Hello there!

How did I get into this, dear reader? Well, I've loved vampire stories ever since I read Dracula as a teenager, but the Sookie Stackhouse series was very different to the traditional horror books I'd read. It grabbed my imagination by the throat and wouldn't let go. In the wait between books, I found fanfiction and I enjoyed the wide variety of stories so much that I decided to 'pay it forward' by writing my own.

My stories are also over on AO3 – thanks for the invite ws! – so if FF ever decide they're the wrong side of the M/MA rating line and take them down, that's where they'll be. (That is entirely FF's prerogative: their site, their rules.) You can download copies over there, if you really want to clutter up your hard drives with my nonsense.

Here's the url: archiveofourown(dot)org /users/MagpieTales/

I picked Magpie as a name because once I started writing I found that snippets of real life, other books, TV shows and films crept onto the page, much like the random bits and pieces magpies collect to line their nests.

Reviews:
Constructive criticism is welcome. I want to hear it even if you hated something. I'm afraid you're stuck with my British spelling, but I've done my best to use American terms and stay true to the Southern setting. Please tell me if I've messed that up, or if I've dropped any clangers of spelling, phrasing or grammar so I can correct them. Thanks!

Please be polite. I have a thick skin, but I will report/delete anything truly offensive, particularly if it's not related to the story. I've only done that two, maybe three times; let's keep it that way.

Ownership:
I write for other fans and for fun, and I think collaboration can produce great things. So, in that spirit, consider my stories as having a Non-commercial Creative Commons license, with Attribution. Basically, my fics must remain free and I must be acknowledged as the author.

If you want to use ideas from my stories in your own fanfic go ahead, I'll be flattered! Credit would be nice if it's something major, but it's not essential. And I'm very approachable if you want to chat. Just PM me.

No cut&paste jobs though. Passing someone else's words off as your own is plagiarism, and readers will notice.

Guide to The Long Haul Saga:

(These are rated M but more for serious themes than graphic lemons or gratuitous violence.)

I've stayed true to canon up to Death in the Family in these, but only loosely beyond that. Major events from the last three books have happened, but not all the minor ones. (Mainly because I haven't read them.) Special thanks to the ladies of amazonia & in particular the 'Zanne Interpretation' of Eric's actions in DEA which inspired some of the plot.

I have planned three multi-chapter fics and assorted shorts. So far we have, in recommended reading order:

Part 1: Turbulence — Multi-chapter, complete.
Set three years after Dead Ever After. Centred on Sookie and Eric, but they aren't together.
[Content Warnings: miscarriage, marriage breakdown, bereavement, violence and torture.]

Fashion Crimes and Punishments — One-shot, complete.
A comedy set right after Turbulence. Pam and Thalia have a prank war.

Trust — Short, complete.
Eric & Rory's friendship develops during the six month interval between Turbulence and Crash & Burn.

The Letter — One-shot, complete
Sam reads a letter from Sookie, about 3 months after Turbulence.

Part 2: Crash and Burn — Multi-chapter, in progress.On hiatus
Picks up 6 months after Turbulence. Sookie returns to Louisiana only to be drawn back into the supernatural world. Eric, meanwhile, has moved on.

Announcements:

October 2019: Beautiful Liar - a short OC Halloween story for you all, written for the Drabble Contest on the Writers Anonymous Forum. (Other entries, in various fandoms, are listed in the first post of this thread here if you're interested.)

Writing hundred-word drabbles was definitely a challenge for me, being my wordy self normally. And of course, it's historical, so I had to research Maine, New York and San Francisco in the nineteenth century. And, because I was reading horror at the time, I sneaked in some tributes to HP Lovecraft. All the background characters are named for his characters. Mostly evil cultists! And that cover picture is the actual Shunned House, in Providence.

Happy Halloween y'all.

June 2020: Consequences - a short featuring Crystal and Jason, inspired by the Mistaken Identity challenge on the Writers Anonymous Forum, see this thread for details and the actual entries.

So, 2020. Interesting year, huh? Hard to believe it's halfway over already. I hope everyone is safe and well out there.

My writing mojo was definitely MIA for most of spring, but I've rediscovered it down the back of the sofa, pulled it out and dusted it off. It's a bit battered and scrumpled, but I think it might still be just about functional. So...

This summer I will be working on two things. One is a bittersweet little thing called Tell It Like It Is, a short(ish) very canon story that I dunno if y'all will like but it won't leave me alone at the moment so I'm writing it anyway. The other is... deep breath... Crash& Burn, but I'm making no promises on that one. Promises seem to be the kiss of death to actually finishing it.

I will keep you posted. Here. Stay safe out there.