I know, I know. I do these on Friday’s normally, but I wanted to get this done now so that I can concentrate on my project. See you guys hopefully Monday. If not, I will catch you on the following week.
This lovely lady agreed to share her thought with us. Please feel free to visit her, or to leave messages!
Basic information.
Can you please tell the people reading this your name? Secret Nerd Princess
Where do you like to post, and can you give us the site of your preferred medium?
The first place new chapters go up is on my wordpress site: https://secretnerdprincess.wordpress.com/ and it’s the only site that has all my stories, fanfiction, original, and poetry. But I also post on Fanfiction, Better in Texas, Archive of our Own, and TheFlashArrowFanfiction. I’m Secret Nerd Princess on all of them.
What do you prefer, Tea or Coffee?
Coffee. Always coffee. Unless I’m sick, then it’s coffee with a side of tea.
What is your favorite beverage of choice? And if alcoholic and mixed, what are the ingredients?
Non Alcoholic: Coffee, I have a serious addiction to the little Starbuck’s Doubleshot cans. Alcoholic: I’m a whiskey girl, mostly on the rocks with a splash of water, but sometimes I’ll go for a whiskey and ginger (ale.) Whiskey of choice is Bushmill’s.
What is your funny story about trying something to drink and it rocked your boat and/or sucked?
When I was much younger someone bought me a shot of Tequila Rose, which to this day I’m not sure if it’s a mixed shot or an actual liquor. All in all it’s disgusting: think Bailey’s mixed with Tequila. My mouth hated me after that.
What foods do you love?
Sushi. Cheddar Bratwursts. Kraft Mac and Cheese. Tacos. Baked potatoes with lots of sour cream—sometimes I just have a baked potato for dinner.
What is your go to food for comfort?
My dad’s Chicken Pot Pie (dutch style—meaning no crust, but big, thick noodles)
What do you like to snack when writing?
Either dry roasted peanuts or Smokehouse Blue Diamond Almonds and some form of chocolate (normally with caramel.) I always have Starbuck’s Doubleshots on hand. Always.
Is there a scent that says home to you?
Not really, but I do love the way the wind smells right before it rains.
Is there a scent you wish you never smelled ever?
Gasoline.
If you could visit a place, anywhere, where would it be?
Scotland. I’ve always wanted to go there. There and Peru. Oh! And the Yucatan Peninsula.
If you could go at any point in time, which would it be?
England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. She was such a badass. And then I’d get to meet Shakespeare, preferably in a little pub where we can get drunk together. I’d love to pick his brain.
What music do you like?
I like all kinds and don’t really limit myself by genre, but if you were to take a look at my collection it’s mostly good old fashioned bar bands, The Hold Steady and Lucero for example, or pop punk, think Green Day. Bruce Springsteen and The Hold Steady are my favorites though.
Is there a genre or song you hate?
Anything misogynistic. And there’s an awful lot of it out there in every genre. The one song I cannot stand to listen to though is “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.” Really? In what universe is a tractor sexy? I don’t even get it. A hot, sweaty, shirtless man driving a tractor—sure—but the tractor itself, nope.
Tell us something about yourself that you think your fans would love to know about:
I’ve been known to instigate dance parties: anywhere, anytime. In friends’ houses, at bars, in the kitchen at whatever restaurant I’m working at. I’m especially fond of cranking up the stereo in my living room and dancing by myself.
Thanks. That gives us some basic information. Now, about the writing – I know you’re excited…
Why did you start writing?
You know, despite the fact that I’ve been writing since I was in my early teen years, I’m not one of those people who remember making up stories when they were a kid. I’ve just always loved reading and writing seemed an extension of that. I didn’t actually start writing fiction until a few years back in a Creative Writing class. I always wanted to try my hand at fiction, I’d been a poet up until that point, but I discovered I really like telling stories.
What do you enjoy the most about it?
Figuring out the best way to phrase something. It comes from starting out as a poet. In poetry, you’re always finding the perfect word, so that seems to have trickled over into my stories. I love beautifully written sentences that make you catch your breath after you read them. Recently, The Night Circus inspired that in me. The prose in that book makes me cry.
What do you like least about it?
That I never seem to have enough time to write. I’m constantly bribing myself with writing time. “If you do one load of laundry, you can write for the entire time.” “If you do the dishes, you can write for one hour.” Sometimes I don’t even bribe myself, though, I just figure the dishes aren’t going anywhere.
That first time hitting publish, how did you feel?
Absolute fear—I love my chapters until they go live, and then it’s all worrying. “Is my Sookie too whiny? My Eric too harsh?” “Did I use the wrong word?” “Will my readers like the chapter?” “Is it finally gonna come out that I’m a total and utter fraud?”
Where do you get your inspiration?
I work in the restaurant industry, so my stories are an escape for me. I’m constantly working out plotlines in my head while I’m taking orders. If you’ve never worked in the industry you have no idea how poorly people treat their servers or the things they say in front of the bartender. We don’t rank as real people to them, so they show their worst sides. That being said, I’ve also had the privilege of waiting on some of the nicest people ever. The nice people inspire good characters, the mean people—well let’s just say I didn’t write a story about a serial killer bartender without inspiration.
What is your writing area like do you use computer or paper, or both? Or another medium?
When I’m writing it’s always on computer, but I have a legal sized notepad on a clipboard where I work out issues with stories or scribble down new ideas.
Do you use an outline, rough draft or just write?
Story outlines are written out on the legal pad, but chapter outlines only ever exist in my head.
What do you do while you’re writing (listen to music, TV in the background, etc.)?
When I’m writing the main body of a chapter I’ve usually got the TV on in the background, usually Netflix, writing in silence just doesn’t work for me. I love that I can just pick a TV show and let Netflix do its thing. But when I’m editing, I have to have silence, I get distracted and miss things otherwise.
What annoys you the most when you are trying to write?
People. I very much get into a zone when I’m writing. I don’t mind answering a text message here or there, but if the conversation goes on too long, I can’t deal. It takes me out of the moment.
If you have finished a fic, what was your feeling on it?
Besides one shots, I have two finished stories. Dead on Arrival was my very first full-length story. I look back on it now and I have such mixed feelings about it. I love the story itself, but I feel like it’s obvious in the writing that it’s my first story. When I finished Wonderland, on the other hand, I cried. I felt like it was the story where I really found my “voice” and writing style.
What are your favorite fandoms to write?
I only write in SVM, Arrow, and Doctor Who. It takes very special characters to grip me enough to make me want to write them adventures. Stories for me always start with “What happens if…” I may branch out eventually, but my stories are tied directly to characters so I need a good idea. I would love to write for Battlestar Galactica, I adore Starbuck and Apollo, but I’ve never come up with a good idea for them.
That being said, Sookie and Eric will always be my favorites to write.
Who are your favorite characters to write
Eric Northman, Pamela Ravenscroft, and Felicity Smoak
Why?
Eric Northman: He has such a rich history, but it’s mostly undefined. Both of his makers despised him, I don’t. I like writing him because he’s such a challenge to write. There needs to be balance between him being an arrogant thousand-year-old vampire and a Viking with a heart of gold.
Pamela Ravenscroft: She’s Pam. ‘Nough said.
Felicity Smoak: She comes the closest of all the characters that’s most like me. With her, I can write all the witty, snarky language I use on a daily basis. I love her because she seems all lightness and hope, but there’s an undercurrent of darkness and pain inside her that she hides so well. Also? I always wanted to be a hacker.
Who are your least favorite characters to write?
Right now? Ray Palmer from Arrow.
Why?
I hated the way his character was written and how he treated Felicity in the third season. If his issues had been addressed on the show I might feel differently, but they weren’t, so he left an appalling taste in my mouth, which makes it really hard to write him without that seeping through.
What is your favorite scene or story you have written and why?
The epilogue of Wonderland. I love writing romance tinged with heartbreak. The Doctor lived his happy ending, but at the end of it all came to say goodbye to Eric and Sookie.
The other scene I loved writing was Freyda’s Halloween party in Dead on Arrival. Based off of Dante’s nine levels of hell, it was the first time I really tried to write something dark and disturbing. I had much more fun with it than I would have thought.
What is the most difficult story or scene you have written, and why?
The ending of the most recent chapter of Much Ado About Vampires. Sookie and Eric are still being stubborn. They still aren’t on the same page, but as their writer, I know they’re perfect for each other. They’re both so lost right now and I just want to make it right. I just wanted them to yell at each other and get out all their concerns, but then kiss and make up. Unfortunately, they aren’t there yet.
Do you see any characteristics in the characters you write?
Yes.
Which ones and whom?
Pam’s potty mouth. Pam and Felicity’s snark. Sookie’s stubbornness.
What do you like most about your preferred fandom?
I love Sookie and Eric. They’re so in love, but they have no idea. I just want to knock their heads together and lock them in a room until they work it out. They’re both flawed and I love flawed characters. I hate when they make bad decisions, but they seem more human to me that way.
How would you describe your fics?
Darkness with a side of romance. Romance with a side of darkness.
What story would you recommend of your own for a new fan to start first?
Wonderland. It has all the characteristics of my other fics, but I think it’s the most accessible, despite being a crossover. You don’t have to be a Doctor Who fan or a Sookie Vampire Mysteries fan to enjoy it. Though if you’re a fan of either, there’s a lot there for you to love. Not to mention, it’s the closest I’ve ever come to writing a straight up romance.
Now the HARD questions:
If you could offer a suggestion to someone who is thinking of publishing their first story, what would it be?
Just do it. Stop worrying about what people will think of it (advice I still struggle to follow.) If you’ve got a story that just won’t leave you alone, then sit down and write it.
If you could go back in time, and give yourself one word of advice, what would you say? (No Lottery numbers or anything like that!!!)
No.
What 5 stories would you recommend someone read? Please list fandom, sites and name with pairing.
SVM: Fairytale Amber—Wordpress: Scratches – Eric and Sookie
True Blood: Meridian—AddictedtoGodric—Wordpress: Anticipating – Godric and Cara
SVM: Wannabewriter25—Fanfiction: I Remember You – Eric and Sookie
True Blood: Realjena—Wordpress: A Thousand Years – Eric and Sookie
Arrow: Dettiot—Fanfiction: Blinded by Love and Daring – Oliver and Felicity
Is there something you wished I asked, and if so, what as well as the answer.
Is it even possible to pick a favorite Kittyinaz story? Answer: No.
::Blushing:: Umm. Yeah. Wow. Thanks Secret Nerd Princess!!!!!
And what can I say after that? Umm… Go visit her and check her out, she is freaking awesome. Seriously! I might be biased, since she is the beta for MamaKitty, but still, I have loved all her stories!
Thanks for reading!
The Non-Canon Awards 