I wanted to do something a little different this week with the post. I thought I would review a couple of stories I’ve
recommended in the past that are now complete, talk about what I am reading right now, and ask for audience participation if possible. How does that sound? Fun, right?

I love this new pic of Rob so much, I am thinking about changing my AVI.

First things first. I implore you to read The Diva Diaries by Kiya Raven, because it is now complete, so no excuses. I loved this one so much, I gave it it’s own post here. It does have some angst, but she balances it out with fantastic lemons and some humor. Bella’s mental ramblings are hilarious at times. Edward is seriously sofa king hawt in this. Perfect ending too. Go. Read. Now.

I don’t want to delve into the private lives of certain actors, namely Robert Thomas Pattinson, because well…It’s his life, right? BUT, there is an amazing fan fic called Need to Escape by lostluggage, aka solostintwilight, that has also recently been completed. She does an amazing job portraying Rob. Pretty much spot on in my book. The character Jennifer Brown is ideal in so many ways, that I couldn’t help rooting for her, even though I was a bit jealous at times. It’s not an easy road for them, because she’s not in the entertainment business. The ending is exactly as it should be, and what I would want for Rob in real life. Everyone deserves happiness and love in their life. That’s all I will say in this matter. *plugging ears and closing eyes, while singing “la la la la la”* Here is my original post about this story, with more info.

What I am reading right now, and actually finished yesterday is exactly what I needed. After reading some seriously long and daunting stories, like The Fall Out, I wanted something light and funny. Well yay me, I started Pinky Swear by kharizzmatik. You might know the author from her insanely popular story Emancipation Proclamation, which she actually published, called Sempre. You go girl!

Anyway, this story is nothing like that one. Thank God, because that’s not what I was looking to read. A friend of hers, “triple dog dared” her to write a new story, loosely based on My Best Friend’s Wedding, the movie. You can’t turn down a dare like that, and I am glad, because I loved that movie, for a couple of reasons. It was filmed in Chicago where I live, and it has Julia Roberts, Rupert Everett, and Dermott Mulroney in it, though the ending was the worst. This story is better, because it’s even funnier than the movie, has Edward in it, and the ending is way better. Bella and Edward have been best friends since childhood, but they lose touch in college. Edward emails Bella out of the blue, to tell her that he is back in Forks with a fiancé’ he wants her to meet. Bella freaks out and heads home to win Edward back. Jake is her gay best friend that shows up to help her with her game plan. This is probably one of the few stories where I actually like Jake. Tanya is the sunny bride to be, that Bella tries not to like. We do find out later, that we do have good reason to dislike her though. Here are some exerts that made me laugh out loud.

From Chapter 4:

“Fine, I admit it!” I yelled. “Are you happy now?”

Jake smirked and my hands shook, itching to knock the smug look off of his face. “Well, you still didn’t say the word, but it’s better than nothing. And now that we’ve cleared that up, tell me something,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “What exactly are you going to do about it?”

The moment I put a piece of clothing in my suitcase, Jake pulled it right back out and tossed it aside. He raided my closet behind me, grabbing the stuff hanging in the very back that never saw the light of day. He stuck it in my suitcase and I threw it out without hesitation, putting mine back in. Back and forth we went for a few minutes, the cycle finally ending with the overflowing suitcase being zipped up and me having absolutely no idea what the hell was actually inside of it.

“This is crazy,” I muttered, grabbing the handle of the bag and picking up my laptop before starting for the door. “Like, certifiably nuts, Jake.”

“I know,” he replied as I glanced at him, seeing the look of pure wonder on his face. “Exciting, isn’t it?”

“More like frightening,” I replied. “What if this goes terribly wrong? What if I’m too late? What if…”

“What if, what if, what if,” Jake said, cutting me off. “What if Lady Gaga wore a pair of jeans? Who knows what the fuck we’d all do. But it doesn’t matter, because we won’t know until it happens, if it even ever does. The point is, what if is a waste of time. Think about it – Shakespeare’s characters didn’t sit around and go, ‘hmmm, what if this turns out bad?’ They just did
it. So do it.”

I gaped at him. “Shakespeare wrote tragedies! His characters died!”

“So? We’ll all die someday. It’s a fact of life – we won’t live forever. Life is a tragedy. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make something beautiful out of it while we still have the chance.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. One thing I had to give Jake credit on - he could always come up with the right words to say, even if he had no idea what he was actually talking about. “Good point.”

“You’re damn right it’s a good point,” he said, practically shoving me out the front door of my apartment. “Now stop procrastinating. You’re running out of time. Go get your man, Bella.”

From Chapter 10:

I descended the steps slowly, careful not to trip and fall in my haze, and staggered toward the kitchen for a drink of water. I had major cottonmouth to the point where it hurt, and my throat burned when I tried to swallow. The house was silent except for the sound of my bare feet slapping against the wooden floor.

The moment I stepped into the kitchen I caught sight of someone sitting at the table. All I could see was the newspaper being held up with a set of hands clutching it, a ceramic coffee mug on the table in front of him. “Jesus, Charlie, I hope you’re not still waiting on breakfast,” I grumbled, yawning as I opened a cabinet and pulled out a glass. I filled it with water from the tap, taking a long drink. “I’m soooo not cooking right now.”

I heard the shuffling of the newspaper behind me, followed by a dry laugh. “Lazy bitch.”

I choked on my water, spraying it all over my shirt and the floor as I quickly swung around. My eyes widened with shock when I saw the familiar face staring at me. “Jake?” I asked, stunned. “Why… how… what the hell, Jake? How’d you get in here?”

“Don’t ask,” he said. “It would only make you an accessory after the fact.”

“Does Charlie know you’re here?”

He looked confused. “Charlie?”

“Yes, Charlie. My dad.”

“Oh, no. Haven’t seen him,” he said. “I’ve been here since about noon, and you’re the first living thing I’ve seen.” He paused. “Well, besides this dreadful looking spider that was climbing on the wall earlier… but it’s not living anymore.”

I shook my head. “You broke into the Chief of Police’s house?”

He nodded. “It was quite simple, too. Your father might need a refresher course on safety.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like the city where you have to worry about that kinda stuff. It’s a small town, everyone knows each other.”

“You’re preaching to the choir, honey,” he said. “I knew this was a 12 o’clock town the moment I arrived.”

“What’s a 12 o’clock town?”

“You know, where the only thing open after midnight are a hooker’s legs.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “You have issues. What are you even doing here, anyway?”

Now, I am hoping that there might be some people out there in the fan fic world, who haven’t started reading A Pound of Flesh by jaxon22. It recently was completed, so there is no reason not to read it. I was hoping that maybe we could start reading it together? I want to maybe read it over the next week, and discuss it again on Friday or maybe the Friday after. I know it’s a long story, so I might not be able to finish it by then, but we could still talk about what we’ve read so far? Anybody want to do this with me? I have heard amazing things about this story, so I have a feeling that we won’t be disappointed.

Please let me know in the comments, if you want to do the read along, and what other stories are making you laugh right now.

Seeing all these new pics on my Bday was the best present. Thanks Rob.

katiebird