Interviews with Authors *~*VaderLVR64*~* 092104

But I?d have to say that my favorite of all, if only for the fact that I am currently reading and will continue to read every one of his fics, is BlindMan. He?s consistently exceptional in his humor. I?ve laughed myself to tears on numerous occasions.


Well, now I'm blushing. (In a manly sort of way, of course. )

Great interview, Inez! You're one of the good ones...


Blind Man

 

And now an interview with perhaps one of the most versatile authors on the boards today. Famous for her lengthy, well-planned handmaiden fanfics, as well as a number of incredibly diverse vignettes, this young lady has brought us some unprecedented character writing. She's as prolific as they come, and she's just as strong with mystery as with character. Sooo, give a big "hand" (ha ha, sorry, Tae) to...

HandmaidenEirtae!!!

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HandmaidenEirtae, can you give us some background on yourself?

*laughs* As long as there aren?t any weird stalkers hanging around. Well, I?m still plowing through my education, trying to make the best of a slow torture. I love to travel and act and, of course, write. I stumbled across TF.N a couple of summers ago, and provided entertainment for myself those long, lovely summer months by writing the first draft of Prelude. I?ve been hooked ever since!

What first interested you in Star Wars?

Gosh, I don?t think I can remember a specific time or point in my life that I was introduced to Star Wars. I don?t remember when I first saw it, or if I even liked it when I first saw it. I?m definitely a sucker for sci fi/fantasy, so of course I got drawn in. My family influenced me, because they all like Star Wars. It?s an amazing universe, and one that offers many opportunities for writing.

What drew you into the exciting world of Star Wars fanfic?

*giggles* I remember my first attempt at Star Wars fanfiction. I couldn?t have been more than twelve. Some silly story about a padawan on Tatooine who was being targeted by the Sith. Then there was a droid who liked hearing stories and a pair of down-on-their-luck Jawas that managed to get a ride with this padawan and her master. My friend and I were actually looking at it a couple of weeks ago and laughing at my hideous spelling and grammar.

On the whole, what inspires your writing?

The movies and books provide me with a lot of my ideas. I like to take incidents and other things the characters mention in fleeting and expand upon them, telling the unspoken story. ?A Long Handmaiden Fanfic? was TPM from a different point of view. ?In the Emperor?s Service: Arden Lyn? came from Grand Admiral Thrawn?s remark about the other Hands. Who were these other Hands? Why didn?t Mara know about them? What were their experiences like? I have a work in progress about Padme and Palo, and what happened that jaded her into thinking she couldn?t serve her people and love at the same time. Just by watching the movies I get bombarded with half a dozen plot bunnies. I just really like taking those little bits of information and telling the story of what exactly happened, or what that character was feeling and thinking just then.

Your one-post stories show plenty of variance, ranging from the major players of the OT to the major players of the PT and even the not-so-major players. What makes your writing so uncommonly diverse?

It?s a diverse universe. [face_smile] I think if I stayed with one character or time period, I?d get bored. Padme does have enough stories to take up the rest of my writing career, but why focus on just one character when there are so many? Usually it has to do with what the plot bunny wants. Sometimes I?ll go on a certain character kick, especially with characters I think I know, but I like delving into the many different peoples of the universe.

Your longer fics (and your username) both center around handmaidens. What interests you about these low-profile characters? (c.f.q.)

Handmaidens are just cool. I?ve always been a fan of the handmaidens, from my username and my stories, as you mentioned, to being a member of the RHS (Royal Handmaiden Society) and keeping up on what those actresses are currently working on. There aren?t too many strong female characters in the movies. There?s Leia, and Mon Mothma, Padme and her handmaidens. I mean, come on, any fourteen year old girl that?s willing to pick up a blaster and storm their occupied palace against inc

 

Excellent interview, Tae! Lovely to read about your writing processes and how you came up with your stories!

 

Enchanting interviews, ladies! They were all a pleasure to read.

Too bad I didn?t get a mention, oba .

Am

 

I love how you look at characters like that, Eirtae. I'm always wondering myself what's happening after the story or between scenes.



BlindMan Don't worry, I'll never think of you as 'un-manly'. I'm one of the good ones? *swoons*

PLJ and Mina... Glad I cleared that up for you and I'll be expecting to hear some feedback from you both.

inez

 

Read the edit, Am.

Way to go, Eirtae! I read 'Prelude' and loved it. Maybe I should go find 'Danger in the Senate'??

 

Great interview, Tae! "Prelude" is one of those stories that I can just read again and again, and it never gets old.

Some silly story about a padawan on Tatooine who was being targeted by the Sith. Then there was a droid who liked hearing stories and a pair of down-on-their-luck Jawas that managed to get a ride with this padawan and her master.

Y'know, I'd be interested to read that just for the down-on-their-luck Jawas...

 

Good to see you here, Eirtae! Lovely interview.

 

Awesome interview Taé!

I must needs read Prelude eventually. Oooh, look, a handy link! I liked especially your encouraging remarks regarding losing readers and getting archive rejected. As a rejectee myself, I found it quite comforting as well as helpful

Well... back to work.

 

oooo! cool interview! Argh, now I feel so guilty about never writing any stories about obscure charecters... *runs away in search of pen and paper*

 

This young lady has thrilled her readers with her fantastic series set after Attack of the Clones, and her stunning portrayals of Anakin and Palpatine. She has gathered attention from many excellent authors. She has a wonderful talent with original characters. Throw roses for...

geo3!

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What first sparked your interest in Star Wars?

I saw ANH the first day it came out in New York because a college friend had caught one of the first showings and rushed back to the rest of us and said, ?You have to see this movie.? We went straight downtown to the theater and my love affair with Star Wars began. I had been a science fiction fan since I learned to read, but this film was like nothing I had seen before, and the concept of the Jedi and the Jedi philosophy clinched it for me. Looking forward to new Star Wars movies has been a regular feature of my adult life, and the long hiatus between ROTJ and the prequels, when we thought there wouldn?t be any more films, was very hard.

What led you to the JC Boards?

I can?t actually remember how I first came upon the Boards ? surfing the net, I guess. I wasn't aware that fan fiction existed ? I had never heard of it. I found the site and became hooked as a lurker.

What influences the style of your writing?

I didn?t even know I had a style of writing until a good friend and fabulous beta reader did a fake chapter of my current story Winds of Change and posted it as an April Fool?s joke. Boy, talk about having all your little mannerisms and writing idiosyncrasies revealed by a careful and intelligent reader! I was both flattered and humbled.

In terms of my approach to writing, when I first discovered the world of fan fiction I very quickly found my way to authors like Fernwithy and Cynical 21, whose powerful and mature writing styles made it clear that this is a serious, and worthwhile, form of fiction. I was attracted by their deep insight onto the characters, their willingness to deal with ambivalence and darkness, and of course by the sheer skill and depth of their writing. While I also love to read stories with lots of action and adventure and space battles and droids, my own stories are much more the character of a psychological portrait, although hopefully with a good bit of plot and surprises to carry them along.

Another major influence is of course personal experience. Everything you have seen, everything you know or have encountered eventually comes to play in your writing, no matter what the subject. I?ve been around for a while and dealt first-hand with many different kinds of relationships and events. All of them come into play in my stories one way or another.

Are there any general projects you would like to undertake (humor, epics, etc.)?

At the moment I?m fully engaged with my ongoing story; I have no idea what other Star Wars-related writing I might like to do after that! I love writing challenges, and if I see one that sparks my imagination I?ll definitely go for it.

It's often been mentioned that you have a knack for portraying Palpatine. How do you see him, exactly?

Oh, dear. The Chancellor. Yes. I would hope that I am known for having a knack for portraying Anakin because he is the central character in all of my stories. My main interest in writing is to explore the concepts and manifestations of light and dark, loss and redemption. Anakin/Vader embodies that story. But where there is Anakin, there is also Palpatine, and so he appears quite regularly in my stories.

Palpatine is a wonderful character to write. And like all good and real characters, even this larger-than-life villain is not one-sided, so he has depth and even -?yes-- weakness. In my conception Palpatine/Sidious? weakness is not, as Luke said, his overconfidence ? it is his fundamental inability to understand the power of love. He thinks of love as a quality or a commodity that can be manipulated and controlled just like everything else. His inability to understand its trans

 

I didn?t even know I had a style of writing until a good friend and fabulous beta reader did a fake chapter of my current story Winds of Change and posted it as an April Fool?s joke.

When I sent it to you to read beforehand, I wasn't sure I'd still be either much longer!

To be fair, it didn't trick very many people...

Great interview, geo3 -- keep up the great writing!

 

::notices how quickly thread got upstaged by the awards show and kicks it up::

 

::notices how quickly thread got upstaged by the awards show and kicks it up::

Isn't it the truth? The glamorous insanity was kind of dazzling, you know. Very distracting.

*obediently throws roses for Geo3*

Another wonderful interview! Very informative, Geo3. Thank you!

 

To be fair, it didn't trick very many people...



Ahem. *Raises hand* Well, I suppose I am one of the minority then. I am such a gullible person. I was fooled until I came to the end of the post.

Very interesting interview, geo! Interviews are always fun to read.

Although I am surprised that you started writing again only recently.

~*Senoj*~

 

And now here's an interview that's been anticipated for so long... she's a Master at the Anakin/Padme pairing, and she's had not only one, but TWO stories in the Archives... she's given a face to Padme's nieces and a fatherly side to Anakin... you all know who I'm talking about...

DarthBreezy!


Can you give us some background information on yourself?

I have the dubious honor of being known in many circles as 'the bigmouth of JCF' because I'm often found in the thick of the more 'interesting' Fan fic discussions (Ironicly, I stay far away from the Senate). Like many artist/writers, I'm very passionate about many things, the fan fiction forum is one of the strongest right now because in the grand scheme of my life, it's a great escape.

Boring mundane stuff? I'm an artist at heart, a care giver as my current occupation and I tend to 'follow my bliss' a lot... I've followed in the footsteps of my father's WWII Bomber command days and ridden in an Avro Lancaster, and just came back from meeting some fellow Star Wars fans at Disneyland...


What drew you to Star Wars?

I saw it when I was 11, back in the day before it was called "Episode IV, A New Hope" and Greedo was just a dumb bounty hunter and not just a bad aim...

It was a zenith in my life, Star Wars drew me into special effects (which I do for pleasure even though I have a degree that says I could have really applied at ILM in the John Dystra era ) It introduced me to "sci-fi" and fantasy and even the love of Classicle Music... "Princess Liea's Theme" drew me in like a magnet and I haven't looked back since.


What drew you to fanfiction? When did you start to write it? And Have you written any stories other than SW fiction?

I've been writing stories since I was very young... my mum has at least four three ringed binders of stuff I wrote as a youngling. As an adult I became a story teller for a live action role play of Vampire and had a character (who was almost as troubled as Anakin) for 5 years... I've been plugging away at Star Wars fan fic for nearly a year now.


What do you look for when you read a fic?

I'm big on richness of Characters... it's so easy to write cookie cutter Obi-agnst or evil/back street boy Anakin. Darth Lex has written an amazing AU that expands on the Skywalker clan and Anakin girl's "Diaries" Anakin, who is so unlike mine yet so well written it is truely a joy to read...


I'm going to put in the spot and ask who you favorite author on the boards is and your favorite fic. And why?

So I fudged it a bit and squeezed in a couple of other writers above...

But if you said "Choose ONE" I would say with out hesitation "Geo3" and "Childeren of Circumstance". Her Anakin has a quality... if you have to ask you wouldn't understand I guess, but she has a true gift... mark my words. One day she's going to go pro.


Your stories focus mainly on the relationship between Padme and Anakin. What draws you to this pairing?

Many things. The "Romeo and Juliet" aspects, the depth of their love... the purity. Once again, it's a feeling that I can't explain... I think their love story is far, far more complex than simply "I love you, let's have some jedi nookie".


What inspiries you to write?

Dare I say it? Anakin himself... as characters we have a lot in common.


The relationship between Padme and Anakin in your stories is a loving and caring one. Do you write Anakin in a sense knowing that one day he will be Darth Vader?

Yes, there are hints of it in almost all of my tales. (One or two tend to down play that factor.) The "Endgames" trilogy of "Falls the Shadow, Deceptions and Come Undone", you can (hopefully) see the gradual change in him. I can't see myself writing "the Duel" or the final transformation for a couple of reasons. One, it's a very common theme and two, not many people like to write "grey" Anakin, or 'somewhat happy' cannon Anakin where you KNOW he will eventually turn but not yet... He and Padme' LOVED e

 

Yay! A Darth Breezy interview! You modestly neglected to mention your reputation as "the Queen of Jedi Nookie!" although anyone who reads your stories will understand immediately that there is far more to them than that.

Great interview, DB!

 

DB doing an Obi story

Congrats on getting "The Rocker Chair" archived!

 

Yay! Two more interviews.

geo3: I love your "Step Into My Parlor" (you can thank Breezy for pointing me to it), and I'm going to read Children of Circumstance as soon as other obligations permit. I just want to say you have a beautiful, intelligent style that's a pleasure to read. KEEP WRITING!

Breezy: Congrats on getting "Rocker Chair" accepted! I really enjoy your version of the Anakin/Padmé relationship. Great interview!

 

Interesting interviews.

UP!

 

And now we have yet another interview for you readers! We have an author today whose been archived! She's a very active member of the boards and is a Handmadien in New York!

Everyone cheer for...

Bobill!!


Can you give us some background information on yourself?

Lol, there?s always that fear of stalkers! I?m a Chinese American, and I live in Illinois. I like to play the piano and flute, but of course I also love writing, and Star Wars! I?m 14, but most of the time I act like I?m 5, which drives my parents crazy. I think this is why I?m an only child. Um, I can quote Star Wars from beginning till end (but then again, who here can?t? ) and it annoys my friends to death.

When did you first discover fanfiction?

I actually never heard of fanfiction until I discovered tf.net?s archives. ::gasp:: Last summer, I was searching through some Star Wars sites, and when I found theforce.net, I kept pressing the random page link, and discovered the fanfiction! I scanned through the archives, amazed. The first fic I read was Father?s Heart, I fell in love with it, and saved the link, and went on to read other fics. I spent the remainder of my summer searching for fanfiction to read.

When did you first begin to write?

I used to write very sporatically about four years ago, When I look back, I?m not even sure I can consider it writing, though. I took a plot I read in a book, and just rewrote it and changed the ending so that no one died! Later, after reading a lot of fanfiction, I got inspired to get more serious about writing. My first serious fic was an original fiction, but I went overboard and tried to put way too many subplots in there. Needless to say, it got too complicated, and it was very hard to read. The first Star Wars fic I wrote was Second Chance, which I wrote in June. It turned into a very mushy romance, and now when I look back at it, I cringe. But I do remember that, though I was inexperienced, my readership was very supportive and after that I just couldn?t stop writing. At the time, though, I was very proud that I could write at all, so I submitted it, and got really mad at the reviewers when it got rejected. I rewrote it in the winter, and submitted it again, and again it got rejected. This time, though, they didn?t have a huge list of things that were wrong with it, so I could tell I was at least getting better.

What drew you to Star Wars fanfiction?

Well, I always liked Star Wars, ever since I saw ANH when I was 7 and first discovering the movie theatres. No one else around me really cared for Star Wars, though, and that obsession sort of died down for a while, until TPM came out, and I got all excited and bought the tape, of which I watched so many times I can annoy my friends quoting throughout the whole movie! I started to imagine what would happen with altered endings, or with another of my own characters in it. I didn?t know it then, but I was already composing fanfiction! So when I saw that you could actually write this stuff down, and other people would really read it, I got really excited, and got right to work, reading as much fanfiction as I could cram in a day. The fics that I started to post got a small but very loyal readership, so I got encouraged, and kept writing, and now I?m addicted to fanfiction!

Do you consider yourself a good writer?

Not really. When I read the fics of all the people who have been writing longer than I have, I feel very incompetent compared to them. But I just started to write seriously, and I still consider myself a newbie. I think I?m progressing really well, though. If you look at my first story, Second Chance, and the stories I?m writing now, you can see a significant difference in my writing.

What is your style?

I?m not quite sure what my style is yet. People tell me I have a unique style, but I guess as a writer I?m not developed enough to see the differences! I do like to imitate styles of works I like, such as plot twists and deep secrets.

What gives yo

 

Very informative, bobilll. I'm glad that Water's Rage got so much interest, and I'm glad I was one of the first people to discover it.

 

hehe, yep, what would I have done w/out you??? btw, thankies for nominating me for this!!! I feel so...

 

Tonight's interview is a stunning writer of the highest quality. She's written many wonderful stories, including several Han/Leia that are to die for! Give it up for a nephrologist, a mush enthusiast, and a fantastic writer...

LadyPadme!

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LadyPadme, can you give us some background information on yourself?

In real life I?m Chinese-American. I?m a nephrologist, married and have a three year old son (my screaming savage ). Besides Star Wars (are we allowed to have outside interests?) I love reading novels, drawing, and knitting, being a Canadiens? fan (long story) and the fact that I can look out the window to see the Statue of Liberty every day.

What was your first Star Wars experience? [/b]

When I was seven, my mom had to go to a work-related dinner. My dad and I were at a loose end of what to do, so we went to the nearest movie theater to watch that new movie that came out, ?Star Wars?. It was a drive-in. We showed up a little late, and my first memory was ?Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you?re my only hope?Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you?re my only hope?Help me?? I was actually completely mystified by the movie and remember climbing into the back seat of the car to go to sleep, waking up at the Death Star trench battle. Because of that experience, I missed out on ESB when it came out, but then a year after ESB, my aunt rented ANH and I totally fell in love with the movie. The rest is history. I had a Darth Vader necklace I wore in high school, and I did the Princess Leia buns for Halloween. (Trust me?I was classified as a geek early on )

What can you remember about your very first story?

TPM was a big disappointment for me, but AotC rekindled my love of Star Wars. I started checking out SW online websites and found TFN. I would check out EpII news and then in July, I found a headline titled ?Anakin and Padme?s Proposal?. I thought this was a behind-the scenes thing or something that ended up on the cutting room floor and I clicked, only to find out the Archives were looking for submissions for the proposal anthology. The idea stuck in my mind and I wrote out a story called ?Lost Charm?. At that time, I had NO intention of writing more. I picked the name LadyPadme, and submitted. Then it was accepted, and I was bitten by the bug.

Many of your stories focus on Han and Leia. What draws you to this pairing and keeps you there?

Well, I?m a big Harrison Ford fan, and I just LOVED ESB. The Falcon kiss scene still makes me shivery when I watch it. I just love the love-hate dynamic and I love that Han is the penultimate alpha male?cocky with a sense of humor, strong and solitary but willing to change everything for the love of a good woman. Also, I find the way that he and Leia just compliment each other to be very satisfying.

Of all the stories you've written, what is your personal favorite, and why?

?Of Spies and Sabacc." That was the first novel-length fanfic I ever wrote. I loved it because the story came out of nowhere for me. After I wrote ?Lost Charm? I?d written a story called ?Stars in the Night Sky? about Shmi Skywalker. I decided to do all the women of the Skywalker family and was trying to come up with a plot for a Princess Leia story. Originally, I was going to write a story about a sabacc game between Han, Leia, Luke and Rogue Squadron, and have Leia realize at the end of the game that she was in love with Han. Then, I thought, ?What would make a geeky person like Leia ever sit in a sabacc game?? I played around with various ideas until the spy angle came out. Even then, it was primarily going to be a Han/Leia story, but early on a reader commented on my Luke story line and a whole Luke subplot got added in. As I was posting it, I had a small but loyal following with very enthusiastic readers (like Kirana_Ti who would welcome new readers to my thread for me!) and I thought the whole experience was just very fun and satisfying.

What was it like writing for the challenges "Made My

 

Very informative, LadyPadme.

Okay, I give. What does a nephrologist do? Or do I not want to know?