Wednesday Reading Meme & Books 40 & 41 of 2025
Jun. 11th, 2025 07:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spikedluvWhat I Just Finished Reading: Since last Wednesday I have read/finished reading: In a Dark House (A Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mystery) by Deborah Crombie and Seeing a Large Cat (An Amelia Peabody Mystery) by Elizabeth Peters.
What I am Currently Reading: After finishing the Amelia Peabody book on Monday I didn’t really feel like starting anything yesterday, but I plan on starting System Collapse (The Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells today.
What I Plan to Read Next: I have more library books out, so most likely one of those!!
Book 40 of 2025: In a Dark House (A Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mystery) (Deborah Crombie)
This book was really good!! ( spoilers )
I've already requested the next book in the series; I'm giving this one five hearts.
♥♥♥♥♥
Book 41 of 2025: Seeing a Large Cat (An Amelia Peabody Mystery) (Elizabeth Peters)
This book was really good! ( spoilers )
I enjoyed this book a lot and must go request the next in the series. I'm giving this one five hearts.
♥♥♥♥♥
What I am Currently Reading: After finishing the Amelia Peabody book on Monday I didn’t really feel like starting anything yesterday, but I plan on starting System Collapse (The Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells today.
What I Plan to Read Next: I have more library books out, so most likely one of those!!
Book 40 of 2025: In a Dark House (A Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mystery) (Deborah Crombie)
This book was really good!! ( spoilers )
I've already requested the next book in the series; I'm giving this one five hearts.
♥♥♥♥♥
Book 41 of 2025: Seeing a Large Cat (An Amelia Peabody Mystery) (Elizabeth Peters)
This book was really good! ( spoilers )
I enjoyed this book a lot and must go request the next in the series. I'm giving this one five hearts.
♥♥♥♥♥
The Day in Spikedluv (Tuesday, June 10)
Jun. 11th, 2025 06:59 amspikedluvI planned to visit mom, but since she’s in the ICU and visiting hours don’t start until 11am I had some time to kill. I did not go downtown, but stayed home to do some chores and stuff on the computer.
I did two loads of laundry, the usual amount of hand-washing dishes, and scooped kitty litter.
I typed in edits, coded and posted the![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
smallfandomfest fic I’ve been working on!! It’s Murder, She Wrote crossed over with V (1983). To make it work, I gave Jessica another niece, lol! I read some fanfic and watched some HGTV programs. It still feels really weird to not call mom in the evening to talk about our respective days.
I saw my brother (and his GF) and my sister S (the nurse) while visiting mom. There can only be two at a time in the ICU so we took turns.
I fell again. *head desk* This time inside the house (slipped on a puddle of wet on the floor), but I landed on that same knee I keep falling on and bent that same big toe. It hurt and I swore a lot. And I realized it’s almost the one year anniversary of my first fall when I scraped my knee so badly, pulled every muscle, and cracked my big toe.
Temps started out at 61.0(F) and reached 82.6. It rained all morning, but the sun came out in the afternoon. I got in a short walk with Pip and the dogs when he (they *g*) got home from work. Within a half hour of that the clouds moved in and the temps dropped 12 degrees before it started raining again for a bit.
Mom Update:
Mom was doing pretty well when I saw her. She was so out of it, thanks to the drugs. Her voice was very raspy (because of the tube, which they removed before I got there) (if I wasn’t facing her while she was speaking, I never would have known it was her) and she slurred a bit due to the drugs. Sometimes she forgot what she was saying. She talked about Matlock a lot. *g*
They gave her an epidural for the pain and her nurse (she seemed awesome) said that they were going to keep the epidural in for a few days, and that while it was in she’d remain in the ICU. I’m happy about both; no pain, and great care.
The bad news came later in the evening when my sister S passed on (in the Family Group chat) that the surgeon thinks that my mom may have originally had pancreatic cancer that jumped to the bile duct. She won’t know for certain until the labs come back. I do not fucking want it to be pancreatic cancer. As you may have guessed, I had a knot in my stomach the rest of the evening and didn’t sleep super well, even though I doubled my melatonin to make sure I would fall asleep.
All positive thoughts welcomed.
I did two loads of laundry, the usual amount of hand-washing dishes, and scooped kitty litter.
I typed in edits, coded and posted the
smallfandomfest fic I’ve been working on!! It’s Murder, She Wrote crossed over with V (1983). To make it work, I gave Jessica another niece, lol! I read some fanfic and watched some HGTV programs. It still feels really weird to not call mom in the evening to talk about our respective days.I saw my brother (and his GF) and my sister S (the nurse) while visiting mom. There can only be two at a time in the ICU so we took turns.
I fell again. *head desk* This time inside the house (slipped on a puddle of wet on the floor), but I landed on that same knee I keep falling on and bent that same big toe. It hurt and I swore a lot. And I realized it’s almost the one year anniversary of my first fall when I scraped my knee so badly, pulled every muscle, and cracked my big toe.
Temps started out at 61.0(F) and reached 82.6. It rained all morning, but the sun came out in the afternoon. I got in a short walk with Pip and the dogs when he (they *g*) got home from work. Within a half hour of that the clouds moved in and the temps dropped 12 degrees before it started raining again for a bit.
Mom Update:
Mom was doing pretty well when I saw her. She was so out of it, thanks to the drugs. Her voice was very raspy (because of the tube, which they removed before I got there) (if I wasn’t facing her while she was speaking, I never would have known it was her) and she slurred a bit due to the drugs. Sometimes she forgot what she was saying. She talked about Matlock a lot. *g*
They gave her an epidural for the pain and her nurse (she seemed awesome) said that they were going to keep the epidural in for a few days, and that while it was in she’d remain in the ICU. I’m happy about both; no pain, and great care.
The bad news came later in the evening when my sister S passed on (in the Family Group chat) that the surgeon thinks that my mom may have originally had pancreatic cancer that jumped to the bile duct. She won’t know for certain until the labs come back. I do not fucking want it to be pancreatic cancer. As you may have guessed, I had a knot in my stomach the rest of the evening and didn’t sleep super well, even though I doubled my melatonin to make sure I would fall asleep.
All positive thoughts welcomed.
Fanfic, Hoshi no Kaabii (anime), Meta Knight & Kirby & Tiff & Tuff, "Where did Kirby come from?"
Jun. 11th, 2025 12:10 ambluerosekatie posting in smallfandomfestTitle: Birthplace of Stars
Author: bluerosekatie
Fandom: Hoshi no Kaabii | Kirby: Right Back At Ya! (anime)
Pairing/Characters: Meta Knight & Kirby & Fumu | Tiff & Bun | Tuff
Rating/Category: Gen
Prompt: Kirby: Right Back At Ya! | Hoshi no Kaabii (anime), Meta Knight & Kirby & Tiff & Tuff, "Where did Kirby come from?"
Spoilers: Implied/references to canon only, no concrete spoilers.
Summary: The question had to come up at some point. Tiff and Tuff get curious, and who better to ask about Star Warriors than Meta Knight?
Notes/Warnings: Fic is archive-locked to avoid AI scraping.
Read it on Ao3 here!
Author: bluerosekatie
Fandom: Hoshi no Kaabii | Kirby: Right Back At Ya! (anime)
Pairing/Characters: Meta Knight & Kirby & Fumu | Tiff & Bun | Tuff
Rating/Category: Gen
Prompt: Kirby: Right Back At Ya! | Hoshi no Kaabii (anime), Meta Knight & Kirby & Tiff & Tuff, "Where did Kirby come from?"
Spoilers: Implied/references to canon only, no concrete spoilers.
Summary: The question had to come up at some point. Tiff and Tuff get curious, and who better to ask about Star Warriors than Meta Knight?
Notes/Warnings: Fic is archive-locked to avoid AI scraping.
Read it on Ao3 here!
The Dark Touch by Beth Ross
Jun. 10th, 2025 05:41 pmprofiterole_readsThe Dark Touch by Beth Ross was excellent! In the United Republic of Britain, Nova finds out that witches are not extinct and that she is one of them.
This contemporary novel mixes an alternate history, urban fantasy and some elements of activism (women's rights, including abortion, and queer rights). A large tapestry of characters are introduced little by little, making it relatively easy to learn who's who. There's no cliffhanger, but I'm looking forward to the sequel.
Nova has a bi awakening at 23 (same!), there are sapphic characters of various orientations and there's major f/f. Abigail is on the autism spectrum.
This contemporary novel mixes an alternate history, urban fantasy and some elements of activism (women's rights, including abortion, and queer rights). A large tapestry of characters are introduced little by little, making it relatively easy to learn who's who. There's no cliffhanger, but I'm looking forward to the sequel.
Nova has a bi awakening at 23 (same!), there are sapphic characters of various orientations and there's major f/f. Abigail is on the autism spectrum.
spikedluv posting in smallfandomfestTitle: One Good Hoax Deserves Another
Author: Spikedluv
Fandom: Murder, She Wrote (tv)/V (1983) (tv)
Pairing/Characters: Jessica Fletcher & Juliet Parrish (appearances by Mike Donovan and Elias Taylor)
Rating/Category: PG13/Gen
Prompt: Murder, She Wrote (tv)/V (1983), Jessica & Writer's Choice, Jessica happens to be in LA when the truth about the Visitors is revealed
Spoilers: Takes place during ep 1.04 Hooray for Homicide of Murder, She Wrote and during the first V (1983) mini-series.
Summary: Jessica Fletcher's trip to Los Angeles turns out very differently than she'd expected.
Notes/Warnings: n/a
Read Fic @ AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/66375037
Author: Spikedluv
Fandom: Murder, She Wrote (tv)/V (1983) (tv)
Pairing/Characters: Jessica Fletcher & Juliet Parrish (appearances by Mike Donovan and Elias Taylor)
Rating/Category: PG13/Gen
Prompt: Murder, She Wrote (tv)/V (1983), Jessica & Writer's Choice, Jessica happens to be in LA when the truth about the Visitors is revealed
Spoilers: Takes place during ep 1.04 Hooray for Homicide of Murder, She Wrote and during the first V (1983) mini-series.
Summary: Jessica Fletcher's trip to Los Angeles turns out very differently than she'd expected.
Notes/Warnings: n/a
Read Fic @ AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/66375037
Fic: Murder, She Wrote/V (1983): One Good Hoax Deserves Another (Jessica & Julie; PG13)
Jun. 10th, 2025 09:26 amspikedluvAnother Jessica crossover! I hope you enjoy it.
Title: One Good Hoax Deserves Another
Author: Spikedluv
Fandom: Murder, She Wrote (tv)/V (1983) (tv)
Rating: PG13/Gen
Pairing/Characters: Jessica Fletcher & Juliet Parrish (appearances by Mike Donovan and Elias Taylor)
Length: 3,380 words
Spoilers: Takes place during ep 1.04 Hooray for Homicide of Murder, She Wrote and during the first V (1983) mini-series.
Summary: Jessica Fletcher’s trip to Los Angeles turns out very differently than she’d expected.
Author’s Notes: Written for Round 37 ofsmallfandomfest for the prompt: Murder, She Wrote (tv)/V (1983), Jessica & Writer's Choice, Jessica happens to be in LA when the truth about the Visitors is revealed
Feedback: Would be greatly appreciated.
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me.
Posted: June 10, 2025
Read Fic @ AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/66375037
Title: One Good Hoax Deserves Another
Author: Spikedluv
Fandom: Murder, She Wrote (tv)/V (1983) (tv)
Rating: PG13/Gen
Pairing/Characters: Jessica Fletcher & Juliet Parrish (appearances by Mike Donovan and Elias Taylor)
Length: 3,380 words
Spoilers: Takes place during ep 1.04 Hooray for Homicide of Murder, She Wrote and during the first V (1983) mini-series.
Summary: Jessica Fletcher’s trip to Los Angeles turns out very differently than she’d expected.
Author’s Notes: Written for Round 37 of
smallfandomfest for the prompt: Murder, She Wrote (tv)/V (1983), Jessica & Writer's Choice, Jessica happens to be in LA when the truth about the Visitors is revealedFeedback: Would be greatly appreciated.
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me.
Posted: June 10, 2025
Read Fic @ AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/66375037
The Day in Spikedluv (Monday, June 9)
Jun. 10th, 2025 07:17 amspikedluvI spent most of the day at the hospital, which I talk about below if you want to skip it. I did some hand-washing of dishes and scooping of kitty litter when I got home. I finished the Amelia Peabody book while sitting in the waiting room. It felt weird when I was finally sitting on my bed, NOT to make my daily call to mom.
Temps started out at 59.2(F) and reached 75. It was weird coming out of the window-less waiting room (for trips to the cafeteria or restroom) to see that it was still light out.
Mom Update:
Thank you so much for all of your good wishes for mom's surgery yesterday! I really appreciate it.
( cutting for those who don’t want to read )
Temps started out at 59.2(F) and reached 75. It was weird coming out of the window-less waiting room (for trips to the cafeteria or restroom) to see that it was still light out.
Mom Update:
Thank you so much for all of your good wishes for mom's surgery yesterday! I really appreciate it.
( cutting for those who don’t want to read )
Beta edit preps: COMPLETE
Jun. 10th, 2025 09:31 amvriddy...Just the preps, I haven't started on the actual edits yet XD But I have a roadmap and an extensive list of actionable steps, and I'm glad I do. Working offline using Pomodoro, like I mentioned the other day was super effective.
A disadvantage, I suppose, is that I can't have conversations back-and-forth in GoogleDoc comments, which is something I dearly enjoy doing with fanfic (either as beta-reader or beta-readee!). I think maybe it's just too much, on a turnaround of 40k words at once. Also because I needed to let it rest, folks might not be so interested in a reply 6 months later on a reaction they don't remember having about a story they fuzzily recall 😅 Having said that, I did write to folks after chopping their feedback into the roadmap, to thank them again and share a general reaction to their reactions :D
( Stuff to ponder )
It took me 17h41 to go through all 7 beta-readers' feedback. (Thanks again everyone for offering, I am so grateful :D). I'm going to have a brief interlude now (well, brief is the plan XD). Ideally, I'd like to use that time to write something original but SHORTER so I can bask in the self-indulgence of inventing fun worldbuilding, which I loooove doing. But on the other hand, Wind Breaker Volume 22 just came out and drove me insane with the OT5 vibes so I may have to write something for that instead XD
I 100% intend to break down the work and take regular breaks when I start actually following the roadmap, if only to make the structural changes then giving it a bit of space so I can make sure the major changes didn't break something else important. I expect overall it'll likely take longer than the 17h41 prep time, so I better pace myself! I think I should learn very interesting things throughout the process. I'm already thinking about what to be careful about in the Soul Thief story, when I get back to it.
Photos: Lake Charleston Butterfly Gardens
Jun. 10th, 2025 01:52 am
The Day in Spikedluv (Sunday, June 8)
Jun. 9th, 2025 07:07 amspikedluvI did a load of laundry, ran a load in the dishwasher and then emptied it (!!), did the usual amount of hand-washing dishes, and scooped kitty litter. I baked chicken for the dogs’ meals and made brownies. I mowed the lawn.
For fun stuff I watched the current ep (season finale *sniffle*) of Leverage: Redemption and an HGTV program, read more in Amelia Peabody, and talked with mom on the phone.
The water in the pond has gone down to normal levels, thankfully. Pip used the shop vac in the basement, but stirring up that water made the entire house stink. Not sure what else we’ll need to do.
Temps started out at 55.0(F) and reached 78.4. It was nice and sunny all day, with a slight breeze. Tomorrow: more rain. Ugh!
For fun stuff I watched the current ep (season finale *sniffle*) of Leverage: Redemption and an HGTV program, read more in Amelia Peabody, and talked with mom on the phone.
The water in the pond has gone down to normal levels, thankfully. Pip used the shop vac in the basement, but stirring up that water made the entire house stink. Not sure what else we’ll need to do.
Temps started out at 55.0(F) and reached 78.4. It was nice and sunny all day, with a slight breeze. Tomorrow: more rain. Ugh!
fanfic, The Following, Ryan/Joe, I’ve tasted hell and it tastes just like you.
Jun. 8th, 2025 09:21 pmmisura posting in smallfandomfestTitle: Water of Life
Author: misura
Fandom: The Following
Pairing/Characters: Joe Carroll/Ryan Hardy
Rating/Category: PG13/slash
Prompt: I've tasted hell and it tastes just like you
Spoilers: vaguely, up to S2?
Summary: “Problem?” Joe sounds like he hopes the answer is ‘yes’.
Notes/Warnings: posted to the AO3. Joe should probably be his own warning.
Author: misura
Fandom: The Following
Pairing/Characters: Joe Carroll/Ryan Hardy
Rating/Category: PG13/slash
Prompt: I've tasted hell and it tastes just like you
Spoilers: vaguely, up to S2?
Summary: “Problem?” Joe sounds like he hopes the answer is ‘yes’.
Notes/Warnings: posted to the AO3. Joe should probably be his own warning.
fanfic, NCIS: New Orleans (tv), Sonja/Chris, Undercover as a couple
Jun. 8th, 2025 09:17 pmmisura posting in smallfandomfestTitle: Lie or Dare
Author: misura
Fandom: NCIS: New Orleans (TV)
Pairing/Characters: Sonja Percy/Chris LaSalle
Rating/Category: PG/het
Prompt: undercover as a couple
Spoilers: nah
Summary: “Look,” Chris said. “Last - what, six times we went in undercover, it took people less than five minutes to ask if we were a couple.”
Notes/Warnings: posted to the AO3
Author: misura
Fandom: NCIS: New Orleans (TV)
Pairing/Characters: Sonja Percy/Chris LaSalle
Rating/Category: PG/het
Prompt: undercover as a couple
Spoilers: nah
Summary: “Look,” Chris said. “Last - what, six times we went in undercover, it took people less than five minutes to ask if we were a couple.”
Notes/Warnings: posted to the AO3
Comment Bingo Round 7 Sign-Ups!
Jun. 9th, 2025 09:58 amIf you haven't claimed your Round 6 banner, please go here.
This is the sign-up post to get a bingo card for the seventh round of Comment Bingo. Please leave the username(s) that you will be using to comment and you will be assigned a card. You don't need a Dreamwidth account to participate. If you want more details (including opt out rules), the following links should hopefully clear things up.
There is also a 'question' thread in the comments that you can reply to for any lingering doubts or queries.
It was inspired by the Comment Bingo that
We all know how good comments can make a creator feel, and even a 'this is great' can sometimes brighten their day. Whether you're a newbie or been in fandom for years, don't comment at all, sometimes comment, or comment all the time, this is for you. Maybe it will help you discover stories you wouldn't have otherwise, ones that you loved and forgot about and/or fics you somehow missed. Forgot to leave a comment before? Want a reason to comment again? Now is the time!
Rules | Prompts | List of Comms | Commenting Resources
( sample card )
This round will run until October 31st, 2025.
Promote the round: