Finally, I've managed to squeeze out time to go back to fkcommentfic and do something about that last prompt I fancied—having got sidetracked last time out.

I didn't have time to do all the coding I'd like. When I get around to making its webpage, this story will need most of the special characters added. However, it got one quick revision at least. (And needed it, of course.) I'm sure I'll find typos and tweaks when I go back to it.

Anyway, "The Sun of Cairo" can be found here.

And another story posted to fkcommentfic. The joke, of course, is that this isn't the one I was thinking of when I went to bed last night. (Or should that be the night before last?) Anyway, I should have been on my way to bed tonight, but figured I'd knock off a mini-ficlet; so I was looking through the prompts trying to spot the one I'd been thinking of so that I could get the exact wording. Only this one popped out at me instead.

I could maybe have fitted it into five parts; but, having realized that my initial estimate of a mere four was wishful thinking, I decided to play it safe. As a "comment fic" though, it would qualify for fkficfest. It just kept on going and going as I wrote down what they all said. For something nearly 2K words, it certainly behaved like a ficlet!

You can find it here. I haven't even begun decorating the webpage for it. It's kept me up far too late as it is.

I've just posted another ficlet to the "Dead Dog Party" on fkcommentfic. (Isn't it fortunate that the deadline was extended?)

I don't know whether "A Cup of Coffee" is quite what havocthecat hoped for by the prompt. "Amanda Cohen is sharp, perceptive, and utterly loyal to the people that work for her. What is it that she's noticed - about Natalie, Schanke, and Nick - that she's never let on?". However, this is the idea that occurred to me—what can I say? You catch the bunny that pops out.

I should warn you that I've scarcely ever been in Starbucks, so I can only hope I haven't mortally mangled their many and varied offerings. I did do a bit of googling; but, after that, I could only contrive as best I might. If what I've written sound like nonsense...well, I can only say that Schanke buys coffee at "Buckstars"; and who knows what they serve? Right?

"A Cup of Coffee" turned out to be just that little bit longer than LJ allows, and had to be split in two. You can find it here.

In due course it will go up on my site, but this round on fkcommentfic still has a few days to run. Meanwhile, I have the pleasure of picking graphics!


Updated: 4 a.m.  I've now finished doing the webpage. It has a simple dark brown textured background that sets off the central panel, which is heavily outlined by a complex frame involving (among several others) a coffee bean graphic. The connection to the central motif of the story is incredibly obvious.   :)

I also used Microsoft Paint to draw a "Buckstars" coffee cup on the model of a Starbucks one. Resized down, it doesn't look too bad: a slightly larger version is at the top, and a little one is used to mark pauses in the story. It seems to work.

It's not at all curious that the three people who decided to take up the Summer Challenge on maryrenaultfics this year all accepted the challenge-within-a-challenge of applying the prompt for fic based on Renault's historical fiction ("spangled loincloth") to The Charioteer (which, being a modern novel, should have had the prompt "summer clothes") and contriving some way to associate it with Ralph Lanyon. Anyone less likely to be seen in a spangled loincloth at any time would be hard to imagine—which was, of course, the point of the challenge.

Why isn't it curious? Well, the three people were toujours_nigel, my sister, and myself—and how could any of us resist showing how clever we are?
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So...second post. Hmmm....

Ah!

Last month saw both Mary Renault and Forever Knight fic posted to my website.
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