Pixiestick-cc Pursued by CareMarie

* Author Name: Pixiestick-cc

* Stories: Twilight - Change Heartache Into Courage, Beyond The Darkness. Toy Story – Reflections on Being a Toy

CareMarie: Tell us a little bit about yourself:
Pixiestick-cc: Married, mother of two, originally from Alaska, now living in the midwest. I love to write, although I find it hard to write my own fiction. I can write about my life … thus the reason I have a blog and also apparently I can write fanfiction – CHIC can attest to that.

CareMarie: How did you get introduced into Fan Fiction?
Pixiestick-cc: Books and movies have a tendency to draw me into their world (as any good story should). I love it so much I have to continue on, I have to know more about the characters and read more about their experiences. I remember when I was younger knowing about fanfiction. I was part of a 'Hey Arnold' (remember that cartoon?) community online and knew that others on there wrote fanfic for that show, but I never read. I was though aware that such a thing as fanfiction existed. Then a very good friend of mine posted a link to a Jasper/Bella fic in her Live Journal in 2008 (a few months after I had devoured the Twilight Saga books) and I clicked … not really knowing what to expect. Once I started reading I couldn't stop and thus began my life in fanfic.

CareMarie: Do you remember the first story you read?
Pixiestick-cc: Yes, it was the story my friend posted in her journal - 'When Darkness Turns To Light' by Janna Banana. It never occurred to me before that Bella could be with anyone else, but Edward. After finishing the story I couldn't imagine her being with anyone, but Jasper

CareMarie: Is there a story behind your pen name?
Pixiestick-cc: Not really. It's the name I have used for almost all my online sites since I was a teenager.


CareMarie: What story (ies) are you reading right now?
Pixiestick-cc: To be honest, reading fanfiction has always been like an off and on switch for me. If I'm obsessed with something I seek out fanfiction. At this moment I have been reading some from The Hunger Games series and the movie Megamind. It really just depends on what I just saw/read that kept my interest long enough for me to seek out fanfic.

CareMarie: Do you have a favorite character and if so, why that character?
Pixiestick-cc: Jasper because Jackson Rathbone is a dish he has such a unique background that has so much potential for exploration and impact on his character in the future. After the effects of Stephanie Meyers descriptions of Edward (Glorious God and all) wore away, I realized that as a character he was pretty boring. I will admit right now to never having read a Bella/Edward fic. You get so much of his character in the books that it's almost overload. If you really focus in on the minor characters you realize they are the ones that deserve the most development. Jasper was always that for me. He had such a rich back story and I needed so much more of him than Stephanie Meyer gave.

--Stories--

CareMarie: First off, tell us a little bit about your stories:
Pixiestick-cc: Well, 'Change Heartache Into Courage' was really my attempt at writing. I had never been able to finish a story that was solely my own. I wondered if I could perhaps try and write a fanfic based on my favorite coupling – Jasper/Bella. So, it really grew out of that.

CareMarie: Why did you pick the pairings that you did?
Pixiestick-cc: As I mentioned before the more you read about Edward the more you dislike him as a character (at least for me). With Alice it was the same way … she annoyed me in the series and I could never see why Bella would be friends with her. So, I decided that if I was going to write a Jasper/Bella fanfic then Edward and Alice would have to be absent. I tried to keep them incorporated in the peripheral, but I wanted a relationship between Jasper and Bella to develop without their significant others in the picture.

CareMarie: Do you have a favorite point of view to write in?
Pixiestick-cc: Not really. I tend to write my Twilight fanfics in the voices of Jasper and Bella, just because that's how Stephenie Meyer wrote (in 1st person) and this being a fanfic I try to keep it close to the original material.

CareMarie: Was there a part in the Twilight Saga that inspired you?
Pixiestick-cc: Eclipse definitely played a part, because it contained the back story of Jasper. It's the only book that I keep by my bedside. On occasion, I like to read Jasper's part before I go to bed (no, I'm not obsessed) *Laughs*

CareMarie: How did you decide to post your stories?
Pixiestick-cc: I sent some of my writings to my friend Aly (who had been the one who posted When Darkness Turns To Light in her journal and serves as my awesome beta) and she told me to post them on . The response I got after that was nothing short of amazing. I never intended it to grow to what it eventually did.

CareMarie: Have you ever changed your story outline based off of a review? If so, what was the review and what did you change?
Pixiestick-cc: I can honestly say that it was my readers that helped me along. I remember very early on in CHIC a reader mentioned that I didn't space my paragraphs enough and it made my story hard to read and so, I fixed that. Then occasionally someone would mention how something in my story confused them and then I made it a point in the next chapter to make whatever confused them more clear. So, to answer your question … yes, reviews helped me to write and shape 'Change Heartache Into Courage'. I would even say that without them my story wouldn't have been finished.

CareMarie: Do any of your characters in your story remind you of yourself?
Pixiestick-cc: Ha … no. Although, I will admit to making my Bella more sarcastic than she was in the original books and I am very sarcastic.