Quick bio: (Boring stuff) In the UK now. But hoping to emigrate to Portugal. ( When the house is finished. And son has completed his education.) With hubby. Leaving two grown up (?) children behind.

Obsession:Stargate Atlantis. John Sheppard.

I came to SGA late. Three quarters of the way through Season 3. Could always take or leave SG1. So let Season 1 and 2 pass by. Of course, I regret it now! Thank God for DVDs!

I don't know how it happened... Son used to watch SGA re-runs in his room after school and I'd wander in, to chat ( mostly about why he wasn't doing homework, like mothers do ) put clothes away, etc. etc. and pull a face ( like mothers do ) about the weird things he was watching on TV these days, and leave... Then one day... I didn't leave... sat on his bed... and watched... and tea didn't get cooked... By the time, TPTB killed off Carson, I was well into it... and cried.

I so love the concept of Atlantis! I've always been interested in the ideas of Graham Hancock of lost civilisations under the sea, pre-dating most historians viewpoint that the earliest human civilisations began c. 5000 BC. And I've always felt there's some truth behind the theory that our earliest gods were aliens (Ancients?). So to get this all linked up in the TV show... wow! And then to add the good looking guy... double wow!

Writing: Always wrote fanfic as a kid... but then it was called daydreaming...

I like to write Shep Whump, angst, something a little dark, often messing with the mind (love telepathy!) an original plot, trying always to stick to science fiction. And that's a lot of plates to keep spinning!

Reading: All my favourites on Fanfic are listed here somewhere, (and I review as much as I can!) but my favouritest SGA writer of all doesn't write here ( at least, I don't think she does?) and that's C. Speranza (on Speranza's Fiction) Now Speranza writes McShep Slash (and sometimes quite graphically at that, so none of you under eighteens are to go wandering over there!) I accidentally read one of her stories one day (missing the warning of slash!) but now I'm hooked on all of her stories - her portrayal of John Sheppard is, IMO, unsurpassed and therefore worth reading even if you not a fan of slash. If you read nothing else of hers, at least try 'Written by the Victors' - written from the viewpoint of historians of the future looking back on events in Atlantis. If there was ever a SGA fanfic story that could win the 'Best Ever Award' this has to be it! It even has it's own fan fic! And it would also make the greatest final episode for SGA - I defy you not to shed a tear at the end!

News (& Musings):

1. Story 7 about to be published... just tweaking... wasn't easy this one... afflicted with severe 'typing dyslexia' ... and continuity problems galore... memory not so good... often just couldn't think of that right word... am I getting too old?... or, depressed and missing the show too much?... the subject matter is rather dire and it's death fiction... I'm sure there's a psychological link in there somewhere... the show ends and I keep writing death related stuff!

2. Story 8: A Sequel to Dead Man's Shoes. I'd never planned to write a sequel for this. It's odd really... it wasn't until I got to the very end of updating that story when the thought suddenly came to me: 'this could take a sequel...' And then some reviewers suggested it too. I couldn't face the thought originally as it was so long and convoluted. However, a third is now written, though I'm stuck for an ending... how do you beat the single-handed destruction of a Replicator fleet?

3. Story 9, like story 8, a third written... seems to want to be my bash at McShep Slash... and I'm not sure if I've got the confidence to carry that off! And if it ever gets completed, (And it'd be a shame not to as, IMO, it's my best written one, so far) it'll have to go on Live Journal because it goes a little beyond Fan Fiction's 'M' rating!... perhaps I can water it down so its 'normal'...

4. Michael's Chair... one day, I intend to give that story a proper ending... one day...

5. I've been able to figure out why my private messaging system has never worked on fanfic - it was blocked at my end - doh!(only days before fanfic suggested this might be the problem on their front page!)And I've just worked out how to reply to reviews (Nov. 2008) So now, if anyone cares to review anything I can answer in person without writing author's notes over everything!

6. And this is my best piece of news! I've actually got to meet the guy! Guh! I mean, the guy!For real... Joe Flanigan... treated myself to a ticket to the Chevron Con. Bedford, UK. in Feb. Didn't get to see much of him as I only had the regular pass, so... it was a quick photo session (I'm not nervous, I kept telling myself... 'Stand here'... I'm not nervous... 'Next please'... I'm not nervous... 'Smile, please'... I'm not nervous... flash! a deer caught in headlights expression... 'Next please!'... I'm not nervous... did he really have his arm around me?... and I'm out of the room in thirty seconds flat!) a signing (when I'd so wanted to tell him how much I loved 'Vegas'... but no... I muffed it... and asked for my photo to be signed Elanthra and not my real name as it sort of means more to me... but of course, it makes you look geeky... and I'm sure he was thinking 'hey... get a life...' and of course, the guy was going to talk about that and I wasn't going to get a chance to mention anything about the show... 'It's my on-line name', I explained... but I was so nervous again... I'd misspelt it!... elanthra... a small 'e'... I never spell it that way!... What possessed me?!... 'Oh,' he says, 'that's why it's in lower casing.' And I apologised... why?probably for being so thick as to spell my own name wrong!... and moved away so as not to hold the queue up... why?... but looked back... and he'd turned to the next in line... and I was forgotten... forever... why couldn't I have least have said something witty... like, 'that's right... scrawl all over the leather jacket, why don't you?'... hindsight, huh?) quick glimpses around the hotel (usually in full flight... he was afraidof us?... making for nearest doors and fire exits... 'I'm escaping!' he said once, with an evil grin, when we were in the signing queue... 'please don't!' I begged... but he was gone... five minutes later and he still hadn't re-appeared... Had he really done just that? Escaped?... a crew-member went off for a search... 'he's gone to the loo,' she said on returning... 'thanks,we really didn't need to know that'... I mean... this guy plays our hero...) and standing at the back through the talks... (which I opted for as it was a lot better than sitting in the middle of the audience and not seeing a thing... )

At the time, I felt disappointed... everything was chaotic and the schedule soon went out the window... and JF had grown a beard which I didn't like!... but looking back... hindsight again... there are those warm moments I wouldn't have missed for the world... yeah... Joe Flanigan did, once upon a time, put his arm around me... and smiled...

7. Only occaisionally now, do I go on Gateworld... and that's only for news of JF... naturally!... and what a gem today 6/6/09, though originally posted on 3/6/09, a QA session on a Hungarian site, AXN... in which, among other things he says he's to make a movie in July! Yay!

I posted a reply, but since it came right at the very end, I doubt if anyone will ever read it... so I thought I'd put it here too...

"I’m probably too late with this… no one is ever going to read it now… nevermind…

Joe’s WHOLE chat was great… warmhearted, thoughtful, funny… but heck… doesn’t it just tug at the heartstrings and make you realise how much you miss seeing the guy on a regular basis?!

I don’t think he was slagging off SGU in his comments, but simply giving the SGU actors a kinda warning… that in these times of formulaic writing of TV shows, it’ll been down to the hard work of the actors to make the show successful… but IF it is successful, the writers and producers will just think… hey! we’ve hit on a good formula here, lets do some more of the same (and with SG they show they’re already thinking like that… a THIRD Stargate? why not? it’s worked in the past!) and TPTB will be blind to the input from the actors… because that’s how they’ve been with SGA…

He’s saying that he’s going to avoid TV shows, and that trap in the future and who can blame him?

I’m not sure what I think of JF in a project with CJ & DH… in view of DH’s past production of A Dog’s Breakfast and in view of what JF said at the Bedford Con… that he’d like to do something completely different, and something humourous, this has all the feel of comedy… and I’d like my JF to continue to play the strong heroic types!

I’ve missed SGA a lot… but have to admit that some of the episodes were getting a bit naff… many of my S4 DVD set eps just don’t get watched… and I’m sure the same will be true of S5 when it comes out… so there’s been times lately when I think… yeah… JF is better off out of it… that the cancellation in the long run will have done him a big favour… that it’s time for this talented actor to move on, to find pastures new to shine in… I’m sure he can… and I look forward to it…"