Interview with BelleDean

Winter of Love is one of the fics I've been pimping hard since I started my site.  I love the fic, and not to mention the author behind it all.  She was one of my first twitter friends, and she is so sweet!  I hope you enjoy this!  I'm starting to see a pattern.  I like to talk.  So here it goes....




So to start...The one thing I always want to know...How did you discover Twilight?

BelleDean: Well, a friend of mine went to see the movie and complained about how bad it was. It was the very first Twilight movie, and I laughed with him because the story idea seemed so silly to me and the fact that it was about teenagers who were not having sex seemed unfathomable. Add to the fact that SM is a Mormon (which basically means she believes in magic underpants) and the book was automatically at the bottom of my "must read" list if you will. Then around Christmas of 2008 I got really sick with a good case of bronchitis and decided to read anything that could be delivered via B&N in a 24 hour period. Needless to say I was completely hooked!

Haha. Now that I look back on it, if I hadn't have read the books before the movie, i probably would have done the same thing.

BelleDean: I didn't even see the movie in a theater. LOL. I couldn't see myself paying for it.  But I was so bored and Barnes & Nobles delivers bestsellers free of charge to your house in Manhattan within 24 hours. So I ordered all 4 of them at once.

I saw the triple feature when Eclipse came out because my friend hadn't seen the first two, and I almost couldn't sit through the first one. I used to love it.  Oh really?? They deliver it?? That is so cool!

BelleDean: Yeah, but now I live in Brooklyn - and they don't do that in this borough.

Oh that sucks.

BelleDean: It's still good - my office is in Manhattan - LOL  So I just get it at work. Though I bought an ipad - and I love how you can instantly download books on the thing.

And then I discovered the all mighty AG003 - and discovered fanfiction, which is really much, much better than the original books.

Which i will ask..How did you find fanfiction?

BelleDean: I went on SM's site to read "Midnight Sun" - and then stumbled on a bunch of fan-sites that were connected to her site. So I clicked on one site, which led me to ff.net and my very first story was – of course – Wide Awake.

That's different! I read the other day that SM actually knows about fanfiction haha. She must be stroking out.

BelleDean: Some authors encourage it while others don't I heard. I also read somewhere that some pretty main stream authors at some point started out in the ff world.

That being said, I have no illusions about getting my fiction published.  I don't have any interest haunting down an agent to publish my derivative smut. LOL

Does anyone know about your ficwriting?

BelleDean:  I can tell you right of the bat that I'm completely & deeply in the closet about reading or writing fanfiction. Nobody, but my husband knows about it.

I'm not opposed to meeting up with other ff people though, but I would NEVER tell my RL friends that I write or read fanfiction. I don't even admit to most people that I read Twilight.  It's quite pathetic, isn't it?

ALL of my friends know i love twilight. Its like a running joke. BUT If they knew about fanfiction and twitter, they would commit me.

BelleDean: why am I so ashamed? I dunno.

I stopped being ashamed. I thought...hey what the hell. I like it, so who cares what other people think.

BelleDean: I obviously have issues and should start seeing a shrink! LOL

No you don't. haha, I think the majority of the twilight fandom is in the closet.

BelleDean: phew - that makes me feel better.

So what made you start writing? Was it a previous hobby, or were you inspired by a certain author?

BelleDean: I've always liked spinning stories in my head, but never had the guts in college to sign up for a creative writing class or anything. Just the thought of having to share one of my stories with my peers to have it critiqued scared the hell out of me.

So when I discovered fanfiction, I discovered that you could publish stuff, get feet back via reviews and do so while remaining completely anonymous. I found that hugely appealing.

I love that too. I don't think I could do any of this if it wasn't anonymous.

BelleDean: I'd always imagined it to be very daunting to sit in class and go over something that you've written. Neither my Bella nor my Edward are particularly based on personal experience or my own character, but still I feel very attached and protective of them.

Fanfiction makes is better in my opinion. You get to have fun with your characters. you get the reader feedback, and not to mention the fandom.  Its not so serious.

BelleDean: Yes and you meet lots of intelligent, thoughtful and all around awesome people! (present company included of course!)

Hehe! Yes

BelleDean: As to writers that inspired me, Jandco of course, AngstGoddess003...ooohlalaaa (I miss her!). Actually, there are so many. Each day I discover a new fiction that's really well written, I'm in awe.

Me too! Ever since I've started my rec site, I've really started to branch out on reading. I love fic diving. I love the underdogs.

BelleDean: Times New Roman - I loved that story and she pulled it off!

Really? I didn't know that!

BelleDean: yes, maybe it's still on ADF. I honestly was completely in awe of that author!

I'm also very impressed by PTB. I think these ladies put so much time and effort into helping writers out - it's inspiring.

One downside is that it is very difficult for me to keep up with updates and such, between twitter, my website, and beta work.

BelleDean: Yeah, ever since I started writing I feel the same way about it.

I have to set aside a day to catch up on my updates.

BelleDean: I sometimes read on the train on my phone.

I read from my iphone.

BelleDean: yep, same here!

Are there any books you are reading right now?

BelleDean: I'm currently reading Infinite Jest - my beta KCerena mentioned it in her story and I thought I should read a real book at least once in a while. So I downloaded it one morning. I'm only up to page 50 so far, but I like it a lot.

I believe that americnxidiot just finished that. I remember seeing stuff about it in my feed. I've never heard of it.

BelleDean: I also should probably mention that my betas very much inspire me. And I also currently pre-read for the lovely kisvadonkdok - her story is called "Mating in Captivity." Yes, I saw americnxidiot twittering about it with my beta ironically!

So all the ladies that I beta for, pre-read for - etc - or that sometimes give me comments before I post - I owe them totally! My story would suck without their support.

betas and prereaders are awesome! (and i'm not saying that because i beta.)

BelleDean: You rule!

betas and prereaders are not just editors. it is a great form of feedback. You can brainstorm with them, and go to them when you need help.

They catch things that you as an author wouldn't notice.

BelleDean: I feel awful for the amount of mistakes they have to deal with! I don't know what I would do without them.

Yes I agree!  Okay. Of course I know this...but What is Winter of Love about for anyone who hasn't jumped on the bandwagon yet?

BelleDean: Well, I just had to sort of write my own review for the story for the "Under the Radar" feature of the Twilight Awards site. Okay, so here we go. My first inspiration was my dad's record collection.  Which led to a complete fascination with the decade of the 60s in general - after all it was a decade that brought along a lot of change.

So it was very natural for me in a sense to pick that decade as a setting for my story.

In order to create conflict, I made Bella the pot smoking daughter of a hippie mother and Edward the son of well established parents with a conservative backgrounds. In a way I tried to reflect the sociocultural conflict of the decade in my relationship between Bella and Edward, though I'm not certain how successful I am in doing that.

You are doing great! I love it! I really feel like I am experiencing that conflict when I read the relationship. It reminds me a lot of my dad. I was raised on the Beatles, and he has a HUGE record collection. My dad is a musician, and used to play in bands and smoke pot. He had the long hippie hair.

BelleDean: Yeah, my dad has a huge record collection and the very first song I learned to sing was Michelle by the Beatles. Contrary to what people might think from reading my story, I very much LOVE the Beatles. But my dad was actually 18 in 1969 and he thought the Beatles were so mainstream & boring - and so I had my Bella say that. A lot of people ripped me a new one for that

My dad was 15 in 1969. He was obsessed with the Beatles. He switched his middle name to his first and is now Paul, because of Paul McCartney.  Oh yeah. And did I mention that my name is Lucy?

BelleDean: LOL Lucy - of course. I mention that song in my story. Kaleidoscope eyes. Gawt - I do love the Beatles!

(Psst. I'm in love with Across the Universe, but most Beatles fans hate that movie.)

BelleDean: NO - I LOVE it. Evan Rachel Wood - great, great actress!

YES THANK YOU. YOU JUST EARNED MAJOR COOL POINTS.

BelleDean: Have you seen Down in the Valley? - It was with her and Ed Norton. She is really great!  And I like her in True Blood too!

I haven't seen it, but i know what it is. And I love her in TB also!!  I remember her from her Thirteen days. And Nikki Reed. And Catherine Hardwicke (unfortunately)

BelleDean:  You just have to see past the fact that she was dating Marylin Manson.

 I never expected that. But oh well...You can't help who you love. She was in one of his music videos. Heart shaped glasses I believe.

BelleDean: There is actually one Cathrine Hardwicke film I absolutely love. It's called Lords of Dogtown.

Okay i agree with you on that. That is like her one saving grace for me. I love Lords of Dogtown. I watch it all the time

BelleDean: Yeah, me too. And I love Emile Hirsche! I can't help it. I loved him in Into the Wild and Milk and almost everything else. I don't care whether he is on a personal level an asshole. He sure as shit can act!  I didn't care for Thirteen Days  though.

Have you seen The Air I Breathe?

BelleDean: No. What is that about?

Its hard to explain. It follows the life of four people and shows how they intertwine. Its a beautiful movie. I love it.

BelleDean: Who is in it?

Emile Hirsche is in it, but not for long. Brendan Fraiser, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Kevin Bacon

BelleDean: Sounds like a strange combination.  Brendan Fraiser got kind of fat!

LOL

I promise its amazing. and yes he did. haha.

BelleDean: and now he's chasing wild live?  I'll go check it out on netflix. Have you seen The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo yet?  I'd strongly recommend that one - and the original - not the American remake that I hear is in the works.

I've been thinking about it, I've heard of it.  My friend is reading the book. 
Has is been hard writing a fic based in the 60's? What have you done to research?

BelleDean: Yes, contrary to the believes of some readers I have done extensive research into the period, but of course not everything is completely accurate. That would be really, really hard! I've researched films, music and political events.  So I took some creative liberties. I deeply apologize. Apparently telephone plugs were rather uncommon back in the day. The Monkees got actually canceled in 1968 - and were later only shown in reruns.

I think you did great for never living in that decade. It hard. there are so many things to watch out for.

BelleDean: Some of the language my teenagers use is also according to some readers too current. I tried looking up 60s slang, but then I just drove myself crazy trying to incorporate it.  You can only try to so much - and for fuck's sake - this is fanfiction people!

I know what you mean!  There are so many things you could overlook. Its a story. Enjoy it!

BelleDean: After someone hosted a campfire for WOL on ADF I got a lot of flames. Some were constructive and I didn't mind them, but some were outright mean. I wanted to tell them to shove it. Seriously   It takes an incredible amount of time & discipline to write any story and I think if you cannot say something positive or at least offer constructive, private advice, don't bother at all!

True!  Does your Edward have a "ward" name?

BelleDean: not really! I haven't really thought about it.

lol Bella can be stonerella

BelleDean: Is there any specific characteristics that stand out when you think about him? I think I could have painted a better picture of him. yeah, B s definitely Stonerella.

He can't be considered conservative because he experiments

BelleDean:  Shyward? dunno.  establishmentward

estalishmentward and stonerella. there you go.
 
BelleDean: square-ward. He is awfully square.

haha

You can find Winter of Love HERE
You can follow the author on twitter HERE