Dreamer's Sanctuary

Do you realize this is the last year we’ll have a Backstreet Boy still in his thirties?  God, we’re getting old!

I was tempted to post the first chapter of the novel I’ve been teasing for the last few posts because it’s Nick’s birthday, and it’s a Nick story, but I resisted that temptation because 1) I’m still not ready, and 2) I’m not being very nice to Nick in this one (shocker), so it didn’t seem like the best birthday gift for him.  Then again, I posted the beginning of Broken on this day 16 years ago and the end of its sequel By My Side on this day 11 years ago, and I was not very nice to Nick in those stories either.  Sorry, Nick.

The main reason I’m posting today is to give you the run-down on Flashback Fics, the new fanfic discussion club we’ll be starting in February!  Thanks to those of you who expressed interest and/or voted in the polls in my last post!  After a close vote, we decided to hold the discussion over on the DS forum.  I think this will be a better format for discussion, but it will require you to register on the forum if you haven’t already.  You can get to the forum through the Site menu or clicking on this link: http://dreamsanctuary.proboards.com/   I created a new subboard in the FanFic ChitChat section called Flashback Fics.  For our first month, February, we’ll be reading a classic favorite of mine, “Cardio” by Trinity.  Head on over to the forum for more information.  Hope to see many of you there!

It’s been so long since we’ve had a new BSB album to gush about, I just had to post and do just that!  After a late night last night and a long day at work today, I’m finally able to sit and fully enjoy listening to DNA on repeat (a.k.a. not while getting ready or driving to/from work).  I love it!  I had a feeling it was going to be a strong album based on the four tracks that had been released prior to today, all of which I adore, and it did not disappoint.  There’s not a track I don’t like.  My top three of the new songs are “New Love,” “Passionate,” and “The Way It Was.”  “New Love” is such a unique-sounding, cool jam!  I listened to the album for the first time while lying in bed, which was my way of compromising on my dilemma of “Do I stay up too late to listen to the album, or do I go to bed and wait until morning?”, and this song completely erased any feelings of sleepiness.  “Passionate” is the perfect song to follow it; it keeps the groove going.  This one was a grower for me; I didn’t love it on the first listen, but by the third time through, it was a favorite!  I was the same way with “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” which is still one of the best tracks on the album.  And then there’s “The Way It Was,” which gave me goosebumps!  I love the oldies vibe of it, and listening to Nick’s solos backed by the other Boys’ beautiful harmonies… seriously, chills!  This album shows how much Nick’s voice has grown and matured in the last twenty years.  He sounds amazing!  I also love that Brian sings more leads on this album than he did on the last one – I love In a World Like This, but I missed my Brian solos!  The balance between all five guys on this album is awesome, both in terms of solos and harmonies!

What are your thoughts on DNA and your favorite tracks so far?

I will posting again at some point this weekend with more details on the first month for Flashback Fiction, the fanfic discussion group idea I’ve been talking about.  If you’re interested in participating and haven’t voted in the polls I posted in the last update, please do in the next day or so!  As of right now, it looks like we’re going to be reading “Cardio” in February (which I’m super excited about!) and discussing it on the forum.  I’m also excited about that, as the forum could use some activity!

In terms of my own fanfic, I’m still writing and am on Chapter 12 of the novel I started this past summer.  I’m getting antsy to start posting it, but I’m also still nervous that as soon as I do, I’ll hit a wall and won’t be able to keep up with regular updates.  I’m not sure if the new album will inspire me to write more or make it harder.  Sometimes I have a hard time writing drama and angst when things are so good in the guys’ real lives – and, of course, this novel will be chock full of drama, angst, pain, and torture!  I know you must love it as much as I do, or you wouldn’t be here! 😉  So… stay tuned, and in the meantime, enjoy the new album!!!

Thanks for your feedback on my last post about possibly starting a blog or book club for discussing BSB fics! It sounds like there are at least a few people interested, so I would love to give this a try.

My working title for this idea is “Flashback Fics.” What I’m thinking is that we could read and discuss one story a month. I only want to include finished stories in this, so we’d be reading mostly older stories, ranging from twenty-year-old classics to more recent stuff. Some months I might just choose a story to feature myself, and other months I might put up a poll and give you guys a choice in what we read. I’m already thinking ahead to themes we could do during different months and getting excited about certain stories I would love to revisit. Eventually I might ask for your story suggestions, too!

I would love your input on how you want this to work. I have two ideas about how this could go:

Option 1: I start the discussion by posting a weekly blog with my thoughts on the story we’re reading that month, and you respond by leaving a comment. Our discussion would take place in the comments section of each post on this site.

Option 2: We use the forum for discussion. I would start a thread for each story we read, and we could all post our thoughts on the story there.

There are pros and cons to each option. The first option may be more convenient because you could stay right on the main site and comment using your site or social media account; you wouldn’t need to create an account on the forum if you don’t already have one. The downside to that option is that it may be harder to follow a discussion in the comment section than it would be in a forum thread. I’m good with either way, but would love to know what would work best for you. Please vote in the poll below and let me know your preference. I’ll go with the majority!

We can start this next month! With Valentine’s Day coming up, I thought we could either read a romance or a story involving hearts. I’ve chosen three stories that fit that theme for you to vote on. Read the summaries below and then vote in the poll! You can vote for up to two options.

Cardio by Trinity

Synopsis: When Brian pushes his heart further than it can go, he must face the tragic consequences.
Julie’s notes: This is my favorite of the many Brian heart problem stories I read back in 1999 and 2000. I haven’t read it in years, but I still remember the first time I did… talk about a tearjerker! It’s a short story, only seven chapters – perfect for a short month!

Cover Me With Dreams by Heidi

Synopsis: What happens when your life has been covered with dreams, but your pain is too intense for you to even know it? Will you ever see past the pain and into the dream?
Julie’s notes: This may be my favorite fanfic of all time! It’s a Nick romance with plenty of drama and a great female lead. It’s on the longer side, at around 70 chapters, but absolutely worth the time it takes to read!

Secrets of the Heart by Julie

Synopsis: Brian Littrell and AJ McLean were not the type of men you’d expect to associate with one another. One was a music teacher and a family man; the other made his living in bars and tattoo parlors. Their paths sometimes paralleled, but never crossed… until fate altered the course of their lives. Through tragedy, the two men would meet… to bring justice to a life cut short.
Julie’s notes: This is one of my stories. It’s an alternate universe (AU), meaning Brian and AJ are just regular guys, not Backstreet Boys, and don’t know each other at the beginning. The other guys are featured in small roles, but it’s definitely a Brian/AJ story… and a DRAMA! It’s short compared to most of my “recent” novels, only 25 chapters.

Thanks for your input! Stay tuned for more information. In the meantime, if you have any thoughts, suggestions, or questions, feel free to leave a comment on this post!

Happy New Year!

I almost posted on New Year’s Day just to say that and let you know I’m still writing, but since I basically did that a few weeks ago, it felt pointless to post another blog without a story update to go with it.  But lately I’ve been thinking maybe I should do more blogging on this site in between story updates to give people another reason to visit.  I am fully planning to get back to regular story updates when I’m ready, but the project I’ve been working on just isn’t far enough yet that I could guarantee, say, weekly updates for more than a couple of months.  I do have ten chapters finished, which is farther than I’ve gotten with any other novel since Sick as My Secrets, so that is a good sign.

As far as blogging goes, I don’t see the point in blogging about the Backstreet Boys because, quite frankly, there are already other sites that do that better and more often than I would be able to.  (Check out What Happens on the Backstreet and my affiliate The Dark Side if you haven’t already!)  I feel like I could talk about BSB fanfic all day, though, and there just aren’t that many places to do that these days.  Years ago, I was in a Yahoo Group run by Mare, one of the moderators at Absolute Chaos, that worked like a book club; each month, we would all read the same fanfic and discuss it together.  She carried the concept over to the AC message board, which was once an active place to talk about both fanfic and the Boys, but there just aren’t very many of us left there who still read and write fanfic.  It makes it hard to have a good discussion.  Anyway, I was just thinking it might be fun to resurrect the concept of reading and discussing fanfic together.  I would enjoy blogging about old stories, whether my own or favorites by other authors, but would anyone else be interested in reading/commenting/discussing along with me?  If so, leave a comment and let me know!  And if not, stay tuned for the next story update… whenever that may be!

This isn’t a story update, unfortunately, but a blog post to let you know I am still out there, writing stories, and will update again someday.  I realized it’s been quite awhile since I’ve posted anything on the site and didn’t want my readers to think I’d disappeared.  If you follow me on Twitter, you know I’ve been writing a lot recently.  Ever since I finished Sick as My Secrets, I’ve been jumping around between several different stories without making much progress on any of them, but this summer I started a new Nick novel that I’ve gotten into a groove with lately.  I won’t be posting any “sneak peeks” until I’m ready to start posting the thing for real, as I learned my lesson with My Brother’s Keeper in January.  That one’s on the back burner for now (but I do plan to keep writing it when I feel like it).  The new one is going well so far (I just hit 50 pages this weekend!), but I’m going to wait until I’m further into it to start posting it.  I just wanted you to know I’m working on something, and hopefully it will be worth the wait!

Happy holidays, and I hope to be back with actual, at least somewhat regular updates in 2019!