Autumn's Interview with 1blue25 about 'Devil's Pitchfork'

 Devil's Pitchfork by 1blue25, on Twilighted

Hey, ya’ll! The splendiferous Sue asked me to guest blog, and I can’t think of many stories that have captured my imagination as quickly as Devil’s Pitchfork, by 1blue25.

Her summary tells you this:

“Bella had always been warned to stay away from Forks. So when she finds herself stranded there, she expects a very unfriendly welcome. Instead, she finds an opportunity to become the person she’s always wanted to be. BxE, AU-AH”

I can tell you it’s so much more than that! DP started as an entry to the ‘Tattward and Inkella’ contest, but it generated so much interest that 1blue25 decided to continue to tell her tale. It’s dark, and twisted, but ultimately lovely. Blue knows her characters, and lets us get to know them gradually. No one here is perfect, and surprises are around every corner. I don’t want to give too much away, because you really need to read this to appreciate the talent involved in writing such flawed characters that we can still like.

What I CAN tell you, without giving too much away, is that the Quileutes and the residents of Forks are at war. There is violence, mayhem, and destruction. Enter our heroine, Bella Swan, who was whisked out of Forks by her parents as a baby, and has lived a sheltered, coddled life. On her way to a wedding, her car breaks down outside of Forks. Bad, bad place to break down. Especially for Bella. And that’s all I’m gonna say!

To tell you the truth, I didn’t even see the contest. Tats and piercings alone do not make a story for me *snicker. I picked it up from Sunfeathers’ siggy (damn! Those things DO draw people in!), and I’m glad that I did. There are abounding mysteries, action… and an Edward to die for. I’m seriously Ed-dicted, and this guy…? Mmmmmm…

I interviewed 1blue25, and here’s what she had to say:

Where did you get the idea for this story? What was your inspiration?

The story began as a one-shot for the Tattward and Inkella contest over the summer. I made a point of developing the backstory for the tattoos that the characters had because I’ve always thought that if you were going to mark yourself permanently, there better be a damn good reason for it. I came up with this idea of competing gangs and it eventually turned into feuding towns. The residents all bear tattoos to show their loyalty to their town, but there are layers of meaning built in that haven’t even been dissected yet in the story. I also had this idea that no one had really written much about the town of Forks itself. I think of it as a character - almost a collective conscience of the residents.

That really interests me. My fave author has made a town a central character, and it really works!

So you do anything special while writing a chapter like listen to special music, need total silence, eat a bag of M&Ms, whatever …?

I need total and complete silence. I immerse myself into the story when I’m writing and any distractions ruin my train of thought. I get really frustrated when that happens so I usually wait until after my daughter goes to bed before I try to write.

Do you have a soundtrack to your stories?

I have one for Devil’s Pitchfork. Each chapter title is a different song, usually that fits the mood or the action of the chapter. The day before I post a chapter, I Blip the song. Anyone who’s following me on Twitter gets a sneak peek at what’s coming.

What actor/actress do you picture as Edward and Bella?

I didn’t discover Twilight until after the first movie had been filmed, so I’ve always pictured canon Edward and Bella as Rob and Kristen. Though, I do have my own version of Edward in my head, but not modeled after anyone in particular. Usually, when I write Edward, he’s Rob. For Devil’s Pitchfork, I had to kick Rob to the curb. He’s not this character at all. Alexander Skarsgard is the main influence for the way this Edward looks.

I disagree. Rob can be anyone I want him to be *giggle My world, my rules… (Sue butting in here to agree with Autumn cause there are SOOO many "faces of Rob" and he's just fuckin pretty)

Is the story all planned out or do you do it as a fly by the seat of your pants thing?

Outline outline outline. I spent about a month planning this story out. I had a dinner with my beta where we discussed it (over my first whole Maine lobster that I was horrified to discover is actually a WHOLE Maine lobster, face and all. I’m sure the look on my face was priceless). I pretty much revealed the entire story to her, though she confessed weeks later she’d forgotten most of the conversation. Thanks. I think it was because the idea is so grandiose and it was difficult to nail down exactly what I planned to do. I do add bits and pieces in as I go along, or I may modify something that isn’t working, but for the most part I stick to the outline. It’s just easier that way.

Do you have a posting schedule? If so what is it?

I try to post twice a week – Sundays and Thursdays. Of course, real life happens so that gets interrupted, but that’s my goal.

Any more fic plans in the future?

No plans right now. This one takes up almost all my time and creative thinking skills. I get ideas for other stories from time to time and I jot those down. Sometimes, I try writing a chapter to see what happens, but I’m pretty focused on Devil’s Pitchfork at the moment.

What brought you to fanfic? To Twilight?

A friend forced me to read Twilight. I resisted for a few weeks, insisting it was a teenagers’ book, but she finally wore down my resolve. I stayed up most the night reading it and ran to the bookstore the next day to get the next two books. I was glad that I had resisted so long – it was only about 3 weeks before Breaking Dawn was published. I think I would have gone mad if I’d had to wait months or years for it.

As for fanfic, I had no idea it even existed until a friend (this time the friend who would eventually become my beta) emailed me a story and was like “Read this immediately.” I read it, though I was confused why the Cullens weren’t vampires and had dragged Bella and her two friends Alice and Rosalie camping. None of it made sense, though I was intrigued by the idea of continuing the books, especially while I waited for the next book to come out. I stuck to AU for a long time, but finally caved and started reading AH. Now, that’s pretty much all I read.

Damn friends… stealing our brains and all our time by addicting us to fanfic… Oh wait. This isn’t about me, is it? *snicker

Which RL author inspires you? Did any FF authors inspire you?

Real life author pimp time! I ADORE Suzanne Brockmann. I met her at a book signing a few years ago and she’s extremely fun and interesting and nice. She writes these fabulous Navy SEALs books and the heroes are droolworthy. I also fangirl over J.R. Ward. She writes the Black Dagger Brotherhood series (another vamp series) and I seriously hope they make a movie out of those books someday.

E/N: Mmm… Vishious, you devil-bearded, one-balled vampire hottie…
Seriously, if you haven’t read the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, you HAVE TO DO IT RIGHT NOW!

Any recs for us?

At the moment, I’m kind of obsessed with For the Love of Emmett. Juze was looking for a beta and I immediately offered mine just because I was so excited about her story. Sadly for me, she’d already filled the position.

Autumn's Interview with 1blue25 about 'Devil's Pitchfork'