Am I even slightly Italian? No. I’m a Brit. And about as Italian as Dolmio sauce. But that doesn’t mean I’m not tasty ;0)

Though I have no way of verifying this, I’m pretty sure that every fic I've read on this site was written by a woman. This should be no surprise, since my recent tastes have run to romance (it’s the mid-life crisis - the alternative would be regular pig-outs on chocolate and wine. Now there’s an idea…).

People who think like me are mostly preoccupied with what happens in the lead-up to That First Kiss, and like to poke a stick at all the fun and trouble people have in getting there. Anything subsequent to that phase of a relationship counts as Real Life, and is therefore about as alluring as a trip to the dentist. Unless of course the dentist happens to be a square-chinned, craggy Dane. I feel a filling coming on...

Online fanfiction is a relatively new medium to me. I only began to explore it in November 2012. Since then, I've witnessed an amazing wealth of writing talent which flourishes solely on a love for what it does. This leaves me in awe. The passion and force of an online writing community is compelling, and immediate, unlike anything which existed for previous generations. It has tremendous power to delight and challenge.

Before I began posting here, I hadn't ever dabbled in creative writing myself, always considering that I lacked the necessary imaginative spark. However this didn't prevent me from appreciating quality when I read it. The Fanfiction dot Net reviews-system provided an instant means of voicing appreciation and engaging directly with authors in a way that traditional publication and feedback methods have never done. On a superficial level, reviews are simple politeness - much as one might thank the hostess for a carefully-prepared and elegantly-served meal. On a deeper level, they are an outlet for readers’ almost visceral compulsion to applaud those things which delight them personally.

I have been fortunate to make good friends in this arena, whom I would otherwise never have found, and for this I am deeply grateful.

GiuC