TrekGirl welcomes DangerMom.  I thought I would have a hard time of convincing her to do this interview, instead, she stalked me for days through AOL's instant messenger service and harassed me by e-mail, insisting that her voice had to be heard.  She's relentless I tell you!

All joking aside, getting her to participate was a lot easier than I'd expected ....
 

TrekGirl asks:

How would you describe yourself?

"This is no ordinary housewife you're dealing with."
(I used to have stationery that said that when I wasn't working outside home.)

What's to say?  Wife and mom, part-time retail associate, mostly full-time fan.  My husband thinks I'm gorgeous, but he may be biased. Thank goodness I married a fan! I'm part of the prime generation raised on TV, but books have held me in thrall forever. Give me a good book and a cup of tea, and I'm happy.  It's kind of hard to believe my oldest daughter is a sophomore in college, and my youngest is turning thirteen.  I'm never quite as self-assured as I'd like to appear to be. A Leo, if that counts for anything.

How long have you been writing?

I started in TOS fandom around 1975, writing humorous essays and poetry.  My first foray into fanfiction was Star Wars.  By the eighties I was writing Doctor Who, Magnum, p.i, and other stuff.  Shadow Chasers, anyone?  Robin of Sherwood?

What is your preferred fandom and why?

Right now, Voyager.  I love watching X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I guess I'm only a real fan of whatever show inspires me to write.

If this is not part of the previous answer, why write about Star Trek?

Well, it's funny--I've been a Star Trek fan since I was 13--when TOS premiered.  But when I got into fandom, and I stuck with Trek through everything else, I was content to read Trek fanfic, but never felt inspired to write it.  Eventually, I produced one TNG story, and one for DS9. By then I was not keeping up with print fandom and zines like I used to--partly because of the time and expense involved, partly because of the changes fandom underwent, both before and after the Internet.  In fact, I hadn't done much writing at all in the years before Voyager...

Who are your favourite characters and what drew you to write about them?

If you've seen my website, you know what I call myself--a born-again Voyager fan.  I watched the show from the beginning and liked it a lot.  But my work schedule and VCR problems interfered with my viewing for a while.  Third season got me going again...especially "Displaced," and Paris and Torres.  Then I succumbed to the lure of web fandom, started reading, and rediscovered my muse.

If you write relationship pairings (e.g. J/C), which pairing is it and how would you describe the relationship in canon and in your own fictional interpretation?

All P/T, all the time...  It's great that the Paris and Torres relationship exists in canon.  I can't say I'm always happy with the way it's been handled.  It'll take something very powerful or special to get me to write about it from a canon-based view.  Some of what they've done lately on the show has been very good, but we have no guarantees for continuity or consistency.

I think, like a lot of the people who got kick-started into writing P/T in the wake of third season, I was impatient and wanted to really get them going.  Perhaps I was rushing things with "Daybreak," but I have tried to cover my tracks in other stories to show how I think the relationship might have developed.  Along the way, of course, it turned into an AU.

I see Tom and B'Elanna as two people who needed to find each other.  They're enough alike, yet unalike, to be a good match.  Life may not always be easy for them, but they'll fight for their happiness.

What do you think makes for a good story?

Believability.  Fanfic should be a logical extrapolation from what we are given in a series. It's also a process of speculation, imagination, and wishful thinking.  But even with AU you have to be loyal to the basics of the characters and show you've chosen to write about.

Clarity.  Good sentence structure, decent flow, proper use of language.  I admit it--I'm an elitist snob when it comes to writing.  Back in the early days of TOS fandom, most zines had a letter column.  People wrote LoCs ("locks"--letters of comment) and in some cases would dissect a story, discussing it in ways that would curl the hair of folks who've only known Internet fandom.  If you wrote for a zine, you'd likely have an editor/publisher who would proofread your story "in blood"--leaving red pen marks all over it.  I watched and learned.  I had editors who taught me many valuable lessons, and I kept all that with me when I started writing on the 'net.

A trend began in the late eighties, though, as fandoms and tastes changed.  Even with word processors to make writing and revising easier, quality dropped in some genres, in writing and zine production.  You'd hear the excuse that "it was just a hobby," that proper spelling or grammar weren't important "if the story was good."

If you've been to my Grammar Guide page, you *know* what I think about that!

When you read another author's fan fiction what do you look for?  Are these elements to be found in your own work?

Does the story grab me?  Do I recognize the characters instantly? Can I "hear" them?  Is it well-written, well-thought out?  Imaginative but plausible?  Was there care involved in the writing *and* revising process?

Good grief, I try.  I think my style has evolved more in the past two years than in the two decades before!  I do my very best before I publish--you've got to be your own strictest editor.  Sometimes I worry that I'm too understated in my writing, too economical with words.  But then I realize that's what I'm most comfortable with.

I don't like stories that go to implausible extremes, or too far into the "dark side."  Generally, I pass on slash, although I look at some pairings occasionally, sort of a morbid "car-crash curiosity" syndrome.

Do your stories have a theme, such as loss, belonging, abandonment etc.  What are they?

(Thinking)...I guess if there's a theme in the Daybreak stories, it's belonging.  I never wrote "relationship" fic...heck, I never *read* much of it, until Voyager.  I've managed to work romance, angst, and humor into my stories, AU or canon.

With the current Daybreak story (depending on what mood I'm in, I call it my epic or the albatross) I'm attempting to explore life on Voyager in ways the series seems to gloss over or forget about.  The aftermath of serious events.  Day-to-day survival, planning for the future.  I'm writing more about other members of the crew, too, which is a challenge.

I'd like to share an example of your writing style, please choose a scene from one of your completed works and describe what you are trying to achieve in the snippet (dialogue or narrative direction).

Oh, right, Annie.  I'm coming back to this one later!

(Three days later...)  Okay, on thinking it over, I've decided on "The Soul's December," which was my response to the season five episode "Extreme Risk."  There was something very disturbing and unsatisfying in that episode for P/T fans, and as I watched snowflakes fall on a dreary November day a few weeks afterwards, inspiration struck.

What I've included here are the opening and closing parts of the story, and a small sequence from the middle, written in very different styles.

From "The Soul's December" ....

The sky is grey and leaden, the clouds a solid sheet that diffuse any hint of light, of sun.

Dark hills roll on forever, into endless repetition, dry and lifeless in the grip of winter.

The tree against his back is sturdy and strong, but the naked branches above his head offer no protection from the threatening sky.  He can see the pattern of the approaching storm etched in the clouds.  There's no hope of escape.

His steady breaths come as puffs of smoke in the biting air.  Warmth leaches out of his body with every minute he remains here.  Feeling has left his feet, his hands have gone numb.

If only his heart could do the same.

It's cold.

****

(A few weeks after her self-destructive behavior was discovered, B'Elanna has come to the holodeck in search of Tom, feeling as if she's finally capable of attempting a real reconciliation.  But she discovers a bleak, bitter setting that disturbs her, and finds out it's a program Tom created and used in the early days of Voyager's journey--but had not used again until their recent travel through the Void.)

****

Alerted by the sound of footsteps on the cold hard ground, he slowly turned to watch her approach. A Starfleet-issue parka was clutched loosely in his hand, leaving him exposed to the cold in a thin shirt and jeans.  B'Elanna's more vulnerable metabolism began to react with small shivers as she came to a halt before him, but Tom was unnaturally still, lifting his head just a fraction to acknowledge her presence.  "Hey."

It was a soft sound, quiet and remote.  B'Elanna looked for some sign of welcome in his eyes, but found only the same lifelessness that she had seen days ago in her own reflection.  Now, however, she had at least some capacity to react, to feel a tiny pang of pain and sadness begin to shore up the return of love and need that had brought her here.

Without a word, she took the jacket from Tom's grip, smothering a gasp of alarm as she felt how cold and stiff his hand was.   He remained still as she put it over his shoulders, offering no resistance as she worked his arms through the sleeves.  A slight frown creased his pale face, as if he'd only just noticed her.  Then a violent shudder ran through him, and she realized he'd been fighting against his body's natural impulse to stave off the cold.

B'Elanna kept her hands on his arms for a few seconds, letting him feel the support of her touch.  Then she moved to pull the jacket closed over his chest.  As another tremor seized him, she spoke to him quietly.  "Tom."

He blinked, and a dim spark of emotion lit deep in his eyes.  He regarded her face curiously, as if searching for something.  B'Elanna returned his gaze steadily, hoping he could recognize the concern she was feeling for him.  Slowly, he raised his hand to touch her cheek, and she tried not to flinch as his icy fingers grazed her skin.

"You're--you're cold," he whispered haltingly.

"So are you," she replied, tugging the jacket tighter around him, gently pulling him towards her with the movement.  Keeping her voice soft and encouraging, she said, "We should go, Tom."  Then she released him and took a step back.  She couldn't force him to go.  He had to want to leave this emptiness, just as she had finally wanted to face her emotions, to try to feel again.

The light in his eyes grew a little stronger.  He lifted his head and glanced about, as if analyzing their surroundings.  "The storm's coming," he said, hollow-voiced.

B'Elanna followed his gaze to the foreboding clouds above them.  "Then we should go, Tom," she repeated, putting a bit more force in her tone.  "Please."

He responded with a hesitant nod, walking stiffly as she led him away from the tree.  But after a few steps forward, he came to an abrupt halt.  "B'Elanna?"

She looked up at him uncertainly.  "What?"

His brows were furrowed in puzzlement.  "Just--just end the program."

"No, Tom," she refused gently.  "It's your program. You have to end it."

As her words penetrated his cold-induced confusion and apathy, something close to anger flashed in his eyes.  He stepped back and stared at her, his face blank.  After a moment, he inhaled sharply, wincing as the bitter air invaded his lungs.  Then he threw back his head, looking up at the menacing sky.  "Computer!" his voice rang out harshly.  "End program."

The wintry desolation vanished, leaving them in the equally stark and sterile hologrid. But the abrupt return to Voyager's normal light and temperature was a disconcerting jolt.  Tom staggered, gasping, and B'Elanna reached out to support him, trembling a little with her own relief to be back in more "normal" surroundings.  For a few moments they just held on to each other's arms as they recovered, watching each other warily, wordlessly.

"What was that place?" B'Elanna felt compelled to ask.

Tom ducked his head and tried to pull away, but she wouldn't let go.  "Nowhere special," he finally muttered.

"Was it somewhere real?" she persisted.

He nodded uncomfortably, still not meeting her gaze. "There are still some places on Earth that are--in the middle of nowhere," he explained softly.  "Quiet, isolated places, full of...nothing."  He looked down at her hands, clasped around his, then twisted his fingers to intertwine with hers.  "I had time to find a lot of them, after the trial," he went on, "and that one--" he jerked his head at the hologrid--"was the last place on Earth I visited, before I left to join the Maquis."

A cold and empty place, like his life must have been, B'Elanna realized when he didn't say more. Full of nothing except loneliness and loss, allowing no room for heartache or grief.

A place beyond pain.

Beyond hope.

Abandoned by everyone, by everything that mattered.

Feeling...nothing.

And while she had found and dwelt in such a place, Tom had made his way back to one as well.

The cold despair deep inside her began to burn away, consumed by a slow, simmering anger that pulsed through her blood like the build-up of a core breach.  Anger at herself for what she'd done to Tom, at the unfairness of life that kept conspiring against them, at all the things she couldn't control--

"B'Elanna..."

--she was shaking with rage and it seized her heart, filling her with the need to fight, to prove herself strong--her hands clenched into fists--

"B'Elanna!"

--around Tom's hands, bearing down so hard that he was grimacing in pain as he tried to wrench away.  She saw bright beads of blood ooze up where her nails had dug into his skin--

"B'Elanna, stop it!"

But she couldn't let go, if she let go of him now she would lose him forever, like everything else that mattered in her life--a wave of fear swept the anger away, leaving her sick and dizzy in its wake...

Tom broke free as her hands went limp, and he caught her by the shoulders as her body swayed.  He held her up, staring at her intensely, his eyes filled with desperation.  "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he said, his voice low and hoarse.

B'Elanna could only stare back at him, as she tried to pull herself together, not understanding his sudden remorse.  "For--for what?" she asked in confusion.

"For--for not being what you needed," he answered falteringly.  "For not being able to help you."  His face was etched with pain.  "I tried, B'Elanna, but I didn't know what to do--"

"Don't!"  The word was torn out of her, and she put her hand up to cover his mouth, to stop any more words of guilt.  "I wouldn't let you help me," she confessed, "and I won't let you blame yourself for that."

His eyes narrowed, but he made no sound of protest.  She let her fingers caress his lips lightly before she pulled her hand away, and was surprised by the small thrill of pleasure she felt when he brushed her palm with a fleeting kiss.

****

(As they slowly and warily reconnect with each other, B'Elanna shows Tom that she's been gradually deleting all her dangerous programs, trying to prove to herself that she no longer needs them.  She feels he should do the same with the desolate setting they just left.  He argues that either of them could restore and return to the programs at any time.  She concedes that point firmly and defiantly.  Tom does delete his program, which brings them one step closer to healing.)

****

It's warm.

The ceiling overhead is lost in shadows, but the lights are soft and comforting.

Two voices rise and fall, as a conversation ebbs and flows with surprisingly familiar ease.

She carefully cleans the tiny wounds on his hands, apologizing for her loss of control.

He brings them hot tea from the replicator, making an old joke about borrowing credits.

They sit side by side on the couch, content just to be together.  Her head drifts down to his shoulder, and he pillows his against her soft hair.  Silence covers them like the bedthrow they share, and peaceful drowsiness overtakes them.

It's warm.

.... End of Scene

The episode lacked a decent back story and subplot--showing us how far B'Elanna had gone into depression too abruptly; and it was extremely irritating to think that Tom had been utterly clueless to what had been happening for (supposedly) months.  I needed a way to show that he hadn't been unaffected by what B'Elanna was experiencing.  A holoprogram to contrast with the ones B'Elanna had been using seemed ideal.

Most of all, I needed a way to "fill in the blanks" that would make me feel better about the episode!  From the reactions the story received, I accomplished that for a lot of people, which is very gratifying.

Do you consider yourself an improving writer or the finished article?

Somewhere in-between.  I don't think my earliest works were horrible, but some of them aren't very outstanding.  I'm very proud of two or three stories from other fandoms, but I do feel my very best work has been in Voyager.  I like to try new things, like the Janeway vignette I did after "Fair Haven," written in first person.

One thing I still have to watch out for--if I get carried away in a narrative or the expression of tricky plot ideas, I tend to get sloppy and overlook little mistakes or the way I'm using words.  Then I get frustrated, especially if I don't notice what I've done till after I think the work is finished.

How do you keep improving your skills, what help did/do you have?

By reading, by writing.

Can you see the work area around my computer?

No, but-

There's the dictionary (actually, three of them); the thesaurus; the Word Finder; the Star Trek Encyclopedia; plus two or three language handbooks.  I'll stop in the middle of typing a sentence if I catch myself misspelling a word or using it the wrong way.  The spell-checker I turn to last.

I always print out a hard copy and read the draft, even if I've already made revisions on-screen, although I can still miss things.  If there's a certain literary technique I want to try, I'll look for it in a book by one of my favorite authors.

If there's a "Treknical" point I'm not sure of, I ask around.  Jim Wright's review page is an invaluable reference source.  Julia Houston's about.com page contains a great list of sites about all the Treks.

Do you consider beta readers a help or a hindrance and what do you expect from them?

Since I usually edit myself so thoroughly, I look to my betas to tell me what is or isn't working plot-wise.  They help spot continuity errors, or Trek/Voyager specifics I may have missed.  (Annie, about those shuttlecraft...!)  Sometime a friend will tell me something they got out of a particular passage that helps me see a future point of the story more clearly, so I have an even better idea of where I'm going.  I do have one beta (paging Portland!) who is very good at keeping me true to my own goals, and pointing out those errors of sloppiness I mentioned.

Is professional publication your goal or are you just having fun?

Fun...even when it's hard work.  I get so caught up in writing sometimes that I'll walk away from a session in front of the computer completely tensed up, and have to do some serious decompression afterwards.

Yet I doubt I have the discipline or ambition to ever go pro.  Even writing Trek--I read the "guidelines" (can we say "restrictions?") for Pocket Books and say, no thanks.

Which of your own stories would you recommend to the Internet reader and why?

"The Soul's December," because I did some very different things with the narrative.  I think it's my most angst-driven piece.

"Best-Laid Plans" and "After Hours" because Captain Chris and I had so much fun writing them.  (And believe me, writing *those* kinds of stories with a guy you're not married to is a challenge!)

DM, I have to interrupt.  Would you care to share any of those challenges with us?

Would I?

Well, okay.

I first became acquainted with the Gentleman Pirate through his earliest fanfiction, when I was searching for P/T stories in my born-again days, the
summer of 1997.  What impressed me immediately was the fact that here was a
rarity in fandom, a guy who could write convincing, meaningful romance.  Not
only romantic, but hot too!  After exchanging feedback, we established a web
friendship through the P/T Collective and IMs. We shared very similar viewpoints on the P/T relationship, and other things.  Eventually we began
exchanging story ideas as well, using each other as sounding boards for our
writing.  I met the good Captain and his lady wife in person at a convention, and we hit it off fabulously.  (When they finally got to meet my husband and family, we all became very good friends.)

When a challenge came up on our mailing list (Write a "P/T do it in a turbolift" story), Chris suggested we give it a try.  He came up with the basic plot, which I tinkered with (snappy dialogue retorts for Tom and B'Elanna, descriptions of...a graphic nature bouncing back and forth in IMs), and we polished it up together.  He's got me blushing in front of the computer after my kids have gone to school, and I made him almost spill coffee on his office keyboard at work.

We traded off on the sequel, taking turns writing scenes and POVs.  It was
great fun, all in all.  The process of collaborating, especially in the NC-17 genre, enabled me to work past some basic reticence about writing sex scenes
(anything I'd done before was really only very heavy R, even the consummation
scene in "The Course of True Love" was rather mild).  Getting over that block
gave me confidence to write "Swordplay."  Thanks, Chris!

Alas, real life and work occupy too much of the Pirate's time these days, but we stay in touch.

TG just had to ask. :-)  You were giving some recommendations, please continue.

"After The Fall," again because I did different things with the narrative flow, and explored Tom's past in a very specific way.

"Turn Around..." because even if it wasn't my first completed piece, it was the first idea I had for a P/T story.  I'm also kind of proud of it as a successful, not trite song-fic.

"The Problem With Paris"--my first attempt at first-person, and I was tremendously pleased with how it turned out.

You have a chance to recommend another fan fiction, not your own, what would it be and who is the author(s)? (consider any pairing or characters)

For Janeway, anything by m.c. moose.  She's brilliant. I don't follow a lot of J/C, but there's some good stuff to be found on ASC.

For P/T...Katie Redshoes, Captain Jinx, Captain Chris (also good at K/7), Jamelia, Julie Evans...some gal from England whose initials are either T.G. or A.M.; other folks on the PTFever List...Dave Rogers is a new entry into the genre and has done some interesting work.

Specific stories?  Oh gosh...I'm going to have to give that a miss and just say try it all.

Any other comments?

Not that I can think of...

Would you recommend this exercise to another author?

Oh, sure...why not?  It's fun to think about these things.

Is there a question that you wished I had asked, if so what was it?

It took me a while to come up with one:  "Are you working on anything special now?"

Now, answer your own question! :-)

Umm, as a matter of fact, yes...

After a long hiatus, I've gone back to the Daybreak series, as mentioned above.  Last year I wrote "Revisions" to fill in a gap between "Into The Woods" and "Daybreak," to show how Tom and B'Elanna's relationship progressed from mutual attraction to dating to something more serious.

I knew I needed to write more, though, taking up the storyline from "In The Midnight Hour."  There were many ideas I wanted to explore, taking Voyager into an AU fourth season.  However, there's so much I want to do that I've found myself writing a serial--oh, boy, I think I may end up using the "n" word-- novel (or at least a novelette!).  This method should make it somewhat easier to tell the story I've been carrying in my head for two years.  The first two chapters are done, and I'm about to start on the third.

Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts with me, I hope you enjoyed it.

Yes, and thank you!
 

The featured author's recommended own work :
The Soul's December, After the Fall, Turn Around, The Problem with Paris, and Best Laid Plans and After Hours (with Captain Chris)

E-Mail the featured author :
DangerMom

The featured author recommends *you* read :
ASC
Captain Chris
Dave Rogers - Various Trek fan fic
Jamelia
Julia Huston
Julie Evans
Katie Redshoes and Captain Jinx
m.c. moose - Janeway stories
TG aka AM ("...Some gal from England...")
 
 

 Complete the Circle