12/14/09 UPDATE: I will get the next chapter of GND up before Christmas. Not so sure about CiF...

Hi I'm Sprite. I'm an avid writer for fiction-fantasy genres (and journalism...I'm the features editor for my school newspaper). Harry Potter is the only fandom I'm writing for at the moment, but I also love Sweeney Todd and House M.D.

I plan on eventually majoring in English, but if that doesn't work out, then I'll major in Animal Health Science (animals and writing are my two passions in life). I own a wonderful border collie and love competing in dog agility on weekends when I'm not busy reading or writing.

For anyone wondering about my pen name, it comes from the Ireland trip I went on with my grandparents a couple years ago. Whenever we ordered lemonade, we would get a can of Sprite instead of the sugary lemon-juice we get in the States. Weird pen name, I know.

Harry Potter...

I've been reading Harry Potter ever since I was nine years old, but I didn't really start obsessing over it until recently. My favorite book was Deathly Hallows, though I did not care much for the epilogue. Half Blood Prince is my favorite movie so far, seeing as it's the only one I can watch over and over again without wanting to chuck an anvil at the screen.

My favorite character of the series is Severus Snape. He is in nearly all of my stories, and this pattern isn't likely to change in the future, so if you do not like Snape, then don't bother reading my stories. Lily Evans/Severus Snape is my favorite pairing of the series, thanks to "The Prince's Tale." While I didn't think it was appropriate for Lily to ditch Severus after the Mudblood incident, I think the pairing works beautifully in fanfiction, and his unrequitted love and loyalty toward her in canon was inspiring. Given the path he started to go down later in his teenage years, Severus might have been sent to Azkaban or killed (by his hand or another) if it weren't for his agreement with the manipulative old bastard known as Dumbledore (I do not like him, sorry). Basically, Lily gave him a reason to keep living. While I like reading LE/SS stories, I do not like the pairing when Lily is already married to James. It just doesn't work, and I also haven't read any good Severitus/Sevitus stories, so unless it's AU, I think James should be Harry's father. I like the LE/SS pairing best when they're still kids, or AU, when the Mudblood incident never happens. My only novel-length story at the moment, "Change in Fates" focuses on these two characters, though there are no guarantees of them ending up together.

I also like Draco/Luna. It's my second favorite pairing, as they're my favorite characters (aside from Snape and Bellatrix). It's such a shame they were married off to virtually unknown characters in canon. Pairing a stuck up, emotional jerk (from Harry's POV anyway) with a strangely-dressed and eccentric oddball is both hilarious and interesting (which is more than what I can say for the canon pairings). There aren't enough DM/LL stories out there, so I definitely plan on writing more in the future.

Hermione Granger paired with Severus Snape sometimes works, though it takes a skilled writer to make it believable. I don't usually like the pairing until Hermione is at least in her fifth year, and I love it during sixth year (so she doesn't become the crybaby character everytime her moronic friend snogs Lavender Brown). Snape is honestly the best person for an intelligent girl such as Hermione; an idiot like Ron may provide a few laughs, but honestly, how could someone so smart be so stupid about their relationships? It would have been cute when they were younger, but after fifth year (and especially when they're adults) it just does NOT work. Hence my vouching for Snape as her partner. He's brilliant, he cared about his studies, he is very bookish...wait, am I describing Snape or Hermione? Whoever said opposites attract had a few screws loose in their head, because I can see Snape and Hermione working great together. While there may not be as much sexual tension (though with Snape, you never know), at least Hermione isn't doomed to a life of constant bad jokes and making more babies for the Weasley brood.

Except for Fred and George, I hate the Weasleys. I hate Arthur the most, because he survived Nagini's attack and Snape didn't. Harry was right there, and even though he still thought Snape was evil, he could have saved him. After all, he allowed Peter Pettigrew to live, even after he betrayed the Potters; why not at least try to save Snape? I'll end the Arthur rant here, for everyone's sake. Now Molly: why the hell did Molly Weasley kill Bellatrix Lestrange? I understand she was angry about Bella trying to attack her children, but enough to kill her? And Bellatrix had clearly proven herself to be an accomplished duelist; how did she lose to a simple housewife? If Jo was aiming for irony, then fine, but that's the equivalent of Peter Pettigrew holding his own against Snape in a duel (without James or Sirius around). It's just pathetic. I wanted Minerva McGonagall to kill her, at least. Minerva is an experienced duelist with enough experience to possibly overpower Bellatrix. But Molly? NO. I also hate Ron and Ginny, for the sole reason that they're horrible choices for their spouses. I also don't like their characters: Captain Comic Relief and Mary Sue. Ron abandoned his friends in DH, and although he claims he tried to come back at once, I won't forgive him for this disloyalty. Hermione ought to be ashamed for crying about him for so long. And Ginny? Bleh. Don't get me started on Ginny. As for Percy...he's just that boring, snobby character. We don't see much of Charlie or Bill, and while I think they're alright, I haven't seen enough of them to really say anything about them.

The stories I like to read almost always include Snape (unless its Bellatrix-centric, or Draco/Luna). I love the dynamics between him and Minerva, as well as him and Harry. I don't care for Severitus or Sevitus stories, but I do love mentor/guardian--Snape stories. Those are my favorites. Especially if Minerva is involved, because she and Severus are always so hilarious together.

Wealsey-bashing and Dumbledore-bashing fics are entertaining to read, as long as the author doesn't go overboard with it. I like some slash, as long as it's not too hardcore. Regulus-centric fics are interesting for the most part, as long as the writer doesn't mess up the mysteriousness of his character. I hate OOC-ness, and I pretty much stay away from OC-centric stories. Yes, I have some OCs in CiF, but they play very minor roles.

Original fiction...

After many years of waiting for that ~genius idea~ to fall into my head, I've finally created a world of my own (well, not entirely, but at least it's not fanfiction). In between chapters of HP fanfiction, I'm researching characters and plotlines. It will involve dreams & nightmares, and that's all I'm going to say about that for now. I'm really excited about this idea, especially the big baddie's daughter, who's like Voldemort/The Joker/Azula/Sweeney Todd on steroids. Pretty creepy. I won't begin writing it for at least another year or two, but I definitely hope it will be published someday :)

Random stuff...

~My favorite movies consist of: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince, Edward Scissorhands, Fight Club, Public Enemies, Pirates of the Caribbean, Surrogates, Star Wars III: The Revenge of the Sith, The Dark Knight, Girl Interrupted, Mulan, WALL-E, Sleepy Hollow, & Die Hard.

~I despise Twilight. I don't even think 'despise' begins to cover how disgusted I am with that series. The writing is horrendous (chagrin, anyone?) she tries too hard to sound smart, there's no plot whatsoever, the characters are dull and one-dimensional, flawless-perfect-sparkling Edward is practically a god, Bella is a whiny, immature, pathetic excuse for a character, Jacob is a pedophile, and the hype around the movies is appalling. Rob Pattinson doesn't even like Twilight, so why can't those rabid fangirls just leave the poor guy alone? In addition, Stephenie Meyer is rather rude and arrogant toward her fans (just watch some vids of her on youtube), so I have zero respect for that woman. Rant over.

~Ich spreche Deutsch! Not much, but I'm learning. In addition to having an exchange student stay with us next spring (I hope they're a Harry Potter fan), I'm going to Germany next summer for an entire month! I hope to gain conversational fluency in this language someday, to the point where I can read the entire HP series in German.

~Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Alan Rickman are my three favorite actors of all time. Tim Burton is my favorite director. JK Rowling is my favorite author.