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Still of the Night by StAngelS

BBella wakes up every night at 2.13am, heart racing, fearful. Can the Doctor cure her or will the arrival of a dark stranger help Bella find peace from her past?

Visions of Our Destiny by ForksPixie

Jasper has been waiting 60 years for Alice's vision of his vampire soul-mate. What happens when she knocks on the Cullen door escorted by the Volturi Guard. Vamp Story /AU

The Feeder by Lindsay520

Bella is captured as Edward's newest "feeder". After weeks of drinking Bella's blood, one night takes a strange and seductive turn, sending Edward's mind spinning in circles.

A Whole Lotta Trouble by jacndaniel

After graduating from college, Bella makes her way to Vegas so she can marry her childhood sweetheart. An unexpected stop lands her in a lazy little town and on Edward's doorstep. Mechanicward meets Sassella ...Hijinx ensue...

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Do you have a fic that you wanna talk about? Well we wanna hear about it!!

Meet our new staffer, @jaydogrut!

But you can call him Jason. He's a great guy (that's right - we've got a dude on staff!!) and we know you'll come to love him just as much as we do.
Hi, my name is Jason and I'm married to @agrutle. I am a pretty simple man. I was introduced to the fandom by @obsmama and @agrutle. They both got me hooked on Twilight and the movies and I thought that was enough lol. However, I came home from work one day to see both of these ladies sitting around the computer whispering about EP and MOTU; I was intrigued and so I read. I was impressed at the originality that these stories possessed and I was hooked. I really got involved when I started and was the first man to win a game of TwiFic Trivia and my friend base grew from there. Since those fateful weeks, I have started to read and write slash - I've always wanted to be different, lol. I also have a canon and non-canon fic that I will finish once I have completed my current story, Jasper's Wanted Needs. I'm @jaydogrut on twitter, if you want to follow. See you all soon.
Go check out his story and leave him some love!
Thanks!
@sapphirescribe

Beautiful Sorrow by DreamOfTheEndless

Beautiful Sorrow by DreamOfTheEndless

Bella is a mess. Her life is a mess. At 22 years old, she's a recovering alcoholic, a recovering anorexic, she has almost 24-hour care and a shrink who comes to her house twice a week for therapy. Her abusive husband (Carlisle) barely speaks to her and she can hardly muster the energy to speak to anyone else, including her therapists.

If you like character development and tense, anticipatory build-up, this story is for you. We see snippets of Bella's life "today" - her nutritionist bargaining with her like a child to eat her meals ("If you can tell me the secret ingredient, I'll leave you alone at lunch") an uncomfortable birthday phone call with her parents in which Bella tries to remember the lies she told about her last birthday.  The worst for me was the midnight inspection by her husband.  It happens at the end of the very first chapter and really sets the tone for the rest of the story.

She woke up in her bed later that night with a distinct feeling that she was no longer alone. She could sense the presence of her husband sitting across the room, watching her from his usual spot. [...] She trembled in fear, her heart threatening to beat out of her chest. She clenched her eyes shut. Maybe she was only imagining his presence. Maybe it was only a nightmare.

"I know you're awake, Isabella." [... his eyes] were dead; completely devoid of any hint of life or hope. They didn't even show any glimmer of anger or rage. Just hard, cold nothingness.

I did this to him. I made hiim this way. I deserve all the sufferings in the world.

As he requires, Bella then gets out of bed, moves to the center of the room and strips. She stands before her husband, naked, embarrassed, afraid, and, despite his presence, alone. He hasn't visited her in her room in months so she has no idea whether this night will be one of physical or emotional abuse.  Turns out, that night it's psychological.

After that, the author spends quite a bit of time going back in time and showing how Bella and Carlisle met. Back when he had at least the appearance of being a good man and before the mistake she made that brought them to where they are today. I'm not going to share the few details with you that I know about the mistake, but I will say that it involves Edward. Truly though, the details are sparse. With as little as Bella interacts with anyone, she's mainly in her head, remembering better times and trying to escape, since a physical escape is impossible.

Though I don't have first-hand experience with either alcoholism or anorexia, DreamOfTheEndless seems to handle both difficult subjects with maturity and grace. Neither is glamorized, nor are they vilified.  The author recognizes the shades of grey in life, though not all of her characters (*ahem* Carlisle) do. You can't help but sympathize with Bella even though she certainly deserves to feel every ounce of guilt coursing through her system.  If you're looking for hard-hitting angst and a well-told story, look no farther.

Thanks for reading!
@TwiFicDataBase staff 

Barely Breathing by jarkin33

 

Official Summary: A love taken for granted, we don't always realize what we have until it's gone. "They say bad things happen for a reason and I'd like to believe that's true." A story about realizing what's important.

Review:
 
Barely Breathing starts right in on the action - Edward has had a busy day at work (really he's had a year-long string of busy days) and has to cancel special dinner plans with Bella.  He comes home to the apartment they share to find a tired, haggard-looking Bella sitting on the couch with a packed bag at her feet.

The dreaded "I just can't do this anymore... This, Edward... us," brings Edward to his metaphorical knees.  What's worse is what Bella leaves by the door on her way out: a platinum engagement ring with a note: "Please marry me."

Switching to Bella's point of view, you feel the sting of rejection when Bella gets stood up, especially since it happens on the night she plans to propose.  Yes, it's unconventional, but she doesn't want to wait for Edward to make the move and she knows she wants to be with him forever.

Edward's cancellation is the straw that breaks the camel's back.  His work has been consuming his life and their time together for too long and Bella just can't take it anymore.

Barely Breathing
 is a short story, less than 10,000 words, but the emotion is so raw and powerful, it's easy to get swept up.  jarkin33 doesn't go into a lot of unnecessary details about Edward and Bella's lives and I really appreciate that.  She tells us what's important - just how much Edward and Bella mean to each other, just how far they went wrong, and just how much they want to fight for one another.  I don't want to spoil the story with a ton of quoting, so I'll leave you with just these two little bits.  At their core, these two passages, and the story as a whole, are a reminder to all of us to cherish what we have.  They're also a warning about taking things and people in your life for granted.
They say bad things happen for a reason and I'd like to beve that's true, but it's getting harder and harder to do.  I want to call her, I want to go to her and tell her that the best part of me was always you and I want to remind her of what we had.  I want her to know that I'm falling to pieces without her... I'm still alive, but I'm barely breathing.  She took her suitcase and I took the blame.

 

[H]ow do I tell this woman that I love and adore her and how do I tell her not to give up on 'us.'  How do I say I'm sorry and have her believe me and how do I tell her that I can't have a life without her.  How do I make her see that I'm nothing without her and no matter what she says she will always have my heart.  How do I do all that without some sort of grand gesture?  What if she doesn't want that with me anymore?

 

Author Interview:
How did you come up with the title of your fic?
This one was based on the song Breakeven by The Script, but I thought that would be too ... easy! LOL - so my lovely friend and I brainstormed and came up with Barely Breathing - now it makes me think of the song by Duncan Shiek when I think of the title!

Do you have any writing rituals?  What is your writing process?
No rituals at all.  I just have to be in the mood.  It's the worst feeling in the world to sit in front of the computer and not be able to go go go.  I am not an outliner.  I usually have a basic idea in my head of what I want to do with each chapter, but getting from a to b is never really planned.

What made you want to write this story? What inspired you?
Liek I said, the story itself was inspired by the song Breakeven by The Script.  It's so damn sad but they always tell a good story with their music.  I really love the idea of this as a story, but there was NO WAY I was going to be able to write it the way the song ended.

What was your main inspiration for your lead characters?
I think the situation Bella and Edward are in in this story is incredibly believable and it happens all the time.  We take the other person in our lives for granted, just assuming that they are happy, that they will always be there.  This time was just the last straw for Bella.  We all need to feel like we're important to the ones we love.

Which fanfic authors inspire you the most?
Ohhh this is tough - I love tons of authors and am inspired by creativity a million and one times a day... anyone who can tell me a good story and keep me riveted and begging for more pushes me to write better.

Specifically: phoebespromise, samrosey, littlesecret84, denverpopcorn, cosmogirl7481, lillybellis, abstractway, carenl, whatsmynomdeplume, cescamarie, Fiction Freak 95, BellaDCullen, troublefollows1017, solosintwilight, mandyleigh87, lola-pops

What fics do you reread often?
Love is the End, Rhapsody in B, We Come To Life Beneath the Stars, Conversations Over Coffee, The Best I Ever Had, Little Plastic Castle, Edward Cullen: Dick for Hire, Vines, Dead on my Feet

When fic-diving, what do you look for? (e.g., humor, angst, slash, canon?)
Humor and Romance... I'm a diehard flangst lover (fluffy angst).  I don't want to hurt too much when I'm reading a story and I think it's almost harder to write a funny story than an angsty story.

When you aren't writing, which fics are you reading right now?
Meet the Masens, In Your World, There is A Light, Once Upon A Desire, Animate Me, Captivate, Lust on a Deathbed, The Roommate, Rosebud

Are you in the closet or do your RL friends and family know about your love and obsession with all things Twilight?
Some of my family knows... my twin sister definitely knows about the writing.  My mom and friends know about my RPattz obsession but not so much about my fic stuff.

How were you introduced to the fandom?  Do you remember which story was the first you read?
I think I first read The Rain Season - maybe... god it seems lik eit was a million years ago when in all actuality it was only just bout 2 years ago that I first found fanfic.  I can't remember how exactly, I think I was on twitter and started seeing people talk about stories, etc., and got curious and clicked on a link or two and voila!

If you were stranded on Isle Esme, which two Twilight Saga characters would you want with you?
Um, Edward for sure... second - maybe Carlisle.  I mean, he'd be helpful if I got injured or something... and who wouldn't want to be stranded with them! LOL

Do you have anyone that you'd like to thank for helping and supporting you through this fic?
Gah - phoebespromise - I wouldn't have done it without her.  She is the one who talked me into writing it.  I wasn't going to and she said I should give it a try. So I did.

Do you have any other projects going on? Any planned for the future?
Projects... yes - my collab account with phoebespromise is aftrnoondlight - and we have a short story called Beneath the Undertow that we are going to be posting the final outtake for in the near future.  We also have a final "season" (chapter) for Willow coming soon.  Lastly, we have a story called Outbound in the works.  The first chapter was submitted as a part of the Fandom4SAA complication.  We can post that publicly on August 1st and will be updating that regularly until it's done!  Teaser videos etc can be found on our ffn page!

Is there any information that you would like to share that was not already covered?
I have a blog - www.jaimearkin.blogspot.com - and thank you... to everyone who has given me a chance and has read and reviewed. I truly do appreciate it.

Thanks for reading!
TFDB staff
@sapphirescribe

Dear Mr. Masen by jendonna



Official Summary
"Error 434: Reprimanding an executive." Life changing or just stupid? Dear Mr. Masen: A story of unauthorized internet usage, culinary delights and the goings-on at Cullen, Inc.

Review
I was lucky enough to find this story at almost the very first posting. I knew after reading the first author's note that it was going to be fantastic, and so far I've been proven right. Cute, clueless, but brilliant CFO Edward? Check. A self-assured, crazy, IT-working slash Chef Bella? Double check.

Dear Mr. Masen is a story about Edward and Bella; they work in the same company, meet by accident, become friends, and eventually fall for each other. Self-sabotage, a no-fraternization policy, and a variety of meddlers make any sort of relationship between these two almost impossible. The authors do a great job of giving each character their own identity and of making the characters themselves believable; this makes the story more real despite the sometimes unbelievable things that happen. The witty email exchanges, the use of delicious food, and gobs of UST are what put this story over the top.
 
She blushed a little, but not as much when I noticed that there was one particular glass that stood out from the rest. Me being me, I simply had to select that one. It was a Mayor McCheese glass, the collectible kind that McDonald's used to offer with certain meal deals for a limited time only. The Mayor had a cheeseburger for a head. I couldn't not pick him.

"Ah, I'll take this one," I said jovially. "I've always been amused with how this guy manages to stay balanced when he walks. I know many people with big heads, but not like this."

"I'm sure the pickles and ketchup are evenly distributed so as to lessen the tilt factor," Bella quipped, seemingly happy that I wasn't making fun of her for owning this particular piece of drinkware.

"Maybe the pickles should be on the side, like in his pocket," I mused. "He must get awful neck pain."

Bella laughed, and I was happy that I could return some of the joy she'd brought into my life.

"Maybe they have special chiropractors for fast food characters. If he and Hamburglar go together I bet they get a discount," she joked.

You just won't be able to get enough of this Edward. He's so smart and yet so clueless about social protocol that it's amazing Bella hasn't kicked his ass across across the city. In addition to his constant bumbles and mistakes, he has to remind himself of the no fraternization policy he's being groomed to take over. So dating between the two of them is a big no-no. Will he break the rules? (Of course he will! That's why we love him!)
And then I realized something as I was hugging her. She was warm and soft and... a woman. Not that I'd never noticed - we'd embraced before and there was no denying her beauty. But this was something entirely different and having her this close was awakening other parts of my body. Parts that were insisting I get even closer.

Go read Dear Mr. Masen and overdose on cuteness and hilarity. It's the perfect thing to keep you entertained while you're beating the heat by chilling by the pool.


Author Interview
What gave you the idea for this story?
J: This all started with a review I received for Finding Home, in which the reviewer, m1eab01 (who you can either thank or blame when this is all over), mentioned that what prompted her to read was a particularly rambling and nonsensical review I left for Bel's The Cullen Campaign. I thought it was really sweet, so I emailed Bel the details.

B: And I said "You and I should write a story one day that's like a ramble-off between Bella and Edward. I know I would read it! Office memos or something like that."

J: And then I said "I can totally see it now. Bella works in the IT department of a huge corporation, and she has to send memos to Edward about his unauthorized web surfing. She watches what he does and while she has to reprimand him about non-work related web usage during working hours, she also inserts little rambles about the websites he visits."

B: And then we discovered that we liked writing together, so much so that we turned that long chain of rambling emails into first few chapters of a real story. Yes, a real story. Not a fake one. A real one. We hope you enjoy reading this, because we've had a blast writing it!

J: Wait. This sounds familiar.

B: Does it? What are you saying? That we don't have any original ideas?

J: No, just that we're lazy.

B: Yeah, okay. So should I write a footnote saying we copy-pasted from our A/N?

J: Meh. That sounds like too much work.


Are there any fanfic authors that inspire you?
Not really. We inspire each other.

What was your main inspiration for your lead characters?
J: We were goofing off and trying to make each other laugh. It's really not more complicated than that.

B: She speaks the truth. Word.

What do you think it takes to make a fic special and stand out to a reader?
B: Special is a subjective term. Generally, I think something original and well-written should stand out. Or, you know, you can write a bunch of smut or something. ("Bunch of smut"... that doesn't seem like the best collective term. But I digress...).

What did/do you find the hardest about writing this story?
J: We literally live a world away, so collaborating can be difficult. So I'll neglect my family for a time when I know Bel is free. Because fan fiction is much more important than feeding my family.

B: In Tomorrowland, DMM writes you! Oh wait, that's Soviet Russia. My bad.

Why do you think people should read this story?
J: They shouldn't. It's terrible and we're a bad influence on the youth of the world.

B: Just the youth? Way to discriminate, J.

J: It's too late for adults, isn't it? We're already so screwed up it doesn't make a difference. Most adults know they can't orgasm on demand.

What cliches do you feel authors should avoid while writing fanfic?
J: That's not really for me to say. People write what they like, cliched or not, and I'm not here to judge. Though reading the word "Adonis" or "Greek god" in fic makes me want to go out and shoot up a shopping mall. But no big deal.

B: Wait...Edward is Greek?

J: What with all the anal in fic, I just assumed.

B: Greek anal? What the hell kind of fandom is this?

J: A very, very bad one. And that's why children should stay away. See, we've come full circle.

B: What circle? Is this some kind of ritual?

J: Yes. I'm a Druid. Didn't I tell you?

B: Huh?

J: Forget it. You'll find out tomorrow when I force you into a tree worshiping ceremony.

B: Oh, trees. Yeah, those things.

Do your RL friends and family know about your love and obsession with all things Twilight?
J: I'm not in love or obsessed with Twilight. I don't even own the books. I just like to write. My husband knows I write fic, but I don't advertise it to anyone else in my life.

B: No one knows anything - they wouldn't understand. No, I really mean "no one knows anything - they wouldn't understand." I wasn't trying to be emo and shit.

Do you have any other projects going on? Any planned for the future?
B: J is making me lunch as I type this. Does that count as a project? Will she make me another sandwich in the future? I sure hope so.

J: I'm spent from the sandwich making. We're ordering in for dinner.

Do you have anyone that you'd like to thank for helping and supporting you through this fic?
J: Sure. Our beta, SR, and our pre-readers Lucette212 and arfalcon have been invaluable.

B: I heart them.

When you aren't writing which fics are you reading right now?
B: I can't read. I'm functionally illiterate. I can only read my own work, plus Australian legal documents and the back of cereal boxes.

J: It's true. She dictates what she wants to write for DMM to me over Skype. I don't think she actually goes back and reads it, so I can make the characters do anything I want. Next chapter Bella is going to hook up with Jasper. Did we mention DMM is a Jasper/Bella? No?

B: Want some Cheerios?

J: Mmmmmm.

How were you introduced to the fandom? Do you remember which story was the first you read?
J: I was introduced through match.com. You?

B: Yellow Pages.

Is there any information that you would like to share that was not already covered?
We're sorry we didn't really answer your questions. We're normally not such douche bags – we were just having some fun. Thanks for the interview.

Thanks for reading!
TFDB Staff
Ash (@frzr71186)

[Ed note: If that author interview didn't make you want to read the story to see what kind of shenanigans Edward and Bella get into with each other, I don't know what will. -sapphire]

Father's Day Contest Winners!

I'll start by saying, once again, thank you to our authors, readers, affiliates, my co-hosts, and our judges. This was prolonged for far too long, so I won't waste time here with nonsense, I'll just get to our results!

First up, Hosts Choice(s)! In true TFDB style, there was no way we could all agree on just one story for host choice and we want to spread the love around, so each of our judges has their own favorite that they want to spotlight.

Chosen by Ash (@Frzr71186): No More Waiting by AutumnSong
Chosen by Mer (mlee03): Of Mermaids and Wildcats by Fairusa and MissRebecca
Chosen by Jay (@jaydogrut): Miracles and Mischief by Esme Mom Cullen
Chosen by Jess (@Jess_Ann06): The Best of Both Sides by TWILIFE2011

Next up, Best Lemon as chosen by the wonderful @jaydogrut, our only male host and purveyor of only the finest twitterp0rn:


And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, the fics chosen by you, our faithful ficcers and our authors faithful readers, the Fan Favorites!

In third place... well, actually, nothing. Cross my heart and hope to die, there was a tie! (Cross my heart, that was also an unintentional rhyme.)

In Second Place:


and


And the First Place Fan Favorite Fic:


Final thank you's once again to all of you. My co-hosts, our judges, everyone who tweeted and retweeted all along, everyone who voted, especially to our authors, you're all wonderful and I can't thank you enough.

I'd also be quite remiss to end this post without thanking JaimeArkin without whom we would have had no banners for fic pimping or prizes. Check out herblog or find her on twitter and let her know how awesome she truly is!

Crash by BelleDean



Official Summary
A financial collapse, a hurdle, a breakdown and a collision – though not necessarily in that order. E & B


Review
Very few stories are able to keep their grip over reality and still manage to lure you in with scrumptious drama and intrigue. Crash does that seamlessly. The story unfolds in the backdrop of the greatest stock market crash of our time; 15 September 2008, the day Merrill Lynch agreed to sell itself to Bank of America to avert a lethal debt crisis, while another financial giant, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy and spiraled toward liquidation after it failed to find a buyer.

As these corporate behemoths, supposedly “too big to fail”, come hurtling down, we see Edward standing in Time Square, contemplating a different kind of crisis; one involving his future with the girl he loves - Bella. While his fortunes may have vanished along with the stock market, his true woes lay in not knowing if he’d be able to convince Bella that his value didn’t diminish with his riches, that he was still worthy of her love.
Recounted solely from EPOV, the story then goes back a year to 2007, showing how these two central characters came into each other’s lives. We meet an ambitious, self absorbed and arrogant Edward trying to make it big as an investment banker as he navigates successfully through the maze of Wall Street. His conceited worldview is shown perfectly as he complains about the busy traffic on his way to work:

“I always wished – especially on days like that one – that they'd just moved the office back downtown. At least traffic on the FDR was less of a clusterfuck. The midtown office building was an omen of sorts, telling me that I worked for spineless suckers.I should have gotten the fuck out when I had a chance…”

The loaded last line is brilliantly framed, carrying more meaning than one.

Then he literally stumbles into Bella while exiting the elevator and while he is immediately struck down by Cupid's arrow, he makes less than stellar impression on her. However, our self assured hero is not the one to be intimidated by this elite, upper class girl, working as an intern at his company. He is not lacking in confidence, but even in the very beginning he knows that he has his work cut out for him:

“Attracting the attention of the female of the species had never been my weak point. I usually got what I wanted without much effort even when I didn't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out off. When I started making money hand over fist, I only had to snap my fingers to get prime meat. Yet my gut instinct told me that she might present a challenge.”

It doesn’t take him long to find a way to arrange introductions and much to his chagrin, she confides in him about her infatuation with a certain Riley. In his arrogance he fails to recognize how formidable his opponent is, which he lives to regret in the near future.

Then we get to know Bella, who comes from old money and is trying to break through the mold with her neo-liberal rebellion, very much propped up by her parents’ wealth. Edward wiggles into Bella’s life as a friend, never doubting once that it’s only matter of time before she’ll succumb to his charms.
Edward and Bella dance around each other for weeks and though Bella never makes any declaration of her feelings, one gets the sense that she is starting to develop deeper emotions for Edward. Their ‘friendly’ encounters finally culminate in sex one night, cheered on by alcohol, narcotics and convenience. They throw caution to the wind and give in to their baser needs.

Their drug induced awkward and anticlimactic sex reeks of regret and disappointment afterwards. Edward, in a bout of wishful thinking, hopes it will give him the key to her heart, but much to his disappointment she disappears from his life the day after without a single look back. He searches for her desperately, only to be rebuffed by answering machines, ignored calls, and closed doors. When he finally finds her he learns that she has chosen Riley.

In a last ditch attempt Edward shows up at her birthday party, hoping beyond hope that perhaps a face to face encounter will shake her out of whatever stupor she is in. What transpires next is gut-wrenchingly sad. It results in Edward leaving with the pieces of his broken heart in his pocket. The depth of his pain in the days to follow is poignant and mind numbing. The author does an excellent job of making his sorrow real for us. I choked down tears as I read:

“Staring down the dark empty hallway, the realization of what the words we'd exchanged meant hit me. It was the end. No matter what, I would no longer run after her or make any attempt to contact her. I was done. She'd made her bed and I hoped, for her sake, she'd sleep comfortably in it.”(ch 9)

The bleak and hopeless landscape of Edward’s mind is beautifully captured and presented by the author. I am waiting with baited breath to see how these two willful, stubborn lovers find their way back to each other. The prologue gives me hope.

Endearing, believable, and well written, it’s a pleasure reading Crash by BelleDean. Very few authors choose the less travelled path of laying a strong foundation for their stories. BelleDean took the trouble and I must thank her for it. Despite his materialistic world view, the reader can’t help but fall in love with this version of Edward. Crash is a fantastic story that deserves a chance to be noticed. Go read!

Author Interview
How did you come up with the Title of your Fic?
The financial crisis of 2008, and how we got there, serves as backdrop to the love story between Edward and Bella. Since the crisis caused a major crash in the Dow and the collapse of several banks, including the investment bank Lehman Brothers, and ultimately was going have an impact on all the characters’ lives in my story, I thought "Crash" fit the theme.

Do you have any writing rituals? What is your writing ‘process’?
I like to sit with my laptop and an iced tea on hand on the sofa and just type away –whatever comes to mind really. Later on I go back to edit. Sometimes I do work on detailed outlines before I start writing and sometimes I just start writing a story.
I think the whole writers block thing and the ‘suffering’ to produce a story is overrated. If a chapter of a story I’m working on doesn’t come out right, I put it away for a while and work on something else. No biggie.

What made you want to write this story, what inspired you?
The prologue and the general idea for ‘Crash’ I got from some graffiti lines I saw written on a wall near my house actually; one of them read “sincerity is a low-priced commodity in the twenty-first century.”

For some reason my mind started wandering to 2008.
Like many others, I was equal amounts fascinated and flabbergasted by what went down in 2008. I remember during the boom years leading up to 2008, I kept on reading articles warning about the consequences of the “what if scenario.” What if the real estate market crashes? What if people with adjustable rate mortgages couldn’t make their payments anymore?
It amazed me how everybody, from regulators to economists, ignored the warning signs. After the crash there was lots of material to read about it – and so I read some articles and watched some movies about what caused the crisis and the effect the crisis here had on the worldwide economy.
I still cannot wrap my head around how badly the government failed to do anything to prevent this and the sort of nonsensical policies in regards to homeownership it pursued -- both under Democratic and Republican rule alike.
Worse even, now everybody pretends that it wasn’t really that bad. The financial regulation that has been passed since is rather tame and several reform and oversight issues remain unresolved to this day. It’s scary that this major crash we’ve just recently experienced has brought about so little change.
In fact, now every body seems to blame teachers and nurses for the government deficit. It is truly a sad state of affairs – in my humble opinion at least.
I’m going to climb off my soapbox now.
Anyway … yes, as boring as it sounds, the crisis itself and the line I mentioned above served as my inspiration. That and I happen to live and work in NYC, so I remember that day in September 2008 well when Lehman Brothers went under. There were so many people that lost their jobs; it was really quite scary. And I don’t expect people to empathize with the likes of my Edward, who clearly was a willing participant in the scheme, but there were secretaries, mail delivery people and other administrative employees who lost their jobs as well and had no savings so speak off. It also had a ripple effect on the rest of the economy of the city. Nearly everybody felt the pinch, except, of course, for the people who walked away with bonuses of millions of dollars.

What was your main inspiration for your lead characters?
Real life people I’ve met loosely inspire my protagonists, but for the most part I made them up. Some of the side characters are based on real life people. For example, Sam Uley’s character is sort of based on Richard “Dick” Fuld (hee, the name alone!) who was the CEO of Lehman Brothers.
Which fanfic authors inspire you the most?
Kisvakondok – hands down! Every time I get to pre-read any of her stuff, I’m in awe of her storytelling ability. Her writing is always incredibly smart and witty. Seriously, most of her stories are way better than mine.
The last story I was completely hooked on was Cesca Marie’s “Dead on My Feet.” Loved it! The story felt so authentic and realistic – and I value that a lot. Things that seem unrealistic always make me cringe.

What Fics do you reread often?
I’m not sure there is a book I’ve reread…so, honestly? I haven’t reread a fanfiction story. As much as I love them, there is only so much free time I have on my hands to devote to this hobby. I just don’t to get around to doing that. Plus, there is always something new to read.
If you could pick a Fic universe to live in, which one would you chose?
Eeep … you got me with this one. I’d rather not even pick. I’m fine where I am, I think?
When Fic diving what do you look for; Humor, Angst, Slash, Canon?
I read humor and angst, but mostly canon (I’m a little embarrassed to admit that). I’ve read some slash, but I’m not sure I could ever write it. Maybe fem-slash…? One day!

When you aren't writing, which fics are you reading right now?
I’m currently reading any updates of “We Were Here” by lola-pops, “Beautiful Sorrow” by DreamofTheEndless, and “A River Between” by WildRedPoppies.
There are a bunch of other fics that are on my to-be-read list…but that is a really long list!

Are you in the closet or do your RL friends and family know about your love and obsession with all things Twilight?
As my ff-profile suggests, I’m deeply in the closet about my ff-writing and reading addiction. Seriously, the only person who knows about it is the guy I live with –my husband. He often mercilessly makes fun of me because of it. Sometimes he runs around the apartment moaning “Edward” or “Bella.” I fear the shame of disclosing this to any of my RL-friends would be too much to bear.
Never mind that my employer would possibly have a cow if they found out in some round about way about my hobby.

How were you introduced to the fandom? Do you remember which story was the first you read?
Oh, God – I bet half the people have the same answer as I do for this one. The first fanfiction story I ever read was “Wide Awake” by AngstGoddess003. I found a link to it on Stephanie Meyer’s website somewhere. Then I got hooked on all the stuff by Ooohlalaaa – which has now been all removed.
I’m ashamed to admit, but I lurked for a really long time in the fandom. I didn’t even have an ff account and never reviewed. I do feel bad about that – and so now I review everything I read. If I read every chapter of a story, I’ll review every single one of them.

If you were stranded on Isle Esme, which two TwiSaga Characters would you want with you?
Leah seemed to have a feisty personality…Edward kind of was a stick in the mud, so I don’t know whether I’d invite him along. Alice – maybe? I mean I’d need someone to give me a pedicure, right? I guess it would be an all girls’ trip.

Do you have anyone that you'd like to thank for helping and supporting you through this fic?
Nowforruin agreed to beta this since my regular betas were still working on my other stories when I started this and I really didn’t want to burden them with more of my stuff.
So, yeah, I owe her – big time!
I also have to thank Kisvakondok for cheering me on to keep on writing this fic.
BellaScotia and DreamofTheEndless for rec-ing the shit out of this fic and getting me some more readers – and even some reviewers!
And of course, a very big thank you goes to IcarusToSun – who wrote a review and recommended the story everywhere. I really, really appreciate it!
Before I forget -- many thanks also to TwistedInMasen who creates banners for all of my stories. I love her work.
Last but not least, anybody who is reading my stories and lets me know that what I write is not total crap – thank you!

Do you have any other projects going on? Any planned for the future?
I started writing a teenage angst story. I’ll start posting it when it’s done. I still want to finish Hard Candy…but inspiration has been evading me for that one.
Eventually, I will write a story where I follow the motto “write what you know.” The story will be about a miserable lawyer. Not sure whether I’ll be able to get anybody to read that sappy tale.

Is there any information that you would like to share that was not already covered?
Nothing that comes to mind. Thank you so very much for featuring my story.
Thanks for reading!
TFDB Staff
(guest post)

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