Name: Indigo Cygnus (Signed) · Date: 05/28/12 11:46 · For: One-Shot

This story was very sad, beautiful and sexy (elements that I love in a story) all at the same time. I think it was nicely written. I think you suggest very well without telling too much and that makes it even more enticing. Dru is an interesting character, I want to know more about him know, and Oliver, well, he's always a pleasure to read. Death and sex are opposites, and it's very hard to put them together, but I think you did a great job. Cheers!

Author's Response: Sex,death, and drug use, abuse, and bad flings-- these are a few of my favorite things. There's lots of good pain to plumb out with this sort of subject matter. The trick is to do it without being trite or, you know, porny. The vocabulary of the mechanics of sex-- it's a slippery slope when trying to pair it with the vocabulary of grief. I really hope I got the balance right.

Dru is deeply flawed, and as such, he was a pleasure to write. I'm pleased you found him interesting. He has quite a back story in my head. I'm toying with the idea of a prequel to this story. I don't know. I might have to hammer that one out when I get the time.

Thank you so much for reading and for the review. I truly appreciate any and all feedback :-)

-Susan

P.S. If the HTML tags show up in this reply, I apologize. For some reason my responses have been showing up as one big block and it's driving me nuts.

Name: Equinox Chick (Signed) · Date: 02/12/12 16:02 · For: One-Shot

Hi there.

Well, this was an interesting read. It's certainly well crafted and there are some amazing images in play here. I loved the set up and the way you craft Oliver peeling through the photographs. The threesome is well written - not crude, but not romanticised in the way these things often are. The guilt they feel that Katie is no more comes through well.

If I had a pick, though, it's that I didn't feel too much connection to the characters. Possibly because this is first person and it's an OC, but I didn't warm to anyone. Obviously, this is just my opinion and my personal preference, but I like characters to have something I can relate to, so I'm drawn into the story. Here I was an onlooker. It was beautiful to watch and your writing made me gasp with envy at times, but I wasn't fully engaged. That being said, as a reader, I'm not someone who waxes lyrical over styles and genres, but someone who needs to be immersed in the story and swept along by it.

Sorry, this all sounds horribly negative and I don't mean it to because I think this is a well executed story and a bold subject choice.

Good luck with the challenge. ~Carole~

Author's Response: Hi, Carole, Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you at least found this interesting enough to finish, since you didn't really take to any of the characters. I can see why one might have a hard time connecting with Dru. He's prickly. He's fearful and somewhat antagonistic. He's also self aware enough to know all this, and then he proclaims it to the reader, seemingly intent on keeping others at arm's length. I can absolutely understand why one might find it difficult to relate, but I suppose my affinity for transgressive fiction has dulled any sense that a character should be immediately relatable. Ah, well. Viva la difference. I am pleased, though, that you liked my handling of the threesome. I, too, feel sex in ff is too often romanticised. To me, it's not titillating if it's not honest. Anyway, thank you so much for reading and for the review, and best of luck to you in the challenge, as well. ~Susan

Name: hestiajones (Signed) · Date: 02/12/12 9:44 · For: One-Shot

WOW. That was something. Glorious. Such beautifully crafted language, such raw and palpable emotions. It's a crime it didn't have any reviews before mine. >.< Definitely one of my favourite entries in the challenge. Well done, and I look forward to reading more from you!

~Natalie

Author's Response: Hi, Natalie, Thank you! I'm pleased you enjoyed it. I don't usually write OC's in my ff, so it was a real pleasure to voice this character and be able to move on the page with limited constraint. Also, I'm honoured that this would be one of your favourites in this challenge when there are so many good ones out there. Thank you so much for reading and for the review! ~Susan