October, 2009

In the past:
I was unschooled (self-directed learning) from third grade all the way to college, during which time I honed my skills as a writer, caught the travel bug, read everything I could about dolphins, whales, and Native Americans, started my first job at 11 years old, watched kittens grow up from birth, and figured out at an earlier age than most what it means to be happy in the midst of tragedy. I tagged along on my dad's business trips, so before I was 13, I went whale-watching in San Diego, hiked in the Swiss Alps, tasted real German beer in Munich, explored a salt mine in Austria, and saw Stonehenge and the Magna Carta with my own eyes. I was 17 the first time I crossed the equator; to visit family in Sydney, with stops to Fiji and New Zealand on the way. The day after I graduated high school, my younger brother, best friend, and I took a self-guided bike tour of Ireland, where we got lost once and watched the World Cup in an Irish pub.

Currently:
I am a senior at a small liberal arts college. I study social sciences and humanities; including but not limited to psychology, sociology, philosophy, and religion. I am certified in CPR, Reiki I, and Mainstream Square Dancing. I have traveled a lot since graduating high school, including spending a wonderful semester in Thailand. Right now, the After College Plans are to go on to grad school to get a Master's in Holistic Health or Transpersonal Psychology, and someday I hope to open a holistic healing center where practitioners of alternative medicines/therapies can offer their services for reasonable rates. And of course, I will never stop writing.

Otherwise:
I am a woman (maybe I should have mentioned that earlier...), straight but not narrow, and spiritual (I consider myself New Thought, with Christian-Quaker and some Buddhist influences). I also enjoy horseback riding, traveling, reading, studying religions/languages/cultures, and drinking tea. My sense of humor is generally ironic, often random, and sometimes sarcastic.

I have always believed in God, and, more importantly, that God's love (or Spirit's love, or universal life energy, or whatever you want to call it) is everywhere, in everyone, and in everything.

So. Fan fiction business:

Works in Progress

(Untitled) (Angel): This story is co-written with Babblefest. We've been working on it for...what? Five years? Five and a half? Six? Some insanely long amount of time. It takes place between Fredless and Billy in Angel season 3, and it's pretty much us having fun exploring the relationships of all the characters at that point in the show. It's still in the works, but we hope it'll be done soon. In fact, we even have a deadline. Self-imposed deadlines work, right?

The Heart of Human Interaction (Angel): Futurefic, and sequel to The Art of Human Interaction. This piece is me exploring various aspects of human relationships through the Angel characters and the original characters that were introduced in the prequel. I don't think it's absolutely necessary to read the prequel first to understand and appreciate the story (which is intentional, since I know the prequel is long, and many people understandably shy away from original characters), but I really think it helps to know exactly how Angel's relationship with these people formed, and where it is right now. There also is a short, nearly complete story coming before this one (see below) to set up some relationship lines that weren't really explored in the first story. This work is in active progress. No projections on when it will be done, but I'm doing my best.

(For now titled, "Judith's Story") (Angel): This is a short-ish collection of scenes exploring the relationship between Angel and William's mother (of the Art/Heart of Human Interaction series). Nope, it's not shippy; it's just a string of interactions between them driven by curiosity and support. It's nearly done; I need to finish up and change some things around. But it's not likely to be posted until The Heart of Human Interaction is closer to being done, to make sure they're in congruence with each other.

As far as fandoms go, I'd like to make a few comments:

Angel: Without a doubt the most active fandom in my brain. See above for more detail.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: I have one or two ideas for Buffy, but nothing major. I am willing to co-author a Buffy story, if someone has a cool plot idea.

Harry Potter: I have one Harry Potter story. It is probably my last Harry Potter story. While I love the books (not the movies), I just don't often get struck with inspiration as far as Harry is concerned. Plus, wandering into that huge fandom is a bit intimidating...But again, I'm willing to co-author if someone has a good story idea, since it's definitely ripe with cool fan fiction potential.

Firefly: I love this show, but so far I haven't been inspired to write for it. Angel is selfishly taking up most of the plot-creating portion of my brain. Firefly is a Joss show, though, and therefore on the possible-story list.

Dollhouse: I was a fan before it aired. Fan fiction likely, though not imminent.

Actually, since I mentioned it above, I'm willing to co-author a story in most fandoms that I know well (including those listed above and Star Trek: Voyager, Ocean Girl, Heroes, and earlier seasons of Smallville). Just a warning: this doesn't mean that I'll say yes to your story idea, or that I'll write your story for you. As evidenced by the untitled work mentioned above, I take writing very seriously (i.e. I take my time and rewrite if necessary to make sure it's quality work), so I'm choosy about what I want to invest in. When I write, I like to use character development, balance all of the character's story lines, and keep plot holes as close to zero as possible. So if your idea plays with the characters a bit (meaning, there's got to be pain involved before the end), I'll be more likely to want to go for it. I won't write "this-is-how-things-should-have-been" stories. So that's something to mull over. If you want an honest opinion about what I'm like as a co-author, contact Babblefest.

A note about ships: I don't do slash (except canon slash, like Willow/Tara). I don't do weird, never-would've-happened-on-the-show ships, like Buffy/Gunn. And I don't do Ron/Hermione (unless I absolutely must). I try to write as close to canon as possible, so whatever ships are happening in the time line I'm writing in are the ships that will appear. However, I am quite partial to C/A, so expect hints here and there if it's a canon-time story (hopefully nothing that will ruin the story for you non-C/A-ers, though).

As with all writers here, I love feedback. I'm really looking to improve, so any tips, hints, comments, or anything else you have to say, I'll take seriously into consideration. That's why I write, really, to get better at it; so if you have something negative to say about my writing, that's fine, just tell me why and what I can do to improve it. And of course, I love compliments! So review my stories, please. Even one line is greatly appreciated. You can post it here or e-mail ConstantCommentTea@gmail.com, whichever you prefer.

I have a profile and some original works up on FictionPress.com under the same name (http://www.fictionpress.com/~constantcommenttea), if you're interested.

Finally, I am an active beta, so check out my beta profile if you need someone to look at your piece!

Thank you for taking an interest in me and my works!