AAAAH. So many questions! Thank you, Val! I will do my very best to answer them fully :3
1. Who's your favourite character in the series?
Of the major characters, Luna! She's strange and aloof, but she's fiercely brave and loyal. And I wanted her and Harry to end up together so much. Also, I've identified with Ron a lot since book one (I also 'ship Luna/Ron pretty hardcore.)
2. Which of your OCs is your favourite?
Oh mai. It's a toss-up between Edie Lennox and Eloise Scrimgeour. I love Edie because she's a very 'real' girl in so many ways--she doesn't turn heads, she puts her foot in her mouth, and we share the same dry sense of humor. And I like Eloise because she's very quiet and sheltered and level-headed, and keeps Draco grounded in the story... but she turns out to be very brave. Sometimes I think about picking up The Wild again, because I love Eloise so much, but I just don't know!
3. Which one is the most out of your comfort zone?
Definitely Lungs. I like to write Remus, so that part shouldn't be hard. But Helene is such a bad person--at least through her uppermost layers--that she's hard to write. And now I'm thinking about layers, and onions, and how ogres are like onions, and I feel like Helene is the same kind of way? haha.
4. Why do you enjoy writing KC&CO?
I love to make people laugh, which hopefully the story does. Ooh! And I get to talk about things that are very near and dear to me. Like the economy, and feminism, and not being able to make rent, and worrying about your future, and the mixed emotions of your best friends getting married off. It's much more contemporary than my other stories, in a lot of ways, and I like that I can be relevent.
5. What inspired it?
I kind of touched on this already. Mostly it's being a broke twenty-something, with a less-than-desirable internship, a job that isn't ideal, and not knowing my place in the world. I've been going through a lot of the REAL LIFE IS SCARY situation this past year, and writing about it helps me feel like I have it under control, in a way 
6. Which fanfic is your favourite (other than mine, of course 
)?
Hahaha. I do love Calendar Girls... xD I have the obvious favorites, like anything justonemorefic has ever written ever. Also there was one fanfic I read forever ago, when we were still waiting on book six to come out, called Draco Malfoy and the Amazing Bouncing... Rat? It was a hilarious Dramione fic written in 2002, before OotP even came out. Writers could still guess what was going to happen next, which in a way was more fun. So it makes me all nostalgic and lovely. But it was taken offline in 2008 because the author became published in IRL, and it just breaks my heart! It was so good, and so funny, and I'm sure if I poked around long enough I could find it, but I dunno if that's what the author wants.
7. Opinions on Snape/Lily?
I just can't really get in to Snape. I dunno why. He's such a complex and interesting character, but I guess he's just the seminole ANGST! character in HPFF. Snape humor is really funny to me... like, really funny. But there aren't really any 'ships that I'll just say "NO!" to because what's fun in telling people no?
8. On Draco/Hermione?
Like most 'ships, if it's well-written, then I'll ship it. I think a lot of young/new authors kind of pair them together without really thinking about plot or canon because they're two of the prettiest cast members. But like I mentioned with Maya's story, I've read some really amazing Dramiones. And I would be very interested to find a well-written Dramione where she leaves Ron for him. But never in a RON IS SUDDENLY ABUSIVE AND MEAN! way, because I love him so very much.
9. On Scorpius/Rose?
I generally don't read Next-Gen. It feels a little too much like OF to me, unless it's really heavily ingrained in the HP-verse... for a long time when I came back to HPFF I couldn't even remember who was related to who, and who spawned who. Sometimes I still have to check xD
10. Is there any fic you wish to see around the archives that you haven't found yet?
Just some well-written romance stories that aren't riddled with angst. It's good to add to a story, but it definitely doesn't put me in a good mood to read all darkness and sadness. I think I'm just too old now, haha xD I've been trying to find a good Harry/Luna, and maybe even a Ron/*insert random girl here*... Oooh, maybe Pansy! Or Astoria! Ron/Astoria, OH MY GOD I MUST WRITE THIS.
11. How much of yourself do you pour into characters?
Too much, at times. Especially with Edie. If she were less aggressive and a bit more level-headed (not to say that I'm the ideal person by any means--I have eaten nothing but sugar today) we would be the exact same. Like, it's scary sometimes. Helene is absolutely nothing like me now, maybe when I was younger and less, erm, nice. But Edie and Eloise are the yin and yang of my own personality, expanded upon xD
12. To what extent is Rose inspired by real people?
Oh my god. So much. Rose is basically this girl I work with, L. I don't even hear an English accent when I'm reading Rose's lines any more, because I hear this girl's voice. I'm not going to waste space talking bad about somebody, but let's just say that I've gone to work angry at L. for something that Rose did!
13. Same question for Edie.
Edie is, now that I mention it, blatant self-insertion into the HP world. I guess that totally makes her a Mary Sue then, right? haha. There are some things about her that are inspired by my best friend in the whole wide world, E. Like she has E.'s bad luck with romance, and her attitude. So, to answer your question, she's inspired by real people 100% of the way!
14. List of the fanfic clichés you hate?
Oh my, oh my.
- Draco is suddenly caring and doting to Hermione, or Ron is suddenly mean.
- Head Boy/Girl sharing a dorm, because Dumbledore was an idiot and totally couldn't see what would be happening there.
- Honestly, I mostly read OC stories, so most of my detested cliches are with OCs. Like, "James hasn't stopped asking me on a date since he met me, but I always turn him down!" or "I'm orphaned but am actually the daughter of Sirius, surprise!" or "I absolutely hate Scorpius, there's no way we'll ever be together... until chapter two!"
15. Is there a scene you'd love to see in a story?
Hmm, as for canon that we don't get to see, it would be fun to read Ron's POV while he was looking for Harry and Hermione after he left. But other than that, I just love reading stories where people take tiny little scenes from canon and expand to make them CRAZY non-canon. Like, say when Ron was looking for Harry and Hermione, if he ran into Luna or Astoria or (I will pretty much ship anyone with anyone.)
16. Which Death Eater is your favourite?
Lucius! He's a very complex character. I like writing about him.
17. Amongst the 'bad guys', who do you most identify with?
I suppose Draco? I know that's the easy answer, but I think his cowardice and utter fear are much more real than Snape's ability to hide his feelings about Lily. Also the robotic obedience to his parents; I definitely can relate to that.
18. Did you think Harry was actually going to die?
I feel like I did when reading "The Forest Again," but was probably trying to convince myself that he wasn't? All I really remember is crying a lot, a lot, a lot. haha
19. You've written Luna in Pickles - what do you think of her character?
I LOVE HER. She just gives hope to all of the loners out there; and I mean that because she isn't moping around, talking about how she doesn't have friends or how (boy) doesn't like her. She's just perfectly content and happy to be on her own, and there's something beautiful about that. I will stop fangirling about her now xD
20. How is that collection of crack!Ships coming along? I really want to read the Charlie/Penelope one!
Gah! I'm pouring all of my time and energy into KC&CO because I really want to finish it. It's going to be my first completed novel. But I just thought about the Charlie/Penelope earlier today, funnily enough. I want to finish that one, too. I think I only got a couple pages in last time.
21. How did you get into fanfiction?
It was one of those things I just started doing. I've always written, and made up stories when I was little, and then one day nine year-old me was like HMM I LIKE SAILOR MOON I WANT TO WRITE ABOUT THAT. And then it turned out that thousands (maybe more?) of other people were doing it. And that, my friends, is how Sarah discovered the internet.
Thanks so much for the questions, Val!!
Edited by my_voice_rising, 06 March 2013 - 12:44 AM.
