Looking for book recs:

I've been reading too many hard-boiled murder mysteries and too much dark stuff, and I'm looking for something somewhat lighter. By somewhat I mean that people can die, just preferably not at the hands of a twisted psychopath or in an apocalypse. Also does not have to be "light reading" in the sense of really fast or easy to read.

Stuff I'm not looking for right now: horror (though I guess I covered that), fantasy/urban fantasy unless it's just amazingly good, genre romances (unless they are genre Regencies which for some reason I make an exception for).

Stuff I might be looking for: science fiction that isn't too dark or too incredibly long, mainstream fiction, humor, mysteries that aren't too dark, classics of any kind if they are not too brain-breaky.

Ideally I'd like something I can try to get from the library, plus I have no e-reader, so please nothing that's only available as an e-book.

Thank you so much for any help.

So a long time ago someone said to me "You should write a story about a werewolf and then I'd read it." But he was mostly kidding so I forgot about it until this popped into my head. He kept to his word though and read it and beta'd it, so thanks! Any mistakes are my own.

Title: Scavenger
Rating: T for Teen
Word Count: 1,670

( It took Alan a moment to register that the flash of gray he saw through the trees just after dawn was a person. )

I hope this doesn't bring down anyone's day, but... a slideshow:

Women meet with their children at California Institute for Women state prison in Chino, California, May 5, 2012.

An annual Mother's Day event, Get On The Bus, brings children in California to visit their mothers in prison. Sixty percent of parents in state prison report being held over 100 miles from their children.

Sometimes I feel sorry for myself that my kid lives with her dad, and sometimes I just... don't.

This was an exchange for fic about female characters who don't get a lot of fic, whether their fandoms are popular or not.

First the fic written for me:

Title: The Light from Within
Author: _hannelore
Fandom: Disney Princesses
Character: Rapunzel
Summary: When Rapunzel finds out that another of the sun's healing flowers has been discovered, she feels it is her duty to protect it against outsiders who want it for their own gain. Without warning, Rapunzel discovers who needs the flower most.

This is Rapunzel at her badass best and her giving, generous best. I loved it and I highly recommend it. Also it has a little Flynn and a lot of Maximus, what more could you want?

As for the one I wrote...

Title: Strength
Fandom: The Hunger Games
Character: Primrose Everdeen
Summary: Prim knows too much for a child her age. They all do.
Notes: Thank you very much to meganbmoore for beta help. Any mistakes are my own.

The entire list, with a ton of fandoms of all types, is here.

Top Ten Fics by hits on Archive of Our Own

(These are not my top ten fics by LJ comments, and I wonder how much this says about my fic and how much it says about AO3... Also some of these have few or no comments or kudos, just lots of hits, which may actually mean they suck. :/)

I did not include the pairings, warnings, etc. but they are at the top of the page if you do click the links. (#2 is especially nasty and I will be laughing all night that it got the number 2 spot.)

( This got long, so click here... )

Ficlets in two fandoms, written for the Multifandom Lyrics Prompt Comment Ficathon

Title: I'm Not Your Love Song
Fandom: The Hunger Games
Pairing: Katniss/Peeta
Spoilers: First book/movie, vague
Rating: PG?
Prompt: Mumford & Sons: Hold On To What You Believe

( Sometimes Katniss thinks she knows what Peeta really wants... )


Title: Bloodstained
Fandom: Death Note
Characters/Pairing: Rem and Misa, implied Misa/Light
Spoilers: If you know about Misa you're good.
Rating: T for Teen
Prompt: Veruca Salt: Blood On My Hands

( Who could he love but me? )

Mystery plant - edible? Find out in Natural Living

Because if I want to know if I’m going to be poisoned, I’m going to take a poll of internet strangers!

This looks like fun!

(I might have a couple of prompts in a couple of fandoms on page seven, and one of the songs might actually be in English, even.)

So, they're having a challenge at femslash100 where the prompts are Lesbian pulp fiction titles. I claimed the Silent Hill fandom. Here are my first two ficlets. (They can only be up to 250 words, and I'll admit I pushed the limit with these...)

Title: Red and Pink
Prompt: Good Girl, Bad Girl
Fandom: Silent Hill 2
Pairing: Maria/Mary
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 250

Title: Playing With the Darkness
Prompt: A World Divided
Fandom: Silent Hill 3
Pairing: Claudia/Alessa (both adults)
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 250
Warning: Violence, dark themes

This is a short story I wrote after contemplating magical girl anime and various other fictional themes. Thank you to my friend who looked it over; any mistakes are my own!

( The Girl Who Stayed Home )