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
Tara Smith

E-mail addresses
starkitty@hotmail.com
jilectan@hotmail.com

Residence
Ramona, CA

List, AOL, or web affiliations
Zoom's Message Board, LOISCLA list, LCNAOS list and irc.

Lois and Clark or Superman Status

How long have you been watching L&C?
Since sometime in first season.

How long have you been a fan of Superman?
Well, I liked the movies, but I only really got involved when LnC came around.

How long have you been writing?
Seems like forever-we used to have these little writing assignments in elementary school and I always filled the whole page plus the back side. Probably ever since I figured out I could put words together like they did in the books I was reading <g>

How long have you been writing L&C fanfic?
Two years now. I started in August 1999.

What types of Fanfic have you written?
Well, I've written a few comedies plus some serious after-the-series types. I'm thinking of doing an episode rewrite sometime in the near future, too.

Most recent story posted? Where?
Catspaw. That was posted to the message boards.

Favorite story you have written? Why?
I'd have to say Catspaw. I just love cats and this was a way to get Lois and Clark to interact with my favorite kind of quadrapedal people.

Current project/projects?
Threads of Fate, Cat and Mouse, Futures Past, an untitled LnC/Voyager/SG-1 Mary Sue crossover <g> (that's a really strange one, btw), Legacy

Personal picks of other Fanfics you have read?
Anything by Irene Dutchak, Nan Smith (of course!), Alien Gift by Bethy, Purple Chaos by Emily. There's a whole bunch of others that I really love that I just can't think of off the top of my head, though <g> What can I say, we've got a bunch of really talented writers here!

General Interview Questions

What attracted you to writing Fanfic and what about it do you enjoy?
Well, like I said earlier, I've been writing for awhile. I think what I like most about writing fanfic is that there's less pressure (although the pressure with other stuff is probably mostly from myself ;) It's all for fun, since there's no way I could ever try and publish it anywhere.

What about the L&C and the characters do you like the most?
Their chemistry. Plus their absolutely wonderful knack for getting into trouble. Trouble magnets are just so much more fun to write about <g>

How do you interpret them in your work?
Well, so far I've written Lois and Clark as partners and best friends. I generally try to stick to the characterizations from the show.

How did you begin writing in general?
Well, like I said before, we had these writing assignments during elementary school. I always finished up the front side, which was what we were supposed to do, and often the back, as well. I guess I just wanted to tell all these great tales I kept thinking up. I used to tell my brothers and sisters stories when I was younger, too, kind of as bedtime stories. They were kind of rambling things that had no real plot, but hey, I was a kid :). Then, when I was in seventh grade, I was put in Honors English (yep, I've always been good at English, although I'm sure my punctuation could sometimes use a little work) and my English teacher had us write these short stories. I guess she thought mine was really good, because she asked me if she could enter it in a contest for me. I came in third place, so I guess the judges thought it was pretty good, too.

How do you feel about being nominated for a Kerth Award?
Awed and extremely flattered. I mean I knew some people liked Pagimon, but I didn't think it was good enough for a Kerth nomination.

What story of yours was nominated for a Kerth Award and could you tell about it?
That would be Pagimon. I got the basic idea from that horrible cartoon Pokemon that my younger brothers were watching all the time then. That stupid cartoon was driving me crazy, and I just started wondering what it would be like if something like Pokemon was in LnC, too.

Have you ever been nominated for the Kerth Award before? If so, please name the fanfic and tell something about it.,br> Well, I was suggested by a few people for the Best New Author one, but I guess not enough people nominated me because I didn't make the short list. I'm still stunned that anyone even considered me for that then-I didn't think my writing was good enough at that time for anyone to even think of nominating me.

What are you working on now and where do you see it going?
Well, right now I'm working on Threads of Fate and Cat and Mouse. Both of those will probably take a lot of work before I'm ready to show them to anyone.

What is your opinion about the following types of L&C fanfic's?
Action?
Action is good if it's well written.

Drama?
I love it. I love the suspense that it builds. Of course, too much of it and it starts driving me nuts. Of course, I'm not really good at writing it :)

Humor?
Definitely love humor. I mean, what's life without laughter? Personally, I love the thought that I may have brightened someone's day with a funny little story.

Round Robin?
Depends on who's writing it. I've read some round robins (not LnC) that absolutely stunk. Most LnC round robins are good, some are fantastic.

Nfic?
Mmmm, it's ok, but only if it furthers the plot.

Has *everything* been done in your opinion, and if not, what is left?
Oh, I'm sure not everything has been done. I'm working on a future story that has a plot that I don't think has been done before. I don't want to give away any specifics, but I will say that it takes place during the Utopia time that H.G. Wells mentioned. This Utopia isn't quite as dull sounding as Wells and Tempus made it sound like, though.

What do you think makes the best story?
A nice balancing between the A and B plots. That's kind of a laugh, because I don't think I've managed to balance them too well, yet. I'm pretty good at the A plots, but I really have to work hard on the B plot to make it realistic and uncontrived. The one thing I can't stand is deathfic. It's depressing and I really don't like being depressed.

Would you like to add a link or URL to your favorite fanfic for the readers to sample your writing?
Well, all of my work is on my website-currently http//www.geocities.com/thestarkitty

Where is the best place for a reader to locate your work?
Well, most of my work is on the archive, and everything is on Fanfiction.net and my website.

Open Forum For Author Comments
Open comments!! You want me to be creative on the questionnaire, too? AAARRGGHH! Hehe!

Ok, let's see, I just have to say that LnC fandom is pretty much the nicest bunch of fans I've ever met and we definitely turn out the best fanfic going. I think other fandoms could learn a lot from us. I've definitely made the most friends in LnC fandom than I have anywhere else.