Recent reads (uber-Xena)

[textfiend]

ralst asked for recs of long stories, and mindwalker78 offered up a pile, which led me to the following:

Meridio's Daughter by LJ Maas -- Lots of sex. Which I have to admit is a nice change of pace from the fluff-dominated world of MiS. Oh, this story has plot and stuff too, but honestly, what I'll remember about it is the sex.

Malicious Pursuit by KG MacGregor

Comments

Malicious Pursuit

[anonymous]

KG MacGregor here. Stumbled across your blog Googling myself...the writer's life is lonely. I digress.

"...the two characters are just automatically in love after about five seconds."

Okay, that surprised me. There is a reason this book doesn't contain sex (and it's my only book that doesn't): The timeline was constrained and the feelings never moved to that point. There is attraction that develops once these women begin to trust one another, but certainly not love within five seconds. And in Ruth's case, I'm not sure she ever felt it was love.

I've been pondering their relationship a bit as I toy with the idea of a sequel. Should it be a romance (and hence, Ruth's coming out story), or an action adventure like MP? All I've decided for sure is if these characters return, they will have sex!

Nice work on your blog. Keep it coming.

Re: Malicious Pursuit

[textfiend]

I definitely wasn't complaining about the lack of sex. I understand why it didn't happen in this story, and I probably would've complained if it did, given the characters' situation. I hope it didn't sound like my second comment ("automatically in love") had anything to do with my pointing out the lack of sex. Those were two entirely separate opinions. I really only mentioned the sex issue at all because I had mentioned in the rec above.

Looking back I regret having phrased my opinions the way I did, because re-reading it now (after reading your response) it seems too negative, or at least I can see how it would seem negative to you as the writer. Of course I was exaggerating when I said "automatically in love after about five seconds" but I didn't mean it as a criticism. I love the story and I wouldn't change it!

As for a sequel, I'm sure any genre/style you chose would be great. Thanks for commenting.

Re: Malicious Pursuit

[anonymous]

We're still missing each other's points, I think. I didn't read your observation of the lack of sex as a criticism. To me, the criticism was the characters being "automatically in love in five seconds," whether you meant it that way or not. One of the most challenging aspects of writing lesbian romance is describing the moment the romantic feelings begin, and then taking them on their developmental course. I often feel robbed when the author takes the shortcut of automatic love, and I suspect you do too. I used the "no sex" example to argue that I didn't write them as being in love at all, let alone after five seconds. Spencer admitted to herself she was falling for Ruth, but it wasn't the type of love I would characterize as automatic, premature or even contrived. I don't mean to sound challenging -- I enjoy a critical discussion -- but I'd be interested in hearing what gave you the impression they were in love, and in love prematurely.

Re: Malicious Pursuit

[anonymous]

textfiend, I'm going to reply to myself, because it struck me out of the blue today that you were probably commenting on the web story, not the book. Mea culpa...I haven't read the online version in several years, so I can't be sure there weren't gratuitous "soulmate" references tossed in for the uber fans. And while there is no explicit sex in that story, there is a fade-to-black scene. That's gone from the book. I've spent so much time going through edits for the published versions that I've forgotten much of what appeared on the web. Thanks for the chat.