Straight? So is spaghetti until you heat it up.

I've been reading a new m/m book, Scarlet and the White Wolf, by Kirby Crow and thoroughly enjoying it. Look at the pretty cover. Mmmmmm.



Author's blurb: A romantic retelling of a classic fairytale...

The Southern Continent of Nemerl is a lawless region of brigands, slavers, and petty overlords. The land is embroiled in bloody border skirmishes between the Hilurin and Aralyrin factions of Byzantur, and every day brings a new clash, a new horror. Scarlet of Lysia is an honest Hilurin pedlar, a young merchant traveling the wild, undefended roads. Liall, called the Wolf of Omara, is the handsome, world-weary chieftain of a tribe of Kasiri bandits blocking a mountain road that Scarlet needs to cross, except Liall demands a carnal toll for the privilege. Scarlet angrily refuses and an inventive battle of wills ensues, with disastrous results. Soon, the hostile countryside explodes into new violence, and proud Scarlet is forced to look to the most unlikely savior in the world for help.

Right you lot, listen up!

I can take or leave Next Gen fic and usually only read it if I know the author, such as sansa1970, is capable of writing a quality fic.

After the epilogue of DH, I did flirt with the notion of either Harry or Draco having an afair with one of the other's son/s, so I could see the attraction of shag-a-son fics but hadn't actively sought them out until vaysh_11's rec. OMFG! What a fic! Beautifully written with such imagery that it burns into your heart and mind, leaving you unable to forget aspects of this story for days.

Warning: Do not read this story if you are tired because of its complexity and heed the warnings on the original post.

Title: Memoria in Aeterna
Written for: melusinahp
Author: potteresque_ire
Rating: NC-17
Pairing(s): Draco/Al, mention of Harry/Ginny
Age Disparity: 45/19

Summary: At age fifteen, an incendiary political debate had made Albus Potter the victim of a hideous crime. Three years later, he was living a life of drugs and promiscuity in the rookery at Knockturn, the newly established Preservation District for the pure-blood families of Wizarding Britain.

Memoria in Aeterna

This fic deserves so many more comments. Go, spread the love.

I have discovered another gem of a book to recommend to all you original slash h0rs.

Vaughn R. Demont (vaughn_r_demont on LJ) is the author of The Vampire Fred: Wicked Game, a superb and interesting tale told with humour and intelligence.

Author's blurb:

Being a vampire sucks, especially when you’ve got to deal with things like a dead-end job as an office drone, avoiding vigilante vampire slayers on the subway, and being price-gouged on blood from the slaughterhouse. Add in a crush on your annoyingly charismatic sire, and unraveling a little conspiracy to upset the balance of power among the vampires of the City, and it’s all in a night’s work though for fledgling vampire Fred Tompkins, as long as he doesn’t miss out on any overtime.

The Vampire Fred introduces new aspects to vampirism that make this book a refeshing change from the more traditional tomes out there and had me engrossed from the first line.

Fred is an average guy who lives alone in his small apartment and works in a dead end job, almost a living death if you will. He certainly had no ambition to die a virgin, find himself flat sharing with an undead dreamboat, fighting off Lycans and becoming involved in a vampire turf war. Maybe he should've stayed home that fateful day.

Here's a snippet:

Imagine, if you will, a cool April night, about an hour after sundown. The clouds are breaking above; there's a waxing crescent moon that looks like a big banana; there's still a light mist in the air since it only stopped raining a half hour before. Imagine this in Victory Square, with all the lights and buildings, and that great Italian restaurant on the corner where they shot that movie scene that one time.

Take that scene and insert a car. Not just any car, though. We're talking upper tier. A car worth more than a house in Destry Bay -- with sleek, clean lines and a loud engine. Imagine this scene as a still, a snapshot, if you would. Keep the car in that freeze-frame but let it rumble around in your mind that at the moment that car is doing about one-twenty.

Now imagine a man, about five nine in height, maybe a buck fifty. He’s wearing an off-the-rack suit from a store that sells TVs, clothing, and produce, his body suspended just above the hood of that car, upended, his legs contorted into a position yoga instructors would wince at, one shoe on, the other knocked off by the impact. His arms are outstretched, his black hair blown away from his face by the rush of wind, his brown eyes registering shock, and his monitor-tanned face showing vague surprise.

That guy? That's me.

Join Fred on his journey of death, rebirth, lust, love and more plot than you can shake a hairy bat at. You won't regret it. Oh, and there will be a sequel.

You remember that delicious spine tingling feeling you had when you first discovered what a treasure trove the HP fandom was?

Then, when you began to tire of it, you despaired because you never thought you'd discover such pleasure again and lo! The rec fairy godmother appeared and led you to other wonders called original slash and homoerotic fiction.

So, you branched out and rediscovered that heady rush of excitement as you devoured such gems as the Administration and Slavebreakers series. Then all
too soon those universes came to an end and you wondered if you'd ever find such a cache of riches again. Fear not, for I bring you not one, not two, but three gems on this fine Easter Monday.

First, LOVE IN DARK SETTINGS ¶ Suspenseful historical fantasy, friendship fiction, and gay fiction ¶ By Dusk Peterson.


Secondly, Dusk Peterson's rec page BURIED TREASURE ¶ Recommendations of Online Male Homoerotic Stories and Male Friendship Stories (and anything else that catches his interest). Make sure you bookmark the author index.

Finally, for lovers of slave fic, a trilogy by remyheart:

Pride

Expulsion

Redemption

Pride introduces Lukas, who features in all three stories, during the process of being sold and trying to survive during the transition period.

Expulsion and Redemption deal with Jeron, an aristo kid whose father had married and freed Jeron's slave mother... or had he? Jeron discovers the awful truth and its implications after his beloved father's death. Angst and mindfuckery aplenty, my dears.

Happy reading!

So, my H/D mojo is still in the doldrums. Then again, when you've read over 2000 fics - give or take 100 - over 4 years it's to be expected, I suppose. But I have discovered new, shiny authors of original slash.

No, no. Don't skim on by because I mentioned to two words ORIGINAL SLASH. Think about it: characters as hot as Harry and Draco; new plots and scenarios; whole new worlds to be discovered; no tricksy canon to get around. My Christmas gift to you is a rec list of some of the best I've come across so far:

Gay Historical Fiction

Check out erastes (used to be underlucius in the HP fandom) she has written the wonderful Standish: set in the Georgian period when homosexuality was punishable by hanging, Frost Fair and many short stories. Books can be ordered from Amazon and other smaller publishers and excerpts can be read here on her web site. Also available in e-book format from here.

Through erastes, I discovered alex_beecroft who has crafted a variety of superb historical fiction. Her website is here and, for those of us counting the pennies/cents, some of her work is available in e-book format from here.

Another gem of an author is lee_rowan. I adore her age of sail - think Master and Commander here - books. Her website is here and her work is also available in e-book format from here.

My favourite of hers so far has to be Ransom. This book hit all my buttons and then some: accurate period detail, believable characters, interesting plot and an element of non-con that is essential to the plot. Here's the blurb:

It's 1799, and love between men is one of society's greatest taboos. Lt. David Archer is an officer in His Majesty's Navy and a gentleman of Regency Society. He is also hopelessly in love with his shipmate, Lt. William Marshall. David is certain that his feelings, if expressed, would be met with revulsion. Afraid of losing the strong friendship that he has forged with William, he is determined to take the secret to his grave.

Although William is young, his innate talent has allowed him to quickly rise above his humble background as a parson's son, and gain a reputation as a promising officer. The Royal Navy is his world, and in that world there is no room for anything as frivolous as romance, much less anything that contravenes the Articles of War... particularly Article XXIX, which demands death as the punishment for "the unnatural and detestable sin of sodomy."

When the two young men are abducted by a ruthless pirate who finds pleasure in toying with his captives, they're thrown together in close quarters and faced with some difficult choices. William struggles with his growing feelings for David and, try as he might to dismiss them, he can't. When David makes a painful sacrifice to protect the man he loves, the reason for it is clear and the passion that they have denied for so long is realized for the first time. But before the lovers can have any sort of life together, they must first escape. After that, they face an even greater challenge-is their love strong enough to survive a clandestine life under the ever-present threat of the Navy's implacable Articles of War? *drools*


Slightly Futuristic (and deliciously dark) Fiction


What a treasure trove of novels, novellas and one-shots I uncovered when I stumbled across manna francis' Administration Series. If you liked frayach's Good Guys, you'll love these fics.

There are no bad guys. There are no good guys. There are only better guys, and worse guys.

One of the worse guys is Val Toreth. In a world where torture is a legitimate part of the investigative process, he works for the Investigation and Interrogation Division. One of the better guys is Keir Warrick, a corporate director. His small corporation, SimTech, is developing a 'sim' system which places users in a fully-immersive virtual reality.

Their world is the dark future dystopia of New London, where Europe is controlled by a totalitarian bureaucracy, which shares political power with powerful corporations. The oppressive government uses torture, violence and the various Divisions of the feared Department of Internal Security to maintain power. The corporations fight amongst themselves, using lethal force under the euphemism of 'corporate sabotage', uniting only to resist attempts by the Administration to extend its control over them.

Her web site is here and most of her work is online. Now get reading!

Happy reading!

*Buttons up flack jacket and holds up hand*

I signed up for hd_holidays last fest, but, for personal reasons I'm not going into here, I had to drop out and the person who wrote the fic specifically for me and my request, romaine24, didn't post her fic to the comm.

I requested:

Kinks, genres or special requests: plot (esp' mystery, suspense or adventure with unusual magical spells or devices), creature!fic, UST, AWS, snarky Draco, final surrender to desire, first time, hurt/comfort, some element of angst, bondage/dubcon.

Two or three prompts: #1 A muggle archaeological dig that unearths a very dangerous Dark artifact in the UK or abroad, #2 Someone goes missing requiring exploration of some unknown magical place leading to trouble - UK or abroad. Prompts can be ignored if nothing strikes.

romaine24 certainly delivered what I wanted in spades. When I read the fic, all 48,737 words of it, I was transfixed. It was one of those occasions where you start reading and before you know it, four hours has passed. Now, what I requested may not be everybody's cup of tea, but for those of you that like: plot, mystery, creature!fic (inventively used), magical rituals, a developing relationship between Harry and Draco, and inclusion of TNG, I present to you:

Survival of the Species, H/D, NC-17, Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Creature!fic. Warnings: Dubious Consent, Mpreg, Suicide Attempt, Deathly Hallows Spoilers.

Author's summary: Draco approaches Harry on the 9 ¾ platform, after their sons have boarded the Hogwarts Express, and invites him over for tea. The discussion they have leads them on an adventure that neither could have expected. HPDH compliant.

Go. Read. Enjoy.

I had the pleasure of beta reading sansa1970's recently posted Albus/Scorpius fic. Had I not been asked to do so, it's likely that I would not have read this TNG fic for some time because I'm not especially invested in that pairing. But oh, what a wonderful read it was. My heart was fair pounding by the end: a sure sign that I've enjoyed a fic so much I've become excited (does that happen to anyone else?). The story is written at a depth I know I'll never achieve; it's so much more than mere narrative. The characters are wonderful and Harry's part in the fic had me thinking Oh, that's so Harry. *adores Harry*

Man's Dwelling Place, AS/S, NC-17, Angst, H/C, Romance.

Author's summary: Scorpius is the lone survivor of a tragedy that cost him his family, his identity, and his past. Albus shows him a possible future for them both.

And finally...

Over a year ago the hd_365 comm left Harry and Draco agreeing to marry each other. This year hd_365 returns to follow the lads as they plan and prepare for their wedding. Who knows what strange wizarding customs will be revealed to Harry, or how the lads will cope with both Narcissa and Molly putting in their two-penneth. Yours truly is back in the saddle as one of the authors, so finally, after 7 months, I will write something. ETA Forgot to say that posts will be fortnightly, around the middle and end of each month.


Art by tweeney banner by sassy_cissa

Coming to your screen soon.

rec, rec, reccity rec.

I've just read one of the best H/D fics I've come across in a long time. If you are still catching up on your fest reading, as I am, make sure you read (and comment on because we all know how comments seem to tail off for fics near the end of a fest) Vale Sanare. It's absolutely fucking fabulous!