LET US CELEBRATE FEBRUARY BY SHOWERING GIFTS ON SUE N. (and if we're lucky, we'll get caught in the rain ourselves).
SUE'S PRIMARY REQUEST (assigned)
I WANT H/C!!! I NEED H/C!!! If the person who wants to write my primary story is an M7 writer, what I want is this: A story with ALL SEVEN, but, and here's the deal, Vin MUST be hurt (or sick. No, hurt. Yes, I want him hurt. Badly. It's just been that kind of month, folks) and Chris must be a)worried as hell and b) pissed as hell. I want him anguishing over Vin, while breathing fire over whoever hurt him (I don't care how or why, just HURT HIM for me, pleeeeze!) and ready to turn the guy into lunchmeat. And I want Buck at his big-hearted best. That's really, really what I want. Please?
SECONDARY REQUESTS -- Jump right in! It's a free-for-all!
---I want Archie h/c. I want angst, I want smarm, I want the works. Don't care how long, ain't picky about the details, I just want to see my li'l Crumpet crumbled again and then put back together. Horatio angst is a must; Pellew angst would be icing on my cake.
---Oddly enough, I want a Vin-JD story. Yes, that's right, Vin-JD. I want them both to be hurt, but one (I don't care which) is hurt worse than the other, and the not-as-badly-hurt one has to take care of the hurt one while dealing with his own boo-boos. Naturally, toward the end, Chris and Buck must find them and take care of the young'uns.
---Ooh, here's one: somebody hurt Chris and have Vin dealing with that! Again, mega-h/c, mega-angst would be greatly appreciated.
Are y'all starting to detect a pattern here?
Hurt Vin for me, hurt Archie, angst Vin, angst Archie. I want my blue-eyed wonders to suffer. (Just be sure and put them back together at the end.)
SUE'S LIKES AND DISLIKES:
Hmm, this one's hard, because I don't really fall into any particular
category of likes and dislikes. About the only fanfiction I've ever read is Hornblower and Mag 7, and y'all can probably guess my likes there.
I guess what I like is characters with baggage. Flawed heroes, as it were. In HH, Archie was perfect for me because of his fits, his "history" with Jack Simpson (which was left open to interpretation and which I naturally interpreted to its darkest degree), his uncertainty about himself, etc. Tons of baggage there, all wrapped in a lovely package.
What got me hooked on Mag7 (other than Vin's lovely blue eyes) is the bond between Chris and Vin. I'm a sucker for it. Chris, the dark, scarred, brooding dangerous man; Vin, the loner, the hunter-turned-hunted; two men who clearly trust almost no one, yet immediately trust each other. Tons of potential there! And then there are the rest of the guys, all "misfits" in one way or another, outsiders. But they all come together so wonderfully,
not in spite of their differences and difficulties, but because of them. Very strong mythological overtones here, n'est-ce pas?
Let's see, TV shows... Currently, it's West Wing. I aboslutely love that show! Fantastic writing (and scripts that treat us as intelligent human beings -- what a concept!), fabulous acting, wonderful characters... TV to die for! And, other than M7, that's about it. Nothing else has grabbed my attention enough to make me sit down and watch.
Past shows... "Now and Again" (gee, I wonder why? But I really loved Michael and Lisa; I'm so pissed at CBS I could spit nails!) Anybody remember the show "Paradise" with Lee Horsely? Mmmm... "Beauty and the Beast" with Ron Perlman (where I fell in love with THAT VOICE) and Linda Hamilton... The miniseries "Lonesome Dove" (with Tommy Lee Jones as Call; nobody else did it for me in that role but him; my husband still calls me "Woodrow." Yes, I have Call's temper...)
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OK FRIENDS--THOSE ARE HER LIKES. LET'S SEE HOW MANY SHOWS, MOVIES, BOOKS AND FANFIC WE CAN SCARE UP WITH WHICH TO LOAD SUE DOWN (AND REMEMBER, AS WE BRAINSTORM, WE "RECEIVE" EXPOSURE TO H/C, SMARM, ANGST, DRAMA, LITERATURE THAT WE CAN ALL ENJOY!
I WILL MAINTAIN THIS PAGE AND I'LL "ARCHIVE YOUR LISTS OF IDEAS. IF YOU KNOW HOW TO FIND A SHOW YOU RECOMMEND OR IF YOU HAVE A LIST OF FANFIC SHE MIGHT ENJOY, PLEASE INCLUDE URLS, LINKS--ANYTHING THAT WILL HELP MAKE THE FUN ACCESSIBLE TO SUE AND TO ALL OF US.
GO FORTH AND WRITE, TRACK DOWN, E-MAIL . . . WHATEVER.
FROM JOAN:
What can I tell you about Sue?
She's a great, great writer, comfortable on the High Seas AND in the saddle :) She's a fantastic beta-reader, and always encouraging. Her talent as a writer is as varied as her fandoms. She can write humor, a gentle love story, and high adventure on land and sea.
Unfortunately, she has also garnered a reputation as a Crumpet Crumbler (Archie Kennedy in HH) and as a Vin-jurer, *sans pareil* (M7) But to her credit, she always puts them back together real well.
Her stories make you sit up and pay attention from the first page to the last. My personal favorites:
A Day(or so) in the Life -- (Hornblower) Sue's beloved Archie fends off pickpockets, sustains a concussion and a broken hand, meets a beautiful young woman, falls in love, and dines with a hero. Perhaps her least stressful story!
Ship of the Damned -- (Hornblower) Action ratcheted into high gear. A mutiny, a sadistic Lieutenant whose name is anathema to Hornblower fanatics, massive injuries and h/c up the wazoo! A truly stellar fic.
She has also written two lovely, elegant Christmas fics in the Hornblower Universe.
Now you all probably know her M7 stories by now, but two are absolutely outstanding:
The Devil's Bargain -- It will wring you out, make you cry, bite your nails to the nub, and marvel at her characterizations of our guys. And even though Vin is considerably battered by the end of this story, you can wallow in the h/c Sue lavishes on her blue-eyed boy.
Silent Night -- My Christmas fic, and the best present under my tree! And no Vin-juries! Thanks, Sue.
Those are my faves. C'mon y'all jump on in and tip your hats to Sue N. the February person of the month -- and my friend every month.
FROM SARAH B.:
Boy, that's a tall order! Sue is not only a fantastic writer in both the M7 and Hornblower universes, but she's a wonderful beta reader as well! She's found more than a few boo-boos in my HH fics (am I EVER going to learn how to spell 'sergeant'?), and has proven invaluable in keeping me on-course in my own creative endeavors.
But if we focus on the writing - wow!! Joan has already pointed out some of Sue's outstanding works - "Ship of the Damned" is a must-read regardless of how familiar you are with Hornblower - but she has also written some lovely small pieces as well. "A Friend in Need" is one of my favorites, a Hornblower fic which is largely just contemplation and a discussion of friendship - two people, Archie and my OC Dr. Sebastian, talking in quiet tones about Archie's friendship to Horatio. It's intimate, lyrical and above all true - and we all know that ain't easy to write!!
I must say that when I suggested that Sue catch "Magnificent Seven" on the TNN reruns I had no idea that the Vinster would swoop her onto his saddle and carry her off! Her M7 fics are full of the same gut-wrenching intensity I've seen in Hornblower - with the added bonus that Vin is a hell of a lot of fun to injure! But her stories are so much more than simple h/c - they're deep and insightful, and firmly rooted in the Western mythos, which is of course what you would expect from a true Texan!
I'm not sure where Sue's M7 stories are archived, but you can find all of her HH stuff at the archive for the HHfic list:
https://members.tripod.com/SarahB1/hharchive.html
I encourage everyone who likes plenty of emotion and action in their stories to read her stuff if you haven't already. She rocks!!