I Want It Painted Black by SaritaDreaming

I Want It Painted Black by Saritadreaming

Official Summary
Izzy Black *Bella* is a bad girl with issues. Edward Cullen is the vampire that brings it all down in an inner battle between darkness and light. He'll go to great lengths to melt her frozen heart. WINNER DARKELLA'S DARKEST TEMPTATIONS M themes/LEMONS

Review
What if Bella found out about vampires before meeting Edward? The author takes a different approach to Twilight with this fic. She makes you think and has a way of really attaching the reader to the characters. The story has been nominated for many awards and has won several.

If you’re a fan of weak and innocent Bellas, this is not a Bella for you. Izzy Black is a tough cookie especially armed with her Smith & Wesson rifle. She can handle herself and is convinced she needs no one. We first meet Izzy on an abandoned street in Port Angeles. She is approached by a gang but unlike Twilight where her knight in sparkly skin saves her, Izzy handles things herself. We eventually learn what has Izzy so blocked off as she enters Charlie's, no, her, house.

“The pain started rolling in like a freight train...images flying at me a hundred miles an hour...I fell to my knees just inside, managing to kick the door shut. My chest tightened, rendering me immobile—God, I just needed to get to my stash! Was it going to be like this every time? No...it must have been those stupid fucks that tried to attack me...bringing it all back. I was assaulted by memories, powerless to stop them from coming...”

Izzy enrolls at Forks High School. She does it for herself, no one else, and is a very smart student. To say she cares about school would be a lie. Izzy is a loner, sits by herself at lunch but quietly observes, searching for her prey. It’s in Biology that she meets Edward Cullen. Unlike Twilight canon, she is aware of what he is and even torments him with it slightly. We eventually hear Edward's thoughts on their first meeting:

”After all, she was hard and rude, with a mouth on her that would make a sailor blush, she would fuck anyone that struck her fancy and she filled her body with illegal and illicit substances.”

Edward feels very protective of Izzy, though he would never dare tell her. Izzy needs no one and is insistent on keeping it that way. Through an unexpected turn of events, a truly sadistic James marks Izzy as his own. When Edward realizes this, he gives up his hidden protectiveness and makes Izzy his mission, his life, and the fight becomes personal.

Izzy is slow to respond to Edward, afraid he will leave her in one way or another. She is constantly at a battle with herself closed off, but secretly pleading for attention. Edward slowly works his way into her space, but not without a fight.

Smoothing my hair back, he leaned in to kiss me and I shied away. "What is it?" he whispered, and I could hear the fear in his voice—he knew something wasn't right. I couldn't look into his golden eyes because I would lose my resolve. "Edward, I need to be alone right now." "Izzy, don't run away. I know you felt something." "Please, Edward. I'll see you tonight?"

Izzy and Edward’s relationship develops slowly but surely through the story. We are introduced to the entire Cullen family and watch and enjoy Edward's dislike of Jake. The battles Izzy faces both internally as well as the everyday hassles of real life. Izzy stays strong-willed and true to her character through the fic. We are only 12 chapters in and Saritadreaming has lemons that will rock your world, Izzy that will make you blush, and as always the gallant Edward.

This is different from many fics I have read. It is dark and twisted but in an awesome way. The author has a way of hooking you and making you care about her characters. This story will leave you wanting more and saying “Just one more chapter and I’ll sleep.” Hope you all enjoy it!

Author’s Interview

1. How did you come up with the Title of your Fic? I like unique titles for stories; I know when I'm fic diving, an interesting title will grab my eye. I happened to be listening to 'Painted Black' by The Rolling Stones when I was still deciding on a title for this story. It just fit with my character, Izzy (Bella), and how dark she is, how often she aligns herself with everything black. 'I want it painted black' sounded like something she would say—she'd want it all black, LOL. She's sardonic, snarky, bitchy and her 'inner banshee' keeps up a constant commentary of negativity.

2. Do you have any writing rituals? What is your writing ‘process’? I listen to music really loudly on my earbuds, LOL. I know that sounds counter-productive, but I find that it focuses me. Usually, I will choose a song that fits the mood of the chapter I'm writing, and I'll play it over and over as I write.

As far as writing process... I have to get in the mood, so to speak. Before I start writing, I allow my characters 'space' in my head for a while—could be a day or an hour—and when they are 'speaking,' then I can write. I see them, feel them. They're alive to me.

Unfortunately, I don't have too many huge blocks of time to sit and write. I'm a wife and mother, I work, I beta for Twilighted and write story recs for TheTwiGirlsNextdoor. I'm a busy bugger. Once I'm on track with a chapter, the characters will speak whenever I have a few spare minutes for writing. If I had to wait for a lot of free time, I wouldn't be putting out much, and I write a lot.

3. What made you want to write this story, what inspired you? This all started with the Darkella's Darkest Temptations contest ('I Want It Painted Black' won first place, voters choice). I saw it as an opportunity to write something darker, something different. We see lots of Darkward—and I love him, too—but this really caught my eye. My Izzy is damaged goods, she's rude and crude, she curses like a sailor and makes no apologies—at least until one very schmexy vampire gets in her face and refuses to let her go.

4. What was your main inspiration for your lead characters? I believe that we are shaped by our circumstances, and I like to shape my characters in the same way in an attempt to bring them to life. This story is my vision of what Bella would have turned out like if she had gone through the horrors set forth in my story. In that way, I see my story as a twisted up Twilight. My Edward is fairly Canon, but he adapts to what is before him. His mate is a damaged human girl that refuses to feel. She hurts Edward over and over again, but he persists until he shatters all the walls around her. Throw in her torrid past with a member of the wolfpack, and a very sadistic James, who pursues her relentlessly, and what do you have then? Well, you'll have to come take a look and see... Smirk.

5. Which fanfic authors inspire you the most? I'm hesitant to name names because I'm sure to forget someone and because the list would be long. I'm inspired by authors that can make me feel what they write. When I read (and I haven't much time for it since I started writing) I want to be transported. Many of the authors that inspire me are what I would call 'unsung heroes.' Authors who are not extremely popular, but that doesn't make their writing any less beautiful or poignant. I'm a champion of the underdog. There are so many awesome fics out there with too few reviews. I tend to read a mix of big name authors and the smaller ones, too. I'm an equal opportunity fic diver, LOL.

6. What Fics do you reread often? I don't reread fics. I barely have time to read because I'm addicted to writing. My main source of reading at the moment consists of beta work for Twilighted and searching for recs for the TwiGirls. I envy those who have hours and hours for reading, to be honest. I can remember many a night staying up until 3 or 4 am reading—now I'm up until the wee hours writing. But I wouldn't trade it for anything because writing is my true addiction.

7. If you could pick a Fic universe to live in, which one would you chose? Twilight, AU. I love vampfic the most of all. AH is okay, but AU w/vamps is my all time fave.

8. When Fic diving what do you look for; Humor, Angst, Slash, Canon? I prefer E/B vampfic, romance/drama. I can handle angst if I know there's a happy ending, but I get so sucked in, the characters are like real people to me. If one of them dies... a piece of me does, too. If a story ends badly, I won't read it, no matter how well it's written. There is only one exception to that rule which was 'Carpe Noctem & Fiat Lux' by queenofgrey. If I was likely to reread a story, that would probably be it. Shhh...

9. When you aren't writing which fics are you reading right now? I read updates as they come in for my faves, and I have a folder full of chapters that I need to catch up on. Again, I have so little time to read for pleasure that I often fall behind. I can't pick a fave at the moment. I'm so afraid of leaving someone out that I adore. I won't do it, and you can't make me!

10. Are you in the closet or do your RL friends and family know about your love and obsession with all things Twilight? Totally in the closet! LOL I even use a penname for my original fics because I'm afraid if I knew someone that knows me was reading it, then I might change what I write. My hubby knows I write fanfic, and he supports my addiction. He gives me time to write, and he buys me magazines about writing, etc. He's the only one that knows. We have an agreement that he can read all my fanfic when I kick off. Until then, he minds his biz. LOL.

11. How were you introduced to the fandom? Do you remember which story was the first you read? As I read BD and flipped the pages back and forth, sure that some were... um... missing... I was outraged to find out that SM dicked out on us. Even PG can be written sensually, but missing pages were abhorrent to me. I waited so long for that moment... then, nothing. Someone on a group told me about Maggie Chambers, who wrote a missing honeymoon scene. I went in search of that, and found the wonderful world of fanfic. The first real story I read was 'Wide Awake.' which I would also reread if I had the time. I just kept diving in from there. Ironically, Maggie Chambers was the one who encouraged me to start writing, so I owe a huge debt of gratitude to her... and by extension SM for wussing out on the love scenes. I might not be writing otherwise.

12. If you were stranded on Isle Esme, which two TwiSaga Characters would you want with you? Edward and Edward. An AH Edward with smoldering green eyes, and a vamp Edward with equally smoldering burnished gold eyes. What we'd be doing on that island... not saying.

13. Do you have anyone that you'd like to thank for helping and supporting you through this fic? God, yes! I first have to thank Sandy who screamed her way through the original IWIPB one shot as I wrote it. I would send her small sections to pre-read as I was writing it. Keye signed on as a pre-reader shortly after the one shot was out. These two ladies pre-read all my stories, help me pick out musical inspiration and are just all around wonderful women and friends.

I also have to profusely thank my beta, Jess (jkane180), for her awesomeness. She knows when to kick me in the ass (such as way back when I was shy about writing the words cock and pussy—look at me now, Jess!) and she's taught me enough grammar/punctuation that I'm now a beta myself. Love her, and anyone who gets her as a beta is one lucky bitch. Big smooshy hugs to Bella Flan for introducing us.

Thank you to Wendy (wmr1601) who has become a dear friend and recently signed on to do beta/prereading work on many of my stories, including IWIPB.

There are a few others I need to shout out to. Katsflowergirls, Paula (popola), Cierra Hill Thomas, Kimi D, Reb, Sonja, Ildira, KNG1986, OTB (Obsessedtwibrarian).... I'm stopping now, but there are many more of you who have supported me in different ways. A special shout-out to Tracey (Vtweetymccn) and Lindsey, along with their awesome crew of EMTs and firefighters, who read all my stories and make bets on them, LOL.

Last, but certainly not least, thank you to all my loyal readers. I'm not the most popular author in the fandom, but I have some really awesome and thoughtful readers. I count myself very lucky, and I appreciate each and every one of you.

14. Do you have any other projects going on? Any planned for the future? The main one, which I'm very excited about, is entering the TWCS Original Fiction contest! I've finally decided to put some of my own original fic on the block. I'd love it if readers would check out my story and let me know what they think of it. It's called 'The Weight of Roses' and can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/6f9ewhy

I'm currently writing several other Twilight stories which can be found on my profile at Fanfiction.net: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1961871/Saritadreaming My full length WIP stories are 'I Saw You Coming,' 'Broken Windows,' Shattered into a Thousand Pieces,' and 'Speak Now.' 'Speak Now' is my first foray into a mutli-chapter AH story and is a collab with the talented Wendy (wmr1601).

I also have several one-shots on my profile, and I donate outtakes and one-shots to many of the fandom causes such as: Fandom Against Domestic Violence, FoxyFics, FGB for Autism, Fandom4Tsunami and Fandom for Sexual Assault Awareness.

15. Is there any information that you would like to share that was not already covered? There is one thing I feel compelled to say, since I have an audience. There seems to be a growing trend in the fandom of drama, rudeness and general negative fuckery. The last time I checked, we were grown women. I've seen email, chats, and private conversations posted for all to see, friends turned enemies, catty remarks galore... and it really hurts my heart. I love how we all come together for fandom causes, donating stories and working side by side to raise money. That's what this fandom is all about—not being jealous of someone else's success, but applauding it. Helping a less popular author gain more readers or just keeping your yap shut if you don't have something kind to say.

Sorry, but this issue really rankles with me. I abhor all things drama unless it's part of a fic!

16. Any additional information you would like posted?

Banners for IWIPB:

Oh, my God! I just realized what a banner hOOr I really am. I'm listing some banners, but not all.

Banner by Betty Gefecht: http://tinyurl.com/42nnlyk

Banners by Julie: http://tinyurl.com/3bbju4g

http://tinyurl.com/3dtng28

http://tinyurl.com/3dqfqhq

http://tinyurl.com/3s8rc79

Banner by Dazzled by Jake: http://tinyurl.com/3rhq2ul

Banner by Eva: http://tinyurl.com/4x9e9fb

I have some beautiful banners for my various stories made by some very talented graphic artists: Julie and Eva from FwaR, Betti Gefecht, Lindz, Dazzled by Jake, and I am Kate. Here's the link to my album where they can be seen: http://tinyurl.com/3rzjfdv

Thank you very, very much to the ladies at TwiFicDatabase for choosing my story as fic of the week!

Thanks for Reading!!
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TwiFicDataBase Staff

@Jess_Ann06

Posted in: Bella,Edward,Hurt/Comfort,Jess,PoW,Romance