FanFic Ask Me Anything ~*~ Version 3.0 Daily Questions (See list on pg 164 or 1)

Oh golly, my turn already!

A fine question—I could write a dissertation about this. My interest in the Gand species and the tradition of the findsmen goes back to my early readings of Tales of the Bounty Hunters and various early EU reference works. I found the idea of mystical hunters who meditate to gain insight on their hunts very compelling—that aspect always made Zuckuss stand out for me from the other five bounty hunters of ESB. I also love just how fascinatingly alien Gands are on so many levels: there's the exotic, insectoid physiology and the ammoniac atmosphere, but also the emphasis on humility and self-effacement and the complex conventions of naming and speech (which is a fun challenge for a writer). All this, combined with just how plain esoteric they are (there's really so little in the official sources), just makes the whole culture extra ripe for writing.

Also, we've only ever seen male members of the species so far in the EU literature. If there are findsmen, I figured, why not also findswomen? That, of course, is where my username comes in.

This just put me in mind of a quote from the Austrian writer Alfred Polgar: "Ich beherrsche die deutsche Sprache, aber sie gehorcht nicht immer" (I've mastered the German language, but it doesn't always obey).
And now on to your actual question:

Well, I do have a particular fondness for the Gand species, for the reasons mentioned above , and they're what I've mostly written about so far. But there are several others I find interesting, too: among others the Rodians, shapeshifting species like the Clawdites and Shi'ido, the Tuskens and Jawas, even the Hutts in their way. The variety of alien cultures is one of my favorite things about the GFFA, and I love just paging through the aliens guides. I can waste a lot of time that way.

I am an editor at an academic music publishing house (yes, there is such thing). That means I oversee the copyediting of not only of text but also of music from all eras of Western music history—my company's catalog specializes in recently rediscovered works that may not have been performed or studied in centuries. It's one of the few jobs outside the academic sector that requires a Ph.D. in musicology. It's intellectually intense and uses 100% of my training—so yes, I do like it quite a bit.

 

By now, given how many people I know who have not been able to find jobs that mesh with their education, I feel quite lucky. At first I felt a little as though I was "settling," because I had been unsuccessful in my bid for jobs in academia (the job market was absolutely abysmal back when I finished my degree). But I've eventually come to feel that an "alt-ac" job like the one I'm in nothing to be ashamed of. Plus, my current job is much more family friendly than any professorship could ever be.

I could write a whole dissertation in response to this question, too! Music is of course very important to me because I'm a music historian by education, and my undergraduate degree was from a music conservatory. Thus a lot of what's in my playlist is stuff from my studies and thus dates mostly from before 1750. As background music for writing, I often choose some nice Renaissance choral music, of the sort typically performed by the Tallis Scholars or The Cardinall's Musick (or even Anonymous 4 if I feel like going medieval).

Well, as the mom of a toddler I often find myself with not enough hands, so I'd honestly be content with just being able to levitate and move objects hands-free! Other than that, healing powers would be helpful for things like owies, karate-induced hard knocks, unfortunate encounters with knives while cooking, etc.

Interesting question. Parent-child relationships interest me more than ever now that I'm a mom myself; I also have a very close relationship with my own mom. Also relationships between mentors/teachers and their students, since I have had many very inspiring teachers and mentors over the years whom I now miss quite a bit.

I like trying all kinds of different foods from various different cuisines (Greek to Thai to Mexican to Ethiopian and everything in between), so it's very hard to pinpoint just one thing. But if you ask about my favorite of specific kinds of foods (favorite cheese, favorite dessert, favorite breakfast, etc.), I'll be able to provide more specific answers.

Those would be the works of a very good friend of mine in Great Britain who pretty much introduced me to fan fiction. In addition to several delightful shorter stories, almost all with alien protagonists, he was working on a longer, novel-length chronicle of the adventures of the Rodians of Clan Tetsus (to which Greedo and Beedo belong, as well as the casino owner Avaro Sookcool). For several years we would swap chapters and give each other detailed feedback and editing. I'm still in touch with him regularly, though unfortunately his father's poor health has left him with little time for reading or writing fan fiction these days. Alien culture and biology were particular interests of his, too; among the biggest lessons I learned from him was to strive for consistency and believability (if that's a word) in such details.

Here on TF.N, I'm still in the process of getting to know the fanfic community (I've only been here a few months), but so far I've been especially impressed with the work of Goodwood and TrakNar.

 

This is a hard question for me to answer too, not just because I have various favorite authors but also because I haven't had much time for pleasure reading recently. One group of favorite authors is early mystery writers like Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, and G. K. Chesterton, but so far they haven't influenced my writing much because I don't have much a knack for writing mysteries myself. Another group is such classic writers of the fantastical as Poe, Hawthorne, Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and Borges; they inspire me as a writer not only because of their intricately detailed world-building (especially Tolkien and Lewis for this) but also for the way they manage to make the fantastical, the enigmatic, and even the bizarre so darn beautiful.

I speak German. I don't think I'd classify myself as "fluent" (especially since I'm a tad bit rusty by now), but I can carry on decent conversations with German speakers and get around in German-speaking environments (see also Earlybird's question below).
I also know Latin, classical Hebrew, and a little Italian, and my job has given me experience with at least deciphering several other languages.

Yes, and I have wonderful memories of each time I've been. The first time was a vacation to England and Scotland with my mother as a teenager. My husband and I honeymooned in Ireland, and between 2007 and 2009 I made several long-term visits to Germany to do research for my dissertation, totaling about a year. I was mostly in Hamburg and Wolfenbüttel, but I also toured around several wonderful smaller towns in the North, mainly in Lower Saxony, plus visits to Cologne and Berlin. I have also made shorter trips to Belgium (Antwerp), the Netherlands (Delft), and Paris.

Favorite dessert: Most anything with ice cream. A good chocolate ice cream soda is heaven, especially made with chocolate ice cream. Ditto French vanilla ice cream with homemade chocolate sauce, or a very cocoa-y chocolate ice cream on its own. And special mention must be made of Haagen-Dasz's chocolate chip cookie dough, as well.

Favorite breakfast: Very simple: Oatmeal, homemade chocolate milk, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Breakfast is my smallest meal of the day, but a good one can be a joy.

 

I was indeed in a local community youth orchestra during my high school years, playing piano. My high school's music program was less than stellar, so I pursued my musical interests mostly outside of school (though I was in the girls' chorus for a year). I started taking organ lessons toward the end of high school, and that became my principal instrument (still is).

 

A wonderful question, and very Gamiel! I always liked the Renaissance look of Naboo garb—and not just Padmé's and the handmaidens' outfits, even though I wouldn't mind having some of their clothes in my closet.

I've played the Toccata (the first main section of the piece, which is the part everyone knows); I haven't gotten around to learning the Fugue yet, which is a much harder piece, but I'd like to. At one Halloween recital back in college several of us organists did a sort of round-robin performance of this piece where each of us would play a few bars and then get creatively "killed" by the next organist, who would then play the next few bars. It was fun.

One thing most people don't know about this very famous piece: it may not originally have been for organ, and it's not clear that it's even by Bach. At most it's probably an transcription Bach made of a piece for a different instrument (probably solo violin), which makes sense given how different it is stylistically from the vast majority of Bach's other organ works.

Anyway, that and a dollar may or may not buy you a cup of coffee!

 

I get fewer relaxing moments these days than I would like, but when I do I enjoy reading, cuddling with my little boy (when he's so inclined, that is), or cooking something other than the usual dinner fare. Certain kinds of shopping, too: I love browsing in a good used book or music store, independent stationery shop, or specialty food shop, though those are few and far between where I live.

The Gand, of course. See my response on this question directly above.

 

I would like to think it's cats, partly because I like them, but also because I too (a) enjoy solitude, (b) like working alone, (c) like keeping things clean and tidy, but also (d) am not averse to some love and cuddles now and then.

I'd love to visit the period from about 1550 through 1650 at least long enough find out answers to the many questions arising from my music history studies. I also wouldn't mind visiting the 1920s and 30s, since I've always liked the fashion and decorative art of that period, and because it would be fun to get a quick taste of the whole interwar "dressing for dinner" culture (though, truth be told, I probably am not technically in the right socio-economic class).

I have changed trains there many, many times, but have unfortunately never gotten the chance to actually visit and explore the city. I hear it's a nice place, though.