SUNDAY FAN FICTION REPORT - 10/25/98
[Previous report was for 10/20/98]

Hi all,

Some changes to announce at the Lunacy Web site - in preparation for the Holiday season I've added a new section called HOLIDAY TALES featuring three new review indexes - one listing HALLOWEEN stories, another listing SOLSTICE tales and the third listing THANKSGIVING offerings. You can find the new indexes on the LUNACY FAN FICTION REVIEWS page hosted by MaryD at: https://lunacyreviews.ausxip.com/index.html

One thing to note about the indexes, I created them from memory by going through the existing reviews and recalling what the stories were about BUT I may have missed some SO if any of you come across stories which I've reviewed and which you feel should go in either the HALLOWEEN, the SOLSTICE or the THANKSGIVING indexes but are not there let me know so I can take a look at the stories and possibly include them.

An alert to all bards out - the wonderful people at SWORD AND STAFF need your help! :) For those of you who aren't familiar with this organization, "Sword and Staff was born in June of 1996 shortly after the first New York City XenaFest. Comprised entirely of Xena: Warrior Princess fans, the organization has gone from merely tracking donations made by Xena fans to actively organizing and participating in Xena fan activities focused around raising money for charitable organizations." SWORD AND STAFF is currently planning an online "Fan Fiction Auction" for sometime early next year to benefit the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN). In order to hold the auction they need donations from Xenite bards. They are asking bards to donate a copy of one (or more) of their stories with a SIGNED cover. If you can help please e-mail SWORD AND STAFF at mist@sword-and-staff.com For more information about the organization, their upcoming auctions and the charities they're helping go to the SWORD AND STAFF Web site at: http://sword-and-staff.com/

Seven new ones and three updates tonight.

GENERAL FICTION:

THE CARNAGE OF THE DEAD by Xat
Thoughtful vignette about the impression left by the Warrior Princess on a son of Rome. - 2 pgs.
http://www2.prestel.co.uk/freyia/fanfiction/carnage.htm

SLOW POISON by Becky Lutzke
Chapter four of this story is now available. This talented bard returns with a VERY promising new hurt/comfort story. It begins with a shadowy figure stalking Gabrielle who is telling stories at an inn while Xena is away on a mission. By the time the Warrior Princess gets back, Gabrielle is nursing an injury that doesn't seem to be healing. In this latest chapter Xena learns about the extent of Gabrielle's illness while an old enemy lurks near. Still unfinished, this is well-written and suspenseful. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! [unfinished] - 4 pgs.
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/6211/index.html

ALTERNATIVE FICTION:

CIRCLE OF LIFE by Melissa Good
Possibly more anticipated than the fourth season of XWP, comes the continuation of Missy's beloved Xena/Gab series in a story which continues the tale from FESTIVAL but is actually set after the events in the episode FAMILY AFFAIR. Still recuperating from their recent ordeal, the warrior and bard are back in Amphipolis awaiting the birth of their child and treasuring their time together as never before. With Amazons visiting and word of friends and family in trouble, however, their tranquillity is short-lived as the two, reunited once again, prepare to face whatever life throws their way. Missy's very special style is clearly in evidence as this novel opens - immediately placing the Xena/Gab relationship center stage and infusing the story with a unique blend of delightful humor, poignant drama and enchanting characterizations. If you want to treat yourself to the work of a master storyteller DO NOT MISS this story or any other of the others in the series. This gets my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION! - [unfinished] - 26 pgs.
http://www.merwolf.com/circle1.html

OF DRAG KINGS AND A WARRIOR PRINCESS by Susan Smith
This talented writer tries her hand at uber fiction this time around, producing a very different, very original contemporary story. Rosalind Olchawski considers herself a fairly ordinary college professor leading a fairly ordinary life - a life so ordinary and so bland, in fact, that recently Rosalind has started to wonder whether she's even capable of feeling that passion others seem to feel. It is a concern that is answered one evening when she accompanies a friend to a club and discovers in the startling blue eyes of a drag king the destiny she had been waiting for. Very well written, with characterizations that are sensitively done and an intriguing storyline this one should keep you hitting that page down button. [unfinished] - 54 pgs.
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Field/8093/Drag.html

GABRIELLE'S SCROLLS by Tim Wellman
Tim begins a new series - this one chronicling the bard's life beside her beloved Warrior Princess. In PARCHMENT ONE: THE HEART UNDISCOVERED, we read about Gabrielle's feelings during those first days with the enigmatic ex-warlord, how she intuitively understood this woman who was so different from her...and how she immediately lost her heart. Tim delivers here a beautifully written piece that reads almost like a poem. A nicely poignant start to a promising new series by one of our veteran talents. DO NOT MISS! [unfinished] - 1 pg.
http://www.timwellman.ramlink.net/xena/altfic/tim-heart.html

SPECTRE by Silk
The sixth entry in Silk's APPARITIONS OF LOVE SERIES is a haunting little tale set after the events in SACRIFICE II which has a desperate Xena waking up from a dream to find her beloved bard alive once again. Moving look at the warrior's anguish. DO NOT MISS! - 4 pgs.
http://members.tripod.com/~Fruit_2/fiction/specter.html

THE RIFT XIV: THE WINESKIN WAR by Silk
A look at a couple of very ornery soulmates in their later years when the magic has faded a bit...though the love remains beneath the surface. Cute :) - 4 pgs.
http://members.tripod.com/~Fruit_2/fiction/wineskin.html

THE KISS by Xenrielle
Nice vignette about the excitement and hesitancy and wonder of that first kiss. - 1 pg.
http://www.ozemail.com.au/%7Exenriele/yarns/stories/the-kiss.htm

THE AMAZONS OF DAHOMEY by Susan Smith
Chapters 12-14 are now available. A sequel to Susan's outstanding THE CHARIOTEER, this story continues where that one left off, following Xena and Gabrielle as they join a caravan on their way out of the Kingdom of Har back toward Greece. The two are reveling in the new freedom of their relationship unaware that fate is about to interfere once again throwing Gabrielle and a young Amazon initiate into the midst of deadly power play and leaving a desperate Xena looking for her soulmate in a land full of strangers all with agendas of their own. In these latest chapters Gabrielle learns more about their situation among the Amazons of Dahomey even as her warrior returns ready to face whatever fate awaits her. This story once again displays Susan's impressive ability to develop suspenseful, engrossing plots around an engaging depiction of the Xena/Gab relationship. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! [unfinished] - 20 pgs.
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Field/8093/Dahomey.html

TROPICAL STORM by Melissa Good
Part eight is now being posted. Time for uber-Xena fans to rejoice as the incredibly talented Missy Good extends her gift of storytelling into the contemporary uber realm. Missy's latest is a departure from everything she's done before - a story set in modern-day Miami, centering on the lives of two strangers whose destinies bring them together amidst the turmoil of a hostile corporate takeover. Wealthy, brilliant and deadly, Dar Roberts has cultivated a well-earned reputation as one of the most efficient corporate raiders in the Information Technologies business. To her bosses she is a formidable weapon to be used in the never-ending struggle for power, control and profit. To the people employed by the companies she assimilates - the executive is a predator - cold and merciless. It is a reputation she is living up to as she prepares to decimate the work force of a recent acquisition. In charge of that work force is Kerry Stuart - a smart, young manager whose life had been going well until the recent turn of events. With dogged determination, Kerry has escaped the pressures of family to make her own way in the world - establishing a career and rising quickly within a small company - only to now have to face the prospect of those efforts being for naught as a disconcertingly beautiful blue-eyed shark strolls into her office. In this latest section, Dar and Kerry begin to surrender to the feelings between them as two souls long for a reunion too long in coming. With rich descriptions that engage your every sense - multi-layered characterizations that draw you into the psyche of the characters and a story very much grounded in human emotions, human frailties and strengths along with the raw vulnerabilities that ultimately make us all seek the comfort of another soul, this is a story guaranteed to make you into an uber fan if you aren't yet. Working in the the Information Technologies industry herself and a fellow Miamian, Missy also imbues the story with a very realistic feel. This one will keep you glued to that monitor. It gets my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION! - [unfinished] - 12 pgs.
http://www.merwolf.com/xena.html

For those of you reading this post who are not familiar with the term alternative (alt.), it refers to ADULT stories that add a romantic element to the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle, depicting them as more than just friends.

Happy reading!

Lunacy 8-)