Final Editor's Choice Interview for January
Whew! Just in under the deadline too!
bryonyraven wrote a Storybook which is a wonderful piece of writing.
Please take a moment to read all about her.
Interview with bryonyraven
Madam Minnie, Simon's Flower, and I had to be very careful in luring our next interview subject to meet us. Her husband, Galen2112, is being a bit overprotective. Our final editor's choice author is none other than bryonyraven.
She's well known for her love of all things Neville, her wonderful writing skills, and she's an expectant mother. Who can blame Galen 2112 for being overprotective?
I had a distinct advantage with this interview subject. She spent several days at my home this summer and I knew the prospect of a bit of decaf coffee would lure her to my home again.
Madam Minnie, Simon's Flower, and I were sitting in the "mission center" also known as my dinning room, chatting with each other on YIM, and waiting for bryonyraven to arrive. A copy of our conversation has been reproduced here to illustrate our wicked plans for the lovely bryonyraven.
Annie: Did you arrange the Portkey?
Simon's_Flower: Of course. I'm nothing if not efficient.
Madam_Minnie: Don't you think Galen2112 will be annoyed with us for sending her to Hogwarts?
Annie: Don't you think she deserves a bit of time with Neville?
Simon's_Flower: He mentioned something about mud.
Madam_Minnie: *whimpers *
We heard a car pulling into my gravel driveway and the three of us shut our laptops and rushed to the door. bryonyraven climbed out of the car and she was holding three bottles barbeque sauce.
"I brought you a gift!" she smiled and grabbed her overnight bag from the car. "Annie, I like what you did with the flower beds and why do you still have your Christmas lights up?"
"Come on in." I held the door open for her. "Let me grab your coat."
I took her coat and she glanced around the house. "You've got new coffee mugs."
Madam Minnie headed for the coffee maker that held a freshly brewed pot of decaf. She poured bryonyraven a cup and Simon's Flower rolled her eyes
"Sure she'll be bryonyraven's coffee bitch but God forbid she get us a cup of coffee too."
"Shut. Up. You." Madam Minnie grinned as we all refilled our coffee mugs.
We settled into our seats and I cut us each a piece of Death by Chocolate cake. We spent a bit of time catching up on each other's lives and finally Simon's Flower pulled out her laptop.
I took a sip of my coffee and bryonyraven grinned as I gave a happy little sigh.
"We have a surprise for you but we want to get this interview out of the way," Madam Minnie said, a wicked smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "So let's get cracking."
I pulled out two copies of the interview questions and handed one of them to Madam Minnie.
Madam Minnie's cell phone rang, interrupting my asking of the first question, and I arched my eyebrow at her.
"Oh bloody hell!" she exclaimed. "It's Galen!"
bryonyraven calmly took the phone from her hands and answered it, "Honey, we're really busy plotting right now. Yes, there will be smut if you leave us be. No, I'll be home tomorrow." She paused. "Yes, I'm taking my vitamins and no, Madam Minnie is not as good of a coffee bitch as you."
She hung up the phone and we all sighed, "Men."
She sipped her decaf and smiled. "All right! Let the interrogation begin because I want my surprise!"
I grinned. "When did you become involved in the Harry Potter fandom and what drew you to begin writing about the characters?"
"I first got involved in the fandom back in 2003, just before OotP was released. I'd read the first book, then seen the first two movies, which then got me to read the rest of the books. My husband was web-surfing soon after and found Fiction Alley Park and basically dared me to write something, which was how I got started writing fan fiction. Basically, you can blame everything I've done thus far in the fandom on my husband, because I wouldn't be here otherwise!" bryonyraven said before taking another sip of her coffee.
"Oh we blame Galen2112 for everything!" I raised my eyebrow. "Except for the way you tortured your woobie in the Dungeon. That was all you."
Simon's Flower looked up from her laptop and smirked, "We even blame him for getting you knocked up."
"Yes, well I already told him that he better plan on handling my needle fear," bryonyraven shuddered. "If I break his hand it's not my fault!"
Madam Minnie scanned the questions and asked the next one. "Outside the Harry Potter world, what is your favorite movie? "
I could hear Simon's Flower's fingers hitting the keys as she typed up bryonyraven's answer. She read it back to us a moment later to make sure she got it right.
"Too many to list! I love pretty much anything with sword fighting. I like dramas and action adventure. I'm not that big on romance or romantic comedy, oddly enough. If I had to choose, though, I'd probably say 'Titanic'. I never grow tired of watching that one! Or 'Aliens'. That one's another fave."
"That sounds right," bryonyraven smiled. "Of course I like when Annie got Galen2112 to watch Phantom of the Opera and admit that he liked it."
I smirked, "That was brilliant wasn't it! Honestly, I've never heard a man whine quite that much about watching something he really enjoyed." I paused before asking the next question. I already knew the answer but when Simon's Flower read bryonyraven's answer back I couldn't help but grin.
"Annie asked, 'Which Harry Potter character is your favorite and why?'" Simon's Flower paused to take a drink of her coffee. "You answered: 'My favorite character is Neville Longbottom, and has been since the first book. Nearly all of my favorite scenes in the series include him. I tend to identify rather strongly with him: he's very introverted and shy; he had a rather conservative, traditional upbringing; he's teased and picked on and it seems as though he's always on the fringes, on the outside looking in, and that reflects my own childhood in a lot of ways. We both have an interest in plants, though I have no skill in growing them! I just like reading about their medicinal uses and folkloric symbology.
"'I also think Neville is a lot more capable than others give him credit for. He's got a quiet, internal strength, a determination and a resiliency about him that I find really admirable. No matter how much you knock him down, he always gets back up again. I also admire the fact that he's so good-natured and agreeable despite his own personal tragedies and the way he's been treated by other professors and classmates. A lot of people would have turned bitter, but he hasn't. He just seems to become sweeter and stronger and more likeable with each book!'"
Simon's Flower took a deep breath and cracked her neck a couple of times. She finished off her coffee and Madam Minnie giggled a she asked the next question.
"What song should be Neville's theme song?"
I stood up to refill everyone's coffee mug and I glared at Madam Minnie. "You really stink as a coffee bitch."
bryonyraven giggled and answered, "Oh geez, I suck at these questions. 'It's Not Easy Being Green'?"
We all laughed and I called out as I refilled the coffee mugs, "What is your favorite HP book and why?"
I carried the mugs back to the table and peered over Simon's Flower's shoulder as she was typing up the answer.
"My favorite book was 'Order of the Phoenix', hands down. I know a lot of people thought it dragged in spots, and occasionally that was true (I skip over the Grawp subplot, myself whenever I reread); but at the same time it introduced interesting characters such as Luna and Tonks, and by the end of the book supporting characters like Neville and Ginny were more complete and well-rounded, characterization-wise. They weren't just there in the background, they became people. Plus, the gum-wrapper scene along with the Battle at the Ministry of Magic are some of my favorites in the entire series."
I motioned that Madam Minnie should come over we stared at Simon's Flower's computer screen.
"Why," I asked. "In the name of god do you have all those colors on there?"
"Shut up," Simon's Flower muttered and highlighted a bit more text. "You two are messing up my system."
We rubbed her short hair for luck before sitting back down. Madam Minnie pouted for a moment as she scanned her list.
"I'm not that bad of a coffee bitch," she muttered. "I'm really not!"
"Well you're no Galen2112," I grinned. "He kept bryonyraven and I stocked on coffee and he cooked."
"I can cook!" Madam Minnie pouted. "Fine, never mind, bryonyraven, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?"
"One, two-hoo…*crunch*…three. *hands over Tootsie Pop* Three. Actually, the one time I actually bothered to count, I think it was somewhere around 100."
"Finally!" Madam Minnie did a little victory dance in her chair. "An answer!"
Simon's Flower and I giggled and I scanned my list for the next question.
"If you could choose Harry's fate, what would you choose for him and why?"
bryonyraven answered and she smiled happily when Simon's Flower read it back to us.
"'Harry would defeat Voldemort with the help of his friends, still manage to get all the necessary NEWTs so he could become an Auror, and eventually become the head of the MLES. I don't think he'd make a good Minister for Magic, but he'd do well in law enforcement.
"'Eventually he'd fall in love with a nice girl and get married and have children, because that's what heroes in children's books do. At the end of the day, it's still a series of children's books.
"'However, if I had any say in it, he'd defeat Voldemort, marry anyone but Ginny, and live a quiet life in the English countryside for a few years, maybe do some traveling. Basically, spend time having fun. I think he's entitled to a bit of peace and quiet after everything else he's been through. He'd visit with Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Luna and his other friends, but he'd do a bit of living first before really settling down.'"
"What color did you make that answer?" I giggled as Simon's Flower extended her middle finger at me. "Our little Hermione."
Madam Minnie sipped her coffee and cut another piece of cake for each of us. She studied her list for a moment and asked, "What is the most shocking moment in the Harry Potter series?"
bryonyraven sipped her coffee before answering, "Dumbledore's death. Not so much that he died, because I figured he would, sooner or later in the series. What shocked me was the manner of his death. I totally didn't see that coming."
"Snape's innocent," Madam Minnie muttered and glared at us. "There I said his name! Ha! I win!"
I giggled and rolled my eyes. "If there was one thing you could ask JKR, what would it be?"
"Well, Harry's pretty much guaranteed a happy ending in my opinion, so I'd probably ask for some sort of reassurance that Neville would have one as well! I desperately hope he'll survive the series and would be devastated if he didn't!" she said.
"You do love your Neville." I winked at Simon's Flower. "You're so mean to him though."
"You're mean to Ron," she shook her finger at me. "Plus you wouldn't let Susan take advantage of him."
"No touchie!" Madam Minnie and Simon's Flower said in unison. "No touchie! Harry and Hermione's!"
bryonyraven laughed and Madam Minnie asked the our next question. Simon's Flower typed away and grinned when she looked up.
"Madam Minnie asked: 'What inspires you to write?'" She paused and waggled her eyebrows. "This was your answer: 'Something will catch my imagination. It can be a phrase, a quote, a song lyric, and a picture, something that grabs me and doesn't let go. Usually I'll get an accompanying mental image, and I'll go from there. On the other hand, deadlines work well, too. Sometimes, especially if the plotbunny gods aren't being kind, there's nothing like a looming deadline to force one's imagination into action!'"
"That's a bit frightening after reading your Lucius/Hermione story," I grinned. "What do you and Galen2112 get up to at home?" I grinned again when bryonyraven blushed. "Okay, You're at Hogwarts and are looking for a place to snog/shag. Which character would you want to be with and where?"
Madam Minnie waggled her eyebrows and we waited for bryonyraven to answer. She winked at the three of us and grinned, "With Neville, in one of the greenhouses, of course! You know he'd be an extremely attentive lover!"
Simon's Flower shut her laptop and grinned, "Everyone put your hand on my laptop for a moment." She paused. "Oh, bryonyraven, do you love us?"
"This is a trick question, right? Of course I love all three of you! Though, um, I might love my husband and Neville more…"
We felt the tug of the Portkey as it activated and we appeared next to the greenhouse at Hogwarts.
"Odd you should say you love Neville more than us," Madam Minnie grinned and pointed as Neville came towards us.
"I…I...I…" bryonyraven stuttered.
"You've got three hours," Simon's Flower whispered as Neville arrived. "Make use of them."
Neville took her hand, kissed the back of it, and winked at us. " bryonyraven, I've heard mud is really good for your skin."
bryonyraven whimpered as Neville lead her towards the green house. Simon's Flower, Madam Minnie, and I grinned at each other.
"Three hours is enough time," I smirked as I backed away. "To find Ron."
I took off at a run across the grounds with Madam Minnie and Simon's Flower chasing me.
He will be mine this time…Oh yes…He will be mine.
bryonyraven wrote a Storybook which is a wonderful piece of writing.
Please take a moment to read all about her.
Interview with bryonyraven
Madam Minnie, Simon's Flower, and I had to be very careful in luring our next interview subject to meet us. Her husband, Galen2112, is being a bit overprotective. Our final editor's choice author is none other than bryonyraven.
She's well known for her love of all things Neville, her wonderful writing skills, and she's an expectant mother. Who can blame Galen 2112 for being overprotective?
I had a distinct advantage with this interview subject. She spent several days at my home this summer and I knew the prospect of a bit of decaf coffee would lure her to my home again.
Madam Minnie, Simon's Flower, and I were sitting in the "mission center" also known as my dinning room, chatting with each other on YIM, and waiting for bryonyraven to arrive. A copy of our conversation has been reproduced here to illustrate our wicked plans for the lovely bryonyraven.
Annie: Did you arrange the Portkey?
Simon's_Flower: Of course. I'm nothing if not efficient.
Madam_Minnie: Don't you think Galen2112 will be annoyed with us for sending her to Hogwarts?
Annie: Don't you think she deserves a bit of time with Neville?
Simon's_Flower: He mentioned something about mud.
Madam_Minnie: *whimpers *
We heard a car pulling into my gravel driveway and the three of us shut our laptops and rushed to the door. bryonyraven climbed out of the car and she was holding three bottles barbeque sauce.
"I brought you a gift!" she smiled and grabbed her overnight bag from the car. "Annie, I like what you did with the flower beds and why do you still have your Christmas lights up?"
"Come on in." I held the door open for her. "Let me grab your coat."
I took her coat and she glanced around the house. "You've got new coffee mugs."
Madam Minnie headed for the coffee maker that held a freshly brewed pot of decaf. She poured bryonyraven a cup and Simon's Flower rolled her eyes
"Sure she'll be bryonyraven's coffee bitch but God forbid she get us a cup of coffee too."
"Shut. Up. You." Madam Minnie grinned as we all refilled our coffee mugs.
We settled into our seats and I cut us each a piece of Death by Chocolate cake. We spent a bit of time catching up on each other's lives and finally Simon's Flower pulled out her laptop.
I took a sip of my coffee and bryonyraven grinned as I gave a happy little sigh.
"We have a surprise for you but we want to get this interview out of the way," Madam Minnie said, a wicked smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "So let's get cracking."
I pulled out two copies of the interview questions and handed one of them to Madam Minnie.
Madam Minnie's cell phone rang, interrupting my asking of the first question, and I arched my eyebrow at her.
"Oh bloody hell!" she exclaimed. "It's Galen!"
bryonyraven calmly took the phone from her hands and answered it, "Honey, we're really busy plotting right now. Yes, there will be smut if you leave us be. No, I'll be home tomorrow." She paused. "Yes, I'm taking my vitamins and no, Madam Minnie is not as good of a coffee bitch as you."
She hung up the phone and we all sighed, "Men."
She sipped her decaf and smiled. "All right! Let the interrogation begin because I want my surprise!"
I grinned. "When did you become involved in the Harry Potter fandom and what drew you to begin writing about the characters?"
"I first got involved in the fandom back in 2003, just before OotP was released. I'd read the first book, then seen the first two movies, which then got me to read the rest of the books. My husband was web-surfing soon after and found Fiction Alley Park and basically dared me to write something, which was how I got started writing fan fiction. Basically, you can blame everything I've done thus far in the fandom on my husband, because I wouldn't be here otherwise!" bryonyraven said before taking another sip of her coffee.
"Oh we blame Galen2112 for everything!" I raised my eyebrow. "Except for the way you tortured your woobie in the Dungeon. That was all you."
Simon's Flower looked up from her laptop and smirked, "We even blame him for getting you knocked up."
"Yes, well I already told him that he better plan on handling my needle fear," bryonyraven shuddered. "If I break his hand it's not my fault!"
Madam Minnie scanned the questions and asked the next one. "Outside the Harry Potter world, what is your favorite movie? "
I could hear Simon's Flower's fingers hitting the keys as she typed up bryonyraven's answer. She read it back to us a moment later to make sure she got it right.
"Too many to list! I love pretty much anything with sword fighting. I like dramas and action adventure. I'm not that big on romance or romantic comedy, oddly enough. If I had to choose, though, I'd probably say 'Titanic'. I never grow tired of watching that one! Or 'Aliens'. That one's another fave."
"That sounds right," bryonyraven smiled. "Of course I like when Annie got Galen2112 to watch Phantom of the Opera and admit that he liked it."
I smirked, "That was brilliant wasn't it! Honestly, I've never heard a man whine quite that much about watching something he really enjoyed." I paused before asking the next question. I already knew the answer but when Simon's Flower read bryonyraven's answer back I couldn't help but grin.
"Annie asked, 'Which Harry Potter character is your favorite and why?'" Simon's Flower paused to take a drink of her coffee. "You answered: 'My favorite character is Neville Longbottom, and has been since the first book. Nearly all of my favorite scenes in the series include him. I tend to identify rather strongly with him: he's very introverted and shy; he had a rather conservative, traditional upbringing; he's teased and picked on and it seems as though he's always on the fringes, on the outside looking in, and that reflects my own childhood in a lot of ways. We both have an interest in plants, though I have no skill in growing them! I just like reading about their medicinal uses and folkloric symbology.
"'I also think Neville is a lot more capable than others give him credit for. He's got a quiet, internal strength, a determination and a resiliency about him that I find really admirable. No matter how much you knock him down, he always gets back up again. I also admire the fact that he's so good-natured and agreeable despite his own personal tragedies and the way he's been treated by other professors and classmates. A lot of people would have turned bitter, but he hasn't. He just seems to become sweeter and stronger and more likeable with each book!'"
Simon's Flower took a deep breath and cracked her neck a couple of times. She finished off her coffee and Madam Minnie giggled a she asked the next question.
"What song should be Neville's theme song?"
I stood up to refill everyone's coffee mug and I glared at Madam Minnie. "You really stink as a coffee bitch."
bryonyraven giggled and answered, "Oh geez, I suck at these questions. 'It's Not Easy Being Green'?"
We all laughed and I called out as I refilled the coffee mugs, "What is your favorite HP book and why?"
I carried the mugs back to the table and peered over Simon's Flower's shoulder as she was typing up the answer.
"My favorite book was 'Order of the Phoenix', hands down. I know a lot of people thought it dragged in spots, and occasionally that was true (I skip over the Grawp subplot, myself whenever I reread); but at the same time it introduced interesting characters such as Luna and Tonks, and by the end of the book supporting characters like Neville and Ginny were more complete and well-rounded, characterization-wise. They weren't just there in the background, they became people. Plus, the gum-wrapper scene along with the Battle at the Ministry of Magic are some of my favorites in the entire series."
I motioned that Madam Minnie should come over we stared at Simon's Flower's computer screen.
"Why," I asked. "In the name of god do you have all those colors on there?"
"Shut up," Simon's Flower muttered and highlighted a bit more text. "You two are messing up my system."
We rubbed her short hair for luck before sitting back down. Madam Minnie pouted for a moment as she scanned her list.
"I'm not that bad of a coffee bitch," she muttered. "I'm really not!"
"Well you're no Galen2112," I grinned. "He kept bryonyraven and I stocked on coffee and he cooked."
"I can cook!" Madam Minnie pouted. "Fine, never mind, bryonyraven, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?"
"One, two-hoo…*crunch*…three. *hands over Tootsie Pop* Three. Actually, the one time I actually bothered to count, I think it was somewhere around 100."
"Finally!" Madam Minnie did a little victory dance in her chair. "An answer!"
Simon's Flower and I giggled and I scanned my list for the next question.
"If you could choose Harry's fate, what would you choose for him and why?"
bryonyraven answered and she smiled happily when Simon's Flower read it back to us.
"'Harry would defeat Voldemort with the help of his friends, still manage to get all the necessary NEWTs so he could become an Auror, and eventually become the head of the MLES. I don't think he'd make a good Minister for Magic, but he'd do well in law enforcement.
"'Eventually he'd fall in love with a nice girl and get married and have children, because that's what heroes in children's books do. At the end of the day, it's still a series of children's books.
"'However, if I had any say in it, he'd defeat Voldemort, marry anyone but Ginny, and live a quiet life in the English countryside for a few years, maybe do some traveling. Basically, spend time having fun. I think he's entitled to a bit of peace and quiet after everything else he's been through. He'd visit with Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Luna and his other friends, but he'd do a bit of living first before really settling down.'"
"What color did you make that answer?" I giggled as Simon's Flower extended her middle finger at me. "Our little Hermione."
Madam Minnie sipped her coffee and cut another piece of cake for each of us. She studied her list for a moment and asked, "What is the most shocking moment in the Harry Potter series?"
bryonyraven sipped her coffee before answering, "Dumbledore's death. Not so much that he died, because I figured he would, sooner or later in the series. What shocked me was the manner of his death. I totally didn't see that coming."
"Snape's innocent," Madam Minnie muttered and glared at us. "There I said his name! Ha! I win!"
I giggled and rolled my eyes. "If there was one thing you could ask JKR, what would it be?"
"Well, Harry's pretty much guaranteed a happy ending in my opinion, so I'd probably ask for some sort of reassurance that Neville would have one as well! I desperately hope he'll survive the series and would be devastated if he didn't!" she said.
"You do love your Neville." I winked at Simon's Flower. "You're so mean to him though."
"You're mean to Ron," she shook her finger at me. "Plus you wouldn't let Susan take advantage of him."
"No touchie!" Madam Minnie and Simon's Flower said in unison. "No touchie! Harry and Hermione's!"
bryonyraven laughed and Madam Minnie asked the our next question. Simon's Flower typed away and grinned when she looked up.
"Madam Minnie asked: 'What inspires you to write?'" She paused and waggled her eyebrows. "This was your answer: 'Something will catch my imagination. It can be a phrase, a quote, a song lyric, and a picture, something that grabs me and doesn't let go. Usually I'll get an accompanying mental image, and I'll go from there. On the other hand, deadlines work well, too. Sometimes, especially if the plotbunny gods aren't being kind, there's nothing like a looming deadline to force one's imagination into action!'"
"That's a bit frightening after reading your Lucius/Hermione story," I grinned. "What do you and Galen2112 get up to at home?" I grinned again when bryonyraven blushed. "Okay, You're at Hogwarts and are looking for a place to snog/shag. Which character would you want to be with and where?"
Madam Minnie waggled her eyebrows and we waited for bryonyraven to answer. She winked at the three of us and grinned, "With Neville, in one of the greenhouses, of course! You know he'd be an extremely attentive lover!"
Simon's Flower shut her laptop and grinned, "Everyone put your hand on my laptop for a moment." She paused. "Oh, bryonyraven, do you love us?"
"This is a trick question, right? Of course I love all three of you! Though, um, I might love my husband and Neville more…"
We felt the tug of the Portkey as it activated and we appeared next to the greenhouse at Hogwarts.
"Odd you should say you love Neville more than us," Madam Minnie grinned and pointed as Neville came towards us.
"I…I...I…" bryonyraven stuttered.
"You've got three hours," Simon's Flower whispered as Neville arrived. "Make use of them."
Neville took her hand, kissed the back of it, and winked at us. " bryonyraven, I've heard mud is really good for your skin."
bryonyraven whimpered as Neville lead her towards the green house. Simon's Flower, Madam Minnie, and I grinned at each other.
"Three hours is enough time," I smirked as I backed away. "To find Ron."
I took off at a run across the grounds with Madam Minnie and Simon's Flower chasing me.
He will be mine this time…Oh yes…He will be mine.