You heard me! We have a new Temptation here at DT, and I'd like to introduce her to you. I had the privilege of rec'ing her story on Monday, and she's agreed to do a small interview for us so you can get to know her better.
Please welcome...
We're so very excited to have her on board, and we're sure she'll fit right in here with the rest of us Ladies of the Dark. Now, check out her interview below for her story Unloved Unwanted. If you haven't read it yet, run over and do that immediately. It's so very good.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I think the biggest thing to say about me is I’m a mom of six kids under the age of nine – two
biological and four adopted. I actually have a seventh one that claims me – she came to my
house and wouldn’t leave (SMILE). She now lives on her own. I’m a social worker by trade
and have worked with high risk kids for years. I also have a wonderful husband that puts up with
my Twilight addiction.
I am a little radical at times, but I have a strong sense of loyalty. While my first stories were
very canon, I’ve very much enjoyed journeying into more divergent realms.
I am also totally humbled that anyone takes the time to read my stuff.
How did you come about writing this story?
I was coming to the end of my very canon story, Harvest Moon, and really desired to spread
my wings. I wanted to do something different, and to be honest there were several things in
the story line in New Moon that I couldn’t equate with reality. Bella is eighteen in the story
and had effectively had her heart ripped apart twice within months. Even though Mrs. Meyers
does a great job of showing her depression, I just couldn’t see most eighteen years old holding it
together so well. I wouldn’t have. I wondered what would have happened if Bella had snapped a
little.
One of my betas, Hopeforastalemate, encouraged me to think about a totally different alternative
world, and so I began to think about what just might have happened if all the supernatural forces
in Bella’s life had reacted just a tad differently.
You have painted a very unique and different picture with the Volturi. What made you
decide to portray them in the way you did?
I found it odd to consider that Carlisle would have lived with the Volturi for several decades
if they were solely the malevolent creatures presented in Breaking Dawn. As I considered the
Volturi, the image that I saw was the monarchies of times past….families and individuals full of
intrigue, passion, deception, manipulation, love, caring, and loyalty, ie…all the things that make
up a good story. It was in this way that I could see individuals that Carlisle would have given
many years of his existence and affection.
My beta crmcneill and I had a conversation about this very fact. Afterward he challenged me
to use my ideas about Bella and create a story where the readers would still very much sense
the manipulative nature of the Volturi, but would fall in love with them in spite of it. I think his
exact words were, “Want to know how to get April to write a story? Challenge her.”
What made you decide to do the divergence chapters?
One of the other visions I had of the monarchies of old was the sexual liaisons and liberation
that have been prevalent within royal families throughout history. I had to couch this in the
parameters set in the Twilight novels, meaning the idea of mating and how it is life-long for
vampires. I wasn’t willing to break the mating established in canon, but I wanted to expand it a
little…play with it. The Divergence chapters allow me to play with those ideas and throw in a
smattering of slash. The idea of two strong men…yum. The premise that something just might
have existed at least on Aro’s side for Carlisle came from a single line in Eclipse. Jane says, “It
was nice to meet you, Carlisle – I’d thought Aro was exaggerating.”
Which version of the story do your readers tend to enjoy more?
Honestly, it is really divided. Some readers can’t handle the more liberal Divergent chapters,
while others only like them. In addition, I have readers who are reading both. I think both
versions have interesting twists which are relevant to only that story line – this gives the readers
enough to carry on with both. I have two distinct betas working with me on these stories, and you
will see their fingerprints all over the final works.
Hopeforastalemate encourages me to fly free and try just about any idea out. She’s unfailingly
supported me on the fun that has become the Divergence chapters. Her favorite couple out of the
story would be a tie between Aro and Carlisle and Esme and Marcus. If you haven’t read the
UU Divergence story, don’t have a stroke; I didn’t break up Carlisle and Esme. This is a very
different Carlisle…that is all I’ll say. She has some amazing dark stories herself on this site.
Breaking…and The Arms of Darkness.
Crmcneill is my more canon beta. He began working me around twenty chapters into Harvest
Moon, and has helped me shape some of my more interesting and unexpected twists, including
plotting the Volturi's moves and Henry's hidden gift in HM, and the resurrection of Didyme in
UU. He growls at the idea of slash or breaking up canon couples…and I’ve had to convince him
that just possibly…just maybe…Felix and Jane could have loved each other but still remained
apart. We have IM screaming matches where I have something I want to do in my story and he
explains to me why it wouldn't work. Of course, he is also excellent at finding alternatives and
compromises that satisfy my creativity and his desire to adhere to the canon.
Is it hard to write two versions of your story?
Yes, very much so. I’ve had to be very careful to document everything on my story lines so
that I don’t confuse the stories. Having said that, however, I’ve found myself writing the wrong
lines a time or two. This is where having two betas comes in handy, when I start talking about
something I want to include in the story, and they say, "Wait, when did that happen?"
What is some of your favorite FF stories?
I’m pretty eclectic actually - of course all the usual favs – Masters of the Universe, A Coming
of Age, The Training…
I have to admit though; I’ve fallen out of reading many fics lately. I’ve been so busy with
writing and betaing that I haven’t had much time. I’m enjoying a new fic I’m working with
called Between Pleasure and Pain. It has a dominant but torn Carlisle, although he isn’t
the focus on the story. Thankfully, the author SadTomato is doing some outtakes with his
perspective.
Who is your favorite author?
Aargh…I’m going to reveal my inner geek – not fair. Dante, Darwin, Machiavelli. Many of
their theories and ideas found their way into Harvest Moon. Homer…Plato and some of the
others.
Okay – enough or I’m going to get kicked off this website.
Do you have any advice to those who are just starting out in the FF world?
Don’t give up, and don’t allow the amount of reviews (or lack thereof) to affect your confidence.
Also, my betas have bolstered me many times when I felt like giving up, so my best suggestion is
find a good beta and group of supporters and hang on to them as hard as possible.
Also, don’t get too hung up on contests. Often, they are just popularity contests, and although
well written stories do win, that is not always the case. Write because you love it…not because
you expect to win something.
Do you have any plans to write any more dark stories? If so, please share some details!
Hm… Yes. It would be a Jasper and Bella story, but not a romantic one.
The premise would be that Jasper left the Cullens after the mess of her birthday
party…questioning his worth. They meet unexpectedly and Jasper is remarkably cruel to her.
My premise on Jasper would be the internal struggle of the man he is…his history…and his
continued blood lust. How he does not feel he is “good enough” of the life the Cullens live or
his mate Alice.
Bella’s life has taken a very dark twist…in that when she was left in the woods she fell into
the hands of some unsavory characters who abuse her, leaving her with many scars both
emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
I know a ton of stories have played with the idea…but I don’t want to cross the lines sexually
with them – like most. I want to play with their emotions and history to show a healing. It
would not mean though that all is roses in the end, and truly I don’t even know at this point that
I would bring the Cullens back. If I did…it may be too late. I see Jasper healing with Bella’s
interference, but Bella will have many secrets that Jasper never figures out.
I want to play on the emotions and psychological struggle between them.
It is really just a brief outline right now. I have to finish up the two Unloved Unwanted stories,
and Full Moon Rising (my sequel to Harvest Moon) before I even begin to think about starting
another story.
Again, we'd like to thank content1 for taking a risk on us crazy girls and jumping right in with us. You'll see more of her to come in a few weeks, and we excited to see what dark mischief she can come up with. We know it'll be great!
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