Reading Room - Theme II - Gay Undercover

[scherwood]

Title: The Art of Love
Author: Alexandra
LJ: alexfandra
Link to story or zine/ProsLib info: The Circuit Archive | Text Only | The Hatstand
Pairing: B/D

I think Alexandra was one of the first authors I found in the Pros fandom. This was when I was searching the internet for MfU stories, and found new fandoms all the time. I found Pros, S&H and many more. Two stories I remember clearly from that time are The Art of Love by Alexandra and Music of the Heart by Elessar -- they've stayed with me until now, and I still love them as much as I did then when I first found them. ♥

And now, on to the fic! A nice break from my real life right now. \o/


Bodie... under cover... literally. Delicious. <-- this alone would make me want to read this fic. <3

Once upon a time there's was this CI5 agent, with too much sex appeal to tempt even Cowley to use him as a sex slave for CI5, and when Bodie gets a get-to-know-him job he accepts. There's no way to say no to Mr George Cowley, not until you've grown balls big enough at least. The plan is for Bodie to use his manly charm to sway Doyle into a intimate relationship, and then get to know all of his dirty little secrets. Even Doyle's teddy bear collection -- the interrogation preformed after a huge consumption of alcohol, of course. *g*

~ "Oh, you curious about how I really live, are you?" Doyle said. He sidled close to Bodie, their shoulders brushing. "I can't let you in there, you see, 'cause I've got this 'orrible secret." He gazed about them, then whispered in Bodie's ear, "Teddy bears. Got three hundred of 'em in the place."

Bodie laughed. "What are their names, then?"

"Rufus," Doyle replied.

"And what else?"

"That's it." Doyle swayed a bit, and Bodie realized his lover was quite tipsy. "They're all called Rufus, every single one." ~


Doyle is the easy lay in this duo, but I guess Bodie qualifies too (he did accept the op after all), and Doyle falls for Bodie's charm in a matter of hours -- not that Bodie's any better... he probably fell for Doyle the moment he opened that file. And they continue on from there. The first meeting goes smooth, and because the lads are the lads -- no matter what univers -- they always have their special connection (gen or slash).

~ "You know," Doyle said with a slightly puzzled air, "it's so simple to talk to you. Don't know exactly why, but it's sort of like I've known you before or something. You didn't grow up in Derby, did you?"

Bodie shook his head. "Liverpool." He knew what Doyle meant, though. There was something odd about the rapport between them, and he felt somewhat disturbed by the fact that he wasn't really who Doyle thought he was. That was something which had never bothered him before during undercover roles. But at this moment, he wasn't talking to Doyle as an agent undercover; he was talking to him as a potential friend. And right here and now, his attraction was very real. "Must have known each other in a past life," he said.

"Right," Doyle agreed. "Except I don't believe in past lives."

"That's okay," Bodie replied. "Neither do I." ~


The evil guys in this fic, the ones you hardly hear or see anything from, is the KGB. They use poor and defensless art students to perform their dirty task of badger jobs and blackmail, and they all end up very dead. There's no hope for either the victims or the villains in this fic, because either the KGB goes all macho or Bodie saves the day.

There's even a woman in this fic, which I find highly annoying, (I know, I'm hopeless. I'm hostile agianst my own sex *g*), but she's needed to give the fic a nice "I will creep you out" feeling -- the KGB failing in doing so. I actually like women turning bad, it's so against what everyone thinks in real life, and it gives me pleasure when they kick some dude's ass, just to prove that we women really do know how to kick butt. Not that this fic is much about butt kicking, but rather ass fucking, *cough* anyway... (pardon my language *bow*)

Bodie and Doyle flow into each other's lives, going all zen on us here, and Bodie kind of forgets his op. I can't blame him, I mean --> Doyle --> to look at --> and other things. Distracting. Bodie doesn't give much of himself to Doyle during their love making though, and I guess Doyle's too nice to comment on it. Doyle = Nice........ maybe not so much.

Doyle's a snoop, like always -- no matter what universe. And then it all goes to hell, and they're both misserable. There's so much between them, but the truth drives them appart... will their love keep them together? *dun, Dun, DUN*

~ He thought he saw a flicker of doubt in Doyle's eyes, but then Doyle's expression hardened. "Why the hell should I believe anything you say?"

"I don't know," Bodie replied. He took a calming breath. "I really don't know. I'm sorry." He put his hand on the doorknob, then paused. "Just remember one thing. When I told you I loved you, that was the truth. That was me."

Doyle looked at him for a long, hard moment. "Only one problem with that," he finally said. "I don't know who the hell you are."

Bodie let out a pent-up breath. "Yeah. I guess not." Then he turned and walked away. ~


Doyle's attitude at the end is good. He's uses his brain, in stead of his heart. That's kind of a Doyle trait to me. He might get upset, but when he's calmed down and started to think again he will see the right and wrong in a situation... and that's what he does in this fic.

And they lived happily ever after~! <3

Hope you had a good read. :)

What do you say, agents? Do you like it? or not?

Comments

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

I loved the plot - I thought it was really clever to have Bodie as a lone CI5 agent and Doyle as a 'civilian' being investigated; a sort of AU but not! I also loved the insights it gave us into the world of the undercover agent and how he interacts with the people he is investigating or even with minor characters. Bodie's angst at deceiving Doyle was very believable as was his rationalisation of all his actions. I thought they were mostly in character but...
... a few things really threw me and made me wonder if I'd accidentally strayed into an American AU. There is quite a lot made of a section of banter about Doyle's flatmate's party guests and the lads use the word 'mooching' in its American sense - totally different meaning in Britspeak so the whole conversation was 'wrong'. As a result the banter distanced me from the characters instead of bringing them to life. Then there was a description of overstuffed sofas as 40s style. UK 40s style was wartime utility, even for the rich - not much else was available. Both Bodie and Doyle would have grown up with that knowledge and the idea of overstuffed=40s wouldn't have crossed their minds, whether they were CI5, or artists, or whatever, so again I felt I was reading about foreigners with their names. This might seem trivial but both instances were quite near the beginning and threw me out of the characters (though not the story). That was a pity, because I liked the concept and quite a lot of the delivery!

[alexfandra.livejournal.com]

Thanks for commenting! I'm sorry the Americanisms threw you off -- I am American and did try to do my best when writing Pros but inevitably someone who didn't grow up in Britain will make mistakes.

I've just finished reading a novel partly set in 1940s Britain and I see what you mean about the sofas! Research is tough -- how much time does one spend on it vs actually writing? I have a historical mystery novel (set here in the U.S., at least) coming out next year (I turned pro author last year) and while I did hundreds of hours of research into the time period, now I'm worried about getting tripped up by things I never thought of while writing the story. Even in professionally published work, errors creep in. On the whole though, all I can do is keep working at it and keep learning from readers.

Thanks for giving the story a try!

Alexandra MacKenzie ("Alexandra")
http://mizmak.blogspot.com

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

I really did enjoy the story - and I like your writing style very much. I'm probably prone to 'nitpicking' about Americanisms because I'm the same age as MS and LC and watched the first airing of the show as a contemporary. I know exactly what you mean about research - I've used an American beta for TWW fics that would otherwise have had amazing errors, and I took risks and didn't bother for a fic set in the world of SG1 but centred on a European character. I have to say that it isn't usually obvious that you're American - you pull off the Brit tone/speech patterns quite successfully! It's just the occasional vocabulary that gives you away!! In this story, I think the 'mooching' being so near the beginning threw me, but most of the story was, as I said, great, and I particularly liked the exploration of the feelings of someone undercover who has to lie to people he likes. I saw somewhere that you'd turned 'pro' and wish you all the best with your publishing career!

[alexfandra.livejournal.com]

One thing to remember, too, is that I wrote this back in the dark ages of Early Internet - getting quick access to British readers wasn't easy (and no one knew what a "beta reader" was then!). We were all focused on getting the stories out to readers, and while haste is not always a good idea, I do feel some forgiveness/overlooking is appropriate where fanfiction is concerned, where we are writing for love and the joy of sharing with others.

I'm having fun with the pro novels - thank you!

And sorry for the delayed reply - obviously I'm in a different time zone!

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

I can imagine it being difficult in the days before the internet and Brit betas! Those of you who wrote back then were very brave in many ways! We all owe you a huge debt for the enormous archive of stories you created for us!

[gideonbd77.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's trivial. For me, slang and culture are a big deal when it comes to writing stories set in a specific country, and can even make or break a story.

In the case of the Pros, it's clearly British, so any non-British slang and culture would stand out like a sore thumb and ruin the show's 'universe', so to speak. (Unless, of course, it's an AU deliberately set in the US.) If the reader is well-versed in British slang and culture, they'll know something's off and they'll be jerked out of the story, and the work put into the story would be wasted. It's because of this that, while writing my own stories, I'd obsessively Google any suspicious slang to confirm whether it's American or British.

The writer of a highly acclaimed US show called The Wire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wire) once said, "If you write something that is so credible that the insider will stay with you, then the outsider will follow as well." One of the keys of writing a good, believable story!

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

I agree - Pros is such a quintessentially British show and very topical and culture-linked most of the time. Anything that deviates from the expected language or culture is a shock! But a lot of readers, even other Brits, don't seem to mind or even notice. Yes, you've hit the nail on the head - it's all to do with credibility. A story needs to be completely consistent within its own universe, even when that's a fantasy or sci-fi one. Otherwise the plot and characters lose reality and the reader is distanced from them in spite of good writing in other respects. Having said that, I still enjoyed this story much better than a lot of other less well-written ones!

[alexfandra.livejournal.com]

See my reply above to moth2fic - Google didn't exist when I wrote Pros fanfiction, so I did the best I could with limited resources (or at least, limited access to *timely* resources). When I'm working on my pro fiction, I spend hundreds of hours doing research and of course, nowadays have instant access to online sources. It's a different world from when I first found fandom back in 1989.

I also view all fanfiction as something done for the love of it, and am much more lenient with errors than I would be with professionally published work. Yes, consistency lends credibility, I agree with that. As I said, one tries one's best, yet if a writer stuck only to what she was 100% certain of all the time, she'd probably write nothing but autobiography.
In fiction, one aims for creating characters and storylines that resonate with the reader, that connect. And that's what I've always tried to do within the confines of my own experience and knowledge.

Thank you very much for taking the time to comment! I do appreciate it.

-Alexandra

[gideonbd77.livejournal.com]

Wow, I can't actually recall life without Google. *lol* Very understandable then, about the American slang and such. The internet has certainly increased access and wealth of information and knowledge on a global scale, hasn't it?

I agree that fanfiction is something to be done out of love. Just to clarify, I wasn't saying that writers should only write what they know 100% for sure. I was just saying that credibility can make or break a story, to me. I know it might not be the case for somebody else and that's cool. We all have different ways of enjoying fandom and writing, and diversity in styles and perspective produce a nice variety of stories!

In fiction, one aims for creating characters and storylines that resonate with the reader, that connect.

This is fascinating! Do you mean that you write stories that you feel the reader will like or that you write stories regardless of whatever your reader's opinion may be with the hope that the reader will connect to it? I'm curious as a writer myself about the writing techniques of others. *grin*

[alexfandra.livejournal.com]

I try to write first for myself, what I want to read, with the hope that readers will connect to the story/characters. I want to create characters the readers will root for -- and the thing is, of course, that I'm a reader, too! I'm constantly re-reading the work as I write it, and I try to switch hats then. When I write, I'm thinking about what I want to say and how to say it. Then I typically set the manuscript aside for a while, work on something else or read something not my own. When I come back to my story, I first put on the "reader" hat and try to view it as something written by someone else, and ask if it works, if it connects, as if I'd never seen it before.

If's tricky and I can't always manage it but the longer you put something away, the easier it is to do. I once re-read a story of mine that was online without realizing I'd written it!

Basically, I try to full immerse myself in story/characters/world while writing, and later detach myself and read it objectively.

I think I just said the same thing three different ways. So much for being a good writer! Well, nonfiction was never my strong suit...

Oh, and I get the point about credibility. I'm fairly forgiving, even in professional fiction, up to a point, but some thing do strike me as just "wrong" in some way and I wind up tossing books across the room.

Thanks again for taking time to respond!

Cheers,
Alexandra

[gideonbd77.livejournal.com]

If's tricky and I can't always manage it but the longer you put something away, the easier it is to do. I once re-read a story of mine that was online without realizing I'd written it!

*lol* That always happens to me, even with WIPs. A lot of times that even happens with my art. I feel as if someone else drew it even though I know it was me.

Me, I'm willing to close an eye to credibility sometimes for fanfic, but not for professional fiction. I just think that if a writer is expecting people to pay money for their work, making sure the details of their work is right should be something very important to them. A lack of checking up of facts indicates laziness and lack of respect for the readers.

[alexfandra.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the lovely description/review of my story - you did a fabulous job.

I was amused when re-reading it to find the bit about "knowing each other before", possibly in a past life, as I wound up using that same idea in my pro fantasy novel, in which the two main characters (who were loosely "inspired by" Bodie and Doyle) literally knew each other in past lives. Guess I really like the notion of soul mates.

The part I had the most fun with was doing the details of Doyle's art-related stuff, having studied art for many years. I enjoyed putting some of that knowledge into the story.

I'm happy to chat with any readers about both good and bad points -- gee, I wrote this WELL over a decade ago and have no ego attached to it now!

Cheers,
Alexandra (Alexandra MacKenzie)
http://mizmak.blogspot.com

[scherwood]

Thank you~! *bow*

I love the "knowing each other before" bit. <3
Soulmates is one of my kinks too. *g*

I could tell, it was very nicely done, all the info. :D

Thank you for stopping by!

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

I'm happy to chat with any readers about both good and bad points -- gee, I wrote this WELL over a decade ago and have no ego attached to it now!

I remember reading all your stories when I first came into Pros a few years ago and really wanting to discuss them with you (maybe 'discussion' is too grand a term for someone newly in love with Pros and slash and a complete stranger to the ins and outs of writing fiction? OK, more simply put, I just wanted to let you know *everything* I loved about the stories while I could remember the details), but then I think I saw something you'd written somewhere (probably in your journal) that you weren't going to write Pros any more and so I thought the ramblings/gushings of a new fan would bore you! Anyway, I just wanted to say that while I enjoyed them all, three stories in particular stick out for me and they are: The Killer in Me - I love your raw, hard, unreadable Bodie and that memorable line from Doyle: I don’t *want*, I *need*...; and, surprisingly for someone who doesn’t really go for funny stories, I’ll always remember with fondness Memoirs of a Merc and I loved the night-time intimacy and flower-like opening up of Doyle in Not a Very Silent, Silent Night.

Anyway, just thought I'd say.....*And* it's really good when authors, who may long ago have moved on, have the interest and inclination to come in to forums such as this one and chat about their stories. Thank you!

[Sorry for all the edits!]

[alexfandra.livejournal.com]

Hello, and thanks so much! Sometimes I envy the younger fans who come on board with SO many wonderful stories at their fingertips -- we had to wait for cons or for fanzines to come through the post! On the other hand, it was great fun to be in Pros when it hit big in the States and everyone here was new at it together and slowly found each other and every new connection was wonderful.

I had my, without a doubt, my *best* experience of fandom in Pros. I was briefly into Blake's 7 before I found it, and briefly into Highlander and Pirates of the Caribbean after I stopped writing Pros, but those fandoms didn't last and Pros still warms my heart. Even though I'm no longer actively involved, I still hang out regularly with the friends I made locally through Pros (we made songvids together for years as "The Media Cannibals", back when songvids were on VHS tapes!). I cherish those friendships. The best friend I made then is still an enthusiastic Pros fan and we sometimes chat about The Lads.

Truly, the main reason I'm stopped writing fanfiction was to focus on professional writing, and I'm happy that finally worked out after all these years. And even there, my two novels both feature characters who had at least some inspiration from Bodie and Doyle.

I like that you mention "The Killer In Me" - it wasn't my usual style at all, and quite a challenge to write something darker. I suspect writers often do better work when they step outside their comfort zones.

I do have a tendency towards comedy, so thanks for the "Memoirs of a Merc" comment - humor is tough, as it tends to be awfully subjective for readers.

And thank you for mentioning "Not a Very Silent, Silent Night" - one of my personal faves.

Too bad we're not all in the same time zone so I could answer comments in a more timely fashion but I've really enjoyed the conversations!

-Alexandra MacKenzie

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

Comments like the ones you make of the Pros fandom above make me feel so proud of it and I'm really, really pleased you still take an interest in Pros.

Thanks very much for replying and best of luck with your professional writing. [Would it be OK if I friended you so I can follow what you're doing?]

[alexfandra.livejournal.com]

You are absolutely welcome to friend me here, where I do post some updates on writing, though most of my LJ posting is about my birdwatching adventures. My main writing blog is at: http://mizmak.blogspot.com where I try to post one short entry a week on general writing-related issues. Anyone may follow me there!

Cheers,
Alexandra

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

Thanks a lot, and thanks for the link to your writing blog.

[gideonbd77.livejournal.com]

If I remember correctly, I think this was one of the earliest Pros stories I read. Like moth2fic, the American slang and such threw me off, but not enough that I didn't enjoy most of the story. Doyle drawing/painting Bodie is one of my favourite Bodie/Doyle kinks ... and probably because, like the author, I studied art for many years too. *grin*

Not that this fic is much about butt kicking, but rather ass fucking, *cough* anyway... (pardon my language *bow*)

*lol* Nice one!

[scherwood]

Great minds think alike and all that... *g*

Hmm, I'm not british so americanisation in fics never really bother me. *shrug*

Yeah, that's one of my kinks too. Doyle drawing Bodie. *swoon* I love that artistic soul of Doyle to come forth sometimes. *nod, nod*

I do have my moments. *grin* Thanks~

[alexfandra.livejournal.com]

Thank you for commenting! Yes, it was written in the mid-90s, if I recall correctly, back before we had easy access to British beta readers.

During most of my art student days, our models were women, but one day we got a male model -- I was all of 18 years old and he was extremely um...well-developed all round, and as I struggled to sketch while maintaining a professional attitude, even way back then I was thinking, "Must put these feelings into a story someday!"

Cheers,
Alexandra

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

I think Alexandra was one of the first authors I found in the Pros fandom.

Me, too. I loved (and still do) her stories.

I've been trying to work out what it is I like about this story, given that other stories have similar themes, and I think it lies mainly in the way it's written: it's warm, credible, they're very sweet together and I'm always a sucker for a tough Bodie who loses himself over Doyle:

Two weeks went by, two weeks in which Bodie spent nearly every spare hour with Doyle. Supposedly, he was investigating Doyle's background and his friends; in reality, he was having a great time.

What do you say, agents? Do you like it? or not?

I say I liked it and thank you for this review!

[scherwood]

LOL - a lot of people apparently found or read her first. Maybe it's the name A-lexandra. :)

I agree about the why. *nod, nod*

I'm glad you liked it! *g*

Thanks for stopping by!

[alexfandra.livejournal.com]

Thank you kindly for commenting. I have great memories of the fun times I had in Pros fandom, and it will always have a warm place in my heart. I met my best friends there, and they're still my best friends!

They used to tease me, though, at times, for tending to write "warm", as you say -- well, I'm a romantic when it comes to fiction, and I do like a happy ending. I'm glad other fans enjoyed my take on the Lads.

Cheers,
Alexandra

[merentha13.livejournal.com]

Well done review! This is one of my favorite stories. I love the scene at the end starting where Bodie picks Ray up at the hospital and then it looks like he's going to drive off alone...so much emotion written into the scenes without turning soppy. Thanks for the rec!

[scherwood]

Thank you~ *bow*
One of my favs too. :)

Yes, I love that scene too.. always makes my stomach clench. :')

Thank you for stopping by~! *hugs*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Catching up - sorry to be late! I actually didn't remember this story when I started re-reading, so thanks very much for the reminder! Strangely, for me, I didn't particularly pick up on the Americanisms mentioned above either, and you know what I'm usually like - in fact it took me years to read Summer's End, because in the first few paragraphs Doyle is looking for a "muffler" rather than a scarf! The Art of Love seemed to me much more "Brit" in that respect, which meant that I was lovely and lost in it all through.

It also made me think of this recent news story (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jan/11/undercover-officer-sexual-tactics?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487) about undercover police building relationships in the course of their job - I wonder what Pros fans think about that really happening... though I'm glad Bodie was so much luckier than Kennedy in the outcome (from what we know of the Kennedy case...)

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

It made me think of the Kennedy case, too! That was interesting - and I feel really sorry for him, and annoyed with his handlers.

I think I've said before that coming from the north east (which I know Bodie and Doyle don't but still) 'muffler' was very much a part of Britspeak for me. The thing that really threw me in Summer's End was the guy with a number after his name - somebody the third or something similar, like the queen! Not Brit at all!!

Alexandra has been reminding us how hard it was to get the language right in the days before the internet. She did a mainly good job - the right speech patterns, general turns of phrase, etc. and perhaps that's why the occasional Americanisms really shout at us?

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh, I realise that Alexandra was writing before the internet made Brit-checking etc easier - and in fact I've always appreciated the note she added to one of her stories (can't remember which one!) where she acknowledged probable Americanisms, and said please bear with her! *g*

Sounds like "muffler" being in the north-east (I've never heard it used in north-west, south-west or now east) is a bit like "pants" for trousers - there was a discussion a while ago where someone from the NE said they remembered it used that way, and hadn't understood the problem. I'd always accepted "pants" to mean trousers too, because my mum used it that way (Isle of Man/northwest) but I don't think I ever stood up for it cos I figured she might have picked it up in Australia too.

which I know Bodie and Doyle don't but still
I think this probably is the point though - no matter where in the UK a word might have been used once upon a time, would the lads coming from Merseyside/Midlands/London have used it commonly enough to refer to it in their thoughts/common usage? We all pick things up occasionally from films etc - so "walk around the block" and "two blocks down" I don't have a real problem with, or with "not expecting any moochers" either, which you picked up on above. But both lads calling/thinking of a scarf as a "muffler" struck me as so wrong that I couldn't get past it for a while!

perhaps that's why the occasional Americanisms really shout at us?
Actually when someone's a good writer, and pulls me into a story, then I can get past the occasional Americanism etc without too much trouble - and once I forced myself past muffler, for example, I loved the rest of the story (well, maybe not the cop they met in the village, he was way too New Yoik or summat... but then he was a character, not the lads, so that was a bit different too). I think it was just that "muffler" came so early on! Anyway - the point being, I've always liked Alexandra's writing very much, and that includes this story! *g*

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

I had always, obviously wrongly, assumed mufflers were in general use, perhaps because they were immortalised in Andy Capp, so at the time of reading it never occurred to me that they might be regional.

Blocks, now... I would walk 'round the block' but the idea of 'two blocks down' doesn't make immediate sense to me although I got used to it on my trip to Australia. It isn't something I've ever heard used here.

I think the early use of 'mooching' was what threw me, too, like the early use of 'muffler' for you.

I'm very aware of those kind of 'foreign imports' even in fic where I'm totally lost in the story! But, having said that, Alexandra's writing is a lot better than some published books and as I believe her novels are set at the other side of the Atlantic they should be brilliant. I intend to find and buy at least the first.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Hee - I've just been very bad and bought her first one from Book Depository... it's actually set over here, but it's about mages, so I'm sure it'll work! *g* Plus I imagine it's the novel she says she set loosely on the lads, so... It's nice when favourite slash authors become published authors though - yeay our Pros-y Alexandra! *g*

[alexfandra.livejournal.com]

Hi, and thanks for the thread on word choice -- very interesting about the regional variations, though of course we have those over here, too. I was recently chatting with an American writer who mentioned "flapcakes" which I'd never heard -- I mean, I could figure it was like a pancake, as I've heard those called "flapjacks", but I'd not heard "flapcake" ever. Yet it was common where he came from.

I admit that I could have taken a bit more care over things like "mooch" and "muffler" -- I think it was sometime after those stories that I found a British-English slang dictionary and immersed myself in it, though even then I still made mistakes. I traveled in Britain for two months way back in 1982 and tried to draw on that experience, but it's nothing like growing up there. Wish I had!

The first novel, "Immortal Quest: The Trouble with Mages" (Edge SF) is indeed set in Britain and the two main characters were inspired by Bodie & Doyle but they're not from Merseyside! I hope the pro editor caught things but if not, well, I'll just have to take the blame. Oh, and the novel is definitely slashy - hope you enjoy it!

The second novel will be out a year from now and is a mystery set here, thank goodness, though it's set in 1921, so once again I'll have to be extra dutiful on the fact-checking. When I was researching it, I read every issue of the local newspaper from 1921, and did a whole lot more to make it accurate. My fingers will be duly crossed when that comes out -- no matter how many hundreds of hours one puts in on the research, one always misses *somthing*. Sigh.

Anyway, thank you both again for commenting -- I've truly enjoyed the discussion.

Alexandra MacKenzie
(my writing-centered blog can be found at: http://mizmak.blogspot.com)

[scherwood]

No worries... You're welcome~! :D

No, I don't think the Americanism is that bad actually. But you know me, I don't pick up stuff like that at all... a fic is a fic is a fic or something.. *g* I wonder how it will go with my Pros BB. ;D

Yay, for getting lost in the fic! \o/

Hmm... interesting news story. Thanks for pointing it out.