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Listen up, people, it's fic rec time.

Got this rec from another page (thanks, Liz) and decided to read it, even though the title would ordinarily have kept me away. I was surprised and delighted by what a well-written, solidly characterized, witty, touching and intriguing story I found. So here it is:

Harry Potter and the Polka Dot Plague by Marina Frants.

Read. Enjoy. Review.

In other good news, the same multi-fandom fic rec page also chose to recommend the excellent, novel-length Tom Riddle fic by D&L beta-readers turned virtuoso authors Alec and Teri -- The Arithmancer's Apprentice. I hope this means that many, many more people will read the story and give it the recognition it deserves. And yes, This Means You. :)

And now I'm off to hopefully not make a disaster of myself on stage. More later.

(no subject)

I am very happy to report that not only was tonight's open air concert not a disaster, it seems to have been quite a success. I didn't mess up any of the piano accompaniments, or forget any of the words, or otherwise botch any of my solos -- and my singing partner Janna did wonderfully, in spite of her nervousness. The songs we'd chosen fit in even more perfectly with my Dad's message than I'd anticipated, and we had a lot of appreciative comments afterward about the clarity and suitability of the lyrics. Furthermore, this year the concert was taped, so I'll actually have the chance to listen to it and see how it really sounded. I might even, if I get really ambitious, see if I can turn a song or two into an MP3 or Real Audio file and stick it up on the blog. :)

Anyway, for those of you who were praying, or even just wishing me well, thanks.