Better than Moonshine: Masterpost

[riyku]

Title:  Better than Moonshine
Genre: Jared/Jensen AU
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 33,000

Summary:  After publishing a few dime store paperbacks and one novel that scored decent critical success, Jensen's in a bit of a rut. He's got an editor breathing down his neck, an overdue novel that needs to be written, and a weeklong workshop to lead on beating writer's block. To top it off, he has a vicarious one-night stand, and now the guy keeps showing up all over the place. It turns out that a little petty larceny, a car crash, and possible blackmail--all in the name of fun--might be exactly what he needs to kick-start his writing again.

ahhlee_spn 's lovely art post here.

 

 

 

Part 1  ::  Part 2  ::  Part 3  ::  Part 4  ::  Epilogue 

Notes  ::  pdf :: .mobi ::  .epub

 

 

Comments

[peggy-lane.livejournal.com]

This looks really fun! Thanks for the pdf version - I snagged a copy for later :D

[riyku.livejournal.com]

You're quite welcome. I hope you enjoy!

[josieb1.livejournal.com]

This looks brilliant, thank you. I have grabbed the mobi and the PDF, thanks so much for making them available..

[riyku.livejournal.com]

Very happy to be of service! Thanks for the note, and I hope you like it.

[dugindeep.livejournal.com]

\0/

[riyku.livejournal.com]

♥♥♥

[icelily01.livejournal.com]

I'm here. Fire's stoked. I'd crack open the rum but, well, you know.

Knit hats all around.

[riyku.livejournal.com]

Probably better that you can't get into the rum right now, because I'm pretty sure I drank it all. All. of. it. I kinda love you a lot, you know that right?

♥ Knit hat right backatcha.

[twasadark.livejournal.com]

Yay!! Looks awesome! And thanks for the mobi version.

[riyku.livejournal.com]

You're quite welcome. Hope you enjoy, and thank you!

[anne-higgins.livejournal.com]

I want to add my thanks for the reading options! Am making my way through the PDF right now. And I gotta say, I think I want to marry your first three sentences! Soooooooo the story of my life right now!

[riyku.livejournal.com]

Haha!! So glad those first sentences were relatable! I was moaning about a lack of ideas, and I had a fannish cohort tell me to just sit down and write what I saw. I did exactly that, and it seemed to do the trick. You're very welcome for the downloads.

[tryfanstone.livejournal.com]

So very, very glad to see this post. Reading now.

[riyku.livejournal.com]

Goodness, I am rather relieved that I could shut this document file down for good. I'm very much looking forward to reading the final edit of Allegory. Thanks so much Jay.

[tryfanstone.livejournal.com]

Almost... five days after reading, and re-reading, and four days after reading again, and then... tonight I re-read what was supposed to be only the good bits and turned out to be most of the fic because it's just that good... That's a full on apology for this very belated comment. I'm sorry.

But. But I loved Better than Moonshine. It's perfect. The flow of it, easy and natural, so easy it's impossible to overlook the skill that went into making it so. The quiet charm of the thing, the glimpse into a world I don't know so perfectly portrayed, the lightness of touch with emotion, the fleshed out characters, the moments of humour and action and pathos and triumph. I loved the way you mixed Jensen's writing block into the story - I really, really loved Jared's sense of honour. The typewriter, the descriptions of manuscripts, the shreds of stories untold, the deprecating, doubtful sure way Jensen thinks of himself as a writer. The doubtful, sure way Jared sneaks up on an emotional connection, all the more telling for the lightness with which you handle both characters and situation.

Most of all... this is a complex, intelligent, adult story. I loved it. This one... this one I'll come back to over and over again. Thank you so much for finishing and posting - the writing is so very worth the end result. Bravo.

[riyku.livejournal.com]

I'll happily accept your full on apology if you accept my late response (as well as my comment on yours).

Thanks so much for the note. I so often feared that the thing was almost too quiet, and that perhaps I was writing a story about a writer and writing that would be relatable to writers alone, and that can be a dreadfully dry thing. As for the totems--typewriter, telephone and all--we all have those, don't we?

Also, thanks for the mention of Jared's honor. Grinning like crazy over here, because yes, his hesitation to delve too deeply into Jensen's block is more than a matter of professional courtesy, I think.

Really, very many thanks, and that you'd want to visit this story again is such a compliment.

[yggdrasilian.livejournal.com]

Downloaded; thank you! :D

[riyku.livejournal.com]

You're quite welcome, and enjoy!

[kelios.livejournal.com]

thank you thank you for the pdf! Downloading to my kindle now :)

[riyku.livejournal.com]

I hope you enjoy! I'd be swimming in books were it not for my eReader. Thanks for the note.

[godamnarmsrace.livejournal.com]

Taking the pdf, Spanks!

[riyku.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome. Enjoy!

[aponny.livejournal.com]

Summary sounds awesome. \0/ Taking the pdf-file to enjoy the story later. Thank you!

[riyku.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! Summaries are so impossible to write. Hope you like it.

[azazelblack.livejournal.com]

Wow. I just... I loved this story. Appart from the plot itself, the characters are so well written and the relationship is so... natural. I feels real and not just a fantasy. Honestly, there where parts of this that felt a little bit like a slap, like somebody was trying to say "this is a real relationship and not what we see in movies, not that tearing, drama-inducing, must-have-or-will-die feeling, and yet it still is absolutely beautiful"
I don't know, I probably misunderstood the whole story, or completly missed the point, or read more into it that you wrote, but just like Jensen said: "the meanings of some books don't exist outside of the readers minds". Well, in case you're interested, this is how your fic exists in my mind.
Thank you. Reading this made me feel great.

[riyku.livejournal.com]

Goodness, such lovely feedback! Thanks for the note on the characterization as well as the nature of their relationship. That it came across as natural and not over-wrought is such a compliment. Sometimes things like this are simple, you know? And you didn't misunderstand or miss the point at all. I was hoping this story would be relatable, and it sounds like I've hit the mark. Again, thanks for the feedback, and thanks so much for reading.

[katbcoll.livejournal.com]

This was a lot of fun! Stayed up way too late last night to finish it, but it was a nice distraction from the heat. Thank you for sharing it.

[riyku.livejournal.com]

Great to know that this was a worthwhile diversion! It's been hot as hell here, too, so we'll call this a win--even though it kept you up too late! Thanks very much!

[talulababy.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the Mobi one. This is one of the stories I was interested when doing the art claim. Congrats! :)

[riyku.livejournal.com]

You are very welcome, and I hope you enjoy. Best of luck with your artwork. Thank you!

[twelve-pastels.livejournal.com]

I just finished the PDF and I adored it! It was sweet, charming, about writers, and set in New England in the winter, which pretty much hits every single one of my happy buttons. Also, I liked the bits about the eternally-publishing author and his underground lair full of captive postgrads - totally true, you know. Thanks for sharing!

[riyku.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so much! Yes, I see all these writers who put out a half dozen books a year, and I swear there has to be something amiss over that kind of productivity. So glad that you liked this.

[moonofblindness.livejournal.com]

I love reading stories about writers, idky!!! i loved this! and im so glad they got together in the end!!!

[riyku.livejournal.com]

I'm a sucker for a happy ending, what can I say? It's lovely to know that you liked this. Thanks!

[ltread001.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this too. Thank you for sharing it!!

[riyku.livejournal.com]

Great to know you liked this. Thank you!

[keerawa.livejournal.com]

Fun story! it felt very much like a story BY a writer, FOR writers. The self-doubts, and little details, and the descriptions were all very ... self-conciously writerly. Not in a negative way. It felt like we were sharing a joke, with a wink and a smile, you know?

Jared fangirling Jensen at the airport was hilarious. I laughed out loud when Jared broke into the shrine, and boasted about the naughty skills he'd gained researching for his novel. And, of course, the way he managed to bull his way past all of Jensen's defenses. And then Jensen, sneaking out the window of his own home. *snickers* And that sickening moment of horrifying DOUBT, when he decides Jared must have played him. That feels like something a real person would do, you know?

Thanks for sharing it!

[riyku.livejournal.com]

Hahaha!! I feel like someone finally caught me red handed with this story! A shared joke indeed, keerawa. In fact, so many of those little details in the story are things that I do, the provisioning (I swear I can't write a word without butterscotch and peanut butter), the staring, the head on the desk trying to think of just the right word.

Thanks so much, and it's wonderful to know that this made you smile.

[ambrosia4all.livejournal.com]

Congrats! ☆ Your fic is recced here (http://sawedoff-recs.livejournal.com/140500.html) at sawedoff_recs.

[bonspiel.livejournal.com]

I read this on an e-reader and am finally coming back to leave feedback - I really enjoyed this a lot. Thanks.