30 Days of Fan Fiction Meme
Yes I'm actually going to attempt to finish this (finally), some 4 or so months after the fact...:D
10 - Pairings - Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
I'm not comfortable writing Mick & Beth as a pairing, at all. I find it very, very difficult to really get Beth's voice as a character, and find myself having to almost switch off, and go into a really uncomfortable, almost completely non creative state of mind, in order to get through writing those characters as a pairing (despite the fact that they are canon). It's hard to explain, I just don't see the pairing, I don't believe it (or more to the point, I find it hard to believe the way a lot of fans seem to perceive it - as this wonderful, pure as the driven snow, so perfect it's almost miraculous type love affair to en all love affairs), and quite frankly there are aspects to the MickBeth relationship that I find more than a little creepy. Mick's a chronologically 90 year old man that's been skulking around in the shadows watching Beth from the time she was four years old, after he rescued her as a child. On top of that he has a hidden file on her, complete with secret photos he's taken as he's watched her grow up. YMMV, but that's not really my idea of the ultimate love story.
Having said that, I have written some MickBeth pieces, and they were fairly well received, although I personally don't really think I did that good a job with them (I always feel so empty and disconnected trying to write that pairing so to me that always translates to something empty and hollow - and lacking - in the finished product). The first MickBeth piece I wrote was in a response to a challenge I actually gave, on a Moonlight Fanboard off LJ, for people to have a go at writing a pairing they wouldn't otherwise write. I figured if I was going to challenge people to step outside their comfort zone, then I'd better be prepared to do the same. At least it proved to me that it wasn't absolutely 'impossible' for me to write Mick & Beth, even if I basically disliked every second of it. I did also write another MickBeth piece (probably the most romantic one I have ever written of that pairing) as a memorial to a member of one of the board's I co-admin, who passed away last year after suffering a brain haemorrhage. Mick & Beth were her favourite couple, and she also loved the concept of angels, so we ran a MickBeth specific fanfic challenge, with the theme of 'angels' in her honour. Apart from that the only other MickBeth fics I've written are a dark fic wherein Mick kills Beth after losing control in a fit of passion (that particular one was written for a 'guess the author' competition, obviously I was trying to hide my identity by writing something other than Josef/Mick), and a joke piece based on an off the cuff remark that someone should be free to pair Mick up with his bat coat if that's what makes them happy.
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Day 1 - How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
The first fandom I ever wrote fanfic for was Moonlight, and to be honest I don't think I can ever really, adequately explain why it is I fell so much in love, but I did - head over heels, completely and totally in love with the show and two of its characters, Josef Kostan and Mick St John. I caught part of the third episode, immediately went and sourced out what I'd missed, saw the first scene between Josef & Mick in episode 1, and that was it, I was totally gone. By the end of the night I'd watched all of the episodes I'd missed, plus those that were yet to air in Australia, back to back, and dove headfirst into my very first fandom.
When I first joined the Moonlight fandom I didn't ever consider that one day I'd actually be writing fic for it. I mean I'd lurked around the fringes of other fandom, mainly BtVS, the Star Trek franchise, and X-files, and I knew what fan fic was, and had read quite a bit of it (including slash), but it never even occurred to me that this was something I could write as well. Me, write? Are you kidding? No way. The early days of the Moonlight fandom (I joined around November of 07) were a bit like the wild west in terms of shipping any other characters besides the almighty canon love of MickBeth. Some of the MickBeth shippers that were around at the time were just out and out vicious, and anyone who dared to openly declare an interest in a character relationship outside the only one they deemed to be acceptable, left themselves wide open to some pretty nasty, pack mentality attacks. As a consequence of this I spent the first couple of months in the fandom hiding in the ship closet (so to speak). I'd seen some of what the MickCora shippers had been subjected to, and I didn't really want any part of that for myself.
Around the same time one of the first people to write Josef/Mick slash ended up being practically run off one of the fan boards that was around back then with the sheer amount of harassment and abuse she copped for daring to write Josef & Mick as a couple. A couple of months later she decided to take a stand and returned to finish her fic. Her attitude was basically 'I'm back, I'm going to finish my fic, and I don't care what anyone else thinks. There are people who like my work and want to read it, if you don't then bad luck, don't read it'. I thought that was just so totally awesome, and I decided I didn't want her being the only one writing them and copping flack for it. I still didn't think I could actually write fan fiction properly or anything, but I really wanted to show my support/solidarity for her taking a stand the way she had, and I had an idea for a potential story that I'd gotten from the re-turning scene in Episode 13 floating around inside my head, so I took a deep breath, typed out the first page of what I hoped would be at least semi passable fic, and then pressed post.
That was around April of 2008. I've been writing Josef/Mick slashfic ever since. :)
2 - Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
Moonlight is the only fandom I've written in. So far I've written one novella, 4 books (I have about half a chapter to go on a fifth one), and roughly 76 short stories. Yes, I definitely still write in it, I've just been slowed down of late with health and depression issues flaring up and wrecking my concentration ('tis very frustrating).
3 - For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
I write Josef & Mick as a couple, so generally if one appears the other is in there somewhere as well. Josef Kostan is my absolute favourite to write though.
4 - Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
Yes, absolutely. There's a bit of a 'muse phenomenon' in the Moonlight fandom that has almost become a character in his own right - the Josef Muse. I believe the Josef Muse is best summed up by something mscatmoon once wrote:
He is King, Emperor of all. Even if you're not writing in the Moonlight Universe. Even if you've never heard of Josef Kostan. Even if you think Mick's in charge, and you have no Josef Muse - that's just what he's letting you think. He's still number one, and only the strongest muses/authors even dare to argue with him.
I could write an essay on the Josef Muse, but suffice to say for me it is a combination of an archetype character, the collective consciousness of artistic energy and creativity, along with a writer's own conscious and subconscious artistic drive/influence, and just finding it easier/more effective to encapsulate or anthropomorphise that into something recognisable. Hence we talk of characters as muses, when really it's just an easier way for our creative minds to make sense of where the creativity comes from on a more conscious level. And I am really bad at explaining this sort of stuff
5 -If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?
I tend to just go with it, I figure if my muse/ creative subconscious is that determined to have a character in a certain fic there must be a pretty good reason for it.
6 - When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
Male characters, definitely. Most of my close friends in real life are male, I've always seemed to relate better to men than women, so I feel like I can almost connect better with male characters because of that. Besides that I also prefer to write male characters, because for me it cuts down on the possibility of accidentally doing a self insert, and also because writing female characters in some ways feels like I'm exposing myself too much, eg If I'm trying to write a sex scene with a female character, it feels as if I'm basically giving people a window into my own bedroom, I'm just not comfortable with it.
Having said that, I do have a couple of female OCs in my multi-chapter series, and I'll be introducing a third soon as well. I have enjoyed writing these particular characters, so who knows, maybe I'm starting to improve with this. I think a lot of it has to do with getting over my own insecurities as a writer, and to stop feeling as if I'm not good enough to write something as important as a female character.
7 - Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
Not one I've written myself, but reading good characterisations of Beth Turner (as opposed to the over the top, spun sugar, she can do know wrong, and we will destroy anyone who thinks otherwise, type attitudes of some Beth fans in the Moonlight Fandom) does at least give me pause to think that I really shouldn't allow my opinion of a character to be swayed by the more batshit side of the fandom.
8 - Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
I have several OCs in my ongoing multichapter 'The Eternity' series. Many of them, for the most part, are the main characters aside from Josef & Mick. I do enjoy writing them, particularly the challenge of creating a (hopefully) well rounded character from scratch that can still appear to exist naturally in the Moonlight world.
In order of appearance, OCs for The Eternity Series are:
Major/Semi Major Characters
Leonard aka Lestat (Vampire - first appears in 'From Safety to Where') - Parisienne tailor, and friend of Josef's (although it hasn't yet been explained/delved into how they actually met), Leonard is not that much older than Mick. He is flamboyant, somewhat eccentric, and very, very camp. Leonard likes to play dress up, currently he's over his 'Lestat' phase (where he enjoyed pretending to be a centuries old Vampire aristocrat) and into his Diana Ross circa 1960 something era'. He was initially introduced in the first installment of the series as little more than two dimensional plot device (anywhere close to decent writing it was definitely not back then). Since then I've developed him a bit more, although he generally remains a 'fun' character. Admittedly part of why I decided to take the character further was because I wanted the challenge of writing a stereotypically Gay character without it turning into a complete caricature.
Roisin O' Dwyer (Mortal - first appears in 'Immortal Beloved') - Roisin first appeared in the third installment of the series, 'Immortal Beloved, as a baby. She has since 'grown up' over the course of two more stories ('Days of Blood Wine and Roses', and 'Requiem'). Roisin (pronounced Rosheen) is currently in her early 30s. She's been everything from the adorable little child, to the precocious but terrified pre-teen thrown thrown into the world of Vampires and conflict, to a headstrong, stubborn and rebellious teenager, and finally through to a mature and strong young woman who trains as a warrior, and plays a pivotal role in a war between the Vampire nation and a group of human Vampire hunters known as 'The Legion'. Roisin is my favourite of all the OCs I've written, I have adored every moment of writing her, but, unfortunately, that will soon be coming to an end. She's terminally ill, and won't be a part of the ongoing series after I finish this latest story. I decided to kill Roisin off for a number of reasons - I wanted to explore the idea that not everyone would jump at the chance of being a Vampire, even if circumstances necessitated it, and also I have plans to extend the role of a newer character in the next installment, and Roisin would most likely end up becoming dead weight (no pun intended). I don't want it to turn into a situation where the character just starts to feel 'tacked on' for the sake of it, and hand waving her off as just having 'gone somewhere else' seemed a bit of a cop out to me.
Katherine O'Dwyer (Mortal/Vampire - first appears in 'Immortal Beloved') - Katherine is Roisin's mother, she's also Josef's childe/fledgling (in The Eternity Series the term 'childe' is explained to be an archaic form of Moonlight's canon description of 'fledgling') and his many generations removed niece. Katherine was the first major OC I attempted to write, and she is loosely based on a very dear friend of mine in the ML Fandom, Kathi aka Josefismysire. Basically she came about, because Kathi asked if I could find her a role in the story, or at least a character that bore her name. She had been such a wonderful support to me, both personally and fandom wise, almost from the very beginning, that I couldn't say no. Despite Katherine having her start as a 'friend insert', I have always tried to write her as a character in her own right and not just some cardboard fantasy vehicle. Katherine is Irish, and a former member of the IRA. She's strong, pragmatic, and often acts as the glue that hold everyone together. Josef turns her in Immortal Beloved after she's shot in an ambush.
Pierre Lamont (Vampire - first appears in 'Days of Blood Wine and Roses') - Pierre Lamont is a Vampire who was a scholar in Dresden under the tutelage of an old English Master in the 18th century. His teacher later became his Vampire mentor when he undertook ten of years of dedicated study with the view to eventually being initiated into a secretive order of Vampires known as the Order of Dracul. The Order of Dracul basically runs the entire Vampire nation from behind the scenes. Pierre is one of their high ranking members. He retains much of his scholarly attributes, appearing as somewhat of an English professor type, (he acts as Roisin's school teacher at one point), but is also a powerful, elder Vampire with a strong sense of loyalty and tradition. Pierre and Katherine begin a relationship in Days of Blood Wine and Roses, which eventually leads to their marriage.
Auguste Vasilescu (Vampire - first appears in 'Days of Blood Wine and Roses') - Auguste Vasilescu is/was the Grand Chancellor of the Order of Dracul. Auguste is more than 1500 years old, of Romany (Gypsy) origin. He's arrogant, cunning, manipulative, terrifyingly powerful, utterly devoted to the Vampire nation as a whole, but he also has a soft spot for Roisin and ends up becoming both her mentor and something of a substitute father figure to her. Auguste Vasilescu is the closest thing to a more tradtitional 'Dracula' type Vampire character I've written.
Minor Characters (who still play an important role in advancing the story)
Gregor Rachmaninov (Vampire - appears in 'Rosegarden Funeral of Sores') - Josef's sire. In the Eternity Series, Josef is a former Irish Dominican Priest, who was tricked into being turned after Gregor, posing as a traveling mystic, promised him true knowledge of God. Like Leonard before his later development, Gregor was little more than a two dimensional plot device. He's killed off in the second story.
Terrence (Mortal - first appears in 'Days of Blood Wine and Roses') - Terrence is first introduced as something of a snot nosed teen with an attitude problem, who tries to take advantage of Roisin. Long story short, he ends up becoming a member of the Legion as a torturer's apprentice after his Vampire father is executed, and his own life spared. Terrence is one of the catalysts for the Vampire nation and the Legion going to war. He is also the father of Roisin's child, Miriam.
Jonathon Whitley - Jonathon Whitley is the head of the Legion. Sarah Whitley is his Great Aunt. He had a long standing vendetta against Josef for what Josef did to Sarah (re Moonlight episode 10 - Sleeping Beauty)
Aside from these main ones, several bit part characters appear throughout the series as well, including a human Doctor, Vampire servants and guards, a number of other Order of Dracul high ranking officials, and several Gypsies.
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As for how I try to ensure my OCs aren't Mary Sues (or Gary Stus). I've never really sat down and designed a character from the point of view of saying 'Okay, here's this character, here's their back story, this is their personality, these are their character traits and attributes, and so on'. I've mainly just gone in with a basic idea or framework of the character, and let the characters sort of develop naturally from there. For me as well, OCs don't just exist in a vacuum, I also try to pay attention to how they relate to their environment, and other characters, particularly the canon ones. To be honest it's hard for me to explain exactly how I write OCs, because I don't really have any sort of set formula that I follow. I am also a hopeless judge of my own work, and find it difficult to really say if I've gotten it right, in terms of OCs, or not - probably because I have a tendency to think everything I do sucks and is full of mistakes and bad writing - although the feedback I've gotten for my OCs has been overwhelmingly positive. *blushes* I wish I could say with certainty that I think I deserve the praise.
9 - Pairings - For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
I only write one pairing, Josef/Mick, so obviously they're my favourite pairing to write.
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11 - Genre - do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 - Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
13 - Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
14 - Ratings - how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
15 - Warnings - What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
16 - Summaries - Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
17 - Titles - Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
18 - Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19 - When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 -Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
21 - Sequels - Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
22 - Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
23 - When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
24 - Betaing - How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
25 - Music - Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
26 - What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27 - Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 - Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29 - What is your current project or projects?
30 - Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
10 - Pairings - Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
I'm not comfortable writing Mick & Beth as a pairing, at all. I find it very, very difficult to really get Beth's voice as a character, and find myself having to almost switch off, and go into a really uncomfortable, almost completely non creative state of mind, in order to get through writing those characters as a pairing (despite the fact that they are canon). It's hard to explain, I just don't see the pairing, I don't believe it (or more to the point, I find it hard to believe the way a lot of fans seem to perceive it - as this wonderful, pure as the driven snow, so perfect it's almost miraculous type love affair to en all love affairs), and quite frankly there are aspects to the MickBeth relationship that I find more than a little creepy. Mick's a chronologically 90 year old man that's been skulking around in the shadows watching Beth from the time she was four years old, after he rescued her as a child. On top of that he has a hidden file on her, complete with secret photos he's taken as he's watched her grow up. YMMV, but that's not really my idea of the ultimate love story.
Having said that, I have written some MickBeth pieces, and they were fairly well received, although I personally don't really think I did that good a job with them (I always feel so empty and disconnected trying to write that pairing so to me that always translates to something empty and hollow - and lacking - in the finished product). The first MickBeth piece I wrote was in a response to a challenge I actually gave, on a Moonlight Fanboard off LJ, for people to have a go at writing a pairing they wouldn't otherwise write. I figured if I was going to challenge people to step outside their comfort zone, then I'd better be prepared to do the same. At least it proved to me that it wasn't absolutely 'impossible' for me to write Mick & Beth, even if I basically disliked every second of it. I did also write another MickBeth piece (probably the most romantic one I have ever written of that pairing) as a memorial to a member of one of the board's I co-admin, who passed away last year after suffering a brain haemorrhage. Mick & Beth were her favourite couple, and she also loved the concept of angels, so we ran a MickBeth specific fanfic challenge, with the theme of 'angels' in her honour. Apart from that the only other MickBeth fics I've written are a dark fic wherein Mick kills Beth after losing control in a fit of passion (that particular one was written for a 'guess the author' competition, obviously I was trying to hide my identity by writing something other than Josef/Mick), and a joke piece based on an off the cuff remark that someone should be free to pair Mick up with his bat coat if that's what makes them happy.
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Day 1 - How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
The first fandom I ever wrote fanfic for was Moonlight, and to be honest I don't think I can ever really, adequately explain why it is I fell so much in love, but I did - head over heels, completely and totally in love with the show and two of its characters, Josef Kostan and Mick St John. I caught part of the third episode, immediately went and sourced out what I'd missed, saw the first scene between Josef & Mick in episode 1, and that was it, I was totally gone. By the end of the night I'd watched all of the episodes I'd missed, plus those that were yet to air in Australia, back to back, and dove headfirst into my very first fandom.
When I first joined the Moonlight fandom I didn't ever consider that one day I'd actually be writing fic for it. I mean I'd lurked around the fringes of other fandom, mainly BtVS, the Star Trek franchise, and X-files, and I knew what fan fic was, and had read quite a bit of it (including slash), but it never even occurred to me that this was something I could write as well. Me, write? Are you kidding? No way. The early days of the Moonlight fandom (I joined around November of 07) were a bit like the wild west in terms of shipping any other characters besides the almighty canon love of MickBeth. Some of the MickBeth shippers that were around at the time were just out and out vicious, and anyone who dared to openly declare an interest in a character relationship outside the only one they deemed to be acceptable, left themselves wide open to some pretty nasty, pack mentality attacks. As a consequence of this I spent the first couple of months in the fandom hiding in the ship closet (so to speak). I'd seen some of what the MickCora shippers had been subjected to, and I didn't really want any part of that for myself.
Around the same time one of the first people to write Josef/Mick slash ended up being practically run off one of the fan boards that was around back then with the sheer amount of harassment and abuse she copped for daring to write Josef & Mick as a couple. A couple of months later she decided to take a stand and returned to finish her fic. Her attitude was basically 'I'm back, I'm going to finish my fic, and I don't care what anyone else thinks. There are people who like my work and want to read it, if you don't then bad luck, don't read it'. I thought that was just so totally awesome, and I decided I didn't want her being the only one writing them and copping flack for it. I still didn't think I could actually write fan fiction properly or anything, but I really wanted to show my support/solidarity for her taking a stand the way she had, and I had an idea for a potential story that I'd gotten from the re-turning scene in Episode 13 floating around inside my head, so I took a deep breath, typed out the first page of what I hoped would be at least semi passable fic, and then pressed post.
That was around April of 2008. I've been writing Josef/Mick slashfic ever since. :)
2 - Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
Moonlight is the only fandom I've written in. So far I've written one novella, 4 books (I have about half a chapter to go on a fifth one), and roughly 76 short stories. Yes, I definitely still write in it, I've just been slowed down of late with health and depression issues flaring up and wrecking my concentration ('tis very frustrating).
3 - For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
I write Josef & Mick as a couple, so generally if one appears the other is in there somewhere as well. Josef Kostan is my absolute favourite to write though.
4 - Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
Yes, absolutely. There's a bit of a 'muse phenomenon' in the Moonlight fandom that has almost become a character in his own right - the Josef Muse. I believe the Josef Muse is best summed up by something mscatmoon once wrote:
He is King, Emperor of all. Even if you're not writing in the Moonlight Universe. Even if you've never heard of Josef Kostan. Even if you think Mick's in charge, and you have no Josef Muse - that's just what he's letting you think. He's still number one, and only the strongest muses/authors even dare to argue with him.
I could write an essay on the Josef Muse, but suffice to say for me it is a combination of an archetype character, the collective consciousness of artistic energy and creativity, along with a writer's own conscious and subconscious artistic drive/influence, and just finding it easier/more effective to encapsulate or anthropomorphise that into something recognisable. Hence we talk of characters as muses, when really it's just an easier way for our creative minds to make sense of where the creativity comes from on a more conscious level. And I am really bad at explaining this sort of stuff
5 -If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?
I tend to just go with it, I figure if my muse/ creative subconscious is that determined to have a character in a certain fic there must be a pretty good reason for it.
6 - When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
Male characters, definitely. Most of my close friends in real life are male, I've always seemed to relate better to men than women, so I feel like I can almost connect better with male characters because of that. Besides that I also prefer to write male characters, because for me it cuts down on the possibility of accidentally doing a self insert, and also because writing female characters in some ways feels like I'm exposing myself too much, eg If I'm trying to write a sex scene with a female character, it feels as if I'm basically giving people a window into my own bedroom, I'm just not comfortable with it.
Having said that, I do have a couple of female OCs in my multi-chapter series, and I'll be introducing a third soon as well. I have enjoyed writing these particular characters, so who knows, maybe I'm starting to improve with this. I think a lot of it has to do with getting over my own insecurities as a writer, and to stop feeling as if I'm not good enough to write something as important as a female character.
7 - Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
Not one I've written myself, but reading good characterisations of Beth Turner (as opposed to the over the top, spun sugar, she can do know wrong, and we will destroy anyone who thinks otherwise, type attitudes of some Beth fans in the Moonlight Fandom) does at least give me pause to think that I really shouldn't allow my opinion of a character to be swayed by the more batshit side of the fandom.
8 - Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
I have several OCs in my ongoing multichapter 'The Eternity' series. Many of them, for the most part, are the main characters aside from Josef & Mick. I do enjoy writing them, particularly the challenge of creating a (hopefully) well rounded character from scratch that can still appear to exist naturally in the Moonlight world.
In order of appearance, OCs for The Eternity Series are:
Major/Semi Major Characters
Leonard aka Lestat (Vampire - first appears in 'From Safety to Where') - Parisienne tailor, and friend of Josef's (although it hasn't yet been explained/delved into how they actually met), Leonard is not that much older than Mick. He is flamboyant, somewhat eccentric, and very, very camp. Leonard likes to play dress up, currently he's over his 'Lestat' phase (where he enjoyed pretending to be a centuries old Vampire aristocrat) and into his Diana Ross circa 1960 something era'. He was initially introduced in the first installment of the series as little more than two dimensional plot device (anywhere close to decent writing it was definitely not back then). Since then I've developed him a bit more, although he generally remains a 'fun' character. Admittedly part of why I decided to take the character further was because I wanted the challenge of writing a stereotypically Gay character without it turning into a complete caricature.
Roisin O' Dwyer (Mortal - first appears in 'Immortal Beloved') - Roisin first appeared in the third installment of the series, 'Immortal Beloved, as a baby. She has since 'grown up' over the course of two more stories ('Days of Blood Wine and Roses', and 'Requiem'). Roisin (pronounced Rosheen) is currently in her early 30s. She's been everything from the adorable little child, to the precocious but terrified pre-teen thrown thrown into the world of Vampires and conflict, to a headstrong, stubborn and rebellious teenager, and finally through to a mature and strong young woman who trains as a warrior, and plays a pivotal role in a war between the Vampire nation and a group of human Vampire hunters known as 'The Legion'. Roisin is my favourite of all the OCs I've written, I have adored every moment of writing her, but, unfortunately, that will soon be coming to an end. She's terminally ill, and won't be a part of the ongoing series after I finish this latest story. I decided to kill Roisin off for a number of reasons - I wanted to explore the idea that not everyone would jump at the chance of being a Vampire, even if circumstances necessitated it, and also I have plans to extend the role of a newer character in the next installment, and Roisin would most likely end up becoming dead weight (no pun intended). I don't want it to turn into a situation where the character just starts to feel 'tacked on' for the sake of it, and hand waving her off as just having 'gone somewhere else' seemed a bit of a cop out to me.
Katherine O'Dwyer (Mortal/Vampire - first appears in 'Immortal Beloved') - Katherine is Roisin's mother, she's also Josef's childe/fledgling (in The Eternity Series the term 'childe' is explained to be an archaic form of Moonlight's canon description of 'fledgling') and his many generations removed niece. Katherine was the first major OC I attempted to write, and she is loosely based on a very dear friend of mine in the ML Fandom, Kathi aka Josefismysire. Basically she came about, because Kathi asked if I could find her a role in the story, or at least a character that bore her name. She had been such a wonderful support to me, both personally and fandom wise, almost from the very beginning, that I couldn't say no. Despite Katherine having her start as a 'friend insert', I have always tried to write her as a character in her own right and not just some cardboard fantasy vehicle. Katherine is Irish, and a former member of the IRA. She's strong, pragmatic, and often acts as the glue that hold everyone together. Josef turns her in Immortal Beloved after she's shot in an ambush.
Pierre Lamont (Vampire - first appears in 'Days of Blood Wine and Roses') - Pierre Lamont is a Vampire who was a scholar in Dresden under the tutelage of an old English Master in the 18th century. His teacher later became his Vampire mentor when he undertook ten of years of dedicated study with the view to eventually being initiated into a secretive order of Vampires known as the Order of Dracul. The Order of Dracul basically runs the entire Vampire nation from behind the scenes. Pierre is one of their high ranking members. He retains much of his scholarly attributes, appearing as somewhat of an English professor type, (he acts as Roisin's school teacher at one point), but is also a powerful, elder Vampire with a strong sense of loyalty and tradition. Pierre and Katherine begin a relationship in Days of Blood Wine and Roses, which eventually leads to their marriage.
Auguste Vasilescu (Vampire - first appears in 'Days of Blood Wine and Roses') - Auguste Vasilescu is/was the Grand Chancellor of the Order of Dracul. Auguste is more than 1500 years old, of Romany (Gypsy) origin. He's arrogant, cunning, manipulative, terrifyingly powerful, utterly devoted to the Vampire nation as a whole, but he also has a soft spot for Roisin and ends up becoming both her mentor and something of a substitute father figure to her. Auguste Vasilescu is the closest thing to a more tradtitional 'Dracula' type Vampire character I've written.
Minor Characters (who still play an important role in advancing the story)
Gregor Rachmaninov (Vampire - appears in 'Rosegarden Funeral of Sores') - Josef's sire. In the Eternity Series, Josef is a former Irish Dominican Priest, who was tricked into being turned after Gregor, posing as a traveling mystic, promised him true knowledge of God. Like Leonard before his later development, Gregor was little more than a two dimensional plot device. He's killed off in the second story.
Terrence (Mortal - first appears in 'Days of Blood Wine and Roses') - Terrence is first introduced as something of a snot nosed teen with an attitude problem, who tries to take advantage of Roisin. Long story short, he ends up becoming a member of the Legion as a torturer's apprentice after his Vampire father is executed, and his own life spared. Terrence is one of the catalysts for the Vampire nation and the Legion going to war. He is also the father of Roisin's child, Miriam.
Jonathon Whitley - Jonathon Whitley is the head of the Legion. Sarah Whitley is his Great Aunt. He had a long standing vendetta against Josef for what Josef did to Sarah (re Moonlight episode 10 - Sleeping Beauty)
Aside from these main ones, several bit part characters appear throughout the series as well, including a human Doctor, Vampire servants and guards, a number of other Order of Dracul high ranking officials, and several Gypsies.
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As for how I try to ensure my OCs aren't Mary Sues (or Gary Stus). I've never really sat down and designed a character from the point of view of saying 'Okay, here's this character, here's their back story, this is their personality, these are their character traits and attributes, and so on'. I've mainly just gone in with a basic idea or framework of the character, and let the characters sort of develop naturally from there. For me as well, OCs don't just exist in a vacuum, I also try to pay attention to how they relate to their environment, and other characters, particularly the canon ones. To be honest it's hard for me to explain exactly how I write OCs, because I don't really have any sort of set formula that I follow. I am also a hopeless judge of my own work, and find it difficult to really say if I've gotten it right, in terms of OCs, or not - probably because I have a tendency to think everything I do sucks and is full of mistakes and bad writing - although the feedback I've gotten for my OCs has been overwhelmingly positive. *blushes* I wish I could say with certainty that I think I deserve the praise.
9 - Pairings - For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
I only write one pairing, Josef/Mick, so obviously they're my favourite pairing to write.
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11 - Genre - do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 - Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
13 - Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
14 - Ratings - how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
15 - Warnings - What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
16 - Summaries - Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
17 - Titles - Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
18 - Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19 - When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 -Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
21 - Sequels - Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
22 - Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
23 - When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
24 - Betaing - How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
25 - Music - Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
26 - What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27 - Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 - Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29 - What is your current project or projects?
30 - Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!