Karmen Ghia: What are you working on these days?

Wildcat: I'm trying to polish off the next installment in my Spock/Uhura universe. It's set in the STVI/Generations timeframe, and of course, there is a lot of territory to cover there. I'm also playing around with the story after that, which will feature Saavik.

KG: Excellent. I'm sorry for the mundane questions but how long have you been in Star Trek fandom?

W: I think that I originally got net access in the summer of 1997, and I stumbled across fanfiction shortly after that. I lurked for about six months before I found the nerve to actually write down a story that had been in my head since I was, oh, about twelve years old. Needless to say, even though the story had evolved a lot in the nearly thirty years I carried it around, it still reflected the thought processes of a twelve-year-old. Nevertheless, I was hooked. I've been writing ever since.

KG: Have you mainly stayed in TOS slash. Do you think that will continue or is the grass starting to look greener somewhere else? And if so, where?

W: I've stayed completely in TOS, although I've written both slash and het stories. My very first story featured Spock with an original female character, but after that I ventured into K/S. I stayed there for a while, but gradually I found myself more and more drawn to stories depicting a relationship between Spock and Uhura. Right now, I don't have much desire to leave that relationship, although I did post a Kirk/Khan story right before Christmas that was quite a departure for me.

KG: And was very well received on ASCEML, as I recall. You've got a way with slash. What was your earliest story?

W: As I mentioned above, it was a story about Spock with an original female character, titled "Time and Again." There were some pretty heavy Mary Sue elements that make me cringe, but there was also quite a bit in the story of which I'm proud. It contained some complex time-travel twists, and of course, it will always hold a fond place in my heart because it was first.

KG: Yes, I feel that way about _After The Rescue_, warts and all. How long have you been reading Slash?

W: I can't remember how long it took me to find a slash story. I think that the very first stories I found were het, although I remember one story in particular that had slash overtones. I don't have an inkling of when I found the first explicit slash story--I don't think that I was particularly surprised, because it evidently didn't make much of an impression.

KG: How much and how long were you reading slash before the 'hey-man-I-wanna-do-this!' light went on?

W: After about six months, I sat down one day and started typing like crazy. "Time and Again" came out almost exactly as it is now (although I've polished it quite a bit), and I fired it away to the newsgroup. I think that it was a few weeks afterward that I decided to try my hand at slash.

KG: Could you list as many as you can remember of the stories you read prior to writing your first story?

W: As I remember, there really wasn't much to be found at the time. I didn't know a methodical approach to finding webpages and archives, and I'd never heard of a newsgroup. So, I ran search after search after search. Then, I stumbled across Dejanews, and started searching that for every keyword I could imagine. I wish I could remember more of what I found early on, but one story in particular that sticks out in my memory is "Twenty Questions." I also found Greywolf's "Blues for Allah," in which Spock and Uhura get marooned after a shuttlecraft crash. Although I didn't go away from that story thinking, "Gee, Spock and Uhura would make a nice couple," I'm sure that the seeds must have been planted. Another story I found was, surprisingly, a slash F Troop story and yes, that one made me raise an eyebrow or two. The story that really made me sit up and take notice, though, was Killa's "Bitter Glass." That's still my favorite story ever, although Macedon's Salene series is a very close second. I'd recommend the Salene stories to anyone, even if you don't like DS9 and/or you don't like Jake Sisko.

KG: F Troop slash, eh? How did you decide to start writing what was in your head? What was your motivation?

W: It was as simple as thinking, "I'll bet that I can do this, too." But man, was my heart pounding when I started typing those first few sentences, and I almost fainted when I finally shipped it off to the newsgroup.

KG: I had Jane Skazki holding my cyber hand when I shipped my first story, so it less traumatic but probably not much. What writers, slash or otherwise, do you feel have influenced your slash writing?

W: Jungle Kitty has been a huge influence, not only because she's been one of my betas since very early on, but because I really like her writing. As I said earlier, Greywolf's story about Spock and Uhura must have started me thinking about that pairing, even though I didn't realize it at the time. The other writers I mentioned above, Killa and Macedon, were also big influences.

KG: In what ways, positive or negative, have these writers influenced you?

W: Oh, gee. So much of it is subconscious that I'm not sure I can pin it down. Jungle Kitty does excellent dialogue, and she really keeps a story moving along at a snappy pace. Dialogue has never been my strong point, and I definitely tend to bog down in long stories, so it's good to have her helping me with that. The thing I always loved the best about Killa's "Bitter Glass" was the way it portrayed the wonderful relationship between Kirk and Spock. At the end, when Spock comes to Kirk in the Nexus, it was the most satisfying moment I ever encountered in all of fanfic. The reader doesn't know what sort of relationship Kirk and Spock will have after that (sexual or not), but it doesn't matter. It absolutely doesn't matter. Spock's loyalty has transcended all, and what they do after that is completely irrelevant.

KG: Who is your favorite character in slash to write about? Read about? And why?

W: Spock! Spock! Spock! I've always loved Spock's character. He has internal conflicts, but they've never crippled him. He's not afraid to look inward, but yet the people closest to him are not privy to what goes on there. His reactions are subtle and nuanced, and while he expresses so much with the tiniest gesture, it's always open to interpretation. Through all the years, he continues to grow. The Spock of the episodes is not the Spock of the movies, and neither of those are the Spock of TNG. What a terrific character, and what a terrific actor.

KG: What pairings make you feel warm and cozy when you read and why? When you write them and why?

W: Kirk and Spock used to, when I both read and wrote them, although I'm finding that my interest in K/S is waning with time. I love to write Spock and Uhura, and I'm sure that if other people were writing them, I'd love to read it. Spock and Uhura always seemed so compatible, and I think that there's a strong basis in canon for a relationship between them. Jungle Kitty's Kirk/Brandt stories also induce a warm fuzzy feeling, simply because she's come up with the perfect match for Kirk, and her romantic stories are never sappy. Also, even though I've never really been able to watch Voyager, I enjoy about anything with Tuvok. He's such a great character, and I was always disappointed that nothing much was done with him in the few episodes I saw.

KG: Do you have some special technique for writing slash? Something that inspires you?

W: I like to think of real-life situations. Even in the most outlandish plot (traveling to multiple universes, for example), there's so much to be found in the responses of everyday people. That's one thing I always loved about the Trek characters--yes, they were heroic, and yes, they lived in exciting times, but underneath it all, they were always just like you and me. Even Spock.

KG: Have you written any K/S? Do you have any thoughts or feelings about K/S?

W: I've written some K/S. I used to just love it, but as time goes by, I'm not so fond of it anymore. I know that's rather heretical, and I'm not sure why it happened. It might be that Uhura simply supplanted Kirk in my mind. It might be that I got burned out on K/S. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that some of the more popular depictions of Kirk and Spock don't agree with the characters as I've always perceived them.

KG: I've pretty much burned out on reading K/S. I never wrote much in the first place because I simply couldn't find anything to say about it. Do you have any thoughts on the future of Slash on the Web?

W: Not really. The stories always seem to go in cycles--we'll see a lot of Voyager for a while, then we'll see a lot of K/S. For a while it seemed like there was a new Garak/Bashir story every time you turned around, but recently I haven't seen many. I'm not sure that the newer series and pairings will have the staying power of TOS and K/S, but then again, I'm biased.

KG: I have a feeling Chatokay/Paris might be with us for awhile. At least I hope so, they're interesting guys in slash. You once beta-ed a story for me and it was a wonderful learning experience on my side (I hope it was good for you, too) Do you work with a beta reader?

W: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I definitely did. It's always fun to see the way someone else's story evolves. I didn't work with a beta reader at first, but one of the few people who responded to my early stories was Jungle Kitty. It didn't take long for us to realize that we had a lot in common, and we developed a friendship that includes beta reading for each other. I've also had other wonderful beta readers, such as ebonbird and Suzie, as well as the occasional bit of feedback that had a huge impact on my writing. Brancher, in particular, comes to mind with that.

KG: What's the process for you two?

W: I've had two types of beta readers: one who wants to know where I'm going with the story, and one who wants to read it with no preconceptions. With the person who wants background, I generally start talking about the idea for the story before I write it. I'll send a rough draft with some - 'Kirk does whatever here' - in place of future sections, and I'll wait for comments. With the person who wants to read it with fresh eyes, I'll generally wait until I'm a little further along in the process and send a mostly-completed version with very little accompanying explanation. In either case, when I get back remarks, I'll participate in a discussion about each remark until I'm sure I understand. Then, I'll send back snippets of the story that I changed. Sometimes, I'll send the entire story again, but I generally don't do that unless it underwent massive changes.

KG: What is the motivation to write slash? One can't sell it; one can't even eat it.

W: It's fun! I've said on more than one occasion that if it isn't fun, something's not right. You want to challenge yourself to learn and grow, but the number one priority is having fun.

KG: You're very cool. Would you like to put your website address and URL here?:

W: Thanks! Here's my website:

http://members.tripod.com/~TSU_Campus/Wildcat.html

KG: What five stories would you recommend as an introduction to slash to someone just starting to read it?

W: This is a tough one. Definitely Killa's stories, probably "Turning Point." It wasn't my favorite of her stories, but if we're talking slash, that's a definite. Another would be Macedon's Salene series. Greywolf's "Blues" stories are good, although interestingly "Blues for Allah" (mentioned above) isn't part of this series. Jungle Kitty's K/S stories are terrific, even though she considers herself a het writer these days. I know that's just four, but there are a ton of great stories, and it would be hard to pick one more out of that group.

KG: What recommendations do you have for new slash writers?

W: Don't read too much slash before you start. It's so easy to be influenced by what other people write, and some of the freshest ideas have come from people who aren't simply emulating their favorite writers. Also, don't be afraid to be creative! Put a new twist on something. Even if your idea is one that's been done before (shuttlecraft crash, anyone?), find a way to make it new.

KG: Do you have any comments on the subject of writing and how it all starts and what it all leads to or any other subject?

W: I'm not an expert on writing. Up until my first fanfic, I hadn't really written creatively since seventh grade. Heck, one of my biggest mistakes was patting myself on the back when I tested out of English in college. I've found, though, that I've learned a lot as I've gone. I made (and still do) a lot of mistakes, but that's how you grow. One of the biggest things that has surprised me is how writing has forced me to reexamine my own beliefs. It's encouraged me to look at things differently, to observe, to listen, to keep an open mind. I think that it's really impacted all facets of my life. (Especially my amount of free time. )

KG: Yes, I've been impacted in the same area. Is there anyone you'd like to see interviewed here?

W: It would be good to hear from one of the new voices, such as jat Sapphire or Roisin.

KG: Thank you, Wildcat.

W: Thanks, Karmen! This was fun.

KG: For me, too.

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