I Apologize...

I have a list, really. But, I really don't want to go into most of it here. So, I'll just say I'm sorry for staying away for so long. Some of you know why. I'll say I'm sorry for participating in the reason why I stayed away for so long and leave it at that. If you really want to know the reasons, PM me on Facebook.

Now that the unpleasantness is over...



No? What do you mean, no? It's my blog, I can do what I want!




So if I want to get drunk, I'll get drunk. Of course, I'll have to shoplift if I want to get drunk, so I won't be getting drunk tonight. But if I wanted to, I totally could.



Awwwww, thanks, pre-freak-show-Lindsay-Lohan! I totally appreciate it.


And now that the horrible taste of what happened has pretty much faded from my memory, I can go back to what I really love.



INTERPRETIVE DANCE!!!

Nobody wants to see that...




Okay, enough of that...

I'm back and I have lots of time to make up for, but you're only getting two stories tonight.

Shut. Up. Bella. You get Edward, you don't get to have any other opinions. Begone with you!

Besides, it's two stories and a series.

Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted <side eyes Bella> I have three stories for you. I've done a lot of reading over the past five weeks, trying to get the stink of the incident out of my nostrils, and I think I've succeeded, for the most part.

First up, I have Hay Bales and Hot Bylines by KoalaLou.

Summary: "My first serious journalistic field assignment was to cover the 35th Forks Fall Festival. Who do I run up against but the hottest byline in the county...I couldn't believe this was happening. Out of all the guys in Forks, it was him. Of course it was him."

In the interests of fairness I should tell you that I am the beta for this story, but that doesn't make me any more likely to recommend it, either.
This fic started out as an entry to last year's Falling Into Autumn contest. It won 1st place in the Judges Vote and 3rd place in the Public Vote.

If you like Bridget Jones, you're gonna love this Bella. She's a trip. Her inner monologue is hilarious, as is everything she says.

This fic is light and fluffy and so much fun to read. It's low on angst and high on romance. The way Edward first asks Bella out and the way he proposes are the same thing, but it fits so well with the story you can't blame the guy for doing it that way. It's just a great little read.

Hay Bales and Hot Bylines can be found here:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12246981/1/Hay-Bales-and-Hot-Bylines

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For my second story this week, I want to give you Lucky Girl by Daeren Dydear.

Summary: Dire circumstances have forced Bella into a world of illegal alcohol smuggling and dangerous men. Luckily for her, that's the least of her problems.
Again, I am the beta for this fic, but I really do enjoy the story. I'm not just saying that because I'm the beta.

Lucky Girl started as an entry in the Mobward contest and I acted as emergency beta for that contest so I betaed this particular entry. The author has asked me to continue editing the story for her and I'm so happy to be a part of this story.

This is a period piece, set in Chicago during prohibition and the Great Depression. In the first chapter (contest entry) Bella is drawn into a world she has no desire to enter. The reasons for that aren't clear yet, but I have my suspicions. If only I could get the author to confirm them for me.

The story is told from Bella's point of view and evokes a specific mood. The glitz and glamour of the mafia world are not good things in Bella's mind. She is very frightened of the men she is forced to be around. Her fear is palpable and anxiety-inducing for the reader (at least, in my case) and one hopes that she will be able to escape with her life.

I'm looking forward to seeing where Daeren takes this story.

Lucky Girl can be found here:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12452567/1/Lucky-Girl

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For my third story this week, I'd like to recommend a pulled series written by Choices HP. I guess it's called the Reading series, because the titles of the stories (with the exception of one in the six-story series) all have the word reading in the title and involve the characters of the Twilight Saga reading the books.

This is not the first time I've recommended this same scenario, and as I find more of these kinds of stories, I'm sure it won't be the last.

In this series, the Cullens receive four books some time before Bella Swan moves to Forks. They read the books together as a family, and at first, Edward struggles with the idea of a human being his mate. But as the family continues to read, he sees the mistakes book Edward makes and the Edward reading the books resolves not to make those same mistakes in his current reality.

Right after Bella Swan gets to Forks, Jacob Black comes to her with a partial manuscript called Midnight Sun, and a note. The note instructs Jacob to read the manuscript with Bella, so on her first night in Forks, they begin reading it.

Midnight Sun turns out to be Bella's first day at Forks High School from Edward's point of view. Jacob finds out that all those stories about the 'Cold Ones' told at the tribal bonfires are true. He also suspects that those other stories about the tribe being descended from wolves is true, as well.

When Bella and Edward finally meet, they are already in love with each other and Edward is determined to make some of the future that was revealed to him in the books come true. Bella knows Edward's secret, but she has yet to find out what her future holds, so she reads the Twilight books with Edward.

All in all, I'd say that this is one of the more innovative characters-of-the-books-read-the-books series of stories. The author managed to make all of the characters learn something about themselves and strive to be better than they were in the books, Rosalie and Jasper especially. I really enjoyed reading this series.

This series was deleted from fanfiction.net because it violates terms of service, but I do have copies of the stories if you want them. Just send me a message on Facebook and I'll give you copies.

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So, those are some of the stories I've read over the past five weeks since the last time I posted a blog.

Which brings me to an idea I've been wrestling with...

I was starting to feel like all of the reading I was doing was just for the blog. None of the reading I was doing was simply for my pleasure. I always looked at what to read with an eye as to whether or not it would end up here.

So, what I'm thinking of doing is slowing this down from once a week to twice a month, or even once a month...or, I just won't recommend so many stories per week.

But I want to let you decide. Should I keep the blog weekly with fewer stories recommended? Or, should I scale back the number of blog posts I make? Let me know what you think in the comments or in the Facebook group.

I also want to bring attention to the fact that the Carlisle, Uncovered contest is finished and there were some wonderful stories in that contest. I was a judge and had a great time reading all of the submissions. Rachel Winterhorses and Andi Sachen King ran the contest in a scrupulously above board manner. There were several new authors who submitted entries and I am so honored to have been a part of such a great contest.

https://www.fanfiction.net/u/8675831/Carlisle-Uncovered-Contest


Until next time...