Sue's interview with Savage7279 about her fic 'Unexpected Circumstances'

Unexpected Circumstances 

When a knight from another kingdom wins his choice of bride, he claims the handmaid instead of the princess. Isabella finds herself married and tossed into the middle of political schemes. What happens when she can't give him the one thing he must have?

Twilight - Rated: M - English - Angst/Romance - Chapters: 8 - Words: 48,549 - Reviews: 2769 - Updated: 1-7-11 - Published: 11-22-10 - Bella & Edward

Savage's Blog 

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

IF you do not want to know details about the story skip over my comments and go right to the interview OR just go read the fic already 
MORE WARNINGS 
This post contains pics that are NSFW and should not be viewed at WORK or around children YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
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BIG shocker for my readers here at SYTYCW 
SUE LOVES a well written historical romance. TODAYS rec is Unexpected Circumstances by Savage.

As you guessed our ever changing Edward is a knight and he wins himself a bride by winning a tournament. He is given the choice by the king that he can pick any eligible maiden. Everyone at the tournament expects him to choose the princess.

He chooses the handmaiden of the princess and ROYALLY pisses off, well, the royalty. It is here where the fun begins. (get your minds outta the gutter)
He marries the handmaiden much to the chagrin of the royal family.

She is a young virgin and he is well not. THIS is not something our Prince expected he thought she would be as loose a woman as the princess. WRONG She was too busy sewing and fetching bath water to be making hey in the hay loft with the stable boys. Poor Edward, he is gonna have to train his wife and she is shy and well, lets be honest, frightened of him. After all she is 16 and he is 25. She has always been a servant and he can decide whether people live or die! He wants her to ready and willing in her own time. BUT FIRST he has to win her trust because lets face it, no matter how pretty Edward is if you are scared shitless of him and do not know what to expect, you are not gonna wanna be banging him like a drum! 

Now just because the fic has not gotten to the sexy yet does not mean that it won't. This is Savage we are talking about here. (you know Hide and Drink, Surviving Bella) I have complete faith that it will get to the sexy VERY soon. In the mean time this fic gives us some mighty HOT kissing and some lovely introduction to intimacy for our shy young Bella.


NOW before you start saying GRoSS 16 and 25 I have to say get over it. This is a period fic. Women were often betrothed at age 14 or younger. By age 16 she would have been popping out babies

WHY do I like this fic? Well in it we have intrigue, suspense and a clumsy Bella that is not the stereotype. Her clumsiness comes more from her class distinction. She goes from being servant to wife of a prince. A WHOLE different set of rules that Edward was foolish enough to NOT prepare her for.

WHAT IS IT WITH MEN and their lack of communication! 

SO if you, like me, enjoy a good period fic with sexy consequences and you like politics set in an era of knights and kings THIS is the fic for you.

ALSO the pics contained in this post are MY wishful thinking. I am not saying they have happened in the fic its just my imagination running WILD

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What was it that gave you the 'spark' for your story? Was it a picture? A moment or event? Can you remember the initial inspiration?
I attended Medieval Times while on vacation in Myrtle Beach last summer.  I'd seen it a couple of times, and always loved everything about the time period.
I've been known to do some stage fighting as well, so I love the swordplay. While I was watching, I just thought Edward as a knight would be hot.  I wrote the first three chapters on the way home.


Do you have a particular process when it comes to your writing, perhaps a certain mood, environment or music? Do you have any 'triggers' to get you in the writing mood?
I love to write, so as soon as I get whatever I have to get done, that's what I'm doing. I don't usually need to get in the mood.  I usually see images in my head, and just watch it play out. Then I go to my computer and write it.
If I have a particular place where most of the ideas for an individual story
come to me, sometimes I have to go back to that place to work through part of
it.


Give us an elevator pitch. Say you're in an elevator with a prospective
reader for 2 minutes – what would you tell them about the story?
It's not historical fiction!! LOL  I know, it's set in a semi-sort of 1200ish England-ish place, but it isn't any of those. Really, the story is about two people from opposite ends of the class spectrum thrown together and having to figure out how to live with each other.  There will be lot of drama and such as well, but mostly it will be about the two of them together.  Much like Hide and Drink was in a cabin, and Surviving Bella was on a raft, I anticipate an extremely high percentage of this story to take place with them alone in their bedroom. That won't always be smut, though – sorry.  hehe


Do you picture particular actors for your characters, or are they someone else entirely? If so, who?
This answer is the same most every time I get this question.  Rob is lovely,
so for god sakes the man is on my mind. Or preferably, my face. Or me on
his. Whatever. If you like Kristen, feel free to see her when you are
reading. I think most people do.

Robs face in the midst of a bunch of porn WHY NOT?

Is the story all planned out or do you do it as a fly by the seat of your
pants thing?
All planned out, beginning to end. I may change some details, but the overall plot is set.


Do you have a Beta and would you like to give him/her a shoutout here?
DK is my beta, and she is very patient with me, which is very necessary.  I
can't place a comma in the right place to save my life, and sometimes I
babble. Just a bit. She puts up with my shit and smacks me (and the
characters) around sometimes. She's a great "how are the readers going to
take this" test. If she's pissed off at Edward, that means the rest of you
will be, too. It puts a smile on my face, knowing I will have you all riled
up. hehehe

Have you got any other projects going on? Any planned for the future?
I've got an O/S for the Twificpics Pick-a-Pic challenge. Like usual, I'm up to the last minute. It has to be entered by midnight tomorrow and I just sent it to my poor volunteer beta Sharkjumper last night. She's got her work cut out for her. It's pure smut.  Not a plot in it. LOL Actually…. I haven't
heard from her yet…. I hope she didn't drown in drool or anything…  :)


What was it that brought you to Twilight fanfic? What is it that has kept you here (besides your own writing)
All the usual – interesting stories, intriguing characters, but not near enough fucking. It's all about the porn, people!  You know I'm right!   My
readers are fucking awesome, too.  I am still in awe of all their support.
Every time I put my IM status to "ARGH" when I'm annoyed or "Blech" when I'm
sick, I get a dozen messages from people making sure I'm okay.  It makes ya
feel good to be loved.  Even if it is a "don't you get sick until my update is

posted!" kind of love.  ;)


Do you have a background in writing?
Just what I've done in the FF world.


How about your creative self-confidence? By nature writers tend to be a
notoriously insecure lot so how are you finding the online writing
experience?
I'm pretty thick skinned. The only thing that gets to me is if someone leaves an anonymous review saying they hate this or that, and I want to try to
defend my position.  Since it's anonymous, I don't have the opportunity.Criticism doesn't bother me; I  just like to be able to give my side of things.
Right now, Unexpected Circumstances is pretty early in the story (chapter 8 will probably be posted by the time this interview goes up). There's a lot of
speculation about Edward and Tanya. I'm not giving anything away when I
respond to reviews, and I won't now either – but I at least have the
opportunity to make a comment regarding the situation if I choose.


Do you tell your friends and family that you're an online author with a devoted following, or is this something that you tend to keep for yourself?
Um... a little of both. A couple of family members (outside my house) know. My immediate family knows I write, but not WHAT I write. My husband just wants to practice scenes. ;) I keep work people away from this for the most part. I have another reputation to uphold as well! Ha!


Is there a particular character in your story that you identify with the most?
I doubt it. I don't think I'd write a character I really identified with myself. I mean…. I already live like this – why would I write it??? I'm willing to say I identify with Bella if it will get me three nights with
Knightward.


Which RL author(s) inspires you?
I'm trying to remember ones I haven't named before… um… Edgar Rice
Burroughs was a favorite as a kid – I always loved Sci Fi and his John
Carter of Mars books ere awesome. Douglas Adams was a true legend both in the
ability to tell a story and his incredible humor.  


Did any FF authors inspire you? What was it that had you reading FF and
thinking "I could do this"?

I've been writing too long to remember.  I think I have read just as many
published books that made me think that as FF. I have recently been reading
Our Lives Unbound by theladyingrey42, which is just very different from other
FF E&B stories I have read. I love the tone of it – the simplicity. It
does drive me crazy though, because it's all in present tense, and I usually
write in past. I had been taking a writing break and read a couple chapters
of that story, then came back to work on UC.  All the sudden I realized I had
written the last few paragraphs in present tense and had to go change them
all!  MotU does that to me as well.


What advice would you give to an aspiring fanfic writer?
Just do it.  With a beta.  Two, even.  Keep the light on.  Take pictures.


Give us a Random Fact about yourself?
My favorite color is yellow.  My car is yellow.  The umbrella in my car is
yellow.  My scarf is yellow.  My PC is yellow (really!).  For Christmas I got
a new pair of fuzzy yellow gloves that match my car.

If you could have 15 minutes with anyone alive or dead real or fictional who would it be and what would you say to them?
Last time I think I said presidents…I think I need a much more fun answer
this time.  Rob, of course!  I wouldn't be saying much though….I'd be busy.
Fitting him for a suit of armor, that is…


What is your FanFic Pet peeve?
Generally crappy grammar/editing. Look up the difference between there, their and they're for goodness sakes! I can understand a few typos and such – we all have them – but when spell check would have picked it up, that's just being lazy. When the same misspelling is done over and over again, or – heaven forbid – someone types "irregardless," I get a little queasy and usually stop reading.


What is your Fandom Pet peeve?
You know I might actually have one now!  I recently opened up my FFN reviews
to accept anonymous reviews.  (I honestly didn't know it was "off" before.)
Now someone will ask a question in a review, and it's anonymous… and I have
no way of answering it!!!! It makes my OCD brain go funny. I can't cope.


Anything else you would like to add?
A lot of people have asked me how many chapter Unexpected Circumstances is
going to be. Honestly, I don't know.  It's going to be pretty long though, and since the chapters are relatively short, I'm going to guess at least 30. That could be very low as well, but at least 30 sounds right. If you haven't checked out the Twilighted forum on UC, go there now!  Those ladies are a riot!


Thanks again for interviewing me!  It's always a pleasure!
-Savage

Sue's interview with Savage7279 about her fic 'Unexpected Circumstances'