I am a 47 year old mother of 4, married to my sweetheart, and devoted to nurturing that which is divine. If you like, you can also find a few things from me at FictionPress.com. :)

My family met the whole Twilight series for the first time by audio-book, in November of 2008, and after that I didn't effectively put the series down - even for fanfiction - for a solid 9 months. (So, having read or listened to it over and over and over by now, it is too many times to count. I have NEVER been SO interested in a story before!) Since then I have created some fanfiction of my own, and enjoyed whatever well-written stories I've run across that exhibit the level of respect which I feel the characters deserve.

Before Twilight, I also enjoyed the Harry Potter story - discussing the spiritual symbolism inherent in it at length through the HarryPotterforSeekers yahoo discussion group. In the end, however, once the whole series was published - I was thoroughly unimpressed by the lack of joy achieved by the story, especially when I could see how the symbolism inherent in the series could have supported them to find it. Perhaps it just needed the catalyst of Twilight, brought forth in the form of a crossover story, in order to truly bring out that potential. :) (Such is the inspiration behind my crossover fanfiction: Essentially Magical.)

If you wish to know my opinion on the (Carelessly and cheaply made!) Twilight movies (Horrendously abominable disgraces to their namesake! Truly, a desecration of canon.) - and, to a lesser degree, also those of Harry Potter: well, let's just say... I'm afraid they cannot be mentioned in polite conversation.

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God is Love.

Joy is the Promise of Love...

For the greatest identity (God) to know Joy,
no smaller identity can be left without it.

Man(kind) is that he might have Joy.

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Correspondingly,

A story that doesn't end in Joy,
is a story that hasn't been finished yet.

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Just in case you'd like to know, the best fan-fiction stories I've found have these qualities...

1. They are on par with the Twilight series, by Stephenie Meyer: the best set of books I have EVER run across, and by far my favorite story to read. More than just being a true Love story, the Twilight series presents an exemplary tale of self-mastery - of the highest order. Such a timeless and profound two-in-one focus embodies the ultimate draw that any story can have... and because such a concept is also the most challenging to make real, any successful expression of it is truly invaluable. Naturally, this observation also reflects my personal views of what makes a story worth reading (or living as the case may be), but nevertheless I find that - because of this focus - the Twilight series of books (NOT the movies!) uniquely does have all of the following invaluable elements, as do the best fan-fictions.

2. They are characterized by inherently pure and intense relationships, such as must naturally occur between a vampire and his singer. Stories that reduce this inherent intensity either by lessening the intrinsically potent power of the vampires or by excessively enhancing the power of key humans in relation to them - end up losing something truly profound, and thus just can't keep my interest. Thus, all-human or all-vampire stories are rare among my favorites, as are any stories which change or cheapen the relationship dynamics from those carefully developed within canon. Especially alongside a vampire Edward and human Bella, situations where additional humans have reason to suspect and/or be afraid of the vampire reality (and have to go through their own process of interaction while coming to terms with it), are of particular interest. When well done to these specifications, Harry Potter crossovers are particularly welcome.

3. Uncompromised morals and unswerving devotion are an important part of the charm and reality of the truest of true love, as I know it to be. (This is because they are essential aspects of self-mastery, which is integral to the effective manifestation of Love.) Thus they constitute some of the most cherished and endearing qualities of Edward & Bella's relationship, in my view, and any instances of lustful carelessness or less than genuine interest/earnestness toward a romantic companion, significantly detracts from the appeal of a story. Some few listed among my favorites sadly still involve such compromising elective premises or situations in one way or another, but not many - and it takes a lot of otherwise very true-to-character writing to make up for it (if such a thing ever really can be done). Other forms of character degradation (such as presentations of them as immature, irresponsible, shallow, uncaring, fickle, or otherwise negative) are also unwelcome.

4. The story must be compatible with a true sense of Joy in the end. Since Renesmee is a key part of the true joy of the Twilight series, such a fanfiction that doesn't allow for her existence (or, alternatively, an equivalent character), is missing out on an important element which perhaps nothing else can make up for. On the other hand, stories that enhance what joy the series already contains (such as by miraculously yet reasonably bringing back Edward's parents, for instance) are of special interest. Basically, I wouldn't mind seeing our unsung heroes get a little more credit for their efforts. :)

5. The best stories are creative, original, and profound. Plots are well thought out, canonically respectful, and carefully presented. When dealing in Twilight fanfiction especially: canon pairings are always represented and all subjects are portrayed as true to character as possible (aka: The already fantastic development of canon characters is built upon, not changed!). In my opinion, it is the nature of the best fanfictions to creatively put our much-beloved characters into unexpected and/or challenging settings or circumstances and then explore how they would respond to those conditions, hopefully in such a way as to bring out the joy they deserve. Due to personal preference, all my favorite stories focus on Edward/Bella, without fail.

6. Just to peruse stories on this site, sadly one must be able to tolerate a significant amount of poor spelling/editing. Stories that I like are at least half-way decently edited, though I won't throw out a good story if it doesn't get better than that. The use of pertinent chapter titles is encouraged, as (especially with stories posted over a long period of time) they make it much easier to go back and review elements of a story for better understanding. Additionally, posting schedules that are consistent (even if necessarily slow throughout the life of a story) are appreciated because at the very least it is nice to know that an author/story is remaining active. Authors who require review quotas to be filled before posting subsequent chapters, in my opinion, detract from the impression of their story's value (initial or otherwise) by suggesting doubt in its ability to attract praise on its own merits, and/or by clearly demonstrating that the praise they seek is more important to them than the story itself. A good story got good, because it was valuable to its author.

7a. And finally: although pet peeves don't strictly reflect upon the ultimate value of any given story, they nonetheless can be a significant disappointment to run across. One of the biggest I've found, and continually run into in many fanfictions, is the almost-offensive idea that Edward (a particularly exceptional concert pianist who can afford anything he wants) would ever be satisfied with owning a BABY grand piano. Anyone who KNOWS pianos (which he undoubtedly would!) would recognize that a baby grand can't even sound as good as a tall upright! (This is because of the too-short length of it's strings. As pianos go, the rule is: the longer the strings, the better the tone! Baby grands are made and marketed primarily for their LOOKS!) In the end, when you consider Edward's supernatural hearing as well as other inherent sensitivities (being himself a conscious subject of people's all-too-commonly shallow observations of beauty), in combination with his musical brilliance - there is simply NO WAY that such an amateur instrument would belong in his life.

7b. Another blaringly common, but apparently almost universally misunderstood pet peeve when it comes to the more mature scenarios, is the prevalent and erroneous presentation of Edward & Bella's intimate relationship as being male-dominant in nature. While it is obvious that their male-vampire/female-human dynamic places them into such a role, the way they've learned to interact with each other, by the time they get to their honeymoon - is anything but. Rather, in order to best preserve both her safety and autonomy, all physical relations between them during this time were necessarily of the female-dominant variety. Though quite tastefully and subtly presented within canon, the clues are there... and ultimately become summarized most clearly by Bella's observation of how their second honeymoon was different than their first. Of course, because this is not the instinctual, normal approach for a man to take - it is perfectly in-character for Edward. But even more importantly: there's a much higher level of devotion expressed in this simple yet profound approach, that he should get credit for. When you truly consider the innocent yet supernaturally powerful forces involved, in conjunction with the absolute unthinkableness of failure - it truly couldn't have been any other way.

7c. Along similar lines, I find it mildly offensive that anyone would ever refer to a woman's pregnant shape as her stomach. That's a digestive organ! Ugh! Not even a related part of the anatomy! And: the last place any such fascinating bundle of joy would really grow. 'Tummy', 'belly', and 'abdomen' all work fine, because they are either accurate or non-specific in referencing that area of the body… but the stomach is part of the digestive system, and the unhelpful idea of feeling fat is already too common of an issue that pregnant women have to face. Why add to that thought unnecessarily? Most definitely, 'stomach' wouldn't be a term used by anyone with a medical degree... and indeed, any such person would have at least this very good reason to correct it. Thus, even if some (in their ignorance) might still refer to this shape errantly, please don't do or continue this carelessly.

A note specific to the Harry Potter series: I have found Albus Dumbledore to be perhaps the most fascinating personage of the Harry Potter universe, even though his character has sadly been brought into question via subsequent comments to the media. While it has been clearly suggested that he is oriented to associate with members of the male gender, only a sexually oriented world would assume to conclude that such a tendency must indicate homosexuality. In fact, it need not, and I assert that such an interpretation is not the case for Albus. Rather, I see him as a very spiritually oriented figure, whose sincere desire for the welfare of his fellow man is what has successfully laid the foundation for a brotherhood that is truly devoted to the greater good (aka: the Order of the Phoenix). It is in this capacity that he originally sought to connect with Gellert Grindlewald. Sadly, he had to learn the hard way that his first companion in this effort was not so sincerely devoted, as were his own perceptions and efforts toward this 'greater good' yet in need of development... but then, everyone has their growing pains. Nevertheless, I do believe Albus' underlying character has always been, and remains, honorable. When he is presented in such a true-to-canon capacity as this, Albus Dumbledore's presence is a dearly welcome feature of favorite crossover stories.

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Romance is
the wholehearted effort
to bring out the divine nature
of a relationship.

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Just FYI: The qualities outlined above are also what I expect of my own stories. My primary two fan-fictions (beginning with Essentially Magical) are written as companions to and/or continuations of the existing Twilight series, and are of a similar nature. Though their plots are not dependent upon each other, only much-of-the-time crossover with Harry Potter, and do have overlapping timelines, they are sister stories which, I believe, means they will provide the fullest and most enjoyable reading experience, together. Additionally, miscellaneous tangential storyettes that have been born of them, but which are not strictly compatible (10 or more scenarios, all of them unfinished), will ultimately offer some pleasantly fascinating complementary perspective on the realities and intricacies of the united crossover universe (aka: the TwiPotterVerse as one friend dubbed it; please feel free to check out my forum on this topic). Hostage Honeymoon, though not strictly related to any of these stories, is a storyette theoretically compatible with the primary stories' timeline and events (with the exclusion of its deleted scene). An additional couple of deleted scenes are also eventually in the works.

Anyway, I am currently working on chapter 50 out of at least 70 for the first story (EM), and have written perhaps a third of the shorter second story (SoJ). My preferred posting schedule has me putting up a new chapter every two weeks... and when I get to the timeline point in EM which coordinates with the beginning of its sister tale, I imagine the posting focus will shift over to it for a time (this is currently the case!). If a lull ever develops in the posting of them both together, I hope that one or another of my various storyettes will be completed enough to fill in the gap. If all else fails, and there inevitably ends up being long periods of wait between updates (which, regrettably, is also currently the case)... in the same manner by which I have already knitted, crocheted, or cross-stitched many large and/or complex projects to completion one slow stitch at a time - because all along the end product was worth it - I expect to see these stories through to fulfillment. Thanks for enjoying the journey with me!