This week's interviewee is new to FoLCdom this year, although he's been a fan of the series for some time and a Superman fan for much longer. He's one of the fandom's few active men, and very quickly made himself popular among fanfic writers for his enthusiastic and thoughtful comments on stories being posted in instalments on the Lois and Clark Fanfic Message Boards. More recently, he's actually tried his hand at being an author himself - you can find his work on this site and on the Fanfic Archive at www.lcfanfic.com.

He is...

Whereabouts in the world are you?
I live in West Linn, a suburb about eighteen miles south of Portland, Oregon. I moved here a little over five years ago from the sunny city of San Diego, California because I like the weather up here.

How long have you been a FoLC?
This is actually my second time around. The first time was during the show's actual run, though my memory's a little hazy as to the exact time frame. I watched the show in its original run from beginning to end and taped every episode. I remember signing into the old #loiscla IRC channel and talking to some of the FoLC's who were active at the time, plus reading e-mail versions of fanfic from a listserv. After a little while, though, I dropped out of FoLCdom. I came back to it about ten months ago, when I saw my sister watching the show on TNT. I started watching again and got hooked for the second time. After a short while, I remembered my experiences back during my first time around FoLCdom, which drew me back to fanfic. The fanfic led to Zoomway's message board and eventually onto the L&C Fanfic Message Board where I've been posting regularly for a couple months now after months of lurking.

What drew you to Lois and Clark?
I've always been a fan of Superman in the media, not so much the comics. I never could get into comic books of any kind even though I am an avid reader of Science Fiction/Fantasy novels. I've watched the George Reeves television series, the Christopher Reeve movies and even the hated Smallville, plus the Saturday morning cartoons of the Justice League and other cartoon versions of Superman. Of all the various incarnations I've seen, the best has been L&C: TNAOS. Just the fact that it was Superman got me watching the show to start but it was Lois and Clark, the characters, who kept me watching, and now reading.

To me, this series had the best chemistry between the two main characters of any of the Superman versions. They were the show. I also really liked the fact that Clark Kent was the real person, rather than the superhero. The true interaction between Lois and Clark was in their everyday interactions as partners. Notably different are the Christopher Reeve movies, though granted they were made before DC Comics remade their universes. Superman was the real persona there, which left very little room for character interaction since Lois spent most of her time with the nerd, Clark Kent.

In L&C: TNAOS, it may have been very different if they had cast other actors than Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain. They were marvellous together. The premise combined with the actors made for a fabulous blend of romance and drama, plus a little comedy thrown in from time to time. I simply couldn't see Kevin Sorbo in the role of Superman. I think the major part of what attracted me to the show was the romance aspect. I'm an old romantic at heart and love to see the story of two people finding their way together despite the obstacles. Since most of fanfic is heavily relationship/romance oriented, it seems most of the FoLC's agree with me.

When did you first discover fanfic?
I actually discovered two worlds of fanfic at the same time back during my first trip through FoLCdom. Though I enjoyed reading Lois and Clark fanfic then, I was actually more attracted to Babylon 5 fanfic. Again, it was the romantic aspects of the series that attracted me, so much of the fanfic I read was oriented towards the romantic leads, Captain John Sheridan and Delenn. This time around the block, I'm focused exclusively on L&C fan fiction. I enjoy it now so much more than I did then. Perhaps my tastes changed, or maybe there's just so much more to read nowadays. Plus the authors today are fantastic! Or should I use Teri Hatcher's favorite word, "fabulous?"

What's the very first fanfic you read? Do you remember what your first thoughts were about the concept of fanfiction?
The first time around, I can't remember. I regret not saving those stories that I had gotten from the listservs back then, but I wouldn't be surprised to find out those same stories are archived at lcfanfic.com. This time, the first fanfic story I read was "When Friends Become Lovers" by Kathy Brown and Demi which I followed up, of course, with Kathy's sequel, "When Lovers Become More." I thought they were great. And I was pleasantly surprised at the lengths of the various stories I found. I'm a big fan of the long stories that have the opportunity to set up an extensive A-plot as well as a good B-plot. It amazed me that non-professional writers could produce such wonderful works in their spare time. Lately, I haven't even picked up a real book. Instead, I've been reading stories off the archives and from the Message Board.

What are your favourite sites for reading fanfic?
I get most of my L&C fanfic from the usual spots. Most recently, I've been reading story segments from the L&C Fanfic Message Board. But I also keep up with the new stories added to the archives at lcfanfic.com and annesplace.net, both PG and nFic stories. I've probably already read 80% of the stories on both archives by now (I'm writing this on 6/30/03). Every once in a while, I'll hop over to Zoomway's board to see if any stories were posted there which didn't make it to lcficmbs.com.

List some stories you'd recommend to other readers.
Wow! There are so many of them to choose from. Hmm. I think I'd say:
Masques, by Doc Klein's Labrat
Near Wild Heaven - Half a World Away, by Kaethel
Desperate Measures, by Wendy Richards and Kaethel
The Prisoner, by Wendy Richards and Kaethel
All or Nothing, by Kaylle
The Accidental Husband, by Erin Klingler
Don't Say You Love Me, by Wendy Richards
The Healing Time, by Wendy Richards
Second Thoughts, by Wendy Richards
A Night at the Office series, by Nan Smith
First Comes Marriage, by ML Thompson
Super Stud, by ML Thompson
First Night and Valley of the Shadow, by Carol M
Meet Me in Kansas City, by Chris Mulder
Heaven's Prisoners, by Demi
Strangers I-IV (haven't read the portions of V posted yet), by Missy Gallant
Four Days to Nightfall series, by Nan Smith
Got a Way, by Wendy Richards
The House of Kent, by Stopquitdont
Mixed Signals, by Stopquitdont
Dear Lois, by Shayne Terry
I Will Always Love You, by ML Thompson
Anybody's Baby, by Annie M
Montrose's Toast, by Phil Atcliffe
Much Ado About., by Phil Atcliffe
When Friends Become Lovers, by Kathy Brown and Demi
When Lovers Become More, by Kathy Brown
Are You Lonesome Tonight?, by Doc Klein's Labrat
Sugar and Spice, by Doc Klein's Labrat
What It Means to Love You, by Erin Klingler
Night Errant, by Meredith Knight
Love and Secrets, by NiteMar
Band, by Bhavani Rao
Taking Responsibility, by Irene Dutch
Twisted Hearts, by Leigh Raglan
To Wake From a Dream, by Mobile Richard
Date With a Stranger, by Mobile Richard
A Conscious Choice/A Conscious Choice: The Morning After, by Wendy Richards
Faux Pas, by Wendy Richards
Green Card, by Wendy Richards
Happy New Tears, by Wendy Richards
Happy New Tears Epilogue, by Tarkas
Just Another Undercover Assignment, by Wendy Richards
Just Good Friends, by Wendy Richards
Nightmare on Clinton Street, by Wendy Richards
Getting Even, by Wendy Richards and Tank Wilson
Mister December, by SuperMom
A Love Well Worth the Wait, by Tracey
Serial Vengeance, by Tank Wilson
Counter Clark-Wise, by Zoomway
The Dating Game, by Lanie
Playing the Part/Playing to Win, by Annie M
Yesterday, Upon the Stair, by C. Malo

Is that enough for starters? ?

A new story goes up on the Archive or MBs. You drop everything - and we mean *everything* - to read it. So who would it be by? <g>
Overall, I would say I would read something posted by Wendy Richards and/or Kaethel, plus anything by ML Thompson.

Right now on the message board, a few writers have me hooked on their stories. There's Missy's What's Love Got to Do With It?, Stopquitdont's Purgatory, and Taivas' Reflections. Though incomplete right now, I'd recommend them when they reach the archives.

What type of stories do you most enjoy reading, and why?
My favorite stories are the longer ones that combine a riveting A-plot with a strong relationship-building B-plot. I don't have a favorite type of A-plot, but I do prefer settings before Lois and Clark are married because I like when they get together for the first time or are brought back together within the story setting. I've never read the Fifth or Sixth Season stories. Revelations are optional. Stories with a lot of angst are also among my favorite types. Though those types of plots tend to drive me crazy, for some reason those stories tend to be the most satisfying. For instance the BatP/HOL arc, the Scardino arc, and the Aarrrgghh! tend to rile me the most, yet the stories I like the most come from those arcs (I really don't like the NK arc and generally don't read those stories). It's very much a contradiction. While I despise Luthor, for instance, I love the stories where he plays the antagonist and comes very close to winning, but not quite. I might actually like the BatP/HOL arc as much or more than Kaethel does for just these reasons. The common denominator in these stories are that L&C are torn apart for some reason, but find a way to come back together in the end for a big WAFFy finish. My ideal story does have to have a happy ending. I'm generally not a big fan of Tank Endings (sorry, Tank).

I do love other types of stories as well as the ones I mentioned above, such as alternate beginnings or episode rewrites. I didn't use to like them when I first started reading fanfics, but they grew on me. I like the idea of Lois and Clark getting together earlier than normal just to see how events that took place in the series would have played if 1) Lois and Clark are a couple, and 2) Lois knows Clark is Superman. Those are the elements that drew me to stories like When Friends Become Lovers and When Lovers Become More.

What's your opinion of:
Drama? Action?
While they generally are important elements in a good A-plot, to me they take a backseat to the B-plot, or at best have the same importance as the B-plot.

Romance?
Definitely needs to be part of an ideal story. A story that is exclusively A-plot driven can be nice, but to me always seems to be lacking. This aspect is what attracted me to Lois and Clark in the first place.

Tearjerkers?
I don't tend to read these as often. While stories like The Greater Good, In a Dark Time, Misery, A Shot in the Dark or What Makes a Man are excellent on merit, they don't tend to be the stories I re-read.

WAFFy vignettes?
Love them. These are good light reading when I don't have a lot of time to read.

Elseworlds?
In general, I don't read these as much as others with a few exceptions. I do read them, but usually only once. The ones I do like a lot take a premise that one event of their past changes Lois' and/or Clark's inhibitions or fears to a great extent but do not radically change the world as we know it. When the universe is radically different, I don't usually enjoy those as much.

Alternate Universe/Beginnings?
These can be quite interesting. I prefer Alternate Beginnings to Alternate Universe stories. I don't read a lot of stories in Alt-Clark's universe because in most cases, Lois is missing or is in the process of being found. One exception I'd like to mention is In Dreams by Kaylle. I loved that concept of how two lovers were painfully resigned to never meeting in person, but are eventually joined in her universe.

I mentioned above in the question about favorite types of stories why I like Alternate Beginnings. I like the alternate beginnings where Lois and Clark get together earlier than normal and we get to see how their relationship changes how they react to the same situations created in the show.

Other (if we've failed to include your favourite type, here's your chance to set the record straight <g>)?
I like stories with a great deal of angst in them, but everything works out in the end.

Can you choose one, possibly two, stories you'd consider personal favourites, and tell us what you like about them?
I would choose Second Thoughts by Wendy Richards as my personal favorite. It's part of my favorite BatP/HOL arc, plus Lois and Clark torture each other with a lot of unnecessary angst, all because they really don't communicate well with each other and make too many assumptions about how the other feels. Clark's torn apart because he thinks he's lost Lois to Luthor, but Lois knows Luthor is evil long before Clark knows she knows it. Confused yet?

Second, I would choose Super Stud by ML Thompson. I like the stories where the shoe is on the other foot. Lois has to face a pheromone-infected Clark and spends all her time trying to resist him (and fortunately, failing spectacularly). Luthor's left wondering what he did wrong. ?

Has everything been done in L&C fanfic? Are there any unexplored scenarios? Or doesn't it matter? <g>
When you can have 200 or more TOGOM re-writes, it doesn't really matter if there are any unexplored scenarios. As Perry White would say, there are no new stories, only new angles. As long as new angles exist, not everything has been done. I wonder how many other interviewees answered this question exactly the same way?

If you could be your favourite author's personal Muse, what would your dream story premise be?
This is a tough one. I've only started writing myself and I haven't yet come up with a dream story premise for my own stories. I guess my ideal stories have already been done repeatedly. Put together some angst plus some romance and I'm a happy camper.

In your opinion, what makes for the best story? What ingredients, in your opinion, are essential to your favourite type of fanfic?
The best story combines a well-planned A-plot that complements a stirring B-plot, combined with some angst and a WAFFy ending. Not too many WHAMs, please, though some stories like Heaven's Prisoners or Serial Vengeance have some major WHAMs but still make me want to read them and re-read them sometimes.

Any other comments you'd like to make?
I would like to thank all the authors out there who spent a tremendous amount of effort and time to put together so many wonderful stories for us to read. It really is amazing the quality of the output that so many of you have contributed to our enjoyment. Keep up the good work. (Sounds like an Oscar acceptance speech. "I'd also like to thank the Academy." or at least the Kerth Committee) It feels good when a story commenter like myself can make a difference to the quality of a story by presenting useful feedback. And I appreciate the thanks of those writers as well. As one recently joined into the community of fanfic writers, I appreciate the feedback given to me.

I only de-lurked a couple of months ago, and it amazes me how accepted into the community I feel after such a short period of time. Thanks to all.