What The Fuck Has She Done Now?
How can I get off calling her a crazy ass fucking Brit? Well, my Daddy said I could. He was stationed in Auckenberry years ago, and if he says they're all crazy, then dammit they are. Besides, when I asked the Twitter world on Thanksgiving to tell my daughter where everyone was from, this is what I got from Lucy:
@Idreamofeddy hello mini kaylene! I'm from England. We used to rule your american asses ;)
I 'met' Lucy a few weeks back, when I was on the verge of having an HTML meltdown because I was working on building this blog and I know dick about HTML coding. I screamed for help on Twitter, and this little gem had the nerve to volunteer. Pfft. Nerve. She took this fucker and pimped the bitch out in the weeks to come. Lucy is truly a gem, who can take a cloudy day and turn it into a blinding, sunny one. She has made me laugh, when I didn't think there was anything to laugh at.
Lucy is also writing a fic that owns me now, called The Last Mile. And, if you're not reading this story, I urge that you do so. This fic has captivated everyone who started to read it. Clurrabella, over at Jasper Darlins, wrote this great review on The Last Mile that you should also check out. Lucy's writing is just..visually graphic, packed with emotion, and you have been warned: you should neither eat nor drink while reading this fic. And, you damn well better have some Kleenex handy, too, because it can go there in the blink of an eye.
So without further comment, I give you Lucy. Prepare yourself for the fuckery.
Tell us about Twilight. How did you first get into the Saga, when was the first time you read it, and which book is your favorite?
Lucy: I avoided books 1-3 - had no idea they existed - and then succumbed like a good little sheeple when a friend shoved them in my face. My mistake for bitching about needing something non-taxing to read. It was game over from there. I consume words like a fat man consumes cake - doesn't matter in what form I find them, and academic hazing has given me super speed reading abilities. I read all four of them in less than a week, had a crazy emotional roller coaster ride, and then reread them a few more times. FML.
Book one is probably my favourite, although the leaked unfinished Midnight Sun is probably on a parallel, as it makes me want to beat the shit out of Edward slightly less. SM's characterisation of him makes me want to hulk smash pretty shiny things. I hate the religious subtext, but love that the books have opened up a whole community of people to me.
What got you started reading Twilight Fanfiction? Do you remember the first fic you read?
Lucy: Someone sent me a link to a piss take post on livejournal - I hooked one of my friends into the books like a good little marketing zombie, and we were both at the stage where we'd lost all seriousness for SM's words and were emailing random funny stuff back and forth. Anyway, someone mentioned this little thing called 'Wide Awake', and I clicked the link, and then I emerged from the dark woods into the glittering meadow of FFn.
AngstGoddess003 is to blame for my subsequent addiction. Some days I want to track her down and hug her, others I'd like to kick her up the ass for causing my procrastination from real life! All joking aside, her stories and her writing are amazing, and I consider myself lucky to have stumbled across her story as my first - it was a great way to have my fic cherry popped! She looked after me
What are your favorite stories? Lucy: This is like asking me what my favourite band is, or movie, or
pair of shoes from my closet! Too hard! I'm starting to add them onto my favourites list on my FFn profile (I lost my firefox links list in the 'Great Crash of early 09'), but a few off the top of my head would be:
Wide Awake
The Office
Colliding Meteors
Scotch, Gin and The New Girl
Mutually Assured Destruction
But ask me again next week, and the list will be completely different!
Who are your favorite characters, from who you like the most to...er...least favorite?
Lucy: I wouldn't say I have a favourite character - what I enjoy are characters with substance that I can feel come alive on the screen as I read. Although, I love me some smirksper, a little bit of geekward, domward, and bella-with-a-backbone.
Oh, and Peter - LOVE LOVE LOVE him. I've yet to read anything bad with Peter in it, he's like fic magic or something! Any story with him in it is automatically awesome, it's a phenomenon, like fibonacci sequences in nature - unexplainable but indisputable.
I'm not a massive wolves fan, so they'd hit the chopping block first at the min, but I've got a Bella/Sam story to read from lifelesslyndsey - if anyone can turn me round it's her, the other half of my brain!
Which fics are you reading right now, and which ones have your complete attention whenever they pop with an update? Lucy: I've just finished The Office and any and everything would be dropped for an update on that. There would be a Lucy shaped puff of smoke, and then I'd be glued to the screen waiting for the page to load.
I'm halfway through Hydraulic Level 5 right now, but writing has significantly eaten into my reading time. That story has grabbed me by the seat of my pants, however, and I'm determined to work my way through it - it's a pleasure to read, and the author has put it together beautifully.
Anything from IdreamofEddy has me panting, but otherwise I troll through the lists on FFn and see what grabs my fancy. I try not to stick things on alerts because my inbox sees enough action already, and it can frequently be found having a smoke after it's been molested by one of you.
What made you finally decide to start writing your own?
Lucy: It's only been just over a month since I first posted, but I'd been reading on FFn since February, which caused me to refind my love of words again. I studied English Language and Literature for one of my A levels, but then went off to study Geography at University - but after reading some great fic, I started to really miss writing.
I started to put something together that was rolling around in my head (I'm going to pick it up after TLM finishes), but the trigger came when I was filing some old work to make space for some new shoes and I found a piece I did for an assignment in class a few years back, which gave me chapter one of The Last Mile. It was only going to be a one shot to test the waters - I changed the names and added one or two details and then closed my eyes and hit the submit button. People seemed to like it, I promptly keeled over in shock, and then I had all these little thoughts come flitting into my head, so I decided to take it further. I think I put out something crazy like eight chapters in six days! I shelved the original idea, and I'm now 16 chapters, five weeks, and one contest entry in now, and I can't believe I didn't do it sooner!
It's not just the writing, though, it's the people I've met since posting. NCChris left me a review, I had a little fangirl moment, and she introduced me to Twitter, which I've had for three weeks now. It's become my crack (my 3,659 tweets as of typing this is a testament to that). There's this amazing group of ladies out there who have taken me in, and introduced me to comedy banter, and things like The Late Show on skype! In return, I mentally scar them with my crazy, and it feels like I've known them forever lol! To name but a few outside of them and outside the ALASL ladies, there are:
NCChris, luvmesomejasper, lacym3, JaspersIzzy, MaitresseSaint, Clurrabella, lifelesslyndsey, JaspersBella13, mrsalreyami, kitty cullen, sparagus, fiberkitty, BamaBabesHubby - I'm sure I've missed people, though... but you all know who you are, my sweet little doves! If I've missed you and you feel aggrieved, come see in the cage Master Kitty Cullen keeps me in:
What's the atmosphere like when you're writing: music.. quiet..kids screaming and ripping each other apart, or husband bitching in the background? Do you drink and/or smoke?
Lucy: I'm a music writer. If I could, I would hook up an ipod IV to my arm and inject that shit right in there. I HAVE to have music - it's where lots of my ideas come from - or I'll be in a particular kind of mood and need audio backup. I can't stand silence when I write. Other than that, there's normally a beverage of some description, my notebook, and a variety of pens and post-its scattered everywhere! Oh and twatdeck is sometimes open... fucking crack!
Unless I'm on the train writing that is, then it's just me, the ipod, my notebook, and worried glances as I chuckle like a mental ward escapee as I scribble frantically away.
What else do you like to read besides Twilight?
Lucy: If I'm not nose deep in fic, I'm reading some science. I study natural hazards and disasters, and have a stack of books and papers to read that puts my fic list to shame!
When I'm off on holiday I normally take something completely unrelated with me, though. The last one was Hunter S Thompson's autobiography - that book was phenomenal! Top favourites would include:
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (because her words are stunning)
- Killing Dragons: The Conquest of the Alps by Fergus Fleming (the quotations I found inside stun me, and the stories behind the first conquering of many of the Alpine peaks is fascinating <-- I am a geek, I'm sure I already mentioned this somewhere)
- The early Kay Scarpetta books by Patricia Cornwel (the later ones are nowhere near as good)
- I'm halfway through The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (it's fantastic)
I could supply you with a library of titles - feel free to ask me for suggestions any time.
What else do you like to do? Lucy: I'm a MASSIVE movie fan - I'd like to arrange a hit on Barry Norman and steal his job (he reviews films in the UK). I also love: music, fast cars, books, shiny things, snow, kittens, mojitos, real friends, gadgets, the sea, hazards, london, boats, films, thunderstorms, Italian food, wine, sunshine, sudoku, mountains, skiing, holidays, gerberas, maps, GIS, my ipod, formula 1, football, fresh bread, portuguese olives, live gigs, days at the horse races, poker...
That enough facts? ha ha!
Lucy: I have the oddest fear of falling off an escalator and breaking my teeth. It freaks me out big time whenever I get on one, and I have no idea where it comes from. I haven't been attacked by one in the past, nor have I witnessed such a thing, or seen it in a movie. I just put it down to the fact that I'm a little odd, and clench whenever I get on one...
Oh, and nobody in the real world knows I write.
Special Thanks goes to Tina (JaspersDestiny) for her assistance with the kittifications of Lucy...
Thinking of ways to lure Lucy on top of an escalator... *evil grin*
ReplyDeleteHey now, I'm married with kids, but I get to do the same things you do! *glances behind my shoulder to check if hubs is lurking around.*
In all seriousness, I lubs this gal. You can feel the unconditional love we have for each other on twitter. =D
P.S.
You're so purty... especially on the second pic! =P
BUWAHAHAHA! People are going to think you don't like teh cage, love.
ReplyDelete4 realz, tho, I heart you much.
oh master kitty, i <3 the cage soooooooo much! he he!
ReplyDeleteand missmaj... you fuck try with my on an escalator and i can not be held accountable for my actions. it won't be pretty... like that second picture lol!
xxx