside as a strange attraction sets in, in spite of any sense or reason either one possesses. Bella can see that Edward is troubled and complex, yet finds herself inexplicably drawn to the man who carries her bag from the subway to work each day; Edward is struggling with complex personal demons, and finds himself torn between new feelings for the quiet girl and his desire to shun all contact.

We know that a major event spurred by an earthquake lays on the horizon; the prologue reveals as much, leaving us to rewind and slowly meander to this climax. The journey is one told with a sense of delicacy and a ‘less is more’ approach. The characters seem to move silently through their worlds, with simple gestures and thoughts from the alternating points of view our only windows into the rhyme and reason of their actions. Each chapter flows in a way that draws you in, and leaves you eager to know what is to come. Alice is there to help matters along, thankfully not portrayed as a shopping-addicted one-dimensional character, but rather, a voice of caring and a confidante to Bella and Edward.

While Love Amongst The Ruins definitely holds it fair share of angst, it doesn’t feel overwhelmed with sadness or anger; rather, it feels like the natural ebb and flow of life. We are neither rushed past the bad parts towards a happily ever after, nor do we waste away in chapters of murky dirge. It’s balanced in its delivery. The angst frames the underlying bond that is slowly blossoming for Edward and Bella, but does not smother it in gratuitous sadness.

With lemons looming on the horizon, strap in for this one and take it for a ride. I’m certain you’ll be addicted in due time, fiending for the next ‘blue pill’ fix of update.

30 Days of Night by Villandra

I obviously love me some horror, as anyone who’s read Deliratio can attest. By the way: more of you should be spooking yourselves on that story. Just saying. 30 Days of Night is, for those who hear ringing bells at the title, a crossover of the Twilight world into the general plot of the film and its original source material. Set post-break-up, Charlie sends Bella to Alaska for her cousin Eben’s wedding, with no way of knowing that during the 30 days of night that descends annually, a large pack of nasty, creepy-ass vampies plan to make Eben’s home an all you can eat buffet. The survivors of the initial attacks are forced to hole up, then make a stand to survive.

How do the Cullens fit in? Alice is tipped off to the chaos with a vision, igniting a fire under the asses of the Cullens sans Edward, who step up and plan a rescue mission with the assistance of the Denali coven. What they find in Alaska, and the fall-out that ensues, is awaiting you in the story.

The pacing is pitch-perfect, Bella’s heartbreak is palpable, and characterizations feel true to canon without overemphasizing the most annoying traits (see: numerous fics and their portrayal of Alice). It’s also a genuinely tasty little horror tale, rather unusual, surprisingly, in the fanfic world. Run, do not walk, to chapter 1.

Turn To Stone by nikkipattinson

God, if you aren’t reading this story (and are able to stomach a storyline prominently featuring the aftermath of a rape), hurry and get started.  This is one of the few stories where I actually jump up and down in my seat as an update arrives in my inbox.  The characterization of Edward in particular breaks my heart in this one, and the original character of Cynthia (affectionately called Cynt) is simply fantastic; in fact, I wish she’d been around in the canon novels to kick Edward in the ass during his stupider moments.

Edward is a defense attorney who can get anyone acquitted – even a serial rapist who freely admits his guilt.  Struggling with the aftermath of one of his cases, he wanders into a diner down the road and is instantly smitten with a waitress named Bella.  Their love begins chaste and shy, but blossoms quickly, until Bella confesses the dark past she’s haunted by, and Edward’s world crashes down.

Rosalie is also particularly strong in this story, coming off as less bitchy than she is in canon, and more of the strong but hurt woman that I wish we’d seen.  If you’ve read thatwritr’s In The Blink of an Eye, you will understand the sort of Rosalie we have here.  I really enjoy her exchanges with Edward in this one;  she calls him on his shit, but there is that underlying sisterly love, without the vanity that makes me want to slap canon Rose.

Poignant and accurate in its portrayal of the experiences of a rape survivor and those supporting her, this is a beautiful and sad story.  Go read.

I Don’t Exist by Twilight4rachael1042

What if, after the break-up, Bella forgot about Edward entirely?

What if Edward lost his way entirely, finding a sadistic outlet for his torment at losing Bella?

What if they met once more, on a late night in New York City, with none of the past memories to stand in the way of their reunion?

Megsly tipped me off to this story, and I am completely enamoured with it.  I love that I at once hate and love her Edward from moment one; there is a brilliant depiction of his mental processes that allows one to feel empathy even when Edward is a total monster (far beyond the one he considered himself to be in Twilight).  I also love the idea that in spite of her amnesia, Bella is drawn to a stranger with red eyes and unusually pale skin, and allows him to be her escort for a magical night through the city that doesn’t sleep.  And, for all his douchebaggery in the books, the author has managed to make Mike Newton kind of… tolerable?

I know, right?  Mike?  Tolerable?  But it’s true.

The descriptions are so vivid, I easily am whisked away into Bella and Edward’s world, re-experiencing the city through their eyes.  I defy you to read this one and not be moved; it plucks each and every heartstring I have.  I refuse to spoil you on the plot any further, so please, just trust a girl, and go check it out.

Vengeance by annamorphos

Oooh, I love this Breaking Dawn AU.  First off, it kills Nessie.  YES.  That’s right;  the baby with the ridiculous name that never should have existed according to Meyer’s own canon bites the dust.  Second of all, Bella is empowered and enraged, and I simply cannot wait for the fall-out to come.

Edward isn’t happy about the fetus and what it’s doing to Bella.  Carlisle agrees that it might be best to remove it before Bella perishes.  But Rosalie and Bella are a united front and an impenetrable wall blocking Edward’s will.  Frustrated and desperate, Edward turns to Jacob Black and the La Push pack for assistance.  It’s supposed to be a simple plan, but everything goes to hell… and Bella awakens with the fury of Beatrix Kiddo in Kill Bill.

Hell and yes.  This tale’s not for the faint-hearted, and I would definitely not call this an EdwardxBella story by any means.  But for its originality and daring, I highly recommend strapping in for the ride, which has only just begun.

Olympic Rain and Novocain by Addicakes

Haunting and gorgeous, this is another AU AH that, like Love Amongst The Ruins, portrays heartache and angst with a delicate ‘less is more’ approach.  Bella, recently transplanted from Mississippi after the death of her mother, lives with a troubled and distant Charlie Swan, slinging coffee and food at a diner for a living.  Friendless, alone, she wanders into Port Angeles and stumbles onto Cullen’s, a bar where she hears a haunting voice that sings to her broken spirit.  But Edward is equally broken, equally alone and withdrawn.  How can two broken people possibly become a whole?

I’m very much in love with the fact that this author flawlessly writes in present tense.  I can’t even write in present tense without arsing it up.  And for a story driven so much by internal reflection upon carefully painted scenes in the mind, the tense is refreshing and lends an extra immediacy to each emotion and twist.

The Bella-Charlie relationship, which peeks in now and again, also intrigues me, because Charlie is more than flawed in this story… And yet, you can still sense that silent, deep love beneath the surface.

We’re nearing completion on this one, so now is a great time to greedily feast on one of my favourite fanfics ever.

The Letter by changed_by_edward

This one is just fun to read.  That isn’t to say that there isn’t a strong plot here;  there is, and it works so well.  But overall, this one has more light moments than most of the stories I read, so it amuses me while engaging me in the world of the characters.

Bella is a university professor, engaged to her abusive fiance, Mike Newton.  Not usually one to listen to rap, she is shocked at her instant love for the music of one EC Velvet, and struck by the lyrics and rich voice delivering them.  Through the music and letters exchanged with the lonely, pained rapper, Bella leaves her fiance and her world behind, and is whisked into that of Edward Cullen.  But Edward has his own trials to face along the way, and fame has its downsides, too.

What does this story deliver?  Realistic characters, fun smut, strong banter and wit, and a storyline that never feels too stretched, in spite of its almost modern Cinderella feel in places.  It’s an easy read, in the sense that it flows quickly, each chapter a ‘page-turner’.  If you’re looking for something with fluff that isn’t saccharine to the point of inducing diabetic coma, this is your AU AH.

Behind The Reel by jakeward

I generally don’t read RPF, let alone Robsten fic, but this one is, hands down, the best Robsten around, awards circuits be damned.

Why?

First off:  the way Rob and Kristen hook up seems realistic and natural, given the world of Twilight and Summit.  It’s very easy to see their lives ‘going there.’  Second:  the humour and clever plays off the plot of the films is delicious.  It’s very much art imitating life imitating art, and I laugh hysterically at every reference to ‘Shark Boy’ and when characters subtly ‘act out their roles’ from the books.  It’s like reading a fic sponsored by Letters To Twilight.  Last:  the characterizations of Rob and Kris are spot-fucking-on from what we know of the stars.  Too many Robsten fics portray Kristen as this squishy, mushy girly girl, and it pisses me off and turns me away from the story.  Kristen in BTR is sassy, swears, and flirty as hell.  She’s got her soft side, but more than anything, reading her thoughts feels like those of a girl her age with an aloof attitude, instead of a sappy Hallmark movie of the week character.

Even if RPF generally does nothing for you, BTR is far too clever to skip.  Give it a shot. Plus, it’s the story that inspired my one-shot, West Side of the Moon.  READ IT.

Six Different Ways Inside My Heart by april09

God, this story is heartbreaking, and yet, I cannot turn away from it.  The attention to details and the poignancy of the romance between Edward and Bella is just too powerful to resist for me.

Bella, newly diagnosed with leukemia, meets Edward in the teen lounge in the hospital.  The connection between them is immediate, but Bella of course has her reservations.  What if she’s not going to make it?  Who would want to be with a girl who might be dying?  How does a girl cope with her first real love while facing mortality?  And, beyond that, what secrets is Edward keeping about his own health?

What makes this story so special to me is the realistic way it portrays being both the ill person and the supports around them during the terror of cancer treatment.  Having lost someone recently to cancer, it strikes a chord with me and resonates.  Things aren’t easy and light.  Bella’s illness is always very, very real.  Her friends and family don’t always say or do the right things, and neither does Edward.  If first love is awkward on its own, the first love shared by these two is that much more strained and full of missteps.  But, above all of that, you do feel that love. And that’s why you should be reading this.

Geek Love by SassenachWench

Oh hell to the yes!  Nerdy humour a la The Big Bang Theory?  Check.

Awkward Edward pwned by clever Bella?  Check.

A genuinely serious and funny storyline that brings you smiles even at its saddest moments?  Check and double check.

Do I really need to say any more than this?  If you’re a closet geek yourself, this is the perfect love story for you.  Best part for newbies:  it’s completed!  No waiting!  Devour, my pretties.  Come to think of it, I kind of want to re-read it now…

On The Value of Reviews and Reader-Writer Interaction…

I’ve been mulling this entry over for quite some time, ever since the reviews began to flood in for the first installment of Tattoos Like Mile Markers.  As a writer, one of the things I enjoy most about the fanfiction community is the ability to receive feedback in such an immediate and direct fashion.  There is a genuine thrill to clicking through my email and discovering that someone has taken the time to post a comment, even one as simple as a declaration of love for a chapter or story.  While I have always written for myself, for the sake of putting into words a story lingering in my brain, I also love to share my work.  I love the idea that something I have created can make people laugh or cry, can reach into them and speak to something in their personal lives.  I relish the powerful connection I form with writing of others, and am thrilled to provide the same.

In some cases, the reviews are that much more meaningful; such is the case with many of the reviews for Tattoos Like Mile Markers (TLMM).  For those unfamiliar with the story, it is a Twilight fanfiction that is classed as AU AH (Alternate Universe; All Human), centred around a very broken Edward and equally shattered Bella, who meet in group therapy after their respective suicide attempts.  The story covers numerous serious issues around mental illness including depression, self-harm, eating disorders, suicide and substance abuse.  With subject matter as sensitive and difficult as this, I take great pains to not only warn readers adequately, but also to make myself available to answer emails and other queries.

You see, I have a strong personal connection to the material.  Not only have I studied Psychology, I have also volunteered in a crisis support capacity.  I have family and friends who have struggled with various forms of mental illness.  I also have very personal experiences of my own with much of the material touched upon in this story, and as such, I both am very committed to its proper representation and execution, and am also aware of stories having the power to ‘trigger’, as we refer to it. I make myself available for this story more than others because I understand the emotions it may evoke in certain people;  it evokes them in me as I write the chapters.

Does it cause me duress or jeopardize my own stability to reflect on darker times?  Not at all; I find it cathartic.  That isn’t to say that everyone who has, for example, attempted suicide will feel okay to write about the subject; I’m just in a place where I can write about these topics.  I subscribe firmly in trying to learn from the bad and turn it into good.  If this story can reach people and either educate them on the realities (and, in turn, perhaps help the reader become a good support to a friend who’s suffering) or reassure them that they are not alone in how they think and feel, then I have taken my life and that of my loved ones and created a positive thing.

The responses to the story, as I come back to my initial topic, have been incredible.  Several readers have contacted me to share personal struggles, and I feel privileged to be granted access to their inner fears and thoughts.  Some of them are recovered/recovering, and wanted to thank me for the care I’ve taken.  Others are very much in an active fight with the demons that pursue them, and I have offered what I know now that I needed to hear when in the midst of my own war.  The trust and reflection shown by these readers awes me and inspires me to keep going; in a sense, I feel I am telling the story for them as much as myself now.

A story need not have a heavy element like this to move a reader; a simple tale of heartbreak that comforts someone who has loved and lost is just as powerful and poignant.  Conversely, a writer will be moved to hear this from the review.  Perhaps the writer, too, has recently loved and lost.  We do tend to write what we know, after all.  These comments of understanding, of thanks, of encouragement motivate writers through the block days.

I point out the value of the reviewer-reader interaction for two reasons.  First, I wanted to express how moved I am to receive the private words of such courageous people, people who trust a stranger with their hearts and minds for a few moments.  I never take this lightly, and I am always receptive to listening and talking to every single one of you.  I have some of the best readers in the world, and I treasure each and every word.  Second, I look to the read/view counts and the proportion that do not review, and wonder why there is silence.  Writers work incredibly hard to deliver material, and this sort of community is a rare instance where you, as a reader, can actually be heard.  Good, bad, in between:  let us have it (constructively, of course).  We cannot grow without you.  We cannot know what you want.  I cannot speak for every writer, but I do know that even a simple ‘great job’ does wonders for my day. I personally love to correspond with my readers by email as well; I even follow the blog of one of them now.

There is so much potential for discussion and commaderie in a community for fanfiction; I’d like to see more of it.  The next time you read a story, review.  Even if it’s two words, it begins a habit of feeling able to speak, of acknowledging the hours spent at a screen, striving to deliver something that will excite and move others.  The next time a chapter makes you cry, say so.  If it makes you laugh so hard you spit Red Bull on the monitor, speak up!  It takes just a few extra seconds, but can make a tremendous impact on an author.  Never doubt your ability to offer back what you gain from the words before you.

Tori Amos once said, of her connection with her fans during concerts,  “I love being a part of that, when it’s running through you, that 220 voltage. And to share that with other people, and then getting back from them…. There’s a wonderful exchange, a wonderful love affair with 10,000 people and you’re not showing much skin except your hands…”   This is what we all, as writer and readers should strive for.  This is what I strive for.

Now, who’s with me?

HIATUS ALERT

For those reading Through The Looking-Glass, allow me to offer a sincere apology.

I made you wait a rather long time as I hit a bad writer’s block.  This was aggravated by other issues I need not mention. The result?  I lost my flow with the story, and that, in turn, makes it difficult to write. Compounding the issue is the fact that during the block, I began another multi (Deliratio) and then wrote a one-shot that received such a clamouring for more, I couldn’t resist.  I am, by nature, a pleaser.  This nature is most evident in the existence of Through The Looking-Glass; I had NEVER planned to have Down The Rabbit Hole be a series.  A cluster of devoted fans of the original story asked/demanded/insisted on a sequel and I obliged.  I thought for days of how to handle such a sequel strictly and specifically for your satisfaction.  Unlike most of my writing projects, where I am inspired and write as much to tell myself a story as my readers, this story has been written explicitly for those few of you following along.

I love the story I’ve planned, and ironically, this hiatus strikes just as we hit the part of the tale that I have been impatient to write for MONTHS.  However, I just don’t feel I am delivering the chapters you deserve right now, and I’m finding that partially to be due to switching gears so abruptly between three different multis with three different groups of readers anxiously awaiting updates.  I can’t just write shit;  you deserve better.  I deserve to put my name to better.

Thus, I am temporarily walking away from this story to concentrate on Deliratio and Tattoos Like Mile Markers.  Both of those stories once came easily; now, even Deliratio is giving me issues due to the constant switching.  I also have some changes underway in my personal and professional life that are limiting my writing time, which isn’t helping.  Please, do not fret:  there is nothing worse in my mind than becoming attached to a story, only for it to never be finished.  I will finish the story, hopefully before January.  I promise.  We’re 2/3 of the way into it now, and there’s no way I’ll stop without having the delicious fun my outlines holds.  The entire story, by the way, is outlined; what I want to do is step away and return with fresh eyes, and deliver the best damn 8-9 chapters I can for you.

I am very proud of my two newest fic-children; I personally believe they are my strongest.  If you’re not already reading them, come try them out.  My profiles for both FF and Twilighted are linked in the side column of this blog.

Thank you in advance for your understanding and patience.  Please don’t give up on the story; I won’t give up on delivering what you deserve to read.  After all, I did promise to deliver an Alice/Alistair meeting…  Don’t you want to know how that unfolds?  (Hint:  it’s going to take 2-3 chapters.  Seriously!)

PREVIEW: Through The Looking-Glass, Chapter 14

Just a small tease… The whole thing should be up within 24 hours…

A tree branch cracked in the canopy and he froze, his eyes and ears scanning for the source of the intrusion.  The wind tousled his flowing hair, bringing with it a scent that drew him into a protective crouch, hissing low.

Libishomen.  Another one?  A shifting of the brush to his left revealed a tall man, his shoulders broad, his angular face mirroring his own jawline.  His dress was similar to Nahuel’s own traditional Mapuche attire, his Makuñ a blend of reds and browns.  His eyes burned with the fires of the dark spirits that bore him to this earth, and he smiled, his teeth gleaming in sharp relief against the deep brown flesh of his body.  The stranger edged closer with arms spread wide, his hands held up in a gesture of surrender, but he did not trust the man. These creatures could not be trusted to be peaceful.

“I mean you no harm,” the rich baritone insisted, echoing through the clearing.

“You can mean nothing but harm.  Go,” he snarled.

“You judge me, and know me not.  You and I are not so different;  I smell it upon you,” the stranger continued, edging closer.

He growled low as the intruder neared him, “I am tainted, but I am not you.  I see the lust for the blood in you.  It pleases you to see the rivers run red.”

His mother-aunt often spoke of what made him special in her eyes.  You are half-them, Jungle Cat, but you are half-her.  In you lives her kindness, her heart.  That will protect you from the poison’s fires.  You will take what you need, respecting balance; you will not hear the whispers of the Wekufe.  You will show mercy, as I do.  We are more than what we are born as.  We choose and the Ngen guide us. He could feel the stranger’s sense of power, his belief in his law over all other teachings.  He understood the lesson now.

“Nature drives us.  We are what we are because we have become what is strongest and best.  The weak do not survive.  There is nothing wrong with striving for a higher form.  And you… You are a higher form, one I have sought for some time.  I did not believe I would ever find you.”

He lunged forward at the stranger’s words, even as a familiar scent drifted closer, perhaps two miles away and approaching fast, “Who are you?”

The stranger chuckled, his deep burgundy eyes gleaming, “I am Joham…  Your father.”

PREVIEW: Chapter 8, Deliratio

This goes up Saturday, but care for a taste now?

To her left, Alice noticed a small square mirror upon the wall, framed in silver-plated twisting vines.  With a sigh, Alice glanced at her reflection, wincing at what she saw.  Her face was marred with streaks of dirt and blood, her eyes dark and sunken in from exhaustion.  Her skin was far too pale and clammy, and a part of her feared she might slip into shock, alone and without a lifeline.  I should eat soon.  I need sugars.  Her hair was wilder than usual, spikes askew and damp, the longer strands in front growing limp.  She raised a hand to her head, gasping in shock.

The reflected image remained motionless, frozen with Alice’s blue eyes locked forward, unblinking.  Shaking her head, Alice looked away, then back.  The flashlight fell from her hand and she screamed.

The mirrored Alice winked.

A low rumble emanated from the floor beneath her, a light tremor that sent Alice scrambling for her Maglite, tears welling up.  She struggled to her feet as it grew louder, unable to face the mirror again, turning instead to the hallway behind her, mumbling incoherently.  The fluorescent lights at the end of the hall shattered, tiny shards of white glass falling like snow to the carpet below.   Her hand reached out for the wall, steadying her shuddering form, and she shrieked as the wallpaper crumbled away beneath her touch, the colour faded beyond recognition.  Her head spun in each direction, witnessing the building’s rapid decay around her, the rumble growing louder, almost… hungry.  Her body shaking violently, her eyes met with the mirror beside her once more.

A bloodied Alice, her hair longer, screamed silently beneath the glass.

Scrape-thud.  Scrape-thud.

Updates, Updates!

Tattoos Like Mile markers is updated to chapter 5 on Twilighted and FF.net!  Links in sidebar if you’re lazy like me.  Lemony goodness awaits!  See?  I promised by chapter 5, didn’t I?

Deliratio is live up to chapter 7 in both places; chapter 8 will hit this weekend.

Through The Looking-Glass:  Chapter 14 is in progress.  I love Nahuel and Huilen.  They’re so different to write.

Disc Jockeys:  One shot epilogue coming soon..

Don’t say I never give you nothing

Sneak Preview: Tattoos Like Mile Markers, C. 5

New chapter in 48 hours max.  In the meantime… enjoy this small preview:

Each idea seemed daunting, too difficult in the face of the droning bees that grew louder in her skull and the itch that ran through her fingers as she cast her gaze towards the music box on her desk, the one her mother had bought her for her eighth birthday.   If she knew definitively that Charlie would return, she wouldn’t dare risk…  that.  But Charlie was in La Push, where everything had gone so horribly wrong…The phone rang three times before a familiar female voice picked up, “Hello?”

“I need to talk to Jake.”

“Yeah?  Well, he doesn’t want to talk to you.  He’s grieving right now, Bella.  But you always were selfish, weren’t you?”

Bella huffed angrily as the tears continued to stream down her face, “Leah, please.  I at least need to apologize to him.  He needs to know-“

The venom in Leah’s voice buckled Bella over as she clutched her phone to her ear, “What he needs, Bella Swan, is for you to go fuck yourself and leave him alone!  Face it:  you blew it.  You not only blew it, you went out and performed a coup de grace on the relationship just to be sure.  He’s gone, Bella. And no amount of crying can ever bring him back.”

There was a definitive click as Leah slammed down the phone, and Bella sank to her knees, weeping hard.  Leah, as horrendous a bitch as she was, spoke nothing but truth.  Jake would never – could never – love her again, not after that night.  She’d not only lost her love; she’d lost one of her best friends.  She’d destroyed him, as surely as she’d destroyed her and her mother.  She was a harbinger of ruin, her small hands wreaking havoc so vast, so wide, it could never be contained for as long as she lived...

Pressing her face further into the pillows, Bella screamed with everything she had within, every surge of regret, every chord of anger singing inside her fractured heart.  She screamed as her fists beat upon her thighs, the pain jarring her free from her memories of that night when she’d smashed herself into the glass walls of the house she called her world and sent them shattering around her, shards embedding in the flesh of all those she loved.  As she screamed, her cell phone, tossed on her desk, beeped twice more, then silenced.

A Few Quick Notes…

Deliratio:  Chapter 7 should be in your hands around the weekend.  Chapter 8 is 3/4 written and I am VERY pleased with how’s it turning out.  Chapter 9 will introduce two characters that you may or may not expect.

I’ve also just been advised that Deliratio was recommended in the LJ community Twilight Enablers!  Yay!  Go enable your fellow fans and post your own faves to the world.

Through The Looking Glass:  Chapter 13 is live on Twilighted and FF!  Review, review!!  Chapter 14 should hopefully reach you in about two weeks.

Tattoos Like Mile Markers:  Expect a new chapter in about a week.

WRITING SCHEDULE:

Starting September 19th, my intention is to rotate through the three existing multis on a 5 day/story cycle.  What this means is I aim to draft, send to beta then submit a chapter of a story in 5 days, then do the next story, then the third, until Through The Looking-Glass concludes (it will be done first).   At that point, I’m moving to a two story cycle until Deliratio is nearly complete, at which point I’ll pick up one of my many other ideas and get started (likely the Victoria saga).  During the two story cycle, as the mood takes me, one-shot epilogues for Disc Jockeys will finally happen again!

As a sample…

September 24th: New chapter of Tattoos will be submitted to FF (working on Twilighted catch-up)

September 29th:  New chapter of TTLG hits the queues.

October 4th:  Chapter 8 of Deliratio goes live.

I’m hoping this will keep me writing, keep me organized, and keep any one story from becoming a massive wait.  Let’s see how it works out!

STATUS UPDATES

Here’s where things are at with my projects that are actually in progress.  In other words, if it’s not listed, its status is ‘planning’ or ‘too damn busy’, capice?

Deliratio:  Posted to chapter 5 on both Twilighted and FF.net.  Chapters 6&7 completed, chapters 8-10 detailed outlines.  Chapter 8 in progress this week.

Through The Looking-Glass: After an extremely bad block, chapter 13 is complete.  See previous entry for preview.  Will post to FF.net by Monday.  Will post to Twilighted as able.  Outline covers entire story; it was a matter of execution blocking me.

Tattoos Like Mile Markers: Currently only available at FF.net; waiting to submit to Twilighted due to queue rules.  Currently posted through chapter 4.  I have chapter 5 outlined in my head and an outline for the entire fic.  Expect new chapter within next two weeks.  The playlist for this fic is very telling *hint hint* of plot details to come.

West Side of the Moon: Awaiting validation at Twilighted, although you can read the one-shot RPF of spaz about what happens when Taylor gets drunk on this blog.

If you’re awaiting any other projects like Disc Jockeys, please bear with me.  Tattoos Like Mile Markers was never meant to be more than a one-shot, and now I’m swamped.  On the bright side, I do believe it’s my strongest story to date, or tied at least with Deliratio.

Speaking of Deliratio, major love to SassyGeminiMom, my Twilighted validation beta, for featuring that story on the site!  That little blue ribbon gives me a special shot of glee.

Do expect a blog soon on the impact of fanfiction on readers, and how that, in turn, affects writers.  In brief:  I am touched and honoured to have the reviewers I do, and I love you all for taking that time, even just to say you liked the chapter.  Those of us who aren’t popular in the circuit (yet) sometimes feel invisible;  you keep us sane when we’re ready to give up, and remind us all why we started posting stories in the first place:  to move others, and to bring new angles and stories to the fiction universe.

As always, follow my fanfic Twitter for updates:  casket4myfanfic.  I also post Tweasers and am a chatty girl, so say hi!

PREVIEW: Through The Looking-Glass Chapter 13

I know,  I know; it’s been a very long time coming.  Deliratio stole my muse for a while, and then vacation hit, and then my one-shot RPF and Tattoos Like Mile Markers were in the mix, and THEN I moved…  You see what I mean?  Plus, to be honest, I was very stumped on how precisely I wanted this chapter to flow.  Ironically, I know exactly how I want 14 to flow, and have known that since July.

I’ll be posting this to FF.net by Monday, and Twilighted ASAP.  In the meantime…

She’d finally left him alone, knowing that he was serpentine, coiled and ready to lash out with his fangs. Alone was how he preferred his time when these moods rolled over him like thunder clouds, grey and pregnant with nature’s tears. The wind shifted around him, the leaves rustling, and he closed his eyes, inhaling the smells brought forth with the invisible force.

His eyes flew wide open. What’s this?

Several scents greeted him, many of the natural vegetation of the Amazon, guava and chlorophyll and the musk of the jungle cats. He could smell her, the scent of tigerlily and sage, distant but within easy reach if he were to run. And then, there were the other scents, the intoxicating vanilla and a richer scent, not musk but something else, something unknown… More of them? He would not dare strike again… His body tensed as he listened for an approach, hearing faint voices in the distance.

“We always fight on our terms, my boy. We always bring them where we are strongest .”

If she were in trouble, she would be returning to their camp near the river. Tossing the bright yellow fruit aside, he swung to the earth, breaking into a run and crossed the river with a gracile jump, circling wide to flank her downstream from behind. Enough blood had been shed on his accord. No more of his kin would suffer, not as long as he lived.