What's to say? I'm getting older. Oo, me gyp. Oo, me rheumatiz. Oo, me problems with clauses and commas.

I'm a Kiwi (which means "I'm from New Zealand" and not "I'm a small fuzzy fruit", "I'm the world's most bizarre species of bird"or "I'm a small scooter") currently doing bu- er, stuff all... and enjoying it when I remember to. Occasionally I teach English, although you wouldn't know it from my writing. Although I pretty much stick to the Harry Potter fanverse and Snape is one of my favourite characters, there's no way I'd let him in the school door. Luna, yes. She'd be be educational. Remus, maybe...just not during the Moon Festival.

Hope you enjoy the stories. If you don't, feel free within the limits of constructive criticism to tell me why. If you do... well, let me know what aspects of the stories you liked best so that I've an idea what to write towards in future. The "Taniwha" series is/will be archived at http://worldbuilding.jedibuttercup.com/ and Potions and Snitches, http://www.potionsandsnitches.net/eFiction1.1/viewuser.php?uid=140 as well as (of course) fanfiction.net. I'll probably put my re-edited versions of the stories at the non-ff sites, as ff.net seems to wipe your stories off the C2s if you reload them.

Dislikes: unfinished stories that were going really well (by me and anyone else you care to name) and then get abandoned or left for so long I have no idea what it was about in the first place and have to backtrack through forty chapters). Having my horses in another country. Not having NZ Cadbury or Richfield chocolate... especially Moro bars and Richfield's grapefruit choccie (whatever happened to that?). Not being able to speak Mandarin. Generic rejection letters from publishers. Typhoons blowing the rain under my windows so that I have to get up every few hours and deal to the floor with a mop. Child abuse. Plonkers.

Likes: considered critiques. Horses. Fanfic writers who finish their stories. Chocolate. Typhoons giving me the day off. The Taipei MRT. Chocolate. My students. Rejection letters from publishers that are kind and personal and give me some tips for my next books (haven't had an acceptance letter yet). Did I mention chocolate? Oompaloompas. Kind Taiwanese who are patient with my extreme inability to learn any and/or all of their languages. Oh, and chocolate.

Choco- I mean, cheers, all.

Elsa2