By LindsayK The SVM Fanfiction Expert.
(She's also known as @scribeninja on Twitter)
A long, long time ago… when there were only a handful of SVM stories, us readers worshipped a small amount of writers. They gave us the "Talk", the romance, the Gracious Plenty a-plenty, and the Eric and Sookie relationship we all wanted.
They are…
Old School Fics
Vol. 1
"The Beginning"
A little history:
Back in the beginning we had all just finished From Dead to Worse. Eric had gotten his memories back, and told Sookie that they most definitely would be having a talk about it. Fanfic readers and writers were dying to read Eric and Sookie's talk, so between the time FDtW and Dead and Gone there are a ton of "talk" fics. These are the best…
----
Let Love In, by TerriBotta
Publish Date: October ‘08
Summary: Eric decides it's time for him and Sookie to come to an understanding.
Why you should read it: I’m sure by now you’ve read a ton of canon stories that refer to Sookie as Eric’s “bonded” as a term of endearment. Have you ever wondered where that term came from? Let Love In is the answer.
Simply put, in the opinion of us first generation peeps, this is the best “talk” fic there is. TerriBotta knew that for Eric to really have this talk with Sookie, and have her actually listen and not run away, he’d have to take her somewhere she couldn’t run from. The first couple chapters are pretty establishing, and they really suck you right in and set everything up. Then the author takes us to Isle Elena, and the magic happens.
Really, just read it. You’ll know exactly what I mean. And when you’re done you can read the side-stories that come after. They’re all just as fantastic!
----
Everything ever published by DCWriter16
She began publishing in November of ’08, and most of her stuff is one-shots. The first is called “Stay” which takes place post FDtW, and it is amazing. Once you read it, just keep going up her list, and keep being amazed.
DCWriter16’s style is so addicting, and it gives her writing so much depth. I remember reading one of her one-shots out loud, and though I can’t recall which one it was, I do remember that the writing had such a natural cadence to it that it was like I was reading poetry.
Beautiful stories, beautiful writing. Just have a box of tissues handy for some of them.
----
Dead To Rights and Left For Dead by Malanna
Publish Date: DtR – November ’08; LfD – April ‘09
Why you should read them:
Malanna does mythology better than any author I’ve ever read. That alone is a good enough reason. You want more? Oh, right. Her Eric and Sookie are dead on, and the entire tale is so well-written and so rich with information that when you finish you’ll want to go back and re-read to see if you can catch things the second time around.
The best part? There’s a third part that’s still coming given that Malanna is blessed with the time, inclination, and good health to do it.
Stories: Dead to Rights and Left for Dead
----
The Irish Series by Meg2
Publish Date: First was published in November of ’08, last published in January of ‘09
This author and her writing has always been highly recommended, but I must confess that I’ve never read this series. To make up for my lack of knowledge, nycsnowbird is going to tell you about it!
Why You Should Read It: Meg2's "The Irish Series" is a 13 part series of stories starting with From The Beginning. . .
The story follows CH's short, Wolfsbane and Mistletoe, which followed her 8th book. In this involving saga, Sookie fae bonds to Eric during their marriage ceremony. The doublebond creates some newfound abilities to read all forms of supes as well as the ability to speak in Word which summons The Ancient Pythoness who claims Sookie as her asset. Sookie finds out she is Fae and a descendant of the Tuatha Dé Danann. An incident at Fangtasia sends Sookie fleeing her Viking husband and entering a Fae portal to escape to Ireland to heal. She is trained over the course of almost a year to harness her new powers and when she finally returns, it is at the side of the Pythoness to handle all non-royal judicial matters and Eric finds her much changed. Can their marriage survive the passage of time, her new powers and the threats to them both?
Deliciously detailed, involving and just epic in scope. Meg2 is tremendously detail oriented and weaves in many SVM characters into her believable and compulsive page turner that spins around magic and centuries-old beliefs. You get multiple POVs as well so you can track Eric's emotional arc in this series as well.
Stories: From the Beginning, Sookie's Revelation, Friendship, The Gamble, Bound, Recompense, Gambit, Desiderata, Understanding, Reconciliation, The Weave of Time, Retribution, Family. View Meg2's fanfiction profile to get links to each story.
----
Chasing The Light by FarDareisMai2
Publish Date: March ‘09
Summary: It's five months since he recovered his memories, but Eric has kept Sookie at arm's length. Will being with her put her in danger?
Why You Should Read It: First of all, if you can’t handle normal angst then this story is absolutely not for you. I’m serious. Don’t even consider it. Don’t even take a peek, because you will get sucked in, and then you will end up a sobbing mess at quite a few points *cough* The Evil Chapter *cough*. (also known as the chapter that made almost every reviewer say, “I hate you! I can’t read this anymore.”)
This story puts Sookie through the ringer, and that is a vast understatement. FarDareisMai2 is just fantastic at angst. There’s a reason for everything that happens, and it’s all just so damn good. This story hits you places emotionally, I’m tellin’ ya.
On the Eric and Sookie front, it’s spot on, possibly even better than the canon versions. All in all, it’s an extremely well written take on a version of how Eric and Sookie’s journey could have gone.
Bonus: Also check out Letting Go, a fantastic one-shot by FDM that shows Eric’s feelings for Sookie after the takeover. This one line will make you want to read it and all of FDM’s work:
“Bill claimed he would die for her. That is easy. I loved her enough to let her go. To set her free. To protect her the only way I could. That was the measure of my love.”
----
Know Thyself by Konfetti
Publish Date: January ‘09
Summary: Sookie gets a visit from a Viking and the night goes terribly awry!
Why You Should Read It: There’s only one thing I really need to say… Replaces. Book. Nine.
I should warn you that it’s not complete, and I don’t know if it will be completed, but believe me it’s freaking worth it.
----
This next author didn’t have a “talk” fic, but her writing is excellent and all of her stuff is worth a read so…
Everything published by At A Venture
AAV started publishing in January of ’09, and though she doesn’t write for SVM anymore, she contributed a great deal to our community while she did.
She has many one-shots, and quite a few multi-chapter stories. You will never be disappointed in her portrayal of the Viking in any of her stories, and you will find yourself asking why she’s not a published author because you’ll want to buy her books.
From her extremely emotional stories like Dead From The Waist Down, Angel of Death and It’s About Power, to her lighter pieces like Art Imitates Life, The Awkward Vampire Picture Show, and Training Wheels, you’ll be dying to see what you can devour next.
----
That’s all I’ve got for now, but stay tuned for Volume II – Old School All Human Fics.
(She's also known as @scribeninja on Twitter)
A long, long time ago… when there were only a handful of SVM stories, us readers worshipped a small amount of writers. They gave us the "Talk", the romance, the Gracious Plenty a-plenty, and the Eric and Sookie relationship we all wanted.
They are…
Old School Fics
Vol. 1
"The Beginning"
A little history:
Back in the beginning we had all just finished From Dead to Worse. Eric had gotten his memories back, and told Sookie that they most definitely would be having a talk about it. Fanfic readers and writers were dying to read Eric and Sookie's talk, so between the time FDtW and Dead and Gone there are a ton of "talk" fics. These are the best…
----
Let Love In, by TerriBotta
Publish Date: October ‘08
Summary: Eric decides it's time for him and Sookie to come to an understanding.
Why you should read it: I’m sure by now you’ve read a ton of canon stories that refer to Sookie as Eric’s “bonded” as a term of endearment. Have you ever wondered where that term came from? Let Love In is the answer.
Simply put, in the opinion of us first generation peeps, this is the best “talk” fic there is. TerriBotta knew that for Eric to really have this talk with Sookie, and have her actually listen and not run away, he’d have to take her somewhere she couldn’t run from. The first couple chapters are pretty establishing, and they really suck you right in and set everything up. Then the author takes us to Isle Elena, and the magic happens.
Really, just read it. You’ll know exactly what I mean. And when you’re done you can read the side-stories that come after. They’re all just as fantastic!
----
Everything ever published by DCWriter16
She began publishing in November of ’08, and most of her stuff is one-shots. The first is called “Stay” which takes place post FDtW, and it is amazing. Once you read it, just keep going up her list, and keep being amazed.
DCWriter16’s style is so addicting, and it gives her writing so much depth. I remember reading one of her one-shots out loud, and though I can’t recall which one it was, I do remember that the writing had such a natural cadence to it that it was like I was reading poetry.
Beautiful stories, beautiful writing. Just have a box of tissues handy for some of them.
----
Dead To Rights and Left For Dead by Malanna
Publish Date: DtR – November ’08; LfD – April ‘09
Why you should read them:
Malanna does mythology better than any author I’ve ever read. That alone is a good enough reason. You want more? Oh, right. Her Eric and Sookie are dead on, and the entire tale is so well-written and so rich with information that when you finish you’ll want to go back and re-read to see if you can catch things the second time around.
The best part? There’s a third part that’s still coming given that Malanna is blessed with the time, inclination, and good health to do it.
Stories: Dead to Rights and Left for Dead
----
The Irish Series by Meg2
Publish Date: First was published in November of ’08, last published in January of ‘09
This author and her writing has always been highly recommended, but I must confess that I’ve never read this series. To make up for my lack of knowledge, nycsnowbird is going to tell you about it!
Why You Should Read It: Meg2's "The Irish Series" is a 13 part series of stories starting with From The Beginning. . .
The story follows CH's short, Wolfsbane and Mistletoe, which followed her 8th book. In this involving saga, Sookie fae bonds to Eric during their marriage ceremony. The doublebond creates some newfound abilities to read all forms of supes as well as the ability to speak in Word which summons The Ancient Pythoness who claims Sookie as her asset. Sookie finds out she is Fae and a descendant of the Tuatha Dé Danann. An incident at Fangtasia sends Sookie fleeing her Viking husband and entering a Fae portal to escape to Ireland to heal. She is trained over the course of almost a year to harness her new powers and when she finally returns, it is at the side of the Pythoness to handle all non-royal judicial matters and Eric finds her much changed. Can their marriage survive the passage of time, her new powers and the threats to them both?
Deliciously detailed, involving and just epic in scope. Meg2 is tremendously detail oriented and weaves in many SVM characters into her believable and compulsive page turner that spins around magic and centuries-old beliefs. You get multiple POVs as well so you can track Eric's emotional arc in this series as well.
Stories: From the Beginning, Sookie's Revelation, Friendship, The Gamble, Bound, Recompense, Gambit, Desiderata, Understanding, Reconciliation, The Weave of Time, Retribution, Family. View Meg2's fanfiction profile to get links to each story.
----
Chasing The Light by FarDareisMai2
Publish Date: March ‘09
Summary: It's five months since he recovered his memories, but Eric has kept Sookie at arm's length. Will being with her put her in danger?
Why You Should Read It: First of all, if you can’t handle normal angst then this story is absolutely not for you. I’m serious. Don’t even consider it. Don’t even take a peek, because you will get sucked in, and then you will end up a sobbing mess at quite a few points *cough* The Evil Chapter *cough*. (also known as the chapter that made almost every reviewer say, “I hate you! I can’t read this anymore.”)
This story puts Sookie through the ringer, and that is a vast understatement. FarDareisMai2 is just fantastic at angst. There’s a reason for everything that happens, and it’s all just so damn good. This story hits you places emotionally, I’m tellin’ ya.
On the Eric and Sookie front, it’s spot on, possibly even better than the canon versions. All in all, it’s an extremely well written take on a version of how Eric and Sookie’s journey could have gone.
Bonus: Also check out Letting Go, a fantastic one-shot by FDM that shows Eric’s feelings for Sookie after the takeover. This one line will make you want to read it and all of FDM’s work:
“Bill claimed he would die for her. That is easy. I loved her enough to let her go. To set her free. To protect her the only way I could. That was the measure of my love.”
----
Know Thyself by Konfetti
Publish Date: January ‘09
Summary: Sookie gets a visit from a Viking and the night goes terribly awry!
Why You Should Read It: There’s only one thing I really need to say… Replaces. Book. Nine.
I should warn you that it’s not complete, and I don’t know if it will be completed, but believe me it’s freaking worth it.
----
This next author didn’t have a “talk” fic, but her writing is excellent and all of her stuff is worth a read so…
Everything published by At A Venture
AAV started publishing in January of ’09, and though she doesn’t write for SVM anymore, she contributed a great deal to our community while she did.
She has many one-shots, and quite a few multi-chapter stories. You will never be disappointed in her portrayal of the Viking in any of her stories, and you will find yourself asking why she’s not a published author because you’ll want to buy her books.
From her extremely emotional stories like Dead From The Waist Down, Angel of Death and It’s About Power, to her lighter pieces like Art Imitates Life, The Awkward Vampire Picture Show, and Training Wheels, you’ll be dying to see what you can devour next.
----
That’s all I’ve got for now, but stay tuned for Volume II – Old School All Human Fics.
10 comments:
Great article. I love the Old School, in which I would also include ehee's Dead for Real and Ann Madison's Dead Ahead. I started reading SVM fanfic in Oct. 2008, and I could breath without any of these stories!
forgot to mention that Dead Ahead was first published 11-19-08 and Dead for Real on 12-27-08!
Talk about some classic, f**kawesome old school!
I know I started my fan fic addiction with Let Love In, like many others, and many of the other stories mentioned followed shortly after. Great article.
I so didn't mean to post that twice. The site had technical difficulties and I didn't think it posted! LOL! Sorry!
Linds, how have you not read Meg2's Irish series?!?!?! Go. Read. Now. Her other series, too, if you haven't. I'm proud to say I'm pretty sure I've read everything on this list :-)
Meads, those are fantastic suggestion, and while I haven't read Dead Ahead, I would definitely recommend Dead For Real :)
Nic- *hangs head* No, I haven't. I really should though.
Terri Botta, Meg2, Malanna, DCWriter16--these women built the foundation of my fanfiction addiction. I can't thank them enough for their inspiration. I never would have tried to write myself if I hadn't read their stories.
I still read Know Thyself from time to time, it comforts me. So many things in it I wanted to see in the books, but no such luck. And, like the others, Dead Ahead is a must. I missed it so much.
So some great recommendations I only started fanfic in January or so and missed some of the early greats. After this post read Dead Ahead, it was awesome I need to know what happened, did it just stop at chapter 33???
@Linda V; I know!! I'm still terribly curious to know what the h happens next!
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