Top Ten Fics I Wish People Would Read
From penknife, this is a continuation of the " 10 Most-Read Stories on AO3," this is the Ten Fics I Wish People Would Read.
1. And the Water, Like Glass, Sanctuary (Helen Magnus/m, Helen Magnus/Molly Brown)
I'm really proud of how this turned out. I knew as soon as Helen mentioned she was on board that I wanted to write a Titanic story, but I doubted my ability to pull it off. I'm really proud with the finished result and, while it got a lot of readers, I still pimp it out whenever I can. ~g~
2. The Aspirations of Angels, Sanctuary (Helen Magnus/James Watson)
This story, for one reason or another, almost got deleted. But I persevered, finished, and I'm really happy with it now. It's the origin of Helen-as-Irene-Adler! How could I have deleted that? ~g~
3. Defying Gravity, Sanctuary (Helen Magnus/Amelia Earhart, Helen Magnus/Harriet Quimby)
The Aviatrix gets all the buzz for me, but I'm probably even more proud of this story. It's also Helen and Amelia, but it features Helen and another female aviation pioneer as well. I like this one because the research for it was so interesting. Harriet Quimby was so awesome I was worried people would think I made her up.
4. Launch a Thousand Ships, Sanctuary (Helen/OFC)
This story popped into my head out of nowhere... it's connection to canon is going to be destroyed soon, I'm positive, but I want to pimp it while I can. The story came to me out of nowhere when I thought I was done for the day, and I blurted out the whole 6000 words in a fit of writing. I still don't know where the inspiration came from... the image of St Paul's Cathedral during the Blitz? The Helen of Troy quote as a title? Who knows!
5. Light of my Lantern, Sanctuary, gen
I had this idea for a LONG time... Helen captured, the team trying to find her, and Ashley's ghost helping Helen escape. Originally I was going to switch back and forth between Helen and the team searching for her, but it seemed better to just focus on the most important part of the story: Helen and her daughter.
6. Madmen of a Harmless Nature, Sanctuary, gen
I LOVE THIS FIC. And the next one on the list. I don't care if it's not cool for authors to gush over their own stories. Poe seemed so perfect for Sanctuary, but he died before Helen was eveb born (the same year!) so it seemed impossible. But then Hollow Earth came along and Poe's stories conspired to help me connect the two. I don't think I'd change a word of this story (unless there's a typo, in which case I would change that one).
7. Russian Roulette, Sanctuary, gen
While I would change words in this story, it's because I think it could be explored even further. I really wish that I could have brought Tesla and Druitt into the story more to make it an authentic Five tale, but sometimes things don't work out (and I don't want to make it retcon that, "Oh, yeah, Helen and Druitt saw each other every 8-10 years or so throughout history, but yeah." Although she might have given birth to Ashley because she thought he was dead because she thought she had seen him die in the seventies... plot bunny. ~makes note~)
Anyway! Rasputin was totally an Abnormal. I had the image of Helen running through a snowy field, pursued by the Mad Monk, and the rest of the story bloomed from that. Most. Research. Ever. I had an envelope on my desk just covered with information about the Romanov family.
8. The Secrets of Flight, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (Arabella Strange/Lady Pole)
I kind of hated this book the first time I read it, but that's because I wasn't prepared for such a huge epic of a novel. I grew as a reader, tried it again, and really fell in love with it. For some reason I decided to write this pairing, and I'm really proud of how it turned out.
9. Strays, original
This is the first in an ongoing series called "Underdogs" about a lesbian werewolf private investigator whose appearance is based on Olivia Wilde. I have no idea why this doesn't have a million readers. When I finally decide to end Riley Parra, I think "Underdogs" will be my second series (either that or a series about superheroes. I'm undecided). The other two stories are also up on AO3.
10. Truth, Twenty-Four Times a Second, Sanctuary, gen
If I'd thought too much about this story, I would have screwed it up. As it was I just took what I knew and ran with it. The end result is... I don't know. I like to self-deprecate a lot, but I can't do it with this story. I think it's just beautiful and very true to Helen's character.
1. And the Water, Like Glass, Sanctuary (Helen Magnus/m, Helen Magnus/Molly Brown)
I'm really proud of how this turned out. I knew as soon as Helen mentioned she was on board that I wanted to write a Titanic story, but I doubted my ability to pull it off. I'm really proud with the finished result and, while it got a lot of readers, I still pimp it out whenever I can. ~g~
2. The Aspirations of Angels, Sanctuary (Helen Magnus/James Watson)
This story, for one reason or another, almost got deleted. But I persevered, finished, and I'm really happy with it now. It's the origin of Helen-as-Irene-Adler! How could I have deleted that? ~g~
3. Defying Gravity, Sanctuary (Helen Magnus/Amelia Earhart, Helen Magnus/Harriet Quimby)
The Aviatrix gets all the buzz for me, but I'm probably even more proud of this story. It's also Helen and Amelia, but it features Helen and another female aviation pioneer as well. I like this one because the research for it was so interesting. Harriet Quimby was so awesome I was worried people would think I made her up.
4. Launch a Thousand Ships, Sanctuary (Helen/OFC)
This story popped into my head out of nowhere... it's connection to canon is going to be destroyed soon, I'm positive, but I want to pimp it while I can. The story came to me out of nowhere when I thought I was done for the day, and I blurted out the whole 6000 words in a fit of writing. I still don't know where the inspiration came from... the image of St Paul's Cathedral during the Blitz? The Helen of Troy quote as a title? Who knows!
5. Light of my Lantern, Sanctuary, gen
I had this idea for a LONG time... Helen captured, the team trying to find her, and Ashley's ghost helping Helen escape. Originally I was going to switch back and forth between Helen and the team searching for her, but it seemed better to just focus on the most important part of the story: Helen and her daughter.
6. Madmen of a Harmless Nature, Sanctuary, gen
I LOVE THIS FIC. And the next one on the list. I don't care if it's not cool for authors to gush over their own stories. Poe seemed so perfect for Sanctuary, but he died before Helen was eveb born (the same year!) so it seemed impossible. But then Hollow Earth came along and Poe's stories conspired to help me connect the two. I don't think I'd change a word of this story (unless there's a typo, in which case I would change that one).
7. Russian Roulette, Sanctuary, gen
While I would change words in this story, it's because I think it could be explored even further. I really wish that I could have brought Tesla and Druitt into the story more to make it an authentic Five tale, but sometimes things don't work out (and I don't want to make it retcon that, "Oh, yeah, Helen and Druitt saw each other every 8-10 years or so throughout history, but yeah." Although she might have given birth to Ashley because she thought he was dead because she thought she had seen him die in the seventies... plot bunny. ~makes note~)
Anyway! Rasputin was totally an Abnormal. I had the image of Helen running through a snowy field, pursued by the Mad Monk, and the rest of the story bloomed from that. Most. Research. Ever. I had an envelope on my desk just covered with information about the Romanov family.
8. The Secrets of Flight, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (Arabella Strange/Lady Pole)
I kind of hated this book the first time I read it, but that's because I wasn't prepared for such a huge epic of a novel. I grew as a reader, tried it again, and really fell in love with it. For some reason I decided to write this pairing, and I'm really proud of how it turned out.
9. Strays, original
This is the first in an ongoing series called "Underdogs" about a lesbian werewolf private investigator whose appearance is based on Olivia Wilde. I have no idea why this doesn't have a million readers. When I finally decide to end Riley Parra, I think "Underdogs" will be my second series (either that or a series about superheroes. I'm undecided). The other two stories are also up on AO3.
10. Truth, Twenty-Four Times a Second, Sanctuary, gen
If I'd thought too much about this story, I would have screwed it up. As it was I just took what I knew and ran with it. The end result is... I don't know. I like to self-deprecate a lot, but I can't do it with this story. I think it's just beautiful and very true to Helen's character.