A Thousand Beautiful Things now posted

[geoviki]

I've just posted A Thousand Beautiful Things at SkyeHawke. It's a full-length, Harry/Draco novel. And yes, it's complete.

Here's the -

And a picture that becomes part of the plot:

Comments

[cathexys.livejournal.com]

i'm so excited to be reading this...this is the first hp piece in a while that i've *really* wanted to read...i'll print it out tomorrow and take to the pool :-)

also, i can't believe i didn't "properly" check you out when we first friended...the waters of march was a brilliant story which i totally adored...loved the metaness and the careful wording and the lovingly portrayed plot...and the sensualness of the combing...beautiful!!!

[eh, sorry, this post should give you fb on your new one...but i'll get to that once i've actually *finished* it...and with a long finished novel like that, i *want* to linger and cherish and enjoy :-) ]

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

I hope you enjoy it. And I hope you have lots of paper -- it runs about 250 pages in Word at 12-pt font!

[sine-que-non767.livejournal.com]

OMG, that is beautiful. *runs to Skyehawke*

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

I will not squee about how attractive I find these models. I will not!

[curia-regis.livejournal.com]

Hi,

I hope you don't mind that I've friended you.

I just finished reading A Thousand Beautiful Things and it is a wonderful fic. I left a rather short review. Will write a longer and more detailed review when my brain stops making happy squeeing noises. :) It's been so long since I've read a good long, plotful H/D fic.

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

I can't believe someone already read the whole thing! I just posted it 7 hours ago. And of course I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[overly-shy.livejournal.com]

I really, really like the writing of this. It's so nice when I don't find myself caught up short by all the characters speaking in the same style, or by purple prose, or having to ignore the occasional word whose meaning the author doesn't quite know.

I'm not very good at writing my feelings about plot, but I like the progression of this one. I like the characterizations, and that even the secondary characters are well-rounded. The flashbacks to the past are not intrusive and help drive the story.

I really like the way that both Draco and the people around him react to his silence; the reactions seem entirely natural. I also like Draco's changing reasons for what he does.

(still new to leaving feedback. *wants to hide*.)

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

Never hide after you've told an author such nice things! I really appreciate you taking the time not only to read my story (and wow, how quickly!) but to take the time and effort to say such sweet things to me about it. Thanks so much.

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

Congratulations, love! I know how hard you worked on it (especially since Aja and I kept making you change things :-) and it's a lovely feeling to be done, isn't it? I think it's a fabulous story and I'm so proud of you!

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

I couldn't have written half the story without you. You know how much I appreciate you, don't you? I do!

I stayed up late last night to get this puppy out. I'm going on vacation next week, and I thought that posting and disappearing wasn't the best fic-writing career move.

You are the best!

[ihlanya.livejournal.com]

Newbie here, directed by wayfairer (who we all know, love and truly admire).

I've only read your first chapter 'cos I'm at work - but I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. The only other fic that has grabbed me like this was Aja's Love Under Will - so there is a huge compliment for you.

*gibbers* I can't wait to get home and read the next chapter.

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

I see you've spent a lot of time in South Africa, so maybe you'll enjoy the Johnny Clegg lyrics sprinkled through the fic. Also, I based quite a bit of plot on one of his songs, and plan to elaborate on that here in my LJ sometime this month.

Glad you like it so far.

[failing-light.livejournal.com]

Dropping by to say that I just read A Thousand Beautiful Things and OMG IT WAS AMAZING!!1!

Ahem. Anyway, I'm going to try to do proper feedback later, but I wanted to drop by and squee at you while still in the first flush of excitement.

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

Squees, of course, are gratefully accepted. Thank you.

[cheshyre]

I just finished.
Wow. Spectacular. Breathtaking.

I recognized the fairy tale you were channelling from pegkerr's The Wild Swans. You had me on tenterhooks over how bad things might get for Draco before he could finally speak his innocence. [I was really afraid they *might* actually go so far as to put him on trial for bewitching Harry as in the original. On the other hand, having Harry discover what Draco was doing in time to make his selfless offer, really enriched the characters.

I am impressed and in awe.
Brava.

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

You know, Aja also mentioned The Wild Swans, but I've never read that. Or the Hans Christian Andersen version. The fairy tale I'm most familiar with is the Grimm Bros. version, which is one of my oldest and most reread books.

And thanks so much for your kind words and for taking the time to comment. Glad you enjoyed the fic.

[arimunami.livejournal.com]

I just finished reading A Thousand Beautiful Things after Aja's rec. WOW. I was just so impressed. Literally just finished it 3 minutes ago and... guh. I just loved all the analogies and the unusual POVs that really made it stand out from other fics. Also the harking back to the fairy story I knew so it just seemed so well-rounded but also with so many layers. I also loved the entirely original set up and level Harry and Draco were on.

I will write a proper review tomorrow too... I see that's what a lot of people are doing! And do you mind if I friend you?

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your comments, and I do appreciate every one. Feel free to friend me, too. I would enjoy reading a longer review as well (okay, who wouldn't like to get reviews, you know?)

[painless-j.livejournal.com]

Viki, I'm absolutely excited! I've read only two first chapters so far but felt the need to come here and tell you what I think. I can't believe it but TBT is even better than WoM! So far, it's nearly perfect in all respects. Plot, characterization, separate scenes, little details, characters' speech, minor characters - all very-very good, wonderful, marvelous, delightful, ah! And really catching reader's eye, which is also remarkable [I've read another h/d story this week and have already forgotten what it was about except the main idea. your story will for sure escape such a fate]. Besides, you manage to engage all the readers' senses, like hearing (scratch of the chairs that irritate Snape, for ex., was very good, insightful).
Moreover, TBT is aiming in my top-3 of h/d fics, really, honestly :)
Yap, this is but a long wow, I hope to regain my coherence eventually. For now, thank you so much!!! Also many-many thanks (and a bit of envy) to your beta-readers! :) [off to resume reading]

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

Such sweet things you are saying, and only after 2 chapters! I'm overwhelmed, PJ! And I know you don't throw your praise around lightly. It means a lot to me that you are enjoying it.

I never found an uglier Harry for the cover art, though, so you'll have to bear with ol' Doug.

[longtimegone]

Wow...I just finished reading your fic. EXCELLENT! I've become rather disenchanted with the H/D pairing as of late, so your fic was a welcome respite. I really suck at reviewing, so...I'll just say I loved it.

One scene I REALLY loved was Hermione's realization of all Draco's silence implied. When she was spilling out her guts to Dean I was just all O_O OMG.

There is so much more... GAH..just lovely!

BTW, who ARE those guys in the pics? OMG the cover...that "Draco" is SO HOT!

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

We will both have to thank Aja for her comments on that scene with Hermione. She helped me quite a bit with her reaction, and I think her suggestions improved that scene enormously. Thanks for your nice words.

Aren't those boys every so cute? "Harry" is really Doug Pickett. "Draco" is the model du jour for Draco icons. His real name is Boyd Holbrook, and he works for Elite Agency in NYC (the same agency that offered Levon his job!). He's 21 - the same age as TBT!Draco - and hails from Kentucky.

Check this out: http://www.model-max.com/boyd_holbrook_intro.htm

[hot-jupiters.livejournal.com]

:) I'm just about to read it but I wanted to let you know that I use that model for Draco inspiration too! I agree that he's totally perfect. *runs off to read it*

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

Isn't he just perfect? Pointy and everything (see above link for more shots of the luscious Boyd).

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

But we may be the only two! Technically, I am a geologist working as a geophysicist. Learn by doing, that's what I say. I'm a potential fields specialist, although I suck at math. I'm good at applications. However, like nearly every job on the planet (except maybe hair stylist or masseuse or surgeon), I spend my life staring at computer screens.

[minervacat.livejournal.com]

It's been a long, long time - months, in fact - since I've fallen this far and this hard for an HP fic. This was gorgeous, Viki, and I wish I could be more coherent about it, but I'm finding it hard to dig up the words I'm wishing for. I thought it was exquisite; the pacing was flawless, your Draco voice was spot-on both in voice and out of it *grin*, and I thought the secondary plots of Dean and Seamus and Ron and his wife and Hermione added immensely to the story, instead of distracting me.

In short, it was amazing. Thank you. I can't wait to reread it.

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

Ron and his wife was a sneaky way to not have to write much Ron, although I do like him. I just couldn't do both Dean and Ron. At least I didn't snuff him in the war - he lived!

And thanks for your praise!

[darthrami.livejournal.com]

Ended up here via isiscolo and so glad I did. I tried to stretch this puppy out as long as I could, and I still wanted more. I absolutely adored it. Thank you.

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. You're welcome.

[ravenchel.livejournal.com]

I just finished A Thousand Beautiful Things (curse you, it completely distracted me from all the things I was supposed to get done today!), and I wanted to commend you on such a lovely and engaging story. I haven't had time to read fic in such a long time, and this was a wonderful reminder of why I love Harry and Draco so much. Also, you accomplished something I never thought possible -- you made me enjoy the Seamus and Dean friendship! It's often so secondary to HP stories, and so I've stopped caring about them -- but this story fixed that.

I could go on for pages about Draco in this novel (and something tells me Aja has already, so I'll refrain). His motives are so clearly explained and actually make sense. I also love that for a long time in this story Harry hardly makes an appearance, giving the reader more time to focus on Draco solely. We're not thrust into the great and epic Harry/Draco love story from the get go, it builds slowly and almost unexpectedly -- at some points I was thinking "Are Draco and Dean going to have romantic sparks?" because you developed all your characters so brilliantly.

My one critique, however, is that I think something of the strength of this piece disappears toward the end. I'm not sure I can pinpoint it without a second reading (and I'm worn out at the moment), but maybe it's just the curse of all resolutions -- the climax is over and the reader is left not wanting the story to end.

Thanks so much for the great story. I love having it all at once, also. Even if it keep me from getting my work done!

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

I think the ending uses a classic style of peaking and then having a calmer, more sedate conclusion. And, yes, fluff. I like fluff, and I get to have it, because I am the omnipotent author! Hahaha. Plus Draco needed to come to a realization that he didn't need the Manor to be himself. Yes, the Ministry took it from him, but in the final scene he also gives it up finally, and, although reluctantly, willingly as well.

But he wouldn't want to be beholden to Harry either. Too proud.

I'm glad you enjoyed this and thanks for commenting.

[cunningplan.livejournal.com]

I just spent almost the whole day reading it... and it was incredible. I haven't had a fic impact me like that in quite a while. I'm actually going to email you later, if that's ok, because my feedback is most likely going to be long. I'm really really new to leaving any feedback at all, but I ended up taking notes as I read (12 pages!!! o.O). Definately something I've never done before, but I didn't want to forget any of the things that made an impact. So I'll wade through that tomorrow and cut out some of the excess squeeing and notes and stuff before actually writing something more coherent (and much shorter!). Like others above, I just wanted to leave a note while in my first stunned fangirlishness after finishing it.
Um, also I've friended you, which I hope is ok; I remember reading Waters of March a while ago and really enjoying it, but being too shy to say anything. Guess I'm making up for it now, eh? :D

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to reading your notes. Just looking over the comments I've received so far, I find myself fascinated by what readers pick up on and enjoy - I mean, I have my favorite parts, but other lines that I thought wouldn't resonate or I almost left out have shown themselves to be popular (one example is Sully's request of Draco in the last chapter - I worried that it was too shmoopy. But I liked it, and my betas let it go, so there it is.)

Friend away!

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you enjoyed my fic. Dean just grew and grew the more I wrote. I deliberately used only 3 POVs here - Draco, Dean, and Snape. I decided the whole story could be told through them. Poor Harry never gets to show his side of things - Dean has to do it for him. And Sully got her role beefed up during final revision, after Aja suggested a few things. Glad you also liked the bedroom scenes. They're my first, and let me just say for the record that they are a lot harder to write than I would have dreamed....

[flimpy.livejournal.com]

I'm only on the second chapter, but I can already tell that this'll shoot up to my all-time favorite H/D's.

Draco. God, I love the way you've molded him. LOVE.

I promise a more coherent review when I finish this...

Wow.

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're liking it, because I love your art. You are absolutely one of my top favorites of all time. Did I ever mention that to you? I've been remiss!

[azurelunatic]

Yeek! Only two chapters in, and then bandwidth exceeded! Woe!

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

Things are fixed now, but I was surprised, too, by the problem. Tien Riu of Skyehawke was just so sweet about taking responsibility, really professional and upbeat. I knew I liked Skyehawke for a reason.

[velvetaj.livejournal.com]

Fantastic story! The bandwidth thingy shut me out before I could finish, but I was really enjoying what I've read so far. I love the magic you've created, and how the story is woven from multiple perpectives. I can't weait to read the rest!

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

That'll teach me to post near the end of the month. Bandwidth problem is resolved now, I understand.

[daisy-drabbles.livejournal.com]

Mew. I Adore that model. I always thought he made a perfect Draco. If your ever needing, I have more pictures of him too that I scoured from the web one day, looking for Draconic inspiration.

And so far, I am Loving the story. So Very Much.

And I'm only through chapter 1. And then the bandwidth on Skyehawk exceeded and I am left in a whimpering heap because I cannot read more yet. (Though, perhaps this is a good thing, since I Really should go to bed. ..... Naaaaah, damn you Skyehawk!)

May I friend you?

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

I'd love more pics! Love. He is 21, so it's not even evil of me. If you have the one of him all femmed up, with lace, looking like Queen Elizabeth I -- you'll recognize the reference in TBT.

Friend away.

Me again

[painless-j.livejournal.com]

I've finished it, stayed awake until 10 a.m. :) Well, the initial impression survived. I should say that I liked the last chapter the least because, as for me, it becomes a wee bit too fluffy, not so much so in the respect of H/D relationship - here I see no problem. I mean the respect of the studio where Draco works as a model. Here their dialogs and behaviour look somewhat cliche. While everything else is absolutely unique, I've seen something very similar in many other H/D fics that deal with Draco in Muggle world, your own WoM among them, also Emma Grant's Left My Heart (just what first came to mind, there were other fics with this 'cliche'). Oh, I've worded it wrong way. While Draco is still mute, it looks OK for me, what I mean is mostly their interaction with the hair stylist. It's not bad, in my opinion, don't take me wrong, but it just seems to me not so precious as other things and unnecessary. I see how it plays with the beginning and Seamus-Dean talk about Draco's hair but still it appears this studio scene doesn't quite work.

However what I say above didn't waver my opinion of the story in the slightest. I think you did amazing job and the fic is just incredible! Thank you again and again!

PS: when Daniel refer to the American saying 'All hat and no cattle' it looks a bit strange to me. Most of all it says that the author is American :)

Re: Me again

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

Ah, PJ, you know how much I love fluff! WoM had fluff. "Telling Hogwarts" is nothing but fluff! Hahaha. And Daniel is based on a friend of my daughter's. He uses the hat/cattle line deliberately. He's the kind of guy who keeps up with current slang on both sides of the pond, and of course it's a saying that is used frequently about G.W. Bush, so he'd be up on it.

Okay, yes, I'm American, too. Can't be helped. The family emmigrated too soon. (A tidbit: Wellow, where the Ministry ships those who've been sucked dry by dementors, is the town where my ancestors are from).

I'm glad you liked it, though. I didn't mean to keep fans awake all night to read it, but it seems to have happened.

[novembersnow.livejournal.com]

When this appeared on my friends page yesterday, I got all excited, because I feel like I've read so much about it on your journal and from Isis and Aja. So I started to read it last night after work, figuring I'd get through a couple of chapters and draw it out over the course of the week. Instead, I found myself awake at 2:30 a.m., bleary-eyed but blissful, at the end of chapter 9. I'll be exhausted all day today, but it was worth it. :)

I loved this! I loved your Draco and how he tries to rationalize everything as part of his Slytherin instincts, in spite of an undeniable core of nobility. I loved your Snape, who shows moments of clear (albeit gruff) affection for Draco, yet his resentment of Harry is still firmly in place, which helps keep him very much in-character. I loved your Harry, the golden boy with a streak of recklessness and an affable nature that doesn't quite conceal all his emotional scars. And I adored your Harry and Draco together, the push-pull of them, how Harry wants him but somehow doesn't entirely trust him, how Draco's attraction to Harry sneaks up on him over the course of years, how the rival-tension between them never quite abates, but instead is channeled into (*cough*) other means of expending energy.

The love story is wonderful, but I also found myself enjoying the world you crafted, before, during, and after the war. Your portrayal of postbellum wizarding society I thought was especially intriguing, with its resentment of all things Death Eater-related and its compulsion to destroy anything belonging to DEs, even when that hurts someone on the side of Light. It's a wonderful portrait of a society turned bitter in victory, with scars that can't be minimized even by the presence of a hero.

I also really liked how you dealt with elements of the wizarding world like Veritaserum and the disposal of victims of the Dementor's Kiss (probably because your thoughts on the matters seem to echo my own, haha). I enjoyed Snape's lessons about how to evade giving away too much truth under Veritaserum and how to look for loopholes in questions, since I see that as a very real possible flaw in the power of Veritaserum to inspire truth-telling. I was impressed with how Dean managed to avoid being dosed with Veritaserum at all, and the Order of the Phoenix guidelines that he and Seamus keep as mantras were inspired in their cleverness and affecting in their realism.

I don't think I can convey to you how eagerly I devoured this fic last night, and how likely it is that I will find myself savoring it again sometime soon, just to soak up the details I might have missed in my first blazing read through it. Thank you for a truly captivating read.

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

Can I review a review? You have such a terrific way with words, Nov, that I keep rereading this review.

"portrait of a society turned bitter in victory" - what a poetic way to describe it. I think that is exactly what happened. After the first Voldemort war, they were all eager to bury things, which is how someone like Fudge got into power. After fighting the same group again, they are going to make sure the DEs stay vanquished. No matter the cost.

"I feel like I've read so much about it on your journal and from Isis and Aja" -- actually I was a bit worried about that aspect. I didn't mean to drag it out on my own LJ, like a tease, and then all the praise before it was released was heady - good but frightening. I mean, no fic is perfect, and this one is no exception. So I was afraid of the hype in a way, that readers would wonder, WTF is this PR going on? But I haven't seen a backlash yet.

So thanks for this great review, and I'm glad you liked it as much as I love your writing.

[crimsonclad.livejournal.com]

Just- so-

This joins Transfigurations as one of those action/adventure sagas where the plot is compelling, the characterizations true, the writing funny and original, and the romance is an organic part of it rather than being the whole purpose.

You know, while I was reading it, people would ask me a question and it would take me a moment to realize I was allowed to speak. The frustration and the determination and the importance of touch- love. So much love.

And Dean! Brilliantly used, perfectly written, and so the sort of person to befriend an outcast like Draco (or David) had become.

Thousands of Harry Potters. Lovely. Gah- I'm still all a-flutter.

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

"people would ask me a question and it would take me a moment to realize I was allowed to speak"

Interesting that you said that. When Aja was beta-ing it, she actually tried to keep silent in public just to see what it would be like. She told me it intrigued her quite a bit, and was too hard to keep up. Of course, she doesn't have a house-elf to pick up the slack for her, either!

I'm a huge fan of Transfigurations, so thank you for the comparison.