my moral standing is lying down

READING. OMG have I been reading. Mostly devouring fic like you wouldn't believe. And I've been meaning to make another rec post but I think I've been too busy to stop and gather my thoughts. I'm less busy this weekend I think, so I'll try to do that then.

( what? historical romances? like, het romances? yes, i still read them... occasionally. )

In other news -- \LUCE/ YOU ARE POSSIBLY THE SWEETEST PERSON ALIVE!!! <3333 lucifuge_5 randomly sent me a book -- because of how much I have talked, recently, about reading M/M stories -- which I am very excited to read! It is First You Fall(A Kevin Connor Mystery) by Scott Sherman and I will (of course) let you all know what I think about it when I've read it! I always enjoy passing books along to others that I think will be interested in them, so I'm delighted when others do the same for me! =D


So. I have written a few ~500-word ficlets lately, which I have really really enjoyed. They're kind of like dipping my toes in water I already know is relatively warm. Which is to say, I know I can write 500-word ficlets and so I'm pleased to have written them lately because I haven't really been writing otherwise.

...And yet I signed up for that 20k ds_c6d_bigbang thing. Ahahahah. I've been thinking (while trying not to scare myself off) about what to write and what I keep coming back to, what I think I'll be the most comfortable trying my hand at, is a kind of AU where Fraser and Kowalski are in their late teens and probably takes place in Chicago. *groans* I really haven't gotten far enough with this... I need to try to be free for the next skype chat (is that this Sunday?)...

Finally read One Good Knight by Mercedes Lackey. It was as good as she always is; I do so lover her books. Her fantasy/"romance" novels, however, are both really good and really annoying. Most fantasy/romance authors (that I've read so far) tend to write romances with fantasy elements. There are fantasy writers who have romance in their stories, but they tend to be a ways into the series, as the plot and character development dictate. (Some can combine them well, like Laurell K. Hamilton, but she's gone more into fantasy/light erotica more than fantasy/romance...) Lackey isn't really much different in that respect. But the books she's written for the Luna line can be somewhat irritating. They are usually one couple per book as the romance format goes, but she focuses so much on the fantasy plot part that the romance kind of comes into play really only in the last eighth of the book. It's good, because you can have the romance in there, but not take anything away from the awesome plot part, but then the romance part just sort of comes up and bites you on the ass, and it's somewhat like... okaaaay. But they are still amazingly good and enjoyable even if this is a particular pet peeve of mine. Maybe it's because I actually read (and still do) romances.

After reading One Good Knight to break through my reading drought, I flailed about for a bit because there are a whole lot of books that have come out in the last few months, but they're all in hardcover and are as yet still unavailable at the library. (Dammit.) So I visited Barnes & Noble and picked up Julia Quinn's On the Way to the Wedding (the last in the series about the Bridgerton siblings) and LKH's Micah. Both were quick, fun reads.

Julia Quinn's On the Way to the Wedding finished up the Bridgerton siblings' saga. There was a bit less interaction between the two main characters than I feel Julia Quinn usually writes, but it was good nonetheless. I do so love her title... subcaptions, for lack of a better word. And I do really love her sense of humor. Her books are always funny and lighthearted without the overdone dramatics that many romance writers just can't seem to get away from, but with just enough angst to keep me satisfied (because we all know how much I love angst).

LKH's Micah was also an entertaining read. It was shorter, more of a sidestory than a regular installment in the Anitaverse. It focused on Anita and Micah's relationship as well as Micah's past, which was cool. I discovered that I do like Micah a whole lot -- probably second only to Jean-Claude (and I'm getting kind of annoyed at the direction in which LKH is going with Anita in relation to JC...). Although one of the problems I tend to have with LKH's characters is that she never describes them how they're supposed to look (i.e., how they look in my head). I wish Micah was just a tiny bit taller! Argh! But it was nice to see her back doing animator stuff as the last several books have been little on plot and big on relationships/sex-drama, which is okay, really. But I miss her mystery that was present in those first books in the series.

But reading Micah did make me actually want to read Danse Macabre and I'm considering re-joining SFBC so that I can just buy a bunch of books that I've wanted to read lately without waiting to borrow them from the library.