Writer's Showcase
created by
Annie Lansbury

Dear Readers,

Welcome each of you to the Writer's Showcase. I hope you will enjoy what you find here and come back week after week. Also, at the bottom of this interview you will find links to past Featured Writers. Take a few minutes to check them out if you haven't already done so.

This week's Featured Writer is a warm and talented lady who is a wonderful writer. In her stories you will find each full of love, life and the physical joys two people in love can bring to each other. She to has recently found her Clark Kent and I wish both of them a lifetime full of happiness and love.

Now without further ado, I am proud and honored to present this week's Writer, in the Writer's Showcase ...

Featured Writer of the Week
Peace

Personal Information

Author name
Peace

E-mail addresses
peace9@worldnet.att.net
PEverett9@aol.com (backup -- don't check it much!)

Homepage
http//www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/7137

Residence
I used to say "Southwest of Metropolis," but now I'll define that as Texas, U.S.A.

List, AOL, or web affiliations
LOISCLA
L&C Fanfic list
Debby's Nfic list
Fanfic Writers list
Paris/Torres Fever list (Star Trek)
BLTs list (Star Trek)
Father's Online Library (Beauty & the Beast)
(yes, I get more email than I know what to do with!)

Lois and Clark or Superman Status

How long have you been watching L&C?
Watched it to some extent from the beginning. It was a real dilemma right at first. I was a longtime fan of Murder, She Wrote, and then all the sudden there was a new show to watch Seaquest DSV!! Oh, and some superman thing...whatever... <g> I began getting my M,SW fix on USA during the week, watching Seaquest and taping Lois & Clark, but a lot of times wouldn't get around to watching L&C, so I would just tape over it. (Thinking back now -- ARGHHHH!!!) I was not online at the time, had never heard the word FoLC -- I was an avid Trekker and Leaper, loved Beauty and the Beast, and McGyver -- and slowly I began to realize that Seaquest was not all that great, and L&C ...was! By the middle of the second season, I was watching regularly, having given up completely on Seaquest. But I was still not a FoLC --that didn't happen until I discovered LOISCLA, and more importantly, fanfic.

How long have you been a fan of Superman?
Since the Christopher Reeve movies. I have vague memories of reading Superman and Superboy comics as a child, but was not a collector by any means. I knew enough about it to know who the main characters were when I saw Superman The Movie, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

How long have you been writing?
For as long as I can remember. I was always writing stories as a child and as a teenager, and I wrote a screenplay adaptation of a favorite novel and a short romance novel during my twenties (no, neither one of them was ever even submitted, let alone sold.) As I was finishing up college (second try, during my 30's) I found time for a creative writing class, where I was told that my writing had a wonderfully breezy style, but tended to be very shallow, to go for the easy solution. As much as that hurt to hear, I think it has made me a better writer -- constantly striving to prove that professor wrong!

How long have you been writing L&C fanfic?
Since July 4, 1996. I wrote my first story in a single marathon writing spree on a holiday -- tweaked it for a couple of days and sent it off (unedited) to resounding silence. <g> I've since learned that editors are very useful inventions. :)

What types of Fanfic have you written?
Nfic, comedy, a couple of fairly heavy dramas (one with a writing partner -- hi, Piper!), one Season 5 episode. I've also participated in several round robins. In terms of more FoLC- specific genres -- two "revelation" stories, three "New Krypton" follow-ups, a "Jimmy/Lucy" story, and a "Family Hour" follow-up (which was also a "Tempus" story).

Most recent story posted? Where?
Actually two stories, posted about the same time (both in January 1998) "What Do You See?" (on the fanfic list) and "Crossing The Line" (on Zoom's Nfic page). Both stories are also available on my pages.

Favorite story you have written? Why?
"Time After Time" (my Season 5 episode), because it had a really strong A-plot, thanks to Barb's great setup in "Back To The Future." But of course, I like all my stories -- picking one is tough! I particularly like the comedy in "Merry-Go-Round."

Current project/projects?
Lois & Clark go to Brazil in "Passion Fruit" (assuming I can ever get it written!) I'm also fascinated with crossovers, although I've not managed to get one going yet.

Personal picks of other Fanfics you have read?
Well, I could certainly agree with all the other wonderful writers who've been mentioned in this section (in other writers' interviews) but I'd rather mention a few other (also wonderful) writers who are personal favorites of mine

-Ben Pistorius wrote a delightful story called "The Flash", which I highly recommend.

-Margaret Brignell has chronicled the "Early Years" of both Clark and alt-Clark, in two excellent series of stories (the alt-Clark series is still being written, but I think the first two are out). You should also read the story she wrote with Debby Stark -- "SwapMeet Burbank/SwapMeet Metropolis (We're Not In Kansas Anymore)" -- in which Lois & Clark trade places with a pair of very familiar looking actors.

-Piper's story "The Heir" moved me to tears, and I wrote to her, begging to be allowed to help with the sequel -- and a great friendship developed from there.

-Vixen wrote a pair of stories -- "Menage a Trois" and "Pas de Deux" which give closure (finally!) to the issue of Claude.

-And in the Nfic arena -- I'll read anything than Menolly writes; she has a way of turning a phrase that just gives me the shivers!

Interview Questions

What attracted you to writing Fanfic and what about it do you enjoy?
Having always written, without necessarily always having an audience (other than my mom), writing for a built-in audience was definitely appealing. It's also interesting to write with established characters, in an established universe -- your readers already know the relationships and the general setup, so you can get on with telling your story.

What about the L&C and the characters do you like the most?
Well, certainly I enjoy the relationship of Lois and Clark, but I really also like the other relationships in the show -- how Jimmy relates to Lois, to "CK", to Perry; how Perry relates to Lois and to Clark; the relationships of each of these with their family members; and of course how each the characters relates to Superman. I think the show did a good job of showing a lot of different kinds of interaction. I also get a kick out of the jams Lois and Clark get into and how they always manage to get out of them -- the solutions were not always believable but the stories were fun.

How do you interpret them in your work?
The one thing Piper and I in particular really worked on was being able to hear the voices of the actors as we wrote the scenes in "Healing". I think being able to hear the actor's/character's voice (and they really are indistinguishable) is the key to writing stories that stay true to the characterization on the screen.

How did you begin writing in general?
As a child, my parents encouraged me to write "compositions." We were living in Brazil at the time, and they wanted me to not forget how to speak, read, and write in English, so they provided me with tons of books to read, piles of paper to write on, and lots of encouragement. :)

What are you working on now and where do you see it going?
Right now I'm working on my real-life romance <g> and I'd rather not say where I think I see it going, for fear of jinxing it! <g>

What is your opinion about the following types of L&C fanfic's?
Action?
The hardest thing for me to write, although when an action story is well-done, it's often the most enjoyable to read.

Drama?
Usually slower-paced than either action or comedy, this is the best opportunity to look at motivations and relationships.

Humor?
My favorite thing to write, which is why even my heavier dramas have light, humorous moments. Laughter is an essential part of life -- as important as breathing, or very nearly!

Round Robin?
I really enjoy the repartee in the chatroom while writing a round robin -- I love seeing a comment from the peanut gallery affect the direction the story is going. But I confess that these days, I rarely have either the time or the patience to see a story through from beginning to end -- they are certainly time-consuming. I'm also really pleased to see how much the chatroom round robins have grown up -- from "The Banana Story" which was the first chatroom round robin I ever read (and really, truly bizarre) to "The Tai" which is an extraordinary piece of writing -- I am in awe of the participants of that particular session!

Nfic?
A chance to see a different aspect of the relationship -- can you see I'm really into relationships? <g> -- which works best as part of a larger story (although I'll confess to having written some vignettes too -- and I'll certainly never knock them, not when Julie Mack does such a good job with them!)

Has *everything* been done in your opinion, and if not, what is left?
Oh, absolutely not! The fantastic list of ideas that Jeff Brogden gave in his Showcase, the recent discussions on the Fanfic list, the fact that there is a group of talented writers working on Season 6, all point to the fact that there are plenty of stories still to be told.

What do you think makes the best story?
A story that combines all the elements you mentioned above --action, drama, and humor. Dean Cain once said that the show was at its best when Superman was "having fun and kicking [butt]" --I think Clark was at his best loving Lois, and Lois was at her best getting into and out of bizarre situations. Put those all together into one story and -- it's Kerth-time!

Would you like to add a link or URL to your favorite fanfics for the readers to sample your writing?
"Back to the Future"-by Barbara tp//www.tempus.simplenet.com/season5/episodes/bttf.htm
"Time After Time" -- by Peace http//www.tempus.simplenet.com/season5/episodes/tat.htm (you really have to read hers to get the setup for mine)

Open Forum For Author Comments
I can't begin to tell you how proud I am to be a part of a community that values writers like the FoLCs do. I've been privileged to work with many talented writers -- the Season 5 group, my dear friend and writing partner Piper, #L&CFanfic, the people whose stories I have edited and who have edited mine. I look forward to reading and writing in this community for a long time to come!