Author Interview: Cuddyclothes
Author Interview: Cuddyclothes
Cuddyclothes wrote an amazing, epic-length fic called The Princess and the Peeved that's featured on the House "What-If" Rec List. She also hosts the Authors' Self-Rec List ( part 1, part 2). You can find her online as cuddyclothes on [LJ] [FF] and [AO3]
Please give her a warm welcome and interact in the comments section below.
The What-If Genre
As a writer and/or as a reader, what draws you to what-iffy fic?
Most of the time I write crack or gen fics. The Princess And The Peeved [ch. 1-115, 116] is unlike anything I’ve written for the fandom. My fics, cracky as they are, tend to be realistic.
As a Reader
What types of fics draw you in / are you drawn to as a reader?
I’ll try anything once! My favorites are slice-of-life, AUs and missing scenes. If I never read another first-time fic, it will be too soon. Actually, as I look over the lists of what I like, they’re all AU in one way or another!
Some of your favorite House fics, and why? (Can be in what-iffy genre or any other type - categorize any way you like.)
Oh god there are so many good writers and so many good stories!!
Regarding House by flywoman. House has amnesia. It’s told from his point of view, and it’s fascinating.
An AU by flywoman, Bad Influence, is based on the movie of the same name starring Rob Lowe and James Spader. It’s a dark, dark story.
West of The Moon by srsly_yes is loosely (very loosely) based on the 1930s movie One Way Passage. In the original movie, a woman with a fatal disease meets a man on his way to the electric chair. They fall in love, concealing their true circumstances. It’s insanely romantic. [Note: West of the Moon also has a sequel, time capsule, and video gallery.]
The Kelpie series by readingrat is a series of three (!) novels, telling a very different House/Wilson/Cuddy story. It picks up from “Moving On,” the season 7 finale (ugh). House’s leg has been amputated. We pick up several years later. House has lost his memory and is a cook named Pete in an English pub. Everything is IC. I usually restrict myself to House/Wilson stories, but this is so good I read all three novels.
What kind of fic would you like to see more of in the fandom?
It’s hard to say, since the fandom has evaporated.
Favorite author or piece that you feel more people should read?
Don’t ask me to choose!
As a Writer
What genre/length/pairing/challenge/prompt do you most enjoy writing?
I most enjoy writing funny short House/Wilson stories. They make me laugh while I’m writing them. The Chainfic challenges we had a couple of years ago were a blast. Five or six authors added a chapter each. I participated in two of them: Gangster’s Paradise [ part 1, part 2] and All I Want For Christmas Is You.
What do you struggle with as an author?
Motivation. I write very fast and I write very well. But it’s hard to make myself do it. I’m a professional published writer in real life. But it’s the same in everything.
Do you plan to continue writing House fic? (Please say yes.)
Maybe, if a good idea comes to me.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of the writing process?
Favorite part: research! I did such an enormous amount of research for The Princess And The Peeved. The community little_details was invaluable. I need to learn about the military, how to make bombs, artillery, palace life, shrubbery...it was never ending.
My least favorite part of the writing process is starting. Until I’m several pages in, I’d rather do ANYTHING else!
Self-recs - your favorite fics that you've written (and why)?
Nice Day for A White Wedding. This was from a prompt: House and Wilson want to get married in a civil ceremony. But Wilson's mother has other ideas, a la Sex And The City. If you can get a bird on Wilson’s head, that’s a bonus.
Genre: slash, angst, fluff
It was an absolute joy to write! Romantic, cracky, and even slash. I don’t write slash as a rule.
What’d I Say. Post-series finale.
Genre: fluff, ust
House and Wilson are on the road. At each stop, House is teaching Wilson the piano. In a crappy bar one night, House teaches Wilson Ray Charles.
How have you grown as a fanfic writer?
Writing consistently for a long time, whether it was TP&TP or various fics, sharpened my writing skills. Also, keeping characters IC can be a challenge. Doing so made me more aware of character continuity.
Writing fanfic means you automatically have a set of constraints put on you. The show, the characters, the backgrounds are all there. No matter you do with it, you have to stay true to the source material. And the characters. I enjoyed working within those constraints.
What genres/works outside fandom have influenced you as a writer?
Early 20th century writing, particularly the 20s-40s. Beautiful, precise language. That’s been a goal-precise language. S.J. Perelman, one of the funniest writers ever. George Orwell. P.G. Wodehouse, although he wrote too long and got repetitive.
What are you currently writing?
I’m trying and failing to write a memoir.
Describe how you collaborate with other writers to produce fic (co-authoring, betaing, etc.).
The beta is not for working with the prose; they’re a person to bounce ideas off of, to help keep everything consistent and IC. And sometimes they come up with great ideas of their own. Most of my betas have left LJ, except yarroway, who came in on the home stretch of TP&TP.
What's one of the most memorable comments/reviews (sentiments) you've ever received?
Of course it’s the negative comments you remember. During the writing of TP&TP an anonymous commenter ordered me to stop writing this “cacking river of shit”. The IP address showed so I knew who it was. Surprisingly, it was someone I considered a friend. That same person maintained she wanted to help me learn to writingte. I commented back that someone who thought my fic was a river of shit wasn’t my first choice.
On the positive side, lit_luminary wrote a SONNET for The Princess and The Peeved, about the impossibility of House’s situation with the Princess. I copied and pasted it into word. When Wilson entered the story and House has feelings for both of them, someone posted a music video about a threesome. :D
What was the most surprising turn your muse took in the middle of a piece (and do you know what inspired that to happen)?
My muse constantly surprises me. One of my favorite things is cracking myself up as I walk down the street.
Could you describe a memorable moment of fic inspiration?
At the beginning of “ What’d I Say”, Wilson describes his parents laughing as he and his brothers dance to the song. Having NO idea of the sexual content. That came from my own life. My post-ep fics were mostly written out of anger. “Out of the Chute,” [the episode] where House leaps from the balcony into the pool as Wilson watches, made me crazy! I wrote one of my few serious stories, “ Wet”. I was in a sort of trance when I wrote it.
What is the strangest/most interesting thing you ever researched for a fic?
For The Princess And The Peeved, I literally ran out of sex scene ideas. So I asked my f-list to suggest what they wanted to read! The strangest was “sex on a horse”, or as it’s known, “coitus au cheval”! You have NO idea how many videos I looked at. Again the folks at little_details helped. There are number of horse owners and equestrians there. What we’ve seen in movies isn’t actually possible. It ended up...well, the people reading this will have to read the story. Rest assured it never became sex with a horse.
Canon
Favorite House episodes? When did you start watching?
The first episode I saw was House’s Head. I was completely blown away; there was nothing like it on television. Then they showed Wilson’s Heart. The next night, Season 5 started. I bought all of the previous seasons and watched them in an epic binge.
Three Stories
House vs. God
The Mistake
Euphoria Parts 1 & 2 (I seem to be alone in my Foreman love)
All of my favorites are before Season 6. Of course I lean toward the most heavily House/Wilson episodes. Both my husband and I wear slash goggles! When we watched the show live and Cuddy would kiss House, we would both go “eeeew!” My husband thought House had major chemistry with Wilson.
Personal headcanon(s)?
House and Wilson have been together for years, in a good, comfortable yet still passionate relationship. My post-ep fics almost always had this for a jumping-off point.
Which House characters speak to you (while you're trying to do other things…), or resonate with you?
House most definitely! When I started watching, I was mostly confined to the house due to illness, and walked with a cane. Not to mention taking a buttload of pills. But for mental illness, not pain. His bitter, misanthropic POV rang true, as did being an atheist and often not giving a fuck about other people. Some him as a Romantic hero like Heathcliff; not me.
Other
Did you write fanfic before you got into the House fandom? What/when were your first fandom(s)?
House was my first fandom. I’d never written fanfic before.
What are your favorite House comms on LJ, or other fan sites?
house_wilson. Most of the other comms have shut down. Also, sick_wilson! That’s the comm that keeps on giving. These days house_memories has been a great place to visit.
Do you make fan vids or other non-fic fandom endeavors? Where do you post them?
I went through a phase where I made photo manips of the cast with bacon. “Everything’s better with bacon!” Eventually one of them turned into a love story between House and Cuddy. I also wrote song parodies. It was after that that I started writing fic. Because I’d started reading fic.
Anything else you'd like to share about yourself?
I’m open about being a fanfic writer. Unlike most people, I don’t have anything to lose. I’m bipolar. I’m also physically compromised, although you wouldn’t know it to look at me.
For a number of years I was a comic writer/performer. My solo shows have been produced in New York, San Francisco and Chicago. Due to health concerns I had to stop. Recently I’ve started again, with the Exit Press publishing a collection of my plays and sketches, Cervix With A Smile: The Comic Sketches and Plays of Elisa DeCarlo.
I’ve published three novels. Two comic fantasies, The Devil You Say and Strong Spirits, both set in Depression-era London. And a historical novel, The Abortionist’s Daughter. It’s about a young woman trying to reinvent herself after a tremendous family scandal. She becomes an actress, but unforeseen events cause her to ask her father for help.
My main interests are movies from 1900-1970, spending way too much time on Twitter, my husband and my dog. I live in New York City.
Cuddyclothes wrote an amazing, epic-length fic called The Princess and the Peeved that's featured on the House "What-If" Rec List. She also hosts the Authors' Self-Rec List ( part 1, part 2). You can find her online as cuddyclothes on [LJ] [FF] and [AO3]
Please give her a warm welcome and interact in the comments section below.
The What-If Genre
As a writer and/or as a reader, what draws you to what-iffy fic?
Most of the time I write crack or gen fics. The Princess And The Peeved [ch. 1-115, 116] is unlike anything I’ve written for the fandom. My fics, cracky as they are, tend to be realistic.
As a Reader
What types of fics draw you in / are you drawn to as a reader?
I’ll try anything once! My favorites are slice-of-life, AUs and missing scenes. If I never read another first-time fic, it will be too soon. Actually, as I look over the lists of what I like, they’re all AU in one way or another!
Some of your favorite House fics, and why? (Can be in what-iffy genre or any other type - categorize any way you like.)
Oh god there are so many good writers and so many good stories!!
Regarding House by flywoman. House has amnesia. It’s told from his point of view, and it’s fascinating.
An AU by flywoman, Bad Influence, is based on the movie of the same name starring Rob Lowe and James Spader. It’s a dark, dark story.
West of The Moon by srsly_yes is loosely (very loosely) based on the 1930s movie One Way Passage. In the original movie, a woman with a fatal disease meets a man on his way to the electric chair. They fall in love, concealing their true circumstances. It’s insanely romantic. [Note: West of the Moon also has a sequel, time capsule, and video gallery.]
The Kelpie series by readingrat is a series of three (!) novels, telling a very different House/Wilson/Cuddy story. It picks up from “Moving On,” the season 7 finale (ugh). House’s leg has been amputated. We pick up several years later. House has lost his memory and is a cook named Pete in an English pub. Everything is IC. I usually restrict myself to House/Wilson stories, but this is so good I read all three novels.
What kind of fic would you like to see more of in the fandom?
It’s hard to say, since the fandom has evaporated.
Favorite author or piece that you feel more people should read?
Don’t ask me to choose!
As a Writer
What genre/length/pairing/challenge/prompt do you most enjoy writing?
I most enjoy writing funny short House/Wilson stories. They make me laugh while I’m writing them. The Chainfic challenges we had a couple of years ago were a blast. Five or six authors added a chapter each. I participated in two of them: Gangster’s Paradise [ part 1, part 2] and All I Want For Christmas Is You.
What do you struggle with as an author?
Motivation. I write very fast and I write very well. But it’s hard to make myself do it. I’m a professional published writer in real life. But it’s the same in everything.
Do you plan to continue writing House fic? (Please say yes.)
Maybe, if a good idea comes to me.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of the writing process?
Favorite part: research! I did such an enormous amount of research for The Princess And The Peeved. The community little_details was invaluable. I need to learn about the military, how to make bombs, artillery, palace life, shrubbery...it was never ending.
My least favorite part of the writing process is starting. Until I’m several pages in, I’d rather do ANYTHING else!
Self-recs - your favorite fics that you've written (and why)?
Nice Day for A White Wedding. This was from a prompt: House and Wilson want to get married in a civil ceremony. But Wilson's mother has other ideas, a la Sex And The City. If you can get a bird on Wilson’s head, that’s a bonus.
Genre: slash, angst, fluff
It was an absolute joy to write! Romantic, cracky, and even slash. I don’t write slash as a rule.
What’d I Say. Post-series finale.
Genre: fluff, ust
House and Wilson are on the road. At each stop, House is teaching Wilson the piano. In a crappy bar one night, House teaches Wilson Ray Charles.
How have you grown as a fanfic writer?
Writing consistently for a long time, whether it was TP&TP or various fics, sharpened my writing skills. Also, keeping characters IC can be a challenge. Doing so made me more aware of character continuity.
Writing fanfic means you automatically have a set of constraints put on you. The show, the characters, the backgrounds are all there. No matter you do with it, you have to stay true to the source material. And the characters. I enjoyed working within those constraints.
What genres/works outside fandom have influenced you as a writer?
Early 20th century writing, particularly the 20s-40s. Beautiful, precise language. That’s been a goal-precise language. S.J. Perelman, one of the funniest writers ever. George Orwell. P.G. Wodehouse, although he wrote too long and got repetitive.
What are you currently writing?
I’m trying and failing to write a memoir.
Describe how you collaborate with other writers to produce fic (co-authoring, betaing, etc.).
The beta is not for working with the prose; they’re a person to bounce ideas off of, to help keep everything consistent and IC. And sometimes they come up with great ideas of their own. Most of my betas have left LJ, except yarroway, who came in on the home stretch of TP&TP.
What's one of the most memorable comments/reviews (sentiments) you've ever received?
Of course it’s the negative comments you remember. During the writing of TP&TP an anonymous commenter ordered me to stop writing this “cacking river of shit”. The IP address showed so I knew who it was. Surprisingly, it was someone I considered a friend. That same person maintained she wanted to help me learn to writingte. I commented back that someone who thought my fic was a river of shit wasn’t my first choice.
On the positive side, lit_luminary wrote a SONNET for The Princess and The Peeved, about the impossibility of House’s situation with the Princess. I copied and pasted it into word. When Wilson entered the story and House has feelings for both of them, someone posted a music video about a threesome. :D
What was the most surprising turn your muse took in the middle of a piece (and do you know what inspired that to happen)?
My muse constantly surprises me. One of my favorite things is cracking myself up as I walk down the street.
Could you describe a memorable moment of fic inspiration?
At the beginning of “ What’d I Say”, Wilson describes his parents laughing as he and his brothers dance to the song. Having NO idea of the sexual content. That came from my own life. My post-ep fics were mostly written out of anger. “Out of the Chute,” [the episode] where House leaps from the balcony into the pool as Wilson watches, made me crazy! I wrote one of my few serious stories, “ Wet”. I was in a sort of trance when I wrote it.
What is the strangest/most interesting thing you ever researched for a fic?
For The Princess And The Peeved, I literally ran out of sex scene ideas. So I asked my f-list to suggest what they wanted to read! The strangest was “sex on a horse”, or as it’s known, “coitus au cheval”! You have NO idea how many videos I looked at. Again the folks at little_details helped. There are number of horse owners and equestrians there. What we’ve seen in movies isn’t actually possible. It ended up...well, the people reading this will have to read the story. Rest assured it never became sex with a horse.
Canon
Favorite House episodes? When did you start watching?
The first episode I saw was House’s Head. I was completely blown away; there was nothing like it on television. Then they showed Wilson’s Heart. The next night, Season 5 started. I bought all of the previous seasons and watched them in an epic binge.
Three Stories
House vs. God
The Mistake
Euphoria Parts 1 & 2 (I seem to be alone in my Foreman love)
All of my favorites are before Season 6. Of course I lean toward the most heavily House/Wilson episodes. Both my husband and I wear slash goggles! When we watched the show live and Cuddy would kiss House, we would both go “eeeew!” My husband thought House had major chemistry with Wilson.
Personal headcanon(s)?
House and Wilson have been together for years, in a good, comfortable yet still passionate relationship. My post-ep fics almost always had this for a jumping-off point.
Which House characters speak to you (while you're trying to do other things…), or resonate with you?
House most definitely! When I started watching, I was mostly confined to the house due to illness, and walked with a cane. Not to mention taking a buttload of pills. But for mental illness, not pain. His bitter, misanthropic POV rang true, as did being an atheist and often not giving a fuck about other people. Some him as a Romantic hero like Heathcliff; not me.
Other
Did you write fanfic before you got into the House fandom? What/when were your first fandom(s)?
House was my first fandom. I’d never written fanfic before.
What are your favorite House comms on LJ, or other fan sites?
house_wilson. Most of the other comms have shut down. Also, sick_wilson! That’s the comm that keeps on giving. These days house_memories has been a great place to visit.
Do you make fan vids or other non-fic fandom endeavors? Where do you post them?
I went through a phase where I made photo manips of the cast with bacon. “Everything’s better with bacon!” Eventually one of them turned into a love story between House and Cuddy. I also wrote song parodies. It was after that that I started writing fic. Because I’d started reading fic.
Anything else you'd like to share about yourself?
I’m open about being a fanfic writer. Unlike most people, I don’t have anything to lose. I’m bipolar. I’m also physically compromised, although you wouldn’t know it to look at me.
For a number of years I was a comic writer/performer. My solo shows have been produced in New York, San Francisco and Chicago. Due to health concerns I had to stop. Recently I’ve started again, with the Exit Press publishing a collection of my plays and sketches, Cervix With A Smile: The Comic Sketches and Plays of Elisa DeCarlo.
I’ve published three novels. Two comic fantasies, The Devil You Say and Strong Spirits, both set in Depression-era London. And a historical novel, The Abortionist’s Daughter. It’s about a young woman trying to reinvent herself after a tremendous family scandal. She becomes an actress, but unforeseen events cause her to ask her father for help.
My main interests are movies from 1900-1970, spending way too much time on Twitter, my husband and my dog. I live in New York City.