Am British and older than I'd like to be. I used to work full-time, but ill health forced me to give it up. Relocated to the south west of England (yay!) where other folks come for their holidays lol.

Not blessed with children, sadly (I feel for Rosalie on that subject), but I have 3 (mostly) adorable pussycats and 1 marauding cat from next door who thinks we live in a fast food joint! He sneaks in and tracks down the food that calls to him - his name is Jack, when it should really be James lol. Like our vamps, it seems he's stealthy and faster than the human eye lol.

Anyway, as a consequence of being childless, I have concentrated, like the Cullens, on minor philanthropy, notably animal welfare, children's welfare, the aged and the poverty-stricken overseas. Pay it forward, I say. However, now I can no longer work, it is someone else's turn to look out for me...

Have been carrying on a love affair with Edward Cullen (and Carlisle when I need a deeper emotional fix) for what feels like years now, so ingrained is Twilight in my psyche. Of course, I adore both of the alter egos of these guys in the real world: one for his musical soul, vulnerability & killer smile; the other for his love of family, sense of fun & great compassion. (If you don't already follow Peter Facinelli on Twitter, then you really should!)

Human behaviour interests me & I love people-watching. Wordsmithery & language(s) are my lifeblood. Wry humour is my thing, especially wordplay. Have always written poetry and also wanted to write short stories of some kind. However, I never found a subject matter which absorbed me - until I encountered the world of Twilight.

Twilight covers the bases in terms of familial traits and also appeals emotionally to pretty much anyone who reads the books and sees the movies. Stephenie certainly gave us all a broad canvas to work from and from the stories I have read across the various fiction sites, there are many canon and alternative story arcs as good as (or dare I say it, better than?) the original. As each master painter has spawned a new school of artistry across the centuries, so too have Ms Meyer and her extended family of vamps for the literary world.

A writer friend of mine finally beat me around the head and encouraged me to give public writing a go. After I drunkenly misheard the word "public" for something else :D I finally contributed some stories on here:

Loving Edward: about Bella & Edward learning about themselves as vampires and parents, from their first night at the cottage in Forks, until the arrival of the Volturi 3 months later. Features all of the Cullens and Jacob's wolf pack (AM SORRY TO SAY THAT THIS STORY IS ON HOLD FOR A WHILE)

A Walk with Vampires: a long story about a dying woman lucky enough to be rescued by the Cullens. She discovers that there be vampires out there! Features all the Cullens, plus Jacob occasionally.

The Storm: my version of the "tent scene" from Eclipse.

NB: My stories can also be found on The Writers Coffee Shop site: http: slashslash www(dot) thewriterscoffeeshop(dot)com(slash)library under the same penname as here. I've even got banners for them there, so you can see the lovely Yolanda for yourselves!

NB: Loving Edward also appears on the Twilighted(dot)net site under the Author Name of Sammicat15. It has a lovely banner.

My only other writing is for a cat rescue charity whose newsletter I put together. It pains me to say this, but Edward's love of feline meals is distasteful to me, and if he were my mate, I'd guilt-trip him into eating other carnivores instead!! He's a pussycat, but no pushover though...

Twiworld speaks to me on many levels. Always been intrigued by vampires and their lore. Health issues mean chronic fatigue & pain are daily challenges, so being a benign Vamp with boundless energy sounds damned fine to me! I've put in 15 years of pain apprenticeship already so would prefer to skip the extra 2-3 days of burning, thank you, and move straight past Go, collect my vampire pass and $500 million please lol.

However, if I could have Edward make love to me immediately after transformation, then I'd submit to the burning willingly! My nerve-endings sigh at the thought of the burn - but my lips would definitely relish the kissing afterwards!

I love all the Cullens but Edward has always been my favourite, quickly followed by Carlisle. If I could have a superpower after the change, it would be telekinesis. Boy oh boy, would I have fun :D

What do I share with Edward? As a fellow Gemini, I also hear voices (no comment lol!). Spent a long time in the emotional wilderness following bad stuff at college after stupidly messing things up with my school sweetheart, then later a "brief encounter" with someone called Angel who wrote beautiful love letters & poems but we couldn't be together. Then there's battling a menacing sociopath for years; self-doubt, long-term insomnia & issues with food; all mixed with a love of reading, diamonds (esp. hearts) & fast cars, kissing & cuddling, meadows & flowers, romantic sandy beaches & luxury islands; longing for a child and to be cherished, fighting injustice, and leading a fruitful existence with someone who puts me above all others. The money would be nice but I'd just settle for time with the Cullen family, its love & protection and, of course, the boundless adoration of someone like Edward. Not much to ask is it?!

Enjoy the wonderful fanfiction on this site - it has opened up my heart & soul to so many possibilities again, not to mention heart-warming new contact with some marvellously talented writers.

Postscript: They say "be careful what you wish for" but I'm happy to report that, after 30 years of other relationships, I have at long last found my own true soulmate. I have learned that the intense love and obsession described by so many writers in their stories, and drawn from the original Twiworld, are absolutely true. So much so, that I changed my quote to the one below! I am blessed and now count my blessings every day, including the fact I've inherited 2 lovely stepsons. The only thing I could wish for now (after a new body, a superpower, oh and a major lottery win...) is that I could get to spend eternity with my soulmate too, just like our beloved vamps.

Sammi

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." Lao Tzu