AN: I welcome all PMs, but PLEASE read the FAQs further down; if you want to ask me something, chances are someone else has asked it already ;)

Back and published!

YES! Finally! After several tries, I managed to get a publisher for my novel Tsunami (now available at all Amazons and various other online bookstores)! For anyone interested, you can read more about it here.

I would just like to reiterate once and for all that:

A) The ONLY name I will EVER post my fanfics under in a forum is JudasFm

B) The ONLY forums/sites which have permission to host my fanfics are Fanfiction.net, Knuckleschaotix.net, The J Universe and ATSB.

C) Linking A and B, if you find ANY of my stories on ANY other site (no matter what name they're under) they have been STOLEN. Yes, even if they're under the name JudasFm. I don't go in for forums much; I like to write as exclusively as possible ;)

THE HALL OF SHAME

Reserved for plagiarists the world over.

Current inmates: 0 :D

The last one apologised for not giving me credit for Rising Star and fixed the problem immediately. I'm still keeping an eye out, though. Rest assured that if you steal any of my stories and post them on the internet, I WILL find out, and I will come down on you hard.

And then I will send angry beavers to devour your internet connection. So don't do it =P

REGARDING MY PENNAME

Someone recently informed me - very nicely - that my penname JudasFm may be offensive or disturbing to some people. Please believe me when I say I did not choose it to mock or deride the Christian faith. Yes, I'm fully aware of the connotations and no, I'm not going to change it, but if you're one of those people it does offend, then please accept my apologies.

Story behind penname: Pretty simple. The first real online community I joined (and actually participated in) was one for the actor Jerome Pradon, who played Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar. Since I didn't want to give out my real name at that point, I just extended it a bit from Jude to Judas ;)

The Fm part came much later, when I was registering with AOL instant messenging. Apparently the name Judas was taken by a few hundred people already, and I was told to put something in 'about me'. I wrote 'female' and AOL suggested JudasFem. I wasn't too keen on that (not sure why but still) and so I shortened it to JudasFm. It's pretty unique and I like it.

(Even if some grammatically-inclined people do insist on writing it as JudasFM =P)

Full name: Jude Mireille Naka Austin. I finally managed to drop two middle names and swap the third (yes, it's official; got the deed poll to prove it :P) Sonic fans will probably understand where Naka comes from ;) At least now my full name fits on the passport application...
Gender: Female
Age: 26
Height: Too short
Hair: Golden brown
Eyes: Brown
Occupation: Aspiring sci-fi/fantasy writer and artist-in-training (my deviantart user name is the same as this one; JudasFm if you want to see :)
Current location: Erm...in front of the PC writing a bio? Right now I've been moving around so much it's not worth admitting to one location

Favourite food: Tuna pasta. I also have an extreme weakness for baklava and pashka. And souvlaki
Favourite drink: Either apple juice or Suso. Or Dr Pepper
Vices: Fanfic and chocoholism :P
Favourite fanfic characters to write about: Used to be Sonic the Hedgehog. I still have a soft spot for him and plan to keep going with my Sonic fanfics, but right now I'm also into the A-Team. At least on FF.net. I have written Harry Potter, Equilibrium, Aliens and LOTR fics away from here as well; if you wanna read, drop me a line :) I quite like Life on Mars too...basically if it's a show I like, any characters are considered fair game.
Favourite link: There's a comic version of Secrets of the Emeralds being made by Parslie, only this one features the characters as humans :D (NB: This isn't an ego trip for me either...well, alright, it gives me the buzz of all buzzes, but seriously, it looks like a lot of hard work's gone into this adaptation, so the least I can do is link back) So far it looks fantastic; go check it out!

MSN/Windows Live Messenger ID: judasfm@writing.com I'm rarely on, but feel free to add me
Favourite fanfic: Erm...mine or someone else's:P Oh right. I guess my favourite at the minute would have to be Sojurn by Awdures. If you're a Sonic fan, check it out. It's awesome!
One Own Fanfic to be Shamelessly Plugged: Gemini Project, latest in the saga begun with Secrets of the Emeralds :P
Next Story to be Uploaded: Not a clue. Probably the Sonic 1 adaptation ;) Or the sequel to August, October

What Does Bait the Jackal Actually Look Like, I Mean Officially: I've been asked this a couple of times, so here ya go!

What Sonic Universe Are Your Fics Based In: Again something people ask quite a lot (only for some reason I never added it to the list...weird :P) Anyways. The answer is sort of an all-and-none deal. I use the concept of the planet Mobius (Archie and AoStH...and possibly also Sonic X; I don't think Sonic's planet was ever named). I use the idea that Sonic used to be Robotnik's friend and helperuntil he screwed up and turned the good doc into the evil megalomaniac we all know and love to hate (Fleetway). I've even been known to drop in references to Sonic Underground in my fics. I refuse to tie myself down to one specific version of events; I take bits from everything that catches my interest and combine those bits to make my own Sonic reality that's constantly changing and being updated as more games get released ;)

Can I Use Ideas From Your Stories:This isn't an ego-trip for me; believe it or not, it's something quite a few people have asked me. The answer is yes, of course you can, so long as you give me credit (something along the lines of "X taken from an idea by JudasFm is fine") Read: if I find out you've stolen my ideas - and believe me, if you publish them on the internet then I will find out sooner or later - I will come down on you hard. If you give me credit, though, you're fine :)

Can I Do Artwork Based On Your Stories: Again, this isn't an ego-trip; I've been asked this more than once. Again, the answer is sure! I'd be honoured! I would like to see a copy where possible (okay, so that IS something of an ego trip, though I'm genuinely curious to see what people come up with) but if it's not, then that's okay too :)

Examples of Art: Well, if people take the time to pay me such a compliment, the least I can do is to link back. So:
Secrets of the Emeralds - Graphic Novel Self-explanatory really ;)
Rising Star A very sweet picture of Tails right at the beginning.

Pounce Attack Tails getting ready to pounce on an unsuspecting Sonic...

Bait the Jackal Chibi Bait :P So cute...

Bait Another one of Bait, looking more relaxed than usual ;)

Rising Star Tails drawing his picture for Sonic. I really love this one!

Rising Star: My Frend Sonnick Tails' finished picture. Very sweet and one of my favourites!

Will you do an SA1/SA2/Sonic Heroes/Shadow the Hedgehog adaptation: Okay. Truth to tell, I've only been asked about an SA1/SA2 adaptation, but my answer to that is the same as the other two, so here goes:

In the first place, I don't hold with SA1/SA2 being set on Earth, so that's a black mark against them right there. If I did them, I'd first start off with Sonic et al being transported to Earth and sent home at the end (or in SA case, at the end of SA2)

Secondly, there's a lot of dialogue that's already been written. That doesn't mean I can't adapt that into the story, but it takes a lot of the fun out of it for me :P Also, I found very early on that people are likely to leap down your throat if you're even slightly inaccurate in adaptations. Fair enough. I'd be the same way. But it would involve a lot of playing, replaying and rapid scribbling to take enough notes.

Thirdly, in the words of the immortal Ripley from Aliens, "how many ways do you want me to tell the same story?" The Sonic Adventure games have at least six characters, and a lot of that is just going over the same levels and same battles and same encounters with different characters (just how many fought Chaos in that damn lilypond in SA1?) Not to mention the fact that in SA1, the characters will have the same conversation in different words. I do have a vague idea of how I could work the characters around, but unless demand for SA adaptations really becomes overwhelming, I'm not sure it's worth trying.

All that said, I really wouldn't mind trying to adapt SA2 :P I know the basic story, and I love writing Shadow, so...yeah.

Sonic Heroes has much the same problem; it's four separate teams following the same basic story. Unless I pick one team (and promptly get lynched by fans of the other three :P) it's not likely to work. I mean, honestly, how many versions of Team vs Egg Hawk do you want to read?

I honestly don't know about Shadow the Hedgehog. I'm not sure how I'd tie all the endings in together at the end, and all the paths...no, not sure. I'm determined to make it work somehow, but as yet I don't have a clue how.

Tie-In With The Above; List of Future Adaptations: I'm not putting this in my List of Stories to be Uploaded Soon because there are so many of them and it would make the whole thing just too long and forgettable :P I am planning to phase out some of my original fics (not the Secrets of the Emeralds series but others) and concentrating on adaptations, since they seem to be more popular. My ultimate goal for the future is to have only the Secrets of the Emeralds series going along with a few adaptations at a time.

Sonic 1: Master System yes, Mega Drive/Genesis no. This will be the next adaptation uploaded (possibly alongside Master of the Emeralds). Like Rising Star, it also starts some time before the game begins.

Sonic Adventure 1: Not very likely. If someone can come up with an idea as to how I can tie all the stories together, I'll listen.

Sonic Adventure 2: Yes. I'm not sure when, but it'll happen.

Shadow the Hedgehog: I have no idea how to tie all the levels and endings together. Well, no, I do have sort of an idea, but I'm not sure if it'll work. I'd like to try adapting it at some point.

Sonic Advance 1 - 3: These are the few Sonic games I've never really played and have no real idea what they're about. But yeah, I'll give them a go.

Sonic Chaos: Yes. At some point.

Sonic CD: Again, yes at some point.

Knuckles Chaotix: Definitely. This one falls under my Chaotix story listed at the bottom of the page; it'll probably be uploaded after Sonic 1.

Sonic Heroes: I would love to, but again, I'm not sure how to tie in the four teams.

Why Haven't You Updated Four Kids and an Echidna/Master of the Emeralds/Insert-Story-Here Yet and When Are They Going to Be Updated: In answer to the first question, probably because - believe it or not - I do have a life outside of writing fanfic. Rest assured that few Sonic stories shall be left abandoned ;) As for when they're updated...they'll be updated when they're updated. I'm not one of these people who update every three days just so they can say, "Hey, look at me, I update every three days, aren't I cool?"

If you really want some idea, I try to update at least one of my stories once a month. Please don't submit additional reviews just saying UPDATE or wen r u gonna update? or anything that means the same thing. It makes no difference to how fast I work or how fast you'll get the updates in question.

I Asked You A Question And You Never Replied. What Gives? Probably you never gave me any way to answer you. I'm happy to answer all questions (or at least explain why I can't if I can't, usually because you've asked me what's going to happen next in a story) but please bear in mind that I can't reply to anonymous reviews, so unless you give me an email addy or some other way of contacting you, my hands are tied. Please believe me; it's not that I don't want to; it's just that I can't :) I'm on deviantArt a lot, though, or you can always drop me an email. Don't worry; I'm friendly =P Just title it something like Fanfiction so's I know it's not spam.

Are You Ever Going To Update Master of the Emeralds? Yes. I promise. The reason I haven't is because it takes so long to write each chapter (at least, each Sonic/Tails chapter) and these days it's hard to find the time. Please continue to be patient a little while longer.

Which Story Are You Going to Update Next: This is something I've also been asked, although not as regularly as the previous two ;) I update fairly regularly, just not on the same story ;) I also have a priority list of stories...the further down it is, the longer your wait is likely to be. I can't update five or six stories simultaneously, much as I would like to. If you really want to read the list, here it is:

1. My own, professional writing. Takes priority over everything. No exceptions. I do try and balance it with other fics wherever possible though.

2. Since You Been Gone. I actually have chunks of this written already, so it's just a matter of filling in the gaps :)

3. Underneath the Dying Rambutan. Again, I have chunks already written, but it still takes a lot longer than the other fics.

4. Master of the Emeralds. That said, it's likely to take so long to write new chapters, I won't get to update it nearly as frequently as I would like to...and then the Zones are so much longer than they were in Rising Star. It also depends on the character; Knuckles and Robotnik chapters will probably be up far faster than Sonic and Tails. I haven't abandoned this (although I understand how some people may think so) but I have to sit down for about six or eight hours at a stretch to write even half a Sonic chapter. No exaggeration. On that note, please stop asking in reviews when I'm going to update; at the minute I have no idea and the only answer I can give you is 'soon'.

DISCONTINUED STORIES

The stories on this list haven't been abandoned...yet. There's a chance that they'll be updated in the future, but a chance is all it is. I'm really sorry to fans of these stories - I know how infuriating it is to start reading an unfinished story and find that it was last updated about three years ago - but I don't have the time now that I did before.

1. The Ring. There's a simple explanation for this: most of my notes and chapters are on my other PC, which is in storage. I'm hoping to get the data soon, (hopefully late October). It will be updated, but not for a while. Just hang in there a little longer, 'kay?

2. Guardian's Choice. The messiest of my fics and the one I like the least. Permanently discontinued, but you guys voted to keep what little there was of it on the site, so it won't be deleted.

3. Four Kids and an Echidna. I'd like to continue this one, but I have no idea when. Updates possible, but don't look for them anytime soon.

4. The Facts of Life and Other Stories. Didn't work out as well as I thought. I'm trying to slot the stories into the longer fics as chapters, but the fic itself won't be updated. It's a couple short stories though, so it can stay.

Slash Fics: Not now. Not ever. Nothing against it; it just doesn't work for me in this universe.

Fanfics in the Works: Lessee...

Genesis: The title's gonna have to stand for the moment until I can think of a better one. (Though actually I quite like it; kudos to Matt Lans for the suggestion!) It's basically the story of the Sonic the Hedgehog 1 (Master System/Game Gear version; I've never played the Genesis one) I have the first chapter and various chunks written, so I'll put it up at some point. Watch this space. It'll also start way back, beginning with Sonic's childhood and progressing on to Robotnik later.

Chaotix: I have no idea what this is going to be called, but I do plan to upload it fairly soon. Basically it tells the story of the Chaotix and how they all met (with, I have to admit, a fairly heavy slant on Espio's side of events. What can I say? I love writing him :P) This will also (eventually) develop into an adaptation of the game Knuckles Chaotix

Endless Winter: Sequel to Gemini Project. I have no idea when this is going to be uploaded, which is why I did my best to tie up as many loose ends as possible at the end of Gemini Project. There's a chance that this could be the last in the Secrets of the Emeralds saga (I have a very hazy idea for a sequel, but that's all it is...we'll see how it goes).

A-Team fanfics in the works:

Basic Training: After Amy's gung-ho enthusiasm leads to the Team almost getting killed in the Canada Goose Incident, Hannibal finally snaps and takes her up into the mountains for military training. Humour.

Catfight: Okay, the title sucks, but I'm writing this at 1.30am. Amy gets back from Jakarta, intending to pick up where she left off with the A-Team, only to find that she's been replaced by Tawnia. There's only room for one female member of the A-Team, and the gloves come off when the entire Team - including Amy and Tawnia - are locked up in a barn.

Hijacked: Accompanying fic to Since You Been Gone. Desperate to escape an abusive relationship and not wanting to risk the A-Team getting arrested, Tawnia comes up with a plan that even Hannibal would consider crazy: to set Decker up and hijack his car. As time passes and they travel further and further together, however, she can't help but wonder...just who's hijacking who?

And one last thing, Ninety-five percent of the kids out there are concerned with being popular and fitting in. If you're part of the five percent who aren't, copy this, put it in your profile, and add your name to the list. AnimeKittyCafe, Hyperactivley Bored, Gem W, Bara-Minamino, Yavie Aelinel, Crazy Billie Joe Loving Freak, Shadow929, The Astrology Nerd, brown-eyed angelofmusic, piratesswriter/fairy to be, The Gypsy-Pirate Queen, loop-de-loop-ride, wfea, Iaveina, Mizz Molko, JudasFm

Okay, that's it! Thanks for visiting my little corner of FF.net!