#ficmuse

9. Favorite Books?

Jane Austen; I waffle between Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Mysteries. Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles. Dorothy Sayer’s Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries.

10. Favorite Food?

Any configuration of a potato. Baked; fried; mashed. I’m a potato fan.

11. Biggest pet peeve?

Passive aggressive people. Just tell me what I’ve done to piss you off and I’ll try to make it right. If you can’t do that, we’re at an impasse.

12. What did you want to be when you were little? What do you want to be now?

I’ve always wanted to be a published author and that’s still my dream.

13. What are your biggest fears? Do you have any strange fears?

Oh, boy. I have a phobia about driving on the highway. It’s very weird. I’ve gone way the hell out of my way to take side roads instead of highways.

14. When you are on your deathbed what would be the one you’d regret not doing?

When I was fifteen, I had the choice to go to boarding school in England. At the last minute, I backed out and went to a school in Pennsylvania instead. I really regret that; my whole life would have been on a different path.

Okay… lets talk about your writing!

15. Which is your favorite of the fics you've written for the Bughead fandom?

I’ve only written a few, but the BLT universe (Bizarre Love Triangle, Long Live Rock) is my baby. That’s my blood, sweat and tears, right there.

16. Which was the hardest to write, in terms of plot?

Fugue. The idea of Jughead as a murderer was so preposterous, I had to figure out a way to make it real and believable.

17. How do you come up with the ideas for you fic(s)? Do you people watch? Listen to music? Get inspired by TV/movies?

I get inspired by music more than anything else. Usually, finding the right song is the key to unlocking a story for me. But it can be other things. I eavesdrop like crazy and I also am very moved by neon signs and photography. I often look at moodboards and listen to a fic specific soundtrack while I’m writing.

18. Idea that you always wanted to write but could never make work?

I’ve been writing a fic with Betty as the POV character. The plot is inspired by the movie Groundhog Day. She keeps repeating the same night over and over. It’s funny on film, but I think it’s too repetitive as a story. I haven’t given up on it yet, but it is really kicking my butt.

19. Least favorite plot point/chapter/moment you’ve written?

Archie and Betty hooking up in Long Live Rock was just such a bummer.

20. Favorite plot point/chapter/moment you’ve written?

Jughead’s backstory about how he got his beanie in Bizarre Love Triangle.

21.Favorite character to write?

Jughead, for sure.

22. Favorite line or lines of dialogue that you've written?

For Long Live Rock, I had to write a lot of song lyrics. I’m particularly fond of some I wrote for Jughead: Fortunes have been made and fortunes have been lost /Princes earning money by moving rocks Princesses waiting tables in a neon glow/What we had we'll find again and never let it go.

23. Best comment/review you’ve ever received?

I really love it when people just get so flipped out that they can’t even articulate their feelings and it’s a lot of capital letters and exclamation marks.

24. How do you handle bad reviews or comments?

Unfortunately, I have a thin skin. I can handle the occasional nasty comment, but when it’s message after message of people hating what you do, it’s demoralizing.  My husband has repeatedly suggested not reading the comments on Ao3, but I feel an obligation to respond to each reader unless they are being a complete and utter asshat. The hate mail I received on Tumblr for parts of Long Live Rock was just unbelievable. That stuff, I just delete and try to ignore. That being said, constructive criticism is great. But that’s rare and far between. I get a lot of “this is great” or “I hate this with the fire of a thousand suns” and not much in the middle.

25. If you could change anything in any of your stories, what would it be?

The inevitable typos that I can only notice after I post them. Each one causes me physical pain.

26. What is your favorite story you’ve ever written? Any fandom?

My first real labor of love was a story called The Countess which was based on the BBC TV show of Robin Hood. I had a massive fangirl crush on the bad guy, Sir Guy of Gisborne. I shipped him with Maid Marian and despite the fact that she DIED, I still wanted a happy ending for my OTP. Did I mention that he killed her? Because that was the canon ending of that ship! So, I literally resurrected her, made the hero of the canon story the villain, and gave the full monty love story and a happy ending to Marian and Guy. It made my heart happy. It still does, because that canon just pissed me off to no end. One of the great joys of fan fiction is the ability to tell canon to go screw itself.

27. What are you reading right now? Both fan fiction and general fiction?

I haven’t read much Bughead fic because it lessens my ability to get into the headspace of my own AU. However, I am fortunate to have a plethora of fic recommendations from my dear @jandjsalmon waiting for me. As for fiction, I am currently reading a historical mystery called Instruments of Darkness by Imogen Robertson.

28. Do you have an advice for writers that want to get into this fandom but might be scared?