Summary: Winner Slash/Backslash One Shot Contest. Jasper reminisces about his life with Edward, the texture of buttercream, and the capacity to love. AH. Rated M. Explicit sexual content. Additional outtakes will appear at random intervals.
Summary: FML One Shot Contest Entry. Foxholes and Germans and Sex, Oh My! We're not in Kansas anymore folks. Just how do Edward and Seth cope with the misery of Bastogne? Rated M for a reason. Slash/Explicit sex and language. AH/AU
My aversion to angst is well known in the fic community, and I tend to stick to reading fluffy stories, or at least ones with the minimal amount of angst possible. So, it is anybody's guess how one of my closet friends that I have made via fanfic is somebody who takes angst to a new level. FarDareisMai2 not only has a way with words, sucking you in to her stories and making you care for her characters; but she also knows how to have you gripping the edge of your seat, biting your nails as you do your best not to cry. And so, despite my general reluctance to reading angst, I eagerly gobble up anything FDM dishes out.
Her foray into slash has been slow and steady, yet based on the responses that she has garnered from the two slash one shots she has already written, I hope she'll consider writing many more in the future. With two wins under her belt (1st place in the Slash/Backslash contest and 2nd place Open Vote in the FML Contest) FDM is already on the radar when it comes to slash. I sat down with her hoping to learn more about what she thinks about when writing her slashy one shots and her general thoughts on fanfic and slash.
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Thanks so much for agreeing to be interviewed! Sit down, get comfy and let's do this thang ;)
1. I'll start out with the burning question us fellow addicts always wonder...what brought you to Twilight? To Fanfic?
I’d come to the Twilight books just because I’d heard of all the hype and I love most things vampire. I devoured the four books in about 3 days, although I like to pretend most of Breaking Dawn didn’t happen. Then True Blood aired on HBO and within a few episodes of that, I got into the Sookie Stackhouse books. I read the first eight books in four sleepless days/nights, and was hooked.
Eventually I stumbled on the wiki for the show and to the fan fiction there. I’ve always wanted to write, but law school and practice sort of burned it out of me. Then I wrote some very mediocre fan fiction for another fandom several years ago. I decided to find my “groove” once more, and decided to use fan fiction as a writing exercise. I figured working within a closed universe would be easier. Of course, that was before I learned all about AH fics.
2. Were you always a slash fan or did you dabble in canon/'regular' AH fics first?
I absolutely dabbled in canon and regular pairings at first in the Sookieverse, and then AH but still with canon pairings. The little bit of slash I’d read in my old fandom was so forced and badly done, that it actually turned me off of slash for a long time.
In the Twidom, I almost exclusively stayed in the AH fics almost from the start. There are a few vamp stories I’ve enjoyed, but I mostly prefer the AH ones.
3. So...your first foray into writing TwiFic, was a contest entry for the SlashBackSlash contest, which you won! Talk about jumping feet first into not only the Twi world, but the slash world as well. What made you enter the contest?
Actually, I had already begun writing Three Graces and Muse when the Slash/Backslash contest began. I just had not published any of it yet. The Twidom is rather huge and intimidating.
As for what made me enter the contest . . . it was a challenge. I had only recently come to love slash fics, particularly Jasper/Edward stories, and as a writer I wanted to explore something I had never done before. I also figured an o/s for a contest was probably an easier way to slip into the Twidom.
4. Where did you come up with the idea for Just Like Chocolate?
I’d like to say I had some grand scheme for my story, but I didn’t. I rarely have an entire fic thought out beginning to end when I start it. I have images of scenes, and sometimes of events, but not the path there. That comes at me as I go.
I just had this image in my mind of Jasper watching Edward sleep, hence the first lines of the story. Only later did I decide that it was more appropriate that he was watching Masen sleep. And then after talking to you about your fic, where Edward was a barrista, I imagined Edward as a baker, and well, buttercream came to mind. J
About a third of the way through writing the story, I pictured the ending and the rest was a matter of getting there; of exploring their life together and the happiness they found.
5. You wrote a follow up one shot for Just Like Chocolate, highlighting a particularly hot moment in Edward and Jasper's relationship. DO you see yourself perhaps writing a few more additions like that?
Oh absolutely! In fact, I began working on one the other night! I really fell in love with my Jasper and Edward, and since I can’t write a sequel to that story, I can happily fill in the blanks for a while.
6. You entered the FML contest with your one shot, Epiphanies and Grenades. The prompt wasn't geared towards slash at all - what made you go there? (not that I'm complaining mind you, ha!)
LOL! First of all, I have to say that the prompt floored me! I stared at it for weeks without a clue as to how to deal with it. Then I decided I wanted it to be slash, just because I’d been writing Three Graces and was in the mood to write some slash instead, but then, I had to figure out how the hell to make it slash! At first I thought it would be a boyfriend in the bed, because I know we didn’t have to stick word for word to the prompt, but it just didn’t work for me. Also at first, I wanted it to be Edward and Jasper, but I couldn’t figure out how to work a girlfriend into the story.
Then I was watching Band of Brothers (for the umpteenth time) and the episode Bastogne was on, and an idea began to tickle the back of my brain. Then I envisioned how the story ended and voila! I had a story.
7. When your wrote Just Like Chocolate, who did you picture as your Edward and Jasper? What about your Edward and Seth from Epiphanies and Grenades?
I can’t say I had a specific Edward in my head for Just Like Chocolate. I like RPatz in the role for the movies, as a high school aged vampire, but he doesn’t translate for me into fics at all, particularly the all human or angst driven ones. I had sort of an amorphous and vague vision in my head. On the other hand, I absolutely picture Paul Walker as my Jasper.
One night several of us were chatting about actors we thought were hot, and I’m a total h00r for Clive Owen. Well, someone found a picture of a young Clive Owen and that was it! That is now my Edward, in my head, when I read or write human Twi fics (non-high school). So, for Epiphanies and Grenades, I finally had an Edward. Seth, on the other hand, remained as amorphous as Edward originally had been for me. I can see him in my head, but I can’t picture an actor who looks the way I see him.
8. You're currently working on a mult-chapter fic now, that's not slash. Any chance that you'll be writing a slash multi chap in the future? Or perhaps more one shots?
I have not ruled out doing a slash multi-chap, but I haven’t been hit with inspiration. Sometimes I consider continuing Jasper’s story from JLC as a multi-chap, but then I just can’t do it. That fic is complete in its story arc.
I will absolutely be writing more slash one shots. I have a couple of ideas pinging around my head, including one for SVM.
9. What's the hardest part about writing slash in your opinion? The best part?
I think the hardest part about writing slash is that I don’t have the same plumbing. So the sex scenes can be a bit intimidating. I know what it feels like to have someone go down on me, but I have no idea what it feels like to get a blow job. So some of what I write comes from imagination, from other things I’ve read, and from talking to men I know, both gay and straight.
The best part is exploring love and sexuality in a whole new way. I also enjoy exposing readers to something new. I’ve had readers who’ve followed me from the SVM fandom, and who had never read slash before, tell me how much they’ve enjoyed both JLC and E&G. I like that I can help broaden someone’s horizons in some small way.
10. Let's talk about your writing style for a bit. Do you do anything special while writing a chapter like listen to special music or do you need total silence? Do you eat an entire bag of M&Ms or drink heavily? Perhaps peruse the Corbin Fisher website? *winks*
Oh wow, my writing style? LOL! I like to have wine while I write, although I’ve written without it. In fact, a couple of the racier scenes in JLC were written while my littlest guy was in his high chair having a snack and being entertained by Dora the Explorer or the Backyardigans!
Most of Epiphanies & Grenades was written on my couch, with my hubby on the other couch, Band of Brothers playing, with a glass of wine and the fireplace blazing. Very inspiring.
In general, however, I do like to have music playing. I’m either tuned in to KROQ, my cable station’s alt rock channel, or now (since I’ve gone digital) my iTunes playlist.
As for Corbin Fisher . . . I’ve only recently been able to fully appreciate what they have to offer, and it is pure win.
11. Time for random FF questions. What's your biggest FF pet peeve?
Can I have three? Please??? First, stories that are clearly not beta’d or even spell checked! Nothing takes me out of a fic quicker than horrible technique. I’ve started a few fics that had really good intentions and ideas, but consistent errors just kept jarring me out of the story. My favorites? Shutter/shudder, bare/bear, rein/reign, etc. Of course there are many others, but yeah, that’ll turn me off faster than almost anything.
Second, huge delays in updating. Listen, I have a life too. I have three kids, a husband, and until this year, I worked. I get it. However, excepting drastic circumstances (car accidents, illness, death in the family, etc.) when someone doesn’t update for months? I flounce. Sorry, but after 4 months and 30 new fics, I don’t remember what your story is about and I don’t have time to reread it all to find out.
Third, DRAMA! I cannot believe the drama that goes on in the world of fan fiction! We are all writing derivative works based on the works of published authors. Let’s take a reality check please. Okay?
12. What do you LOVE to see in FF that you read?
I love angst and dark themes. Can’t help it, it’s me. I’ve always been on the emo side of things, so I tend toward the angst driven stories. That said, a story grabs me when it’s unique (which isn’t always possible in fan fiction), well written, and gives me a gut punch.
I also love strong characters. I love when an author takes Sookie or Bella and makes them a little stronger, a little more mature than they are in the original works. Also, as much as I like originality, I love to see occasional nods to the original characters’ quirks or personalities. So, for example, Edward may be all human, not stalkerish, not a virgin, not even sweet, but maybe he’s a vegan.
*OK FANTASY TIME*
13. If you could have 15 minutes with any Edward- FF or SMs - which one would you choose and what would you do?
No easy questions, huh? Okay any Edward? I would choose the Edward from “Acting Out,” and I would happily be the filling of that sandwich. ‘Nuff said.
Crap, can I have two? Also hwimsey’s Edward from “The Lost Boys,” ‘cause he has an accent, can quote Nin, and fucks like a god.
14. If you could ask any Twilight Cast member a question who would you ask and what would your question be?
You mean other than why the hell did you let them mess with your natural hair color and destroy your looks? Okay, ummmm, damn I’m never good with these, but maybe I’d ask them: if they could choose to play any other character from the series, who would they play?
and lastly...
15. Do you have any slashy rec's for us that you think others *must* check out?
I have a few, although they’ve probably already been rec’d here. Both of TwiBoy’s one shots, “Bronze Prince” and “Beautiful Distraction.” OhJasperMyJasper’s “Equal & Opposite” and its sequel “Errors & Omissions.” Domward Mistress’s “Landslide.” Starfish422’s “Deep Dish,” and finally, eroticfan’s “Acting Out.”
Thanks SO much for allowing me the pleasure of interviewing you!! xo
Yoga's interview with FarDareisMai2
