It sort of blows my mind that I haven't written anything here in over six years! Please take a few minutes to read my latest story "Force of Belonging". It might surprise you. I tried to do something a little different from what I've read elsewhere - a little less angst and a bit more whimsy. This is definitely a serious conversation, but one that isn't too heavy handed. I don't know if I was successful but I'd be interested to hear other people's thoughts.

My foray into fan fiction began when Firefly was cancelled. I simply couldn’t believe that it was over and I turned to the stories on the web to try to fill the void and get some kind of closure. What I discovered was that closure is overrated and that stories can go on forever, characters resurrected, new directions explored and, my personal favorite, that the question what if can lead to very, very interesting places. My personal writing tends to fall into two categories: I like to find the little moments within the story that I think could have been further developed and lead to something more. I am also prone to falling in love with characters and not wanting the story to end. (See earlier Firefly discussion.)

“The Time It Takes” -- if you read anything of mine read this story!!! I worked very, very hard to preserve Katniss's voice and the feedback that I received affirmed that I was pretty successful to that end. I am aware of the fact that there are thousands of stories that depict what may have happened to make Katniss and Peeta grow back together, but mine stays very true to the spirit of the novel and I take it in slightly different direction than most. Please give it a chance!

Thanks to everyone who reads my stories, and especially to those of you who review. I try to always review the stuff that I read, not only because I feel it is the least I can do to thank the person who has just offered me entertainment for however long I have been reading, but also because as an author I know how inspiring it is to know that people like your stuff. Also, and this cannot be overstated, constructive feedback about what works and what doesn't work is crucial to becoming a better writer, which is something that is very important to me, as I suspect it is for many of the authors in this community.

And since I almost never bother to do so in my stories I shall make the disclaimer here that none of these stories/characters belong to me…I stand on the shoulders of giants.

My avatar is attributed to Akshay Moon on Flickr.