Sue's Interview with Melolabel about her fic 'Come Back to Me'

Come Back To Me

When the fire of newlywed love cools and the demands of life take over,how can Bella&Edward rise above the storm and resist drifting apart? With their marriage crumbling, what kind of wake up call will it take to get back to their HEA? AU/AH B/ETwilight - Rated: T - English - Hurt/Comfort/Romance - Chapters: 15 - Words: 72,572 - Reviews: 496 - Updated: 3-10-11 - Published: 9-13-10 - Edward & Bella

Alrighty lets talk marriage.


I know there are some fics out there where there is the HEA that ends in a big white wedding or a wedding on the beach or a runaway to Vegas style. Get married by big fat fake Elvis and we ride off into the sunset shitting out daisies and rainbows.


Rarely does fic tackle marriage. I can honestly off the top of my head think of ONLY 3 fics (this one included) set in present time that deal with reality in marriage.


In fic usually the problem in the marriage ends up leading one partner or another to cheat. And then they find their true love and we are back to unicorns having bowel issues with wild flowers!

But lets face it married ladies out there: cheating is not the biggest problem in married life. Much like it takes little things to show love it takes little things to kill it too .

Little things like not paying attention when the other person is talking. Little things like not seeing the other persons pain because you are too busy or too hurt yourself. THAT is what this fic is about.

These two were High School sweethearts. Been together for years, best friends. He is now a resident while she works at a job she hates to support him. Oh he has access to money but his pride will not allow him to ask for that help from his parents EVEN though he is on good terms with them.

We find two people who are struggling with things like little money, little time and after a while we find they do not know each other as well as they had thought. Suddenly Bella has had enough and she needs to get away so she takes her small inheritance from her grandmother and tells him she is leaving to go find herself.

NOW SUE and Dr. Phil would agree here (SUE btw is way smarter than Dr. Phil even though SUE has less letters after her name and SUE is also much more charming!)  Running away does NOT help your problem. The problem is still gonna BE there when you come home.

HOWEVER the neat thing is she wants to give them each some distance to get some perspective on things and gaining perspective is important in life. Sometimes you just need to know what really matters and what is unimportant. 

Edward has ALWAYS had someone doing things for him SO what happens when Edward is left to take care of EVERYTHING without Bella? What is the condition of their apartment? What about their finances? (Bella deals with those too) How does he eat? HOw does Bella fair without him? What about Edwards jealousy issues? you KNOW he has them!

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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?  
The Inspiration for this story came from the David Cook song Come Back to Me. I was listening to the radio on my way to my exercise class at 5 am and heard that song.  As I listened to the lyrics, the story just unfolded in my head. I asked myself a few questions about the why's and where's and who's and what's, and then I started writing.

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 write when I can, which is usually at night after the kids are in bed. Sometimes I can write in the morning if the babums can be occupied with playdough or coloring books.  As for the mood, it's either quiet or some wacky kid show is on TV. I enjoy getting inspiration from music, but I can't write and listen to music at the same time. My brain just doesn't work that way.

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 a story about two regular people dealing with real life issues and how they learn to love and trust each other again.  They epitomize the saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Do you picture particular actors for your characters, or are they someone else entirely? If so, who?  
My Edward I think will probably always be Robert Pattinson. As for Bella, I used Kristen Stewart in the banner, but I could easily see a long-haired Mandy Moore in her place. Jacob, though is not Taylor L. THIS Jacob is modeled after a young Antonio Sabato Jr. He still has the darker Mediterranean olive/swarthy complexion, but he's not Native American, he's French (hon hon hon). Ness I see as Amy Adams, Carmen and Lee I'll go with Lydia Nicole and Antonio Banderas respectively.

Is the story all planned out or do you do it as a fly by the seat of your pants thing? 
I have the main plot points sketched out pretty early, especially the main dramatic conflicts/events. The rest I fill in as I go.  

Do you have a Beta and would you like to give him/her a shoutout here? I did get a new beta for this story, LJ Summers aka @sandyquill on the twitter, and am so fortunate to have her expertise and giant multi-colored pen in my corner.  She has helped me a ton on this story and I'm so grateful for her input!

Have you got any other projects going on? Any planned for the future? I have started to sketch out the rest of my oneshot for the Pick-a-Pic contest, "The Kept Men's Club."  That will probably be my next project.  And I do have an idea for another period fic.  I'll have to start sketching ideas for that one out soon.  I have trouble working on more than one or two things at once.  It clogs up my brain and then nothing gets done. 

What was it that brought you to Twilight fanfic? What is it that has kept you here (besides your own writing)  
What brought me to Twific was my insatiable desire for more Edward and Bella in between the release of Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. And I would have to say that it's Edward and Bella that have kept me here.  There is just something magical about those names, that pairing, that just grabs on to me like a ferocious Chihuahua and won't let go.  I've also developed some really neat friendships that I never would've formed were it not for Twific.

THIS is Jacob Antonio Sabato Jr

Do you have a background in writing?   
Other than the requisite writing classes for school, no. I don't have a writing background. I did just recently come across a piece I did for my technical writing class on how to tape an ankle, complete with pictures and all.  It was kind of funny to find that again.

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 a pretty self-confident person by nature, so if I like what I've written, then I try not to let other's negative opinions affect me too deeply.  Overall, I have to say that I've greatly enjoyed my online writing experiences so far.  I have somehow managed to acquire an amazingly kind and loyal following of readers, I've tried to stay true to my self, my beliefs, and personal ideals, and I've managed to avoid unfortunate drama. 

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?  
A few close family members and friends know that I write fanfic, but generally when asked, I tell people that I like to do creative writing and keep it at that.


Is there a particular character in your story that you identify with the most?   

Ness

In this story, there's a little bit of me in Bella as well as Esme.  Esme's awesome because she just rocks.  And with this Bella, I've felt highs and lows and have felt like I've lost myself amidst all of the demands of daily life.  But I've also muddled through and found purpose as well.

Which RL author(s) inspires you? 
I think I've said it before, but I really enjoy Mary Balogh, Stephenie Meyer (if only because she's created an awesome set of characters), Tracie Peterson. 


Did any FF authors inspire you?   What was it that had you reading FF and thinking “I could do this”?  
My first foray into writing fanfic came from entering a oneshot into Jayeliwood's "Sexy Edward" contest.  I received (what I thought) was a ton of encouraging reviews telling me to keep going and write more of the story.  So I did, and "A New Frontier" was born.

What advice would you give to an aspiring fanfic writer? 
My answer: 1. Write because you love to and have a story to tell. 2. Get editing help from someone who knows what they're doing.  My Husband's answer: 1. Make sure you have a very understanding spouse.  2. Quit now before it's too late.

Give us a Random Fact about yourself? 
I was a cheerleader in highschool and I make really good cookies.

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?   
I think I would probably pick my paternal Grandma. She passed away when I was 14, but I'd love to hear more about her life growing up. 


What is your FanFic Pet peeve?  
Incorrect word usage.  Their/there/they're, breath/breathe, hear/here, that kind of thing. And when author's try to use a colloquial phrase but they've either heard it wrong or not understood the meaning behind it so it gets written down wrong or used in a strange or incorrect way.  I can't think of any examples right now, but I know I've read some phrases that make me go, "Wha???  Oh! I think they meant ...."

What is your Fandom Pet peeve?
Mean Girl Drama and Anonymous reviewers who either ask a question or flame you.  If you're going to ask a question, at least create an account and log-in so an author can respond to the question in private.  If you're going to flame, at least have the cojones to create and account and log-in so an author can respond to the "review" in private.  We authors who write fanfic, we're not just a screen name.  We are people who have feelings and lives outside of writing fun fictional stuff for free.  The interwebznets is not as anonymous as it used to be, so please play nicely.

Anything else you would like to add?  
Gratuitous pimpage--  BellaMadonna just finished "Bella, The Lioness" (awesome Bella-vamp/Humanward story). LJ Summers has, like, a bazillion amazing stories.   Rainygirl1978 's "To the Highest Bidder" and "Cape Disappointment". WannabeCharlotte 's Wrenfield Hall. I think that wraps it up.  Oh, and make sure to check out The Blood Crystal.  It's one of my favorite stories that I've written, but it got so little traffic (Action/romance/adventure-loosely inspired by Romancing the Stone) And a big thanks to everyone who's bothered to read all the way to the end of this interview!

Sue's Interview with Melolabel about her fic 'Come Back to Me'