Recs, or, Come on, look at them! They're cute as a button!

I just sent 10,000 words of Rymon to poor dana_kujan and how do I repay her? By writing a "Cake" Rec Post. All recs are always for samgrrrl because she likes recs. There isn't a lot here, just four authors that I'm willing to say you should read, one of which you absolutely must (that means you, sistermagpie).

Ah, Cake: Chris Richardson and Blake Lewis. ( Background, or why this is all lillijulianne's fault. )

So you know how we're always talking about how we want our porn to be really smart, and tell a story through the sex, and not be all "ew girly bits"? Ladies and Gentlemen, meet lillijulianne. My links at del.icio.us include the dates she posted the stories and I suggest that you read them in that order. 42 stories, though each one is fairly short, and a lot of it also includes Kat McPhee (hence the "McCake"). She's given us not only really layered takes on these "characters" but also an intense emotional arc. These are the kinds of stories that we're always trying to find, the kind you can really sink your teeth into, and I can't recommend them highly enough. No, really, run don't walk.

For really well-written, mostly smutty, ship fic, I also recommend two other writers, birdisland and ruby_fruit. Rubyfruit's 12 stories are incredibly hot, inventive, with that little bit of humor at the core that makes them really fun to read. Birdisland's 8 stories are in a more impressionistic style, but no less sexy.

Then there are writers who are writing stories that feel like you could have written them yourself, and you're just so glad they're writing, too. For me, the latter is lessthangreat—except she's a lot more prolific than I am; I've linked to 19 stories here, and all are funny and loving with a sweetness underneath. She does great dialogue and her stories really, in the end, are just fun to read. Some are lighter than others, but I recommend them all.