A Mercenary's Tale by Fictionwriter

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

Title: AMercenary’s Tale
Author: margaret_r aka Fictionwriter
Artist: bodiecuddle
Archive to Pros Lib: Yes
Genre: Slash
Characters/Pairing: Bodie/Doyle, Bodie/OMC
Word count: 46,800
Warnings (highlight to read): Violence. OC Deaths

Summary: A midnight phone call, a mysterious visitor and Doyle’s persistence force Bodie to relive his mercenary past, bringing that past into the present. Over one long night Doyle listens to the tale Bodie has to tell and when he’s done it’s up to Doyle to try and stop his partner risking all in a headlong dash to revenge.

Notes: Thank you once again to moth2fic for her beta skills, her suggestions for improvements in the narrative (telling me where I was going wrong in other words) and for keeping me on track with grammar and punctuation as well as making some gorgeous icons for the story. Happy birthday Moth, have a good one.

Of course a big thank you and hug to my artist, bodiecuddle for such a stunning visualisation of my story. Thanks also to the Box of Tricks mods for again giving us another year of Pros goodness.

Link to Fic: Fic Master Post/A Mercenary's Tale
Link to Art: Art Master Post

Comments

[saintvic.livejournal.com]

\o/ \o/ Congratulations to you both on posting, am off to download right now :D.

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Hope you enjoy:D

[bodiecuddle.livejournal.com]

Thank you! You will be stunned reading this brilliant story :D

[togsos.livejournal.com]

yay you posted, am going to download, get a cuppa and settle in for a read for a nice lazy sunday afternoons entertainment

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a plan to me:D Enjoy the cuppa and the lazy afternoon (I love lazy Sundays!)and afterwards let me know what you think of the story:)

[sc-fossil.livejournal.com]

It's so great seeing your story and BC's art! Yay! More good Pros-y stuff. Thanks!

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It's great to see it up there and Bodiecuddle's art is just great, she is such a talented vidder:)

[bodiecuddle.livejournal.com]

You make me blush, mate.

Your story is amazing!!!!

[sw33n3y.livejournal.com]

Sounds like the irresistible force meets the immovable object here! Intriguing! :D

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

That's an apt description of the lads*g* Hope you enjoy the story.

[krisserci5.livejournal.com]

Look forward to reading. Now the weekend has possibilities, so much to to read not nearly enough time.

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean! I'm having problems keeping up with all the lovely stories. Enjoy:)

[pin-gal.livejournal.com]

*checks out art and vid - swoons*
*reads story - swoons multiple times*

Wow! That's all I can come up with and it seems so inadequate. Thank you for creating such a great story and art and for sharing it.

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

*picks you up and dusts you off*

Thank You for such a wonderful comment! I'm very glad you liked the story and it worked for you. And yes, the art is quite something:D Bodiecuddle has a real knack for picking out the best scenes for her vids.

[pin-gal.livejournal.com]

I checked out many more of her vids via the link... Again... Wow.... am swooning in awe.

[murphybabe]

Ooh, looking forward to it! I have a 9-hour plane journey coming up next week, so guess what I'll be reading *g*

And a fab vid from BodieCuddle, as usual!

[bodiecuddle.livejournal.com]

Thanks a lot!

enjoy reading it. It`s fab.

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

Enjoy! Hope the fic keeps you well occupied during the journey:) Have a great trip.

And a fab vid from BodieCuddle, as usual!
Yeah, isn't it just!

[angel-ci5.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much for this, you've been Kindled and I'm looking forward to it!

And thank you to bodiecuddle to for the wonderful art, too!

[bodiecuddle.livejournal.com]

Thank you :D !!! I`m glad you liked it.

Enjoy reading.

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

Hope you enjoy the read:)

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the kind words! It was a pleasure - really - to beta such a great story and help get it ready for publication. And to have it go 'live' on my birthday is the icing on the cake! I hope other readers enjoy it just as much as I did and do.

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

Couldn't have done it without your advice and constant prodding! Having your birthday as a posting date was a bonus, glad I could give you a little pressie*g*

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on posting!

I'm determined to read everything in order this year, so it'll take me a while before I read, but it sounds fabulous. And the artwork is just gorgeous.

Thank you both.

[bodiecuddle.livejournal.com]

Thank you. The story is simply brilliant!!!!

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

I hope you do enjoy it when you get to it. I'm trying to keep up with all the great stories but have fallen behind a bit. It's nice to have them to look forward to though;) And you're right, the artwork is gorgeous!

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

I love mercenary-related stories! Looking forward to this. Well done and thank you.

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

Enjoy! It may be a little different from most mercenary stories but I hope you like it anyway:)

[solosundance.livejournal.com]

Congrats on posting to you both \o/ The art looks amazing, I'm looking forward to reading the story!

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Enjoy the story and yes, the art is great. I was very lucky that Bodiecuddle picked it:)

[lillianorchid.livejournal.com]

I can't wait to read this! :D Well done to both of you!

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Hope you enjoy it:)

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

A very good story!
And I'm impressed by your knowledge about mercenary life and the political circumstances in that part of Africa and at that time!
It all sounds 'real' to me! (But what do I know...?)

Thank you!

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you for reading and commenting! My information on mercenaries and the politics in the Congo at that time came out of a lot of research and reading the memoirs of several mercenaries, as well as third hand accounts. I tried to write a ‘real’ story based on the reality of the situation at that time and of the mercenaries themselves, who do seem to suffer from being collectively depicted as rather nasty individuals in most fiction, rather than a mixed band of adventurers, I’m glad that came across.

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

I'm so sad I've finally finished this story as I didn't want to finish it and I know I'm going to miss it terribly. I'll miss young Bodie and his Africa, the African friends he made, the experiences he had, the star-filled Congo nights - in fact I think this is one of *the* best merc-Africa-related stories I've read as the place really came alive for me. And I really appreciated all the research you did for it (or maybe it was general knowledge?!). And I loved the idea for the story itself and Bodie's narration of it via flashbacks, that was very atmospheric and I felt I was sitting alongside Doyle, as mesmerised as he was.

I think this is a story to fall in love with and like other favourite stories I know it's going to stay in my head for some time. Thanks so much for writing it.

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

What can I possibly say to such wonderful comments other than you’ve made all the work, research and angst'ing over this fic worthwhile:D

The story came out of an awful lot of research (especially into the political situation in the Congo!) and some general knowledge;) I was living in South Africa around the time of Angola's independence and the subsequent civil war and I wanted to tell Bodie’s story, create his world, by using some of my own experience of life in Africa. I’m very glad it worked so well for you.

Thank you very much for reading, for commenting and most of all for enjoying the tale. That it will stay in your memory is great praise for a writer and I really appreciate you telling me that:D

[ali15son.livejournal.com]

I am currently re reading all of these stories and can I just say how brilliant a story that was , I think that's the third or fourth time I've read it and never tire of reading it , thank you x

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you so very much! For reading and re-reading my tale (wow, that is a compliment!) and for coming back to tell me how much you enjoyed it. You’ve made my day with your lovely comment:D