Note from Kitty: Wlfgrrl does some fab picmanips, here's the link to the one she sent to cheer me up. It worked! Click On Me!
Howdy! I'm Wlfgrrl ('she who runs with the wolves!'...no, that's
a lie...more like 'she who kicks back with the pack'...really can't be
bothered with all of that running/jogging/getty sweaty crap.)(I can think
of FAR better ways of getting sweaty! <wink> hehehe) Ooops...it's
happened already...ah well, I give you a belated warning...I am 'Queen
of the Nonsensical Tangent'..."parenthesi" (new word for the day!) are
my close and personal friends (yes I'm a sad, sad individual who really
needs more of a social life)...I would be lost with out them (whilst you
are now probably lost as a *result* of them) Now...where were we?
Ah yes, the 411. I hail (as well as perform various other
greetings and salutations) from New England on the east coast of the US...bit
over half an hour north-ish of Boston. (And LOVE the fact that "Faith"...and
Eliza!...are from here! <grin>). I've also lived in Alaska
(gorgeous place..everyone should see it at least once in their lifetime!),
St. Louis, California, Texas..but I *always* come back to New England.
No other place "feels" right. Love that Atlantic ocean! *s
I'm a freelance photographer and also dabble in various artsy mediums.
Spent some time in the military, was medically retired and thus, the gov't
was kind enough to fund my happy days at University! (Thank you Uncle
Sam!...and all you tax payers out there! <wink>) I've a degree
in Fine Art and minors (in various stages of completion) in: Art History,
Women's Studies and Comparative Religions. Loved, loved, LOVED Uni!!
I think I'll always be a perpetual student (rest easy tax payers, 'Unca
Sam' stopped paying with the first degree. Which explains why the minors
are not all finished... Bloody expensive it is! <wink>)
The Fiction writing 'thang'? Well...I sorta stumbled my way back
into it. I'd always *loved* writing stories as a kid...occupied
a huge chunk of my formative years. Then, around age 10/11-ish,
I ran into (not literally, tho' I wish I had) a bitter and rather malicious
English teacher who seemed to derive great pleasure from humiliating his
students. There came 2 days when it was my turn. I was an
*extremely* shy kid and he decided to mortify and tear me and my writing
down in front of the entire class. As a result I stopped writing
entirely. It was only last year that I finally decided to try it
again. Reminds me of a quote: "A teacher affects eternity; he can
never tell where his influence stops" Well that bastard's "influence"
brought all of my writing enjoyment to a screeching halt and I've only
just recovered it. 'Nother quote for ya's (I'm a quote whore...I
admit it <wink>), this one by Robert Burton: "A blow with
a word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword." Too many people forget
that...and a few twisted individuals bank on it. Okies, I'll "shush
with the bitter" now...but let's conclude the "tirady" stuff with a little
levity, courtesy of Eric Idle, "Sticks and stones may break my bones,
but words will make me go in a corner and cry by myself for hours." LOL
Now...FanFic: Like many, I stumbled across it on the 'net as I was
looking for BtVS sites. The very first one I read was:
Pat Kelly's "Summer Friendship" series which can be found here:
http://www.altfic.com/subtextfic/buffy/pat/summerfriendship1_4.htm
Pat is a *phenomenal* writer, I was utterly hooked and spent an entire
weekend stuffing my brain with his captivating Faith stories. (If you've
not read his stuff then "hie y'self" over there post hastily and read
it!!)
As you may have guessed by now, I'd fallen head over proverbial heels
for the character of Faith on BtVS (I am totally "fangirl" when it comes
to her...as well for the Goddess, Eliza Dushku...there are not words enough
to praise her.) And when Faith was written out of the show I was
rather bereft, to say the least. So discovering FanFic that *focused*
on her...oh my...I'd found heaven!<wink> After the "brainfest"
with Pat's stories, I began tearing through every archive I could I find,
a genuine fic-readin' frenzy! <wink>...then I came upon:
Dreiser's, "It Starts With Faith" series: http://www.oocities.org/dreiserfic/dreiser.htm
Another astounding literary effort! This is a novel sized, on-going
work and Dreiser is an incredibly gifted storyteller. Check it out
if you haven't already. (Also highly recommend "Neither Angel's
Nor Demons" which can also be found on the page posted...just scroll down!
*s)
Well, these fics prompted my "creative juices" to start bubbling again.
But I was still reluctant about having a go at it. Then the clincher:
Liz Estrada's "The Way, Way Back" http://www.altfic.com/subtextfic/buffy/estrada/thewaywayback1.htm
I recommend this Fic to *everyone.* It's a thoroughly engaging story,
one of the best Faith characterizations ever, it's funny, passionate,
heartbreaking and triumphant all at the same time! Some are reluctant
to read it because it deals with Faith/Kate...it seems that lots of folks
don't like Kate. Give her a chance in this one..you might just change
your mind. *s
During my time of seeking out gems like those mentioned above, I also
encountered a *lot* of ...ermmm...not-so-well-written Fic. The central
ideas would be good but the writing ability just wasn't up to snuff, and
things weren't properly "fleshed out" as it were. I'd get a tad
frustrated about it and have those vague thoughts of, "I could do better
than that." So finally, I put my proverbial "money where my mouth
is," made the leap and wrote my first work of fiction in nearly
20 years. It was written in one night, almost a whim really...I've
bouts of insomnia that I deal with on a regular basis so I figured I'd
make use of the time. What the hell, it would either be worth the
time given it or a lesson to forget about any delusions of acceptable
writing ability. LOL At any rate, the story was "Everest" and you can
find it either at "Wicked and Divine" http://www.envy.nu/wickeddivine/
(a FAB site!! Loads of Fics and other great content!) or here:
http://www.oocities.org/wlfgrrl/Index2.html
I received some very generous feedback and that went a looooong way to
getting me over my writing phobias. Still took me a few month's
to try it again though! LOL Valentine's Day was approaching and
Syrenslure posted a Fic Challenge (Check out Syrenslure's site:
http://buffyfaith.cjb.net/ it too
is very well done and has some great fics, as well some fab 'writing resource'
stuff! *s) I liked the parameters of the challenge and once again
decided to have a go... Thus "Reflections" was born, another "crunch"
effort...aka "a one nighter." I've discovered that I write "better"
if I have a deadline. Guess I need to find an editor or something
to keep me going at it. <wink> Again, you can find "Reflections"
at either Wicked and Divine or here:
http://www.oocities.org/wlfgrrl/reflections.html
Once more, people on the mailing lists were SO generous with their feedback
and *they* are the ones who've given me back my confidence and pure enjoyment
of the writing process. Feedback is a wondrous thing...it can often
"make or break" an author's belief in his/her abilities. Please,
if you are on any of the lists...let the writer's know what you think...but
no mean stuff, 'kay. <wink> Another cool result of answering
the challenge...I won an award! <grin> But I've a suspicion
that it may have been influenced by me being the *only* one who answered
the challenge. LOL <wink> Ah well...I still cherish it! :-)
Not long after that a family health crises popped up and I'd simply not
had the time to try writing more stories. The only things I wrote
during that time were two poems. I've said it before, I'll say it
again: I make no claim of being a poet, in any way, shape or form.
These had just been dancing about in my head so I decided to write them
down. If you'd like to check them out, they're here:
http://www.oocities.org/wlfgrrl/poems.html
The first one, "Wasteland," attempted to draw on my experiences in Alaska
and meeting the Inuit people, quite a number of whom live in the frozen
north. The stories of life on the ice floes, how it can come down
to a battle/race of "Man against Environment"...just occurred to me as
a good metaphor for Faith at certain points in her life. It's the
only "darkish" thing I've written thus far. The other, "Moonchild,"
is a fluffy, silly romantic thang...a waste of internet space really.
LOL But what the hell, I put it up anyway. <wink>
My greatest inspiration these days are the stories of Sway Slayer. She's
a prodigious talent so go check out her stuff, ASAP!
Miss Kitty's stories have also become faves of mine, so be sure to check those out as well...and I'm NOT just sucking up! As for me, I *finally* had the time recently to sit down and pop out another story (tho' technically I think it falls under the poem category). Sam, the Vampyre Koala, <*waves> posted a Halloween challenge to bring the Buffyverse and that of Edgar Allan Poe's, "The Raven" together. I'm a wicked big Poe fan so I couldn't resist!
Here's the link if you're interested: http://www.oocities.org/wlfgrrl/theslayer.html
As a "writer" I'm rather drawn to the romantic side of the Chosen Two;
perhaps because Joss has been an evil bastard and given us only subtext
and no Smoochies!! So, I want to help 'em out in that department...least
I can do after all of the enjoyment they've brought into *my* life! <wink>
I enjoy angst and action as well but so far I've not written any.
I do have ideas though! LOL I can be rather contradictory
at times so I think I've got it in my to attempt it. A friend had
once described me as "The most morbidly optimistic person she knew." LOL
It does fit though...perhaps it's one of those astrology things.
Though my sun sign is Aries, I have a planet in every house of the Zodiac...no
wonder I've got that opposition thang going on! LOL <wink>
Well, I'm sure I've rambled on WAY more than enough so here endeth the
bio of Wlfgrrl. Thank you for reading! :-)
~¤~ Wlfgrrl ~n~ ...Proud Keeper of Faith's Southie Accent, the Wizard
of Wicked, Duchess of Diction Subversion, High Regent of Ramble, Head
of Quality Control for the Fermented Grape and Seeker of the Secret to
Succinctness.