NOTE: Hi Everyone! I have some pretty big news!
News Item #1: I sold my first fiction story!! I went to that writing workshop in New York and three weeks later, my story "The Ghost in Room 113" was accepted for publication by Ranger Rick magazine! My little mystery story's going to appear in the March 2009 issue! And the coolest part (aside from the check) is that the story's main character, Suzie Rigg, was based on the original character I developed for my Nightcrawler stories, Ingrid Susan Wagner! I guess all this fanfiction writing practice can pay off...
News Item #2: I got a new job teaching history at my local community college!! I'm a real history professor! Wow! School obligations are, of course, going to have to come before my stories here (sniff) but once things have a chance to settle down into a routine I hope I'll be able to get chapters up more quickly, and more regularly. Until then, thank you all so very much for your fantastic reviews, and for your continued patience with me!
So, that's my news. Just needed to share.
YIPPEEE!!
A Bit About Me:
Hi! I'm Rowena Zahnrei, an author, historian, documentary film maker, and (now) a teacher. I started writing fanfiction because writing is free. My parents didn't believe in allowances and all my Christmas money went to books. So, since I couldn't buy birthday presents for my siblings, I wrote them stories about their favorite TV characters instead. Most of those early stories are bizarre beyond belief and will never be posted--at least, not without extensive rewrites! But that's where my Smurfs stories originated, and the idea that spawned Nightcrawler meets Rudolph, if anyone was wondering.
My Nightcrawler obsession began ages ago as a result of my mom and sister's obsession with shopping. While they spent days pouring through racks of clothes, I'd slink off to the bookstore and flip through the comic books. I wasn't really supposed to be reading comic books, but they were so imaginative and colorful and the character of Nightcrawler was so dynamic and mysterious and fun and swashbuckling! Besides, teleporting is the coolest power of all time! I wasn't inspired to write any Nightcrawler stories, though, until I discovered the X-Men cartoon series on TV and realized they had a whole different interpretation of Nightcrawler and his past. He only appeared in two or three episodes, but the contradictions confused me terribly, so I did a great deal of research and started writing Small Steps, Great Leaps. It was for my own benefitan effort to try to unravel Nightcrawler's convoluted backstory. I wrote out the early chapters several years before I started posting the story here, and I only recently completed it. For a long time I considered renaming it The Neverending Story, but Michael Ende already took that title, didn't he... I love that book! It's right up there with The Little Prince, The Phantom Tollbooth, and Flatterland by Ian Stewart--my favorite book ever. Here's a few (a very few) of my favorite authors: Isaac Asimov, Diana Wynne Jones, Lewis Carroll, P.G. Wodehouse, Tom Stoppard, Douglas Adams, L. Frank Baum, Kurt Vonnegut, Joseph Heller, J.R.R. Tolkien, Eve Titus, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter David, Jerry Spinelli, Janet Taylor Lisle, and the gestalt entity Grant Naylor, which gave us Red Dwarf.
I love Star Trek: The Next Generation--especially Data and Q--and I'm also a big fan of Doctor Who--the sheer sci-fi-ness of it, the endless possibilities for adventure! I really admire the Doctor's quirky, powerful character. He roams through time and space armed only with his wits, the trust of his friends, and a sonic screwdriver, and I think that's fantastic. The brain is quicker than the gun! And he can go anywhere, to any point in history, talk to anyone, with no language barrier! As an aspiring historian, I am so painfully jealous! My favorite incarnations of the Doctor are 1,2,3,4,7,9, and 10 with particular emphasis on 4,7,10, and 3. Sorry 5,6, and 8!
Before the new series began I was content to watch the adventures of the good Doctor in happy, envious silence. I started writing Doctor Who fanfiction because it's frankly torture waiting for new episodes and books to come out, and it's the best and most creative way I could find to release all the ideas that forever insist on crowding my head. Writing is a difficult and challenging skill and, like playing the piano and fencing, I know I have to practice regularly if I'm to improve. The stories I've posted here are kind of like my storehouse of ideas, and I often draw upon their plotlines when I need inspiration for an original story.
This is my current list of unfinished stories according to the priority I've assigned (and which you can influence). If I should get the inspiration to write a one-shot story, I usually put that before chapter stories until it's ready to post, then I go straight back to my chapter stories. If you ever think I'm taking too long to update a story, please let me know and I'll do my best to get a new post up within two weeks of getting your message. If, for any reason (school/health/family/work), I can't make that deadline, I'll post a message below:
1) Doctor Who and the Nowhere Men (UPDATED!! Sept. 19!)
2) The Old Man and the Police Box, and other impossible tales
3) We Can Be Heroes requested follow-up to Drolemitaybdekcirtsawi (NUDGED!! I'm really sorry for the continued delay, but I am working on it and I'll get the next chapter posted as soon as I can.)
4) True Love Ways
5) Total Reboot (UPDATED!! Aug. 20!)
6) A Joke Gone Wrong (UPDATED!! Sept. 5!)
(a) Unexpected Angels is a special case since it's a collaborative work being written through sporadic e-mail correspondence.
I write when my other obligations let me--and, often, even when they don't. I'm also prone to migraines, which is frustrating beyond all belief, so when I get those any hope of writing anything can be written off. Awful!
I may not always update quickly, but I do make a point of finishing all my stories, no matter how long it takes. I hope you enjoy them!
Fan Art:
Here's where you can see seven wonderful illustrations drawn by four wonderful artists based on five of my stories!
Belasco's Beatrice: http/www.freewebs.com/curlyy/ncalleyopic.jpg Picture by CurlyyHairGirl
True Love Ways: http/shadowscrawl.tripod.com/lil_kurt/opa_kurt.html Picture by Shadowscrawl
The Day the Earth Stood Back: http/www.geocities.com/chrestomanci1701/rowenas_drawings2.html Picture by Kakegoddes
Smurfette's Decision and A World Without Gargamel: http/www.geocities.com/chrestomanci1701/Fantastic_Fanart1.html Pictures by Katie (furiousquark@gmail.com)
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