mysid

underlucius was kind enough to interview me, and asked:

1. Why mysid?

I already had another pen name I was using at ff.net, but I wanted another just for slash and steamier stories. (So when people like my mother-in-law asked to read my stories, I could give her the JKLB site and know there would be nothing there she couldn't read.) It stands for "my slash id."

2. What's the meanest thing you've ever done to anyone?

Probably sins of omission: forgetting people's birthdays, not bothering to call friends for long periods of time, just plain taking people for granted. It's not exciting or dramatic, but it does destroy relationships.

3. Have you been converted to a character in any fandom by someone's writing?

gehayi's stories were the first to make me feel sympathetic for Peter Pettigrew.

4. What's the last DVD you bought?

I bought a DVD with A Little Princess and The Secret Garden for my daughter, but I'm planning on buying Brokeback Mountain for myself very soon.

5. Any pets?

Nope. We had a cat, but I was relieved when she died. She thought our entire house was a litter box.


Now, anyone here want me to ask them five questions? Go on, raise your hand.

"On the day you were born" meme borrowed from elwing_alcyone.

"Go to Wikipedia and look up your birth day (excluding the year).
List three neat facts/events, two births, and one death in your journal, including the year."

July 2

( Here are the ones I chose for my birthday. )

Your beliefs fit in with: Humanism Your ideals mostly resemble that of a Humanist. Although you do not have a lot of faith, you are devoted to making this world better, in the short time that you have to live. Humanists do not generally believe in an afterlife, and therefore, are committed to making the world a better place for themselves and future generations. 20% scientific. 40% reason-oriented.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Interesting. Poor Sr. Helen (my h.s. math teacher who promised to pray for me to find faith) would be so disappointed.

I was weeding out my bookshelves the other day (getting far too full, so I'm moving a few into storage) and came across Blessings by Anna Quindlen. It has a tragic subplot about the main character's closeted brother. It got me thinking about other books I've read with homosexual characters in subplots.

And that reminded me of the first book I read with gay characters--at least the first one I read that I understood what I was reading. It was called Through a Glass Darkly. The main character is a young woman who falls madly in love with a man who once served under her Army officer grandfather. She becomes desperate to marry him. He's all for it--so he can get his hands on the land she's inherited from her grandfather. The only one who objects to the match is her grandmother--who heard rumors about him and other young men in her husband's command--but she chooses not to repeat the rumors. The marriage takes place, and the poor bride discovers that he's really not all that into her. (Take heed Tonks.) Then comes the fateful night when she walks in on him with someone else.

I remember being quite shocked--as shocked as our foolish bride--to discover that such a thing as male/male sex existed. (The book jacket gave no oblique warning--just a vague "secrets in his past".)

So, just out of curiosity, what was the first book you ever read with a homosexual plot or subplot?

Stolen from gehayi (who stole it from thistlerose). Peer pressure, ladies and gentlemen, it can be a force for good or evil. Let us use it as a force for slash!

1. You're a handsome devil. What’s your name?

mysid or jklb (depending upon slashiness)

2. Ever write under any other name?

see #1

3. Look around you. How did you end up here?

Vixenette made me do it! She pulled me into LJ!

4. Favourite line from the song you're listening to right now, or last listened to?

Listening to a baby cry at the moment--fortunately she's not mine.

5. What's the last movie you saw that inspired something ficcish in you?

No idea really. All my fics have books for canon, but I'm trying to think a moment in a movie which inspired me to write a similar moment in a fic. I'll get back to you on that one.

6. Is there a character you'd like to write, but can't-- and why the hell can't you?

Hagrid. He's a wonderful, fun to write character, and he's been around long enough that I could put him in a MWPP fic. The problem--you can't write Hagrid without writing in dialect, and if I tried that I know it would be ****.

7. We all hate favourite questions, I know, but-- who's your favourite character (a) to read? (b) to write?

To read: Remus, Sirius, Snape
To write: Remus, Sirius, Snape

8. Who's your least favourite character (a) to read? (b) to write?

I can't stand reading anyone OOC. Feminine Remus probably tops that list.
As for writing--shrugs--probably someone I've never tried writing


9. Is there a story you'd like to write, but can't-- and why can't you?

I'd like to finish my two massive WIP's, "Cave Canem" and "Choosing the Head Boy." I haven't finished them because they each grew out of what was originally meant to be a one-chapter story, and I never actually planned what would happen next. One thing kept leading to another, I kept writing down what I heard in my head, and then--suddenly--silence. Every time I try to resume writing them, plotbunnies for other stories jump into my head and say, "Just write me first!"

10. What's a title you've always wanted to use, but haven't had the opportunity yet?

"Harry has Two Godfathers"--just kidding.

11. What was the first story you ever completed, and what do you think of it now?

"Mud." It's not bad. James is too sweet and good in it--especially now that we've read OotP.

12. What was the last story you completed, and what do you think of it now?

"Babysitting Bikky," which is also my first FAKE fic and my first non-HP fic. What do I think? I can't believe I actually wrote a FAKE fic!

13. Where do you do most of your writing?

On the computer in my living room. During the summer, I did a lot in notebooks while sitting outside watching my kids play, but I'm generally more productive with a keyboard.

14. Do you have any fic taboos?

There's not a lot I won't read if it's well-written. Again, I hate anyone behaving OOC. As for writing--as long as it's in character, I'm willing to write it. Which is of course, the catch. Most of what strikes people as taboo (such as pairing Harry with Sirius or Remus, for example) seems OOC for me, so it's out.

15. What made you start writing fic? Were you filled with creative juices, or was it a random act of plot correction?

Creative juices. After reading the first four HP books in rapid succession, I became rather fixated on the MWPP generation. I wanted to write "a character study" and explore them when they were Harry's age. "Mud" was the result.

16. Who has influenced your style the most?

My early style was most influenced by JKR (because I wanted my fics to "fit" into her world), Moon, and CLS. Their Call of the Wild is still one of my favorite HP fics ever. I know for a fact that my "Mud" has strong Moon tendencies. She is the master of understatement. And if I can ever come close to writing description half as well as CLS, I'll be very, very happy.

More recently, I can't say. Since commencing this fanfic obsession, I've read so much by so many. I know I've been influenced, but I can't say how much or by whom.

17. What is the sexiest word?

Remus. Doesn't it just make you smile to say it?

18. What is the least sexy word?

fungus

19. What's the word you use too much/often?

I'll have to ask my readers.

20. You're a writer. By definition you are plagued and pursued by images. So what image is burned into your brain right now?

One I can't see--What does Bagoas look like? Not knowing is plaguing me.

21. If you were going to write professionally under an assumed name, what would that name be?

If I were going to write professionally, I'd hope I'd have to the guts to use my own name. However, if I were to write something that I might be a tad embarassed to have read by people I know, I'd dig around in my family tree for something appropriate. (Might as well put the genealogy research to good use.)

22. If you'd made out this survey, what question would you have asked that I didn't?

"What plotbunnies are hopping around your feet right now?"

The recent Mary Sue Meme set me wondering, where do you find names for your original characters?

I have used:
people I know (Aoife, Declan, McLaughlin)
my favorite baby name book--heavily
my family tree (Stirling, Hathorne, McKnight)
the newspaper (Longstreth, Aisher)
any--and I mean any--printed material within arm's length of the computer (Statham)
famous witch and wizard cards that come with chocolate frogs (Wildsmith)
minor characters and merely-mentioned names in books written by JKR (Bagshot, Parkin, Prewitt)
and maps, because JKR said in an interview that they were a great place to find names (Charlotte--VT, not NC).

Your turn.