April 10, 2010

Sue's Interview with Tallulahbelle about 'Elemental'



As you all know, I read a LOT of fic and I try to tell you all where I find them. Sometimes I am trolling the boards at Twilighted, and other times I get recs from friends or various folks on twitter, and other times I take advise from A/Ns.

WELL I have seen the banners from Elemental, which are very pretty all over Twilighted for MONTHS. I have also had certain pushy people (Autumn and Vanessarae) bugging me about reading this fic for roughly 4 months.

I started it once and I guess I was not in the mood for it at the time. The first chapter and prologue, I struggled with reading them. THAT was the first time. Like I said, it was probably my mood at the time.

SO at the insistance of several people I re read this fic I was told,

"SUE. Make it through chapter 3 and if you still are meh about it, so be it. BUT you wont be."

Being the stubborn person I am, I read the fic. I never thought it was bad, I just was not into it, which happens with a lot of fics. Remember, just because someone does not like a fic, does not make it a bad fic! WELL, I started reading this thing at about 10pm one night. I got past chapter 3 and that was when I started tweeting about it. I would tweet in between chapters. Some of the stuff I tweeted... I wish I could say I was drunk.

At 4:30am I finished what there was and I gave the world's most rambling, stupid review ever that had tons of things in it like:

Squee!
GUH!
OMG OMG OMG OMG!

And a few other things...

I also PM'd her asking to interview her. I then started tweeting like crazy!

FINALLY, Ciao_bella27 talked me down off the ledge and told me to relax. Tallulahbelle was on vacation. WHEW! To say this is a great fic... well YEAH.

So here is the summary about this great fic:
AU/AH: When the Swans return to their birthplace, Bella learns she is no ordinary teenager, and Forks is no ordinary town. Can she fulfill her destiny with the powerful Edward Cullen, or will the dark forces that threaten their families destroy them all?

And my take on it:
Bella and her family move to Forks from Phoenix. Bella has no idea WHY they are moving though. She finds out things about her family and the people of Forks that would cause most people to go off the deep end!

I cannot tell you all just how excited I am about this story. I want a movie made out of it! WHY??

(here are some gratuitous pictures to break up the text)

Well, (and here I am gonna spoil a tad and that is OK. Because if you have not read it, you will have NO CLUE what I am talking about. But if you HAVE read it. then you will totally get it) there is this thing that happens to the people who are guardians of this land. They have these powers that are in tune with the elements, and the greater being, or power, flows through them and gives them control over these powers. This greater being also chooses their ideal mate. This imprinting helps them with their powers, and they become closer to this person than anyone else. It is more than a physical connection. WELL, guess what happens when this connection happens to poor Bella, and it connects her to someone she DOES NOT like a whole lot? Yeah. CHAOS!

Alrighty... enough of my rambling, because Kim has warned me that my comments are getting too long. Let's just say I love this fic. I wanna see the connection part made into a movie, to see the visual manifestation of "The Pull" (that sounds so sick).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Where did you get the idea for this story? What was your inspiration?
It came to me in a dream. No joke. It was something that had stayed with me when I woke up and started to write it down in a notebook.

2. Is there anything you would want readers to know specifically?
Actually, what would you like to know specifically?

Such a smart ass! I LOVE it!

I have a Kissing Q!!
I notice that there is a distinct lack of kissing between Bella and Edward even after they have imprinted tell me is this significant?
I have an alternatives to every scene I write
If I put in one scene it will be very big and if I put it in another it will be a bit of a let down.

3. Why should readers read your story?
This is one of those questions I have a hard time answering, because people have different reasons for reading a story.

My hope that that the people who come to read Elemental want to be entertained, but have something to think about as well, when they walk away from the story.

4. So you do anything special while writing a chapter like listen to special music, need total silence, eat a bag of M&M's, drink heavily, whatever …?
I tend to have my iPod on and listen to music that I feel will help heighten the emotional state of the part that I am writing. Other times I need quiet. I tend to work best late at night or the very earlier hours in the morning.

5. What do you do after you click the submit button for a chapter?
Let out the breath that I had been holding since I started writing the chapter.

SUE finds this hysterical because she just kinda quoted Twilight!
"Released the breath I did not know I was holding"
Tracy wants to know how does one NOT know they are holding their breath?
Tracy is very smart!

6. Do you have a soundtrack to your stories?
Sometimes I do. For Elemental I am listening to music that has a dreamy quality to it. The songs that have triggered the most emotions have been Nine Inch Nails “Help Me I’m In Hell” and “Le Mer”, Tori Amos’ “Lady in Blue”, The Beloved “Sweet Harmony” and some various pieces of Classical Music.

7. What actor/actress do you picture as YOUR Edward and Bella?
I actually don’t have actors in mind when I write this story. The characters are faceless in a way.

Sue is kinda sad about this Sue likes to put up pics on the blog but that is OK because if it is a random faceless character I can fillit in with whoever I want!!

8. Is the story all planned out or do you do it as a fly by the seat of your pants thing?
I have a certain amount of it planned out. I know how this story is going to end. I have key scenes that I have in my head and written in my notebook for the story. I do however leave myself open in case I feel something needs to be added or an alternative version of the scene would make more sense to write. The story is very much a living, breathing thing in my head. Characters and scenes grow all the time. I think about some aspect of this story every day.

9. Do you have a posting Schedule? If so what is it?
I post as soon as the chapter is ready. I try not to take too long, but sometimes real life comes into play or a certain chapter may take more care to process.

10. Do you believe in HEA?
I prefer them above all else for a story ending.

11. Give me a list of your current projects AND do you have any more fic plans in the future?
I am currently working on Elemental. I have other things in the works, but I don’t know if they will see the light of day. There is a Bella & Edward comedy that I am writing called The Fifth Wheel that I hope to finish, even if it is just for me.

There is always the thought that once I complete Elemental, that’s it, I’m done. I don’t know what will happen, but I’ll keep myself open to the possibilities of future stories.

12. What brought you to fanfic? To twilight?
I stumbled across fanfic years ago. I hadn’t read anything in a very long time, but during the Fall of 2008, I came across an author who was writing these great Eric/Sookie stories, that followed Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse book series. It was just wonderfully written. Around the same time a friend of mine was trying to start an online book club and asked me to participate. Since he put up with my reading choices, I told him yes. Well that first book was- you guessed it, Twilight. I read through the first three books quickly. After I had finished the Eric/Sookie stories, just for the heck of it, looked up to see what Twilight fanfic was offered. Imagine my surprise to see the amount that was available.

I slowly weeded through some of the stories on ff.net. I started to read a few and I kept going and going...

13. What is your background in writing?
Not much. Does my journal count? I remember in eighth grade we had to write our own myth for Literature class. I think other than that, just papers I had to write for school. Which was many moons ago.

OK FANTASY TIME
14. If you could have 15 minutes with any Edward FF or SM's, which one would you choose and would you do?
If you do not LIKE any of the Edwards, feel free to substitute an actor here, Rob, Kellan, PFach, or even that skinny dude with the poofy hair.

I think my mind went blank due to overload of all the choices. There are a few Edwards that I have liked in ff, but to pick one? Gah! I don’t know.

Poofy hair guy? You mean Jasper, right? What’s wrong with Jasper? *gives the evil eye*

The Jasper from Son of a Preacher Man I would take him aside and say look you fucked up, but mean sex could be involved if it got him through the heartfail. I would be taking one for the team !!

15. What is your FF pet peeve?
I’d say anything gratuitous in a story, something being there just to be there, even if it doesn’t make sense. Also stories that are not plotted well.
You'll see a story start really well and really strong and get sucked into it and like 2 chapters later you are like WTF am I reading?

Tracy: a rough outline helps

16. What is your Fandom PetPeeve?
Sometimes, just the lack of respect for another person that comes into this fandom, with the hope of connecting with like-minded people. This is a hobby for a lot of people and they may not have the opportunity to talk about it with someone in their real life. I think people should be a little more considerate.

17. Which character in your fic do you identify with the most?
Lauren.

I’m kidding

Bella. As she is discovering this new life, so am I.

Any character who would you like to see yourself with? Either as buddies or more?
I always wanted a brother. I would love to have Emmett from Elemental, as mine.

18. Which RL author inspires you?
Neil Gaiman, Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Shakespeare and early Anne Rice.

Then there are various books that have influenced me over the years.

Did any FF authors inspire you?
To start writing? No, when writing Muse showed up, I just started.

I do however look at a lot of different stories for various reasons. Some of the earlier stories that I came across that caught my attention were Coming to Terms and A Person of Worth. The character development, flow and details in the story reminded me to pay attention to not only what the characters were saying, but what they weren’t saying and their surroundings. Innocent Vigilant Ordinary was another.

When I discovered Living Backwards, I was just surprised to find a story that sucked me in and made me laugh out loud by the end of the first chapter. Comedy can be hard to write, but I was actually laughing out loud during the first chapter. This story has a lightness about it, but it is also smart. I love a smart comedy. The characters and settings were also strong. When the story made a gradual shift into drama, it did it without feeling jerky or a definite cut between the comedic into the dramatic. The flow is amazing.

Of course, I look at Faking It or Breaking News and I feel that I should just quit writing now. These stories are alive in all aspects of what they are.

19. Any recs for us?
Living Backwards by Ciaobella27
Faking It by Spanglemaker9
Breaking News by WriteOnTime
Coming to Terms by GinnyW 31
Frozen Spring by MeadowC
Prey by Summer35/Eun Hye (On FF/ twi)
Creature of Habit by EZRocksAngel
Bella Swan: Zombie Killer by Kristen Nicole
Controlled Burn by Staceygirl aka jackbauer
The Naked Guy Upstairs by AngryBadgerGirl
Edward Wallbanger by Feathers…mmmm

20. If you could ask any Twilight Cast member a Question, who would you ask and what would your Question be?
I haven’t seen the movies, so I have no clue.

21. Anything else you would like to add?
Thank you for reading and having me as your guest!

Oh! I am TallulahBelle, not TalulaBlue who writes With Teeth. I've had a few people mistake me for the cooler Talula. I hear that she has an awesome story that I hope to read soon.

There are only about 10 more chapters left of Elemental.

22. We will be seeing much more of Edward in future chapters?
Probably not. I would rather not have written EPOV. I wanted to keep his mystery, as a character, in the story till he revealed himself to Bella in later chapters. I offered Edward's POV for FGB because they were supporting a worthwhile cause and readers had been asking for it for awhile.

I do not regret writing his POV, though. It was a good challenge.

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