TUESDAY FAN FICTION REPORT - 4/6/99
[Previous report was for 4/2/99]

Hi all,

SYMBIONT AND MELVEE'S FANFICTION ARCHIVE is now featuring interviews with bards in both German and English. Their fanfic page is at http://www.kronach.baynet.de/~symbiont/index-f.htm. The Interviews page, with a link to the English translations, is at: http://www.symbiont.de/autoreninterviews/fragenkatalog.htm

THE WESTERN CHRONICLES by B L Miller and Vada Foster has been removed from the Web. Also, the stories INSIDE JOB and FINDS both by Della Street are currently unavailable. I've added all three stories to the LOST STORIES section at https://lunacyreviews.ausxip.com/loststories.htm

On a brighter note - Allison's THE THREAT has been found so that comes off the LOST STORIES index. I've reprinted the listing for THE THREAT below. Thanks to Xenite Enchanted Apple for locating that story.

ALTERNATIVE FICTION

"I" OF THE BEHOLDER by Nene Adams
This uber story has immediately become one of my favorite guilty pleasures...in fanfic anyway. It's a tale that should SHOCK us - HORRIFY us - leave us wondering about the DEPRAVED state of the human condition!! ...But folks, Nene's latest is not just fun - it's WICKED fun at that! Set in Paris in 1905, the story takes the form of a letter from a British artiste of means as she tells her dear brother Charles of her fateful encounter with a delightful creature named Gabrielle d'Orsay - the angelic face that along with another beautiful dark figure has been haunting her dreams for a lifetime. Determined to give life to those dreams of torture and fear and blood, our crafty narrator sets out to seduce the trusting village girl inducing her to pose for her in exchange for boarding and some coins so she can remain in the city. The plan is to eventually turn Gabrielle d'Orsay into that broken slave envisioned in the dreams but much to her benefactor's chagrin, it's a plan that soon starts to go awry when others begin threatening her hold on the girl - including a fellow artiste who seems capable of seeing beauty and light and love where our sadistic narrator sees only the potential for pain and torture. One VERY sick puppy, Nene's narrator is nevertheless both hysterically amusing and frighteningly compelling. Ranking up there with the likes of Hanibal Lecter from SILENCE OF THE LAMBS fame, this depraved soul is a marvel of characterization. For any bard out there who wants to learn the finer subtleties of creating complex, interesting, engaging characterizations, Nene's fiction and this story in particular should be required reading. For the rest of us it's just one wonderfully entertaining read. This one gets my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION! [Part of the CHAMBER OF HORRORS SERIES] - 15 pgs.
http://www.corrieweb.com/chamber/beholder1.htm

MAGIC OF PARIS by CN Winters
A sequel to MAGIC OF EGYPT , CN's latest continues the tales of BOTH Xena and Gabrielle and Mel and Janice, chronicling remarkably similar times in the lives of both couples despite the millennia separating them. Welcoming a new addition to their family, Xena and Gabrielle remain passionately in love despite the demands of parenting and the insecurities that can come with it. Generations later, Mel and Janice reach a similar point in their lives when the beautiful Southerner confesses her desire to be a mother provoking a lot of soul searching as she and her partner grapple with the implications of that and the challenges of a lesbian couple trying to be parents in the 1950's. CN does a fine job here mirroring the lives of these four characters giving the story a certain sense of timelessness and establishing a poignant connection between the ancient soulmates and their descendants. DO NOT MISS! - 101 pgs.
https://ausxip.com/fanfiction/m/magicofparis1.html

FORUM by Rab Donald
Xena and the bard learn there are more appropriate ways of testing their compatibility than a questionnaire...;-) Cute. - 2 pgs.
http://TiggsXenaPage.simplenet.com/Forum.html

THE EGG HUNT by Danae
Mixing a little of the TV series with a little Holiday heresy, Danae brings us a tasty treat in this account of the first egg hunt which has a mischievous bard daring a very determined warrior to find some eggs she's hidden. Grin alert on this one. - 4 pgs.
https://ausxip.com/fanfiction/e/egghunt.html

THE THREAT by Allison [Reprint]
This is an interactive "Choose Your Own Adventure" story where the reader gets to select how the plot will develop. - originally released 7/13/97 http://xenafan.com/fiction/content/ali.htm

MAKING STRIDES by Tonya Muir
Part 7 is now available. This past year Tonya Muir proved to be among those very rare, very gifted bards who with her first story THE JOURNEY HOME immediately shot into this fandom's list of top writing talents. She has easily solidified that position by continuing to deliver first-class stories. Now with this sequel to her uber tale WITH FALTERING STEPS Tonya brings us what is probably her finest writing accomplishment to date - a novel which to put it simply folks - is a fanfic masterpiece. Set about a year after the initial meeting between Mafia henchwoman Lacey Montgomery and horse trainer Rachel Wilson, the story begins with the two settled down in domestic tranquility, making a life now with each other and Rachel's charming nine year-old Molly. In retirement from a life of crime she is more than happy to have left behind, Lacey nevertheless finds herself sometimes struggling with the challenges of her new family, unaccustomed to either the day to day responsibilities or the depth of emotion her heart now seems capable of. These are challenges, however, which are soon put aside when Lacey and Rachel find themselves dealing with a much greater concern - the knowledge that someone from Lacey's dark past wants the ex-henchwoman - and to get to her they are more than willing to go through friends...and family. In these latest parts Lacey fights to keep her loved ones safe even as the predators stalking them begin to close in. With no weak points whatsoever, this novel's strengths are so many I could go on for several pages. The characterizations are outstanding with two thoroughly endearing, likeable, well-established heroines. The supporting cast - from the sweet, poignantly innocent Molly, to Lacey's youthful, hero-worshiping apprentice, Rico, to the shadowy mob- leader Vinnie. among a number of other memorable characters - are all interesting figures with defining qualities that make them stand out in the reader's mind and that contribute to the plot at every step. The relationship between the two protagonists has been beautifully fleshed out from its beginnings in the first story to a deeply committed, emotionally complex partnership that is compassionate, supportive, fiercely passionate and tenderly romantic all at once. Weaving moments of quiet domesticity with intense confrontations, heart-stopping suspense, fast-paced action and gentle humor, MAKING STRIDES is a remarkable fictional tapestry by one of our most accomplished bards. Certain to become an instant classic, it gets my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION! - 13 pgs.
http://members.xoom.com/tmuir/storiespage.htm

"Kerry Proposes" by Barbara Maclay
Inspired by the story HURRICANE WATCH by Missy Good.
http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/bungalow/8725/page53.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-)