Tell us something about yourself: Where are you from? Age/Gender? Hobbies? Anything you'd like to share.

I'm 28, female and married. I work hard and long, and fandom is my happy escape, so I try to keep it a positive experience.

How did you begin writing in general?

I've always had stories going in my head, and I started writing them down when I was fifteen. Once I started doing that, I realized that I loved doing it, and I had to continue doing it.

What inspired you to begin writing fanfic?

I used to watch certain shows and get ideas about stories. It wasn't until I quite accidentally stumbled across the X-Files Gossamer archive that I realized, "Oh, wow. People write down these stories and put them out there!" So, I wrote down my own story and put it out there.

What do you enjoy about writing fanfic?

I like a lot of aspects of writing fanfic. It's helped actually develop writing skills for me because working with established characters took one aspect of writing out of the equation and reduced the pressure. It allows me to really devlop other parts of my writing. Also, I really enjoy working within the confines of how these characters are. If I want something to happen, I have to work to make it happen within the boundaries of who I'm working with. It's a great challenge.

Why have you chosen to write about Spike? What do you find interesting about his character?

Spike is such a complex character that he can be looked out from dozens of angles, with dozens of different slants, and be different every time. There aren't a lot of characters that can be said about. There's also that great dichotomy of Big Bad/Soft Squishy Center to his personality that can be really challenging to write.

What other characters or relationships do you find most interesting to write?

I really enjoy writing Tara and Faith. I think that Tara was such a normal character that a lot of writers don't really find all that much intersting about her when compared to other characters in the universe. But there's a lot to her when you consider her without the supernatural bias, as it were. Faith, I think, it's intriguing because of just how guarded and defensive she is. I like peeling that back and seeing what's at the heart of her.

Of the work you've written, which piece is your favorite? Why?

Medlar and Sorb-Apple is my fave, because I just had a lot of fun writing it. It's Faith in second-person present tense, set in one of my AU series. I think I got into her head well, and I think the tense allowed parts of Faith to come out that don't normally come out.

Which piece was the most difficult to write? Why?

I wrote a Spike/Angel piece for a ficathon called Body Language that killed me many times over. I'm not all that comfortable writing Angel, and while their relationship is fascinating, I honestly don't think there's anything left on the subject of Spike/Angel that hasn't already been done. I think my idea was good, but I struggled on the execution.

What are your strengths and weaknesses as a fanfic writer?

I think I do well with characterization and with plot, and that I try to approach UC pairings at their heart, instead of with the focus on just seeing two characters together. What I do poorly with is any kind of lyrical description, and I think that I sometimes see things too broadly to concisely demonstrate.

Do you feel that your work has improved as time has passed? If so, in what areas do you think you have improved the most?

My work has definitely improved, since I hadn't written seriously before I started with fanfic. My early work was fluffy and didn't have much meat to it. It was clumsy, really. I've gotten much better at characterization and I've strengthened when it comes to dramatic pieces. I also thankfully moved away from stories that are 90% dialogue.

What do you find to be the most difficult aspect of writing fanfic?

Sometimes, canon can be a difficult thing to maneuver. I've had my fill of flouting canon six ways from Sunday, but it can be tricky to write something that's in your head when there's no way it can be done within the confines of canon.

What advice would you give to new fic writers?

Write that horrible Mary Sue/self-indulgent fic that's invariably in your head when you wade into your fandom. I'm not saying post it, but at least write it. It's cathartic and it gets you ready to seriously tackle fic writing.

Do you read other fanfic? If so, what are some of your favorite stories and/or authors?

I have less time of late to read. But some of my faves are Desiderare by Fairfax, which is an interesting take on Gunn's season five legal mind. I adore Kita and Maayan's Last Men Standing on pretty much every level there is. Pretty much anything by Glossolalia is brilliant. I also love Lar's Rainmakers series, and Rubywisp's Xander/Lindsey series Letting Go.

Do you write original fiction? Or fiction in other fandoms? (If so, where can we find it?)

Yes, I write original fiction, but none of it's been published, or posted. I've started to dip my toes into Firefly fandom, and I used to write in Highlander back when I was young and clumsy and amateurish. All fic is at my site.