"I have no quarrel with literary fiction, which usually concerns itself with extraordinary people in ordinary situations, but as a reader and a writer, I'm much more interested by ordinary people in extraordinary situations. I want to promote an emotional, even visceral, reaction in my readers. Making them think as they read is not my deal. I put that in bold, because if the tale is good enough and the characters vivid enough, thinking will supplant emotion even when the tale has been told and the book set aside.

"When it comes to fiction, the writer's only responsibility is to look for the truth inside his own heart. It won't always be the reader's truth, or the critic's truth, but as long as it's the /writer's/ truth-- as long as he or she doesn't truckle, or hold his or her hat out to fashion-- all is well.

"For writer's who knowingly lie, for those who substitute unbelievable human behavior for the way people really act, i have nothing but contempt. Bad writing is more than a matter of shit syntax and faulty observation; bad writing usually arises from a stubborn refusal to tell stories about what people actually do-- to face the fact, let us say, that murderers sometimes help old ladies cross the street."
--Stephen King, FULL DARK NO STARS, Afterword

While I do not always like his written work, I have to admit, the man knows how to get to the heart of a matter. ;)

*Note: The artwork in my avatar is from the gallery of Jean-Teufel over at deviantArt. Isn't it lovely? :)

Not sure what to say, really. I'm a happily married game tester (my husband happens to be Dolphin824, if you're curious), aspiring game designer, unpublished author, and GameStop counter-jockey. (This is what happens when you have no idea what do with a B.A. in English.) I was a member of FanFiction.net a long, long while back, but left when I started suffering from flame-war burnout off-site. Now I'm back, thanks in no small part to many wonderful authors who have given me hope for the future of the "art form."

Want to talk writing with like-minded folks? Come join us over at The Writers Enclave on the BioWare Social Network for fun and stimulating discussion. :)

Favorite Games: Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect 1&2, Assassin's Creed 2, the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time quadrology, the God of War franchise, Dragon Age: Origins, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, CoD: Modern Warfare, Primal, Kingdom Hearts and Plants vs Zombies. :)

Favorite Written Works: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, The Dresden Files series from Jim Butcher, the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich, Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, and Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare.

Favorite TV Shows/Web Series/Films: Castle, Burn Notice, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Hey Arnold!, Danny Phantom, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Guild, There Will Be Brawl, Warehouse 13, Doctor Who, The original Star Wars trilogy, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Clerks, Dogma, The Boondock Saints, Cannonball Run, Under the Tuscan Sun, Bedknobs & Broomsticks, The Incredibles, and the first three Indiana Jones films.

In The Works

E Tenebrea Et Lux: My collaborative work with MitisVenatrix. Garrus/FemShep. Can be found under her profile.--Currently on hold due to many medical issues revolving around the parties involved. (Mostly mine.)

Custodis: My first work of fanfiction in more than 10 years. Espionage/mystery thriller with some familiar faces, as well as some original characters. Might be hard to tell which is which before all is said and done, though. Set in the Mass Effect universe, and as of right now, it's meant to run concurrent to the ME1 timeline, weaving in and out of the events of the first game. Can't share what pairings are involved without ruining the surprises I have in store for you. /wink/

Terra: A re-imagining of the Mass Effect story and universe, placed in a fantasy setting. Magic, monsters, mages, fighters, clerics, airships, gold, etc. LOTS of influence from my time playing Dungeons & Dragons involved. A METRIC BOATLOAD of ME characters will make an appearance, but this will be Garrus/FemShep heavy, to be sure. There will be OCs in this story, too, but mostly as bit players.

On The Storyboard

Rock and a Hard Place: Conspiracy theory fic. Won't say more, as it would spoil things.

Perpetual Motion: Hard to explain this one, though I can say it explores the nature of trust, and how easy it is to misconstrue the actions of those around us. Garrus/FemShep

Defying Gravity: Joker fic, set before he was Joker.

Glimpsing Normal: A series of short stories set within the Custodis-verse outlining our extraordinary characters in somewhat mundane situations. (Had this idea long before I read Thessali's work, but could be compaired to her series "Deleted Scenes." And if you haven't read that and it's partner piece, "If You Need Me," then you should do so. Now.)

Letters from Home: Exactly what it sounds like. Not set in the Custodis-verse.

Staff & Bow: Something NOT set in the Mass Effect universe! Imagine that! More on this later. :)

More notes to remind me of things that are important to no one but me. Probably. Nothing to see here.

Logic must be tempered with compassion; vengeance with mercy. Only then will justice be served.

"There can be no justice so long as laws are absolute."--Jean Luc Picard

"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." -James Nicoll