Profile

I am an Amercan woman in my 30s, currently living in Portland, OR. I lived in England for 4 years, while I studied for my BA. I moved back to the States after I completed my studies, but part of my heart still lives there. I’m glad I returned, however, because I met and married a wonderful man and we now have two beautiful daughters who are currently pre-school age. They are wonderful, busy, and delightful and also the reason it took me ages to write anything on my profile.

I write because I love to read and there are not enough of the kinds of stories that I enjoy. I also write because I wanted to read the stories that were in my head. My favorite authors are: Terry Pratchett, J.K. Rowling, Elizabeth Goudge, Dorothy L. Sayers, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald, and Lord Dunsany. I do like a plethora of other writers, but these are the ones that I can and will read repeatedly for the rest of my life.

I’ve loved Harry Potter since I first discovered the books right after High School, and I can’t get enough of them. I personally prefer to stick to the canon, but I do take liberties where Rowling was silent about certain things or didn’t give detailed information. I mostly just really enjoy the couples that were written in the books by Rowling, and do not like to deviate from them. I edit and beta all my own stories, so I appreciate constructive criticism of any kind, it’s very helpful to read other people’s thoughts and opinions.

Fan Fiction things I enjoy:

1) Attention to grammar and spelling.

2) Well thought-out characters.

3) Plot lines that have been constructed with attention to the original canon.

Pet Peeves:

Note: I do occasionally read things that I know I won’t like because it’s helpful to know what does not work. I try to stay away from what I personally feel is morally wrong, but have stumbled across a few things that I had to stop reading almost immediately.

1) I really can’t stand the term “the Golden Trio” I find it to be lazy, unimaginative, and totally unbelievable. I don’t think Harry, Ron or Hermione would have stood for it. Unless it is a term used ironically by Rita Skeeter, I think it’s utterly useless, although if were written by Skeeter and mocked by the characters I might find it to be entertaining.

2) I really don’t like it when writers use marriage laws, soul bonding, or other similar clichés to bring Hermione and Draco, or Draco and Ginny together. If you are going to write “dramione” fiction, it is much more believable if you put a bit more thought into it than that. I’ve come across a couple of Hermione and Draco romances that were pretty good, and even one or two marriage law ones that were entertaining because of their acknowledgement of the ridiculous aspect of the story than anything else. I have only come across a couple Draco and Hermione romances that were written well, but still find the pairing to be unrealistic.

3) Ron and/or Ginny bashing in order to bring Harry and Hermione together. Changing characters to bring two other characters together, especially when it ignores positive qualities of the characters as written by J.K. Rowling.

4) I find it to be really disrespectful to write anything violent, especially if it’s about a violent assault, and not put a warning up. Please, please put a warning. This can be very harmful for someone who has experienced these things.

5) Anything that romanticizes assault and makes it seem like it’s something that someone can start to enjoy half way through. No one enjoys being assaulted. This is so wrong on so many levels, especially if it does not contain a warning before hand.