This week’s interviewee is one of the longest-standing FoLCs around, and a tremendous fan of fanfic, as long as it’s LONG stories. She’s a fantastic nagger - er, *encourager* of writers who produce longer stories. She’s also been a General Editor for the Fanfic Archive for a few years, as well as an occasional beta-reader, which is her way of giving something back to the writers who give her reading pleasure. This week’s interviewee is:

Whereabouts in the world are you?
Long Island, NY

How long have you been a FoLC?
too long ;)
In one way, I guess you could say right after the pilot first aired. But I didn't look for or find the online community till a season or so later.

What drew you to Lois and Clark?
Hmm, I suppose partly the Superman myth. That's why I made a point of watching the pilot. But I was hooked. The characters seemed to fit how I saw them--or wanted to see them--so perfectly. I think it was a lot of things: the ability to poke fun at the classic Superman story, the humanity of the characters, the angst and romance.

When did you first discover fanfic?
I can't remember exactly when. I know I deliberately searched for an online fandom and found it on AOL. There were message boards dominated by a lot of silly teenagers and Zoomway who always set them right <g>. I shortly started skimming to just see what Zoomway was saying. Somewhere in there I found a way to sign up for fanfic. I remember Leigh Raglan's compendiums and Rhen's fanfic list. This was definitely well into the series, but long before it ended.

What's the very first fanfic you read? Do you remember what your first thoughts were about the concept of fanfiction?
I don't remember the first one. I know Debby's Dawning was very early on. She had a note at the end about only continuing if readers were interested. I wrote to her. We became friends and I almost immediately started to BR for her. She'd send me printouts (this was in the days of very slow modems and paying by the hour online) and I'd mark them up with a red pencil and send them back. (According to the archive, Dawning 2 was finished in January 1995.) I also remember writing to Zoomway after reading one of her stories, mentioning the differences between 'peak' and 'pique.' I think I BR for one of her stories after that, too.

What are your favourite sites for reading fanfic?
I like having them come to my mailbox. Guess I was spoiled by that early on. ;) But I now do check the archive regularly every Sunday.

List some stories you'd recommend to other readers.
Can I list the same ones again below? Debby Stark's "Carry Tiger to Mountain" was one of my early favorites. You have to realize WHEN it was written--it must have been during the 2nd season (don't count on my memory being accurate, though). I'd also really suggest Season 5 & 6. That was an amazing project as I think back on it. There are so many! Nan's Dagger/Kent family series, Yvonne's "Purity," Margaret Brignell's "Only You" series (ok, that's sort of cheating since I prodded her to write it and BR for it), Sandy McDermin's "Little Man, Super" (sorry, it's not on the archive), Jenni Debbage's Kent family series, Ann's "Aftermath," LabRat's "Caped Fear" and LOTS more! I'm trying to think of ones less likely to be mentioned and I know for sure I haven't gotten all the ones I've liked best. Just follow the Kerths...

A new story goes up on the Archive or MBs. You drop everything - and we mean *everything* - to read it. So who would it be by? <g>
Well, I did that recently for Wendy's "Carbon Copy." :) But I'd do the same for Yvonne Connell, Meredith, Irene Dutch, Nan, and I'm sure others that aren't springing to mind at the moment.

What type of stories do you most enjoy reading, and why?
Good long stories. ;) Why? I want to be immersed in them for more than 5 minutes! But they need to be well written and pretty typo-free and free of grammatical errors or I have a hard time even digging in.

What's your opinion of:
Drama?
It's not the type of story, but how well it's carried out. Oddly, you'll probably note that I've listed more drama stories among my favorites. If they are true drama, they probably have a complex plot. I like that. :)

Action?
See above.

Romance?
Some romance is always good. :)

Tearjerkers?
If it's well plotted and things turn out ok in the end, these can be quite powerful. And they are more likely to be the longer stories. ;)

WAFFy vignettes?
Not long enough!

Elseworlds?
Depends on the story. Some I've absolutely loved.

Alternate Universe/Beginnings?
Again, some are really wonderful. :)

Other (if we've failed to include your favourite type, here's your chance to set the record straight <g>)?
Nah, it's not about the type, but about the quality.

Can you choose one, possibly two, stories you'd consider personal favourites, and tell us what you like about them?
Louette McInnes's "Turning Point" is a very favourite. It's not terribly long, but has a poignancy that really got to me and really stuck with me. I also absolutely loved Irene Dutch's "Firestorm" series. The characters became real and believable and the stories were just superb. :) Hey, I always claim to be Irene's #1 fan! (And she's terrific in person, too!)

Has everything been done in L&C fanfic? Are there any unexplored scenarios? Or doesn't it matter? <g>
Doesn't matter. There aren't any new stories, only new angles, right?

If you could be your favourite author's personal Muse, what would your dream story premise be?
This may vary depending on when you asked this. Right now, I'd like to prod Sarah Luddy along on "Path to the Congo." I think it has immense potential to be an award winner. :)

In your opinion, what makes for the best story? What ingredients, in your opinion, are essential to your favourite type of fanfic?
First, it needs a plot. I have to feel that the story is a journey from point A to point B. That journey doesn't have to be action, it can be in emotion. Then, the characters have to be believable. I have to believe that THIS is the Lois and Clark I know and love. Beyond that, there are so many ways to go, but it should be well-constructed so it draws me in and won't let me go.

Any other comments you'd like to make?
Sure. I told Kaethel she was crazy to ask me to do this! And I had to catch some old-timer on IRC to jog my memory (thank you, Pam).

Meeting folcs has always been an adventure, too. Debby was always wonderful in the early days of folcdom for forwarding on the interesting messages from the loiscla listserv to those of us that just couldn't handle that volume of mail. That's how I found out that Leigh Raglan lived in NYC and was trying to get together a group of folcs. It was a strange gathering at a very strange place. Because I wasn't an active member of the listserv, I didn't really know anyone. Leigh was disappointed afterwards that people didn't keep in touch--but I never really learned who those people were. The next gathering was taken over by a young gal named Gina and that was much more fun. Through Gina, I later met some other adult folcs all on AOL at the time and we even went out to CA together (Debby had joined our little group by that time, too). We saw the streets of Metropolis and Smallville all destroyed by the New Kryptonians as they were just starting to film the new season.

As soon as I got a new computer that had room for additional software, I downloaded IRC. I'd been hearing about IRC for years, but my old 486 was out of space. And since then, I've met some really wonderful folcs--both online and in person (/me waves to Karl & Lori, Anne, and the Boston gang). :)