Dear Readers,

Welcome to the Lois & Clark The New Adventure of Superman Writer's Showcase. At the bottom of this web site you will findlinks to past featured writers. Just click on the any writer's name you might have missed or want to read again and you will be taken to their interview.

Now, in keeping with Annie's famous words, without further ado I am proud and honored to present this week's Writer in the Writer's Showcase ...

Annette, Labrat, Kaethel, Avia

Personal Information

Author name
AnnieM

E-mail addresses
nicholsm@email.unc.edu and mnichols@hotmail.com AnnieM0616 on Instant Messenger

Residence
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

List, AOL, or web affiliations
Zooms MBs, LCfanfic listserv,

Lois and Clark or Superman Status

How long have you been watching L&C?
I watched from the very beginning. ) Honestly, I was pretty skeptical when it came out, because I was afraid I wouldn't like this new version of the Superman story. I fell in love immediately though, and Lois and Clark remains my all-time favorite version.

How long have you been a fan of Superman?
All my life. I can't remember not knowing about Superman. I read the comics as a kid, and I grew up watching Christopher Reeves and Margot Kidder.

How long have you been writing?
Again, all my life. I've wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. I can't remember ever seriously wanting to be anything else. I'm a journalism student, I write for my school paper (Go Tarheels!) and I spend most of my free time writing fiction for pleasure.

How long have you been writing L&C fanfic?
Well, I started seriously writing fanfic in Sept of 2001, but I later found the beginning of a vignette that I had started about a year earlier. I've always thought up stories for the characters, but I've only recently started writing them down and sharing them.

What types of Fanfic have you written?
I've only written one full length story, along with a handful vignettes. All of my stories so far have been getting-together stories set in S2.

Most recent story posted? Where?
I just finished posting Anybody's Baby on Zoom's MBs. You can find it at the Archives or Annesplace now.

Favorite story you have written? Why?
Anybody's Baby, by far! I had *so* much fun writing it, even though it was frustrating at times. The story really wrote itself. It was my first story, and I had intended it to be a short story in which Lois and Clark were forced to care for an infant for about a week. The story would culminate with Lois and Clark admitting their love for each other... Anyone who's read this story realizes why this is funny. ) Somehow it morphed into a monster that ended up weighing in at over 400K and had Lois and Clark established as a couple by the second post. <g>

My other stories thus far have all been vignettes, so they're really not in the same category as AB. Of those, I think my favorite is Fly Me to the Moon. This is the story that I found on my hard drive a year after I started it. As soon as I reread the beginning, I remembered why I originally felt the story just *had* to be written.

Current project/projects?
I'm currently working on Playing to Win (working title). I'm really excited about it. It's a forced intimacy story set in S2. I have the very beginnings of two other stories running around in my head and on my hard drive, but I haven't been able to really work out some of the logistics yet. One is a set in S1 and has Lois dating Superman. The other is a time travel story that has S1 Clark and a future Clark (roughly S5 or S6) switching places.

Personal picks of other Fanfics you have read?
This is the question that short-circuited my brain the first time around. I was filling out the form, and I got to this question and I thought of so many different authors and fics that I wanted to recommend, that I my brain overloaded and I had to stop and put this aside for awhile. I'm going to have to leave out stories that I absolutely love, but I'm going to give it a shot anyway.

I might as well just recommend all of Kathy's stories, but Winners and Wine Wine Wine are particular favorites of mine. Also, When Friends Become Lovers is the first fanfic story I remember reading, and it will always be one of my favorites. Kathy keeps telling me that she's working on the sequel, and someday, when she finishes it, I'm sure it will be one of my favorites as well.

Wendy's stories are also favorites of mine. Particularly, Green Card, It Happened One Super Night and Just Another Undercover Assignment.

LabRat's another author whose stories are all worth mentioning. Are You Lonesome Tonight, Sugar and Spice and Burnout are my favorites. Ironically, I refused to read Burnout for *ages* because the A-plot revolves around *cringe* race cars. When I finally read it, I was kicking myself the whole time for not having read it sooner.

Ok, I'm going to force myself to move on now. There are tons of other great stories out there, but it would take forever if I tried to list them all individually.

General Interview Questions

What attracted you to writing Fanfic and what about it do you enjoy?
Well, I just stumbled onto fanfic totally by accident. I was just fooling around on the internet one day, and I ran across Annesplace. I was instantly hooked, and I read all the stories as fast as I could. But, I thought that was it. ) I had no idea that there was more out there. That's when I started Fly Me to the Moon. Eventually I found the Archives and then Zooms MBs. That's when I started writing seriously. I love having to chance to write stories about characters that I love. And I love having a great group of talented people who share my interests and give great advice.

What about the L&C and the characters do you like the most?
Oh, boy...there's so much! I love Clark's humanness. I also love his kindness and patience. I love Lois because I see so much of myself in her, and she gives me hope. If her life can turn out so wonderfully, maybe mine can to. ) Most of all, I love the way they interact. They're love for each other is one of the most timeless stories ever. But they also seem very real. They have problems and conflicts. I love the way they spar and work off of each other, without trying to hurt each other, and the way they protect each other.

How do you interpret them in your work?
You tell me. <g> I guess I interpret Clark as determined, patient, hard-working, and totally devoted. Lois is a little more complicated, I think. I usually write in S2, so my Lois tends to hide behind a thin veneer of aloofness to protect herself, but underneath she is insecure and looking for love. She has been hurt in the past, and she's very scared, but she's willing to try again.

How did you begin writing in general?
Well, when I was five-years-old I moved everything out of the little room under our staircase and turned it into my "office" where I could write my stories. I have dozens and dozens of notebooks filled with stories. When I was 12 I wrote my first novel - longhand. It was somewhere around 100 pages, front and back, and told the story of a sixteen-year-old girl who became pregnant unexpectedly. I love writing, and I write all the time.

What is your opinion about the following types of L&C fanfic's?
Action?
Action is ok, but it has to be balanced with a strong B-plot. I read/watch Lois and Clark for the romance and the exploration of their characters and their relationship, not for the story of the bad guys. I love action and mystery, as long as it's not the only part of a story.

Drama?
I love drama. These are my favorite stories.

Humor?
A funny vignette is just what I need to brighten my day sometimes. I also love humor interspersed in serious stories.

Round Robin?
I love Round Robins. It's great so see great writers collaborate together.

Nfic?
Well... I love to read nfic, but I hate writing it. <g> I keep writing it, and I have no idea why. None of the stories I have in the works are going to be nfic, so maybe I'm done writing it. And to be truthful, I enjoy some nfic vignettes, but I much prefer nfic in the context of a longer story. And if goes without saying that they have to be done tastefully. There are certain words that can jolt me out of the story, and it bothers me if they seem act out of character during the love scenes.

Has *everything* been done in your opinion, and if not, what is left?
Absolutely not! I'm sure there are tons of ideas out there yet to be explored. Unfortunately, I sometimes have a hard time thinking of these as-yet unexplored ideas. <g>

What do you think makes the best story?
Well, it has to be well written and the characters need to be true. It *really* bothers me when I'm reading a story that is supposed to be about Lois and Clark, and the characters are totally different. Beyond that, I like stories that focus on Lois and Clark's struggle to get together. I love forced intimacy stories, and I'm also really intrigued by elseworld stories where we can watch our favorite characters live very different lives, and yet still be themselves. Really, I'm open to any kind of story.

Where is the best place for a reader to locate your work?
Check out the Archives and Annesplace. I'm working on submitting my stories to both places.

Open Forum For Author Comments