Alas! It is true, summer is beginning to wind to a close. With the end of summer comes the end of my free time, but not the end of this blog.
I'll continue to update as I finish stories, but I just can't promise a weekly update. (I will, however, continue doing oneshot Wednesdays... starting with last Wednesday, which I missed!)
So, if you're still interested, just check back every week or two for updates. I'll also announce the updates to the NML mailing list and to Newspaper Row, the new LJ community.
Thanks everyone for reading, and I'll see you soon!
-Keza
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Reading Roundup
Hey guys. I'm in the middle of a couple stories, but they are long, so I don't have any update today (again. Sorry). Instead, I'm going to do a sort of sequel post to July 15th's "Reading Roundup," in which I talked about all the fics I'm reading. There are a couple to add to the list. So. Here we go.
Mission Newsies: The Case of the Missing Newspaper by Pegasus M.
rated T. 7 chapters.
"Newsboys by day, secret agents by night. They had us all fooled."
What if you took the chance to click on a story with a ridiculous name and a silly (but intriguing) summary, and found it to be everything you hoped for and more? Yeah. Basically, "Mission Newsies" is hilarious, and I love it, and you should read it. It's light, it's humorous, it acts like it takes itself seriously (but there's too much cheek for that). You will be caught up in no time, and that's a promise!
Repercussions by kryscrossed [Rogue]
rated K+. One chapter.
"You disgust me, Conlon. None of this would have happened if it hadn’t been for you!”
There's only one chapter, and it might not be updated until one of Rogue's other stories is finished, but... I mean... it's wicked intriguing. And you will definitely want more, if only, like me, you get impatient with unanswered questions, cliffhangers, and vaguely referenced backstory. Jack, Spot, Stress, and a cemetery.
Heavenly Connection by Falco Conlon
rated M. 2 chapters.
"Without people, a city is nothing, without connection, people are nothing. It thuds, it clutches, it keeps blood pumping and minds whirling. It saves."
It's the prequel to "In New York." It's about Kill Kilpatrick. If you've read "In New York," you don't need any other reason to read this. If you haven't read "In New York," don't waste any more time. Oh, and read this, too. It's a prequel, so the order in which you read them doesn't really matter. Just read them! AM I MAKING MYSELF CLEAR??
Master of Manhattan by mxdot
rated M. 7 chapters.
"[Javid Slash] Set in 1901. Jack's past catches up with him, straining his friendship with David and forcing him to make some choices about what he wants to do with his life."
mxdot is really good with domestic scenes (with the Jacobs family, for the most part). She's also, apparently, really good with research. And dialogue. And a dozen other things that I could list right here, but that would take time away from you just clicking the title link already.
There could very well be a couple other stories that I'm working through, but you'll have to forgive my memory being a bit fuzzy - take this list, add it to the other list, and then maybe a plus 3, and... well, it's a lot to keep track of! Luckily, all the stories I'm reading are so different that it's impossible to get them mixed up. Remember, children: author and story alerts are your friends. They are your dear, dear friends. Use them! They like that.
And check out these stories! They are all updated regularly, though some more frequently than others.
Mission Newsies: The Case of the Missing Newspaper by Pegasus M.
rated T. 7 chapters.
"Newsboys by day, secret agents by night. They had us all fooled."
What if you took the chance to click on a story with a ridiculous name and a silly (but intriguing) summary, and found it to be everything you hoped for and more? Yeah. Basically, "Mission Newsies" is hilarious, and I love it, and you should read it. It's light, it's humorous, it acts like it takes itself seriously (but there's too much cheek for that). You will be caught up in no time, and that's a promise!
Repercussions by kryscrossed [Rogue]
rated K+. One chapter.
"You disgust me, Conlon. None of this would have happened if it hadn’t been for you!”
There's only one chapter, and it might not be updated until one of Rogue's other stories is finished, but... I mean... it's wicked intriguing. And you will definitely want more, if only, like me, you get impatient with unanswered questions, cliffhangers, and vaguely referenced backstory. Jack, Spot, Stress, and a cemetery.
Heavenly Connection by Falco Conlon
rated M. 2 chapters.
"Without people, a city is nothing, without connection, people are nothing. It thuds, it clutches, it keeps blood pumping and minds whirling. It saves."
It's the prequel to "In New York." It's about Kill Kilpatrick. If you've read "In New York," you don't need any other reason to read this. If you haven't read "In New York," don't waste any more time. Oh, and read this, too. It's a prequel, so the order in which you read them doesn't really matter. Just read them! AM I MAKING MYSELF CLEAR??
Master of Manhattan by mxdot
rated M. 7 chapters.
"[Javid Slash] Set in 1901. Jack's past catches up with him, straining his friendship with David and forcing him to make some choices about what he wants to do with his life."
mxdot is really good with domestic scenes (with the Jacobs family, for the most part). She's also, apparently, really good with research. And dialogue. And a dozen other things that I could list right here, but that would take time away from you just clicking the title link already.
There could very well be a couple other stories that I'm working through, but you'll have to forgive my memory being a bit fuzzy - take this list, add it to the other list, and then maybe a plus 3, and... well, it's a lot to keep track of! Luckily, all the stories I'm reading are so different that it's impossible to get them mixed up. Remember, children: author and story alerts are your friends. They are your dear, dear friends. Use them! They like that.
And check out these stories! They are all updated regularly, though some more frequently than others.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
OSW: "Luck" by Nerikla
Oneshot Wednesday
8/8/2007
Luck by Nerikla
rated T. 850 words.
"It reminds him of his old customs, of his old ways. Racetrack is right - it must be destroyed."
What it's about: Despite Swifty's pleading, Race tries to kill the cricket that has been keeping him awake at night.
Why you should read it: Because while many of us use Swifty as a character, we don't tend to look at him as a person. In 2007, no one bats an eye at the fact that he's Asian. Though this story is wicked short, it probably says more for Swifty's character than anything else I'd ever read.
8/8/2007
Luck by Nerikla
rated T. 850 words.
"It reminds him of his old customs, of his old ways. Racetrack is right - it must be destroyed."
What it's about: Despite Swifty's pleading, Race tries to kill the cricket that has been keeping him awake at night.
Why you should read it: Because while many of us use Swifty as a character, we don't tend to look at him as a person. In 2007, no one bats an eye at the fact that he's Asian. Though this story is wicked short, it probably says more for Swifty's character than anything else I'd ever read.
Monday, August 6, 2007
"One Roll of the Dice, One Flip of the Knife," by AmbrLupin
One Roll of the Dice, One Flip of the Knife by AmbrLupin
rated M. Complete. Cast: Racetrack, Spot, Jack, Mush, OCs
"Race has gotten himself in way over his head on the wrong side of the bridge. Can Spot Conlon get him out of it? Or will Manhattan blood be shed on Brooklyn soil? Friendship or slash, however you want to look at it"
Forgive me, for I have deviated.
I don't think it's so much of a bad thing. See, I've missed two Sundays of updating, which I don't like to do. But I just haven't had the time to read the stories that are left on my "to-read" list, seeing as most of them are ridiculously long. The others are incomplete, and I'm trying to avoid that on this blog, at least for as long as I can.
So, this morning I said to Falco Conlon, "help, I need something less than 50,000 words and complete." And she said, "why the hell are you asking me?" (or something like that). Having received no help from my dear friend, I turned instead to the FFN sorting-filter things, which, let's not kid ourselves, are at least fifteen kinds of fun.
Rating: All, Status: Complete, Length: >20,000... go! Six pages, not bad. So, I skimmed through summaries until I found something that looked interesting. The ambiguous message within the last sentence of AmbrLupin's summary really intrigued me. There is nothing better than a questionable relationship between two boys. (Or two girls. Or a boy an a girl.) For real.
So I clicked, skimmed about half the first chapter, realized AmbrLupin had good voice, and gave it a shot! And now I'm going to stop talking about these unnecessary details and start talking about the fic. (Hereon after referred to as Dice/Knife, because even the acronym is a bit long.)
Dice/Knife starts out as a story about Race and Spot's relationship, but sort of careens off the rails of that plot and into a dense forest of drama. Racetrack is the adopted son of the late owner of the Sheepshead racetrack. He grew up in Brooklyn, but moved to Manhattan after his foster-father died. Still, the 'track is in his blood, and he goes to it every day to take in the sights and, of course, bet. AmbrLupin has a different take on why he always loses, though - Race knows the winners when he sees 'em. Thing is, the races at Sheepshead are rigged.
So, you can imagine everyone's surprise when Race picks a stallion that breaks free of its rider and actually wins the race. He was the only one to bet on the horse, which spells trouble when the value of his voucher is revealed. An angry mob chases him out the of the track, where he runs...
...directly into his ex-best friend, Spot Conlon, who has just been having some uneasy thoughts about dear Mr. Higgins. Spot is the leader of Brooklyn, and he lets Race hang around the area, but lately he's been having misgivings, remembering how Race seemingly just abandoned him, and how much that hurt. He pulls Race away from the mob, but they quickly get into an argument which results in a fight and Spot publicly kicking Race outta Dodge. (Brooklyn.)
And that's just the exposition. From there, more and more starts to go wrong - track "officials" are after Race and his valuable voucher, Spot is going crazy and kicking people out left and right, and it isn't long before Manhattan and the Bronx get involved in the whole mess.
Dice/Knife is definitely an enjoyable (and very fast!) read, though it does tend to lean a little far on the melodramatic side. For example, we aren't really given any good reason as to why Spot goes completely nuts, it just kind of happens... and escalates, fast.
AmbrLupin writes good, quirky OCs that actually serve a purpose in the story, which is nice, but there are times when the story reads like a first draft. This may be because the chapters are on the short end (less than 2,000 words each), so things are sometimes rushed or glossed over in favor of moving the plot along. She has such a strong beginning that I have faith that a rewrite would be really fantastic.
Something really interesting with Dice/Knife (and relating back to the story) is that AmbrLupin wrote two separate endings (epilogues, technically). One is if you think the Race/Spot relationship is friendship, and the other is if you'd rather see slash. It's definitely an intriguing idea, but I'll leave it up to you to read and decide for yourself how it worked out.
Besides that, there isn't really much Spot/Race interaction, and just a couple short flashbacks, so the readers are truly left to their imagination as to the nature of the boys' relationship.
If you're in the mood for a quick read from an unfamiliar author, you should consider this. It's quite the rollercoaster ride.
rated M. Complete. Cast: Racetrack, Spot, Jack, Mush, OCs
"Race has gotten himself in way over his head on the wrong side of the bridge. Can Spot Conlon get him out of it? Or will Manhattan blood be shed on Brooklyn soil? Friendship or slash, however you want to look at it"
Forgive me, for I have deviated.
I don't think it's so much of a bad thing. See, I've missed two Sundays of updating, which I don't like to do. But I just haven't had the time to read the stories that are left on my "to-read" list, seeing as most of them are ridiculously long. The others are incomplete, and I'm trying to avoid that on this blog, at least for as long as I can.
So, this morning I said to Falco Conlon, "help, I need something less than 50,000 words and complete." And she said, "why the hell are you asking me?" (or something like that). Having received no help from my dear friend, I turned instead to the FFN sorting-filter things, which, let's not kid ourselves, are at least fifteen kinds of fun.
Rating: All, Status: Complete, Length: >20,000... go! Six pages, not bad. So, I skimmed through summaries until I found something that looked interesting. The ambiguous message within the last sentence of AmbrLupin's summary really intrigued me. There is nothing better than a questionable relationship between two boys. (Or two girls. Or a boy an a girl.) For real.
So I clicked, skimmed about half the first chapter, realized AmbrLupin had good voice, and gave it a shot! And now I'm going to stop talking about these unnecessary details and start talking about the fic. (Hereon after referred to as Dice/Knife, because even the acronym is a bit long.)
Dice/Knife starts out as a story about Race and Spot's relationship, but sort of careens off the rails of that plot and into a dense forest of drama. Racetrack is the adopted son of the late owner of the Sheepshead racetrack. He grew up in Brooklyn, but moved to Manhattan after his foster-father died. Still, the 'track is in his blood, and he goes to it every day to take in the sights and, of course, bet. AmbrLupin has a different take on why he always loses, though - Race knows the winners when he sees 'em. Thing is, the races at Sheepshead are rigged.
So, you can imagine everyone's surprise when Race picks a stallion that breaks free of its rider and actually wins the race. He was the only one to bet on the horse, which spells trouble when the value of his voucher is revealed. An angry mob chases him out the of the track, where he runs...
...directly into his ex-best friend, Spot Conlon, who has just been having some uneasy thoughts about dear Mr. Higgins. Spot is the leader of Brooklyn, and he lets Race hang around the area, but lately he's been having misgivings, remembering how Race seemingly just abandoned him, and how much that hurt. He pulls Race away from the mob, but they quickly get into an argument which results in a fight and Spot publicly kicking Race outta Dodge. (Brooklyn.)
And that's just the exposition. From there, more and more starts to go wrong - track "officials" are after Race and his valuable voucher, Spot is going crazy and kicking people out left and right, and it isn't long before Manhattan and the Bronx get involved in the whole mess.
Dice/Knife is definitely an enjoyable (and very fast!) read, though it does tend to lean a little far on the melodramatic side. For example, we aren't really given any good reason as to why Spot goes completely nuts, it just kind of happens... and escalates, fast.
AmbrLupin writes good, quirky OCs that actually serve a purpose in the story, which is nice, but there are times when the story reads like a first draft. This may be because the chapters are on the short end (less than 2,000 words each), so things are sometimes rushed or glossed over in favor of moving the plot along. She has such a strong beginning that I have faith that a rewrite would be really fantastic.
Something really interesting with Dice/Knife (and relating back to the story) is that AmbrLupin wrote two separate endings (epilogues, technically). One is if you think the Race/Spot relationship is friendship, and the other is if you'd rather see slash. It's definitely an intriguing idea, but I'll leave it up to you to read and decide for yourself how it worked out.
Besides that, there isn't really much Spot/Race interaction, and just a couple short flashbacks, so the readers are truly left to their imagination as to the nature of the boys' relationship.
If you're in the mood for a quick read from an unfamiliar author, you should consider this. It's quite the rollercoaster ride.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
OSW: "Artificial Flavoring" by cymbalism
Oneshot Wednesday
8/1/07
Artificial Flavoring by cymbalism
rated T. 1,600 words.
"Jack and David try to beat the summer heat."
What it's about: "Best friends" Jack and David, plus broken air conditioning and popsicles. This was written for the Refuge's Secret Slash, and really I should just link to that page and say "read 'em all."
Why you should read it: BECAUSE IT'S SUMMER!!!
memo: I was going to try to have two updates this week to make up for missing Sunday, but unfortunately I don't think that's going to be possible. I am working on it, though!
8/1/07
Artificial Flavoring by cymbalism
rated T. 1,600 words.
"Jack and David try to beat the summer heat."
What it's about: "Best friends" Jack and David, plus broken air conditioning and popsicles. This was written for the Refuge's Secret Slash, and really I should just link to that page and say "read 'em all."
Why you should read it: BECAUSE IT'S SUMMER!!!
memo: I was going to try to have two updates this week to make up for missing Sunday, but unfortunately I don't think that's going to be possible. I am working on it, though!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
OSW: "Like Coming Home" by Shade E Lane
Oneshot Wednesday
7/25/07
Like Coming Home by Shade E Lane [Shade]
rated K+. 500 words.
"Sante Fe was Jack's first love, but she wasn't his last. When he told Sarah that the sun looked different in Sante Fe he never realized that he wasn't talking about New Mexico anymore."
What it's about: Jack reflects on his relationship with Sarah.
Why you should read it: Because when's the last time you read something that was Jack/Sarah, and found yourself thoroughly enjoying it? It is beautiful, and lovely, and who doesn't need 500 words of loveliness in their day?
7/25/07
Like Coming Home by Shade E Lane [Shade]
rated K+. 500 words.
"Sante Fe was Jack's first love, but she wasn't his last. When he told Sarah that the sun looked different in Sante Fe he never realized that he wasn't talking about New Mexico anymore."
What it's about: Jack reflects on his relationship with Sarah.
Why you should read it: Because when's the last time you read something that was Jack/Sarah, and found yourself thoroughly enjoying it? It is beautiful, and lovely, and who doesn't need 500 words of loveliness in their day?
Sunday, July 22, 2007
"Behind Blue Eyes" by clio21000
Behind Blue Eyes by clio21000
rated M. Complete. Cast: Racetrack, Spot, Jack, David, Sarah, Mush, Blink, etc, etc, OCs
"Racetrack knows his senior year of college will be challenging, but he has no idea just who and what he’ll be up against. It all begins when he meets his new roommate, Sean…"
Hey, guess who Sean is?
Okay, anyway. At first glance, "Behind Blue Eyes" follows a pretty tried and true storyline... stick the newsies in high school/college and see what happens! Slash? Het? Both? A plot? You never know what you're gonna get.
But - and you're gonna recognize this next line, because I've been using it a lot lately - the thing is, clio pulls it off. She says, "yeah, it's been done before, but with such feeling? With such excellent dialogue? With such lovely and believable characters? Nay!"
(Fine, those are my words, not clio's. She would probably be much more modest, for whatever reason. It really is a fantastic story.)
So, Racetrack heads back to school, a little apprehensive about meeting his new roommate. See, he's spent the last three years with his friend Crutchy, who is not returning for senior year for unknown reasons. Race is thus less than pleased to find that Sean, the lucky guy, isn't exactly a ray of sunshine. In fact, he's rather a, ah, black hole.
Race tries not to let it get to him, after all, he has a million and one other things to keep track of. Race is a psychology major, and for whatever reason, all his friends come to him to help with their problems... and trust, there are many.
Jack rooms with David and is dating Sarah - kind of. Mush and Blink have this weird "friendship" thing going on, the Delancy brothers work at a local diner, Skittery has drug problems, and Bumlets isn't sure how to get away from it all without isolating himself.
If that sounds complicated, rest assured - I am but scratching the surface. Don't fret! Like I mentioned before, clio knows what she's doing. The characters (even the OCs - yes, likable OCs!) all have their own motives and attitudes and it's near impossible to get them mixed up. Each subplot is given its fair amount of airtime, but the story never forgets the thread that ties everything together - Race, Spot, and how they end up getting along... or not getting along, etc. Like I'm going to give it away.
Now, "Behind Blue Eyes" is just part one of a three part series, so consider yourself warned. The good news is that clio is currently hard at work on the sequel, the bad news is... well, the sequel hasn't been posted yet, so once you finish this one, there may be some... insanity to deal with.
Good luck with that!
rated M. Complete. Cast: Racetrack, Spot, Jack, David, Sarah, Mush, Blink, etc, etc, OCs
"Racetrack knows his senior year of college will be challenging, but he has no idea just who and what he’ll be up against. It all begins when he meets his new roommate, Sean…"
Hey, guess who Sean is?
Okay, anyway. At first glance, "Behind Blue Eyes" follows a pretty tried and true storyline... stick the newsies in high school/college and see what happens! Slash? Het? Both? A plot? You never know what you're gonna get.
But - and you're gonna recognize this next line, because I've been using it a lot lately - the thing is, clio pulls it off. She says, "yeah, it's been done before, but with such feeling? With such excellent dialogue? With such lovely and believable characters? Nay!"
(Fine, those are my words, not clio's. She would probably be much more modest, for whatever reason. It really is a fantastic story.)
So, Racetrack heads back to school, a little apprehensive about meeting his new roommate. See, he's spent the last three years with his friend Crutchy, who is not returning for senior year for unknown reasons. Race is thus less than pleased to find that Sean, the lucky guy, isn't exactly a ray of sunshine. In fact, he's rather a, ah, black hole.
Race tries not to let it get to him, after all, he has a million and one other things to keep track of. Race is a psychology major, and for whatever reason, all his friends come to him to help with their problems... and trust, there are many.
Jack rooms with David and is dating Sarah - kind of. Mush and Blink have this weird "friendship" thing going on, the Delancy brothers work at a local diner, Skittery has drug problems, and Bumlets isn't sure how to get away from it all without isolating himself.
If that sounds complicated, rest assured - I am but scratching the surface. Don't fret! Like I mentioned before, clio knows what she's doing. The characters (even the OCs - yes, likable OCs!) all have their own motives and attitudes and it's near impossible to get them mixed up. Each subplot is given its fair amount of airtime, but the story never forgets the thread that ties everything together - Race, Spot, and how they end up getting along... or not getting along, etc. Like I'm going to give it away.
Now, "Behind Blue Eyes" is just part one of a three part series, so consider yourself warned. The good news is that clio is currently hard at work on the sequel, the bad news is... well, the sequel hasn't been posted yet, so once you finish this one, there may be some... insanity to deal with.
Good luck with that!
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