Dear Readers,
Welcome to the Lois & Clark: The New Adventure of Superman Writer’s Showcase, pioneered by Annie Lansbury back in 1998! In the last few years, FoLCdom has seen a resurgence—old FoLCs coming back, new FoLCs joining, long-time lurkers de-lurking. It’s heartening to know just how awesome and long lasting FoLCdom is!
Earlier this year, Carrie Rene started a monthly newsletter (which gets posted on the L&C Fanfic Message Boards and in the Discord server—yes! We have a #loisclark Discord server!), and with that, she’s brought back the writer’s showcase!
Now, in keeping with Annie’s famous words, without further ado we are proud and honored to present this week’s Writer in the Writer’s Showcase …
Sara, Carrie, and Michael
Featured Writer of the Month
Mary P. Potts AKA Queen of the Capes
Personal Information
Author Name:
Mary P. Potts AKA Queen of the Capes
Email Addresses:
QueenoftheCapes@gmail.com
Location:
Florida
Lois & Clark or Superman Status
How long have you watched Lois & Clark?
So, funny story: I actually first came across the show as a kid, sometime during season 4. I was channel-surfing and stumbled into the middle of the episode “Lois and Clarks”, where two versions of Clark Kent are running around but only one of them is married to Lois. I was utterly confused and went back to my cartoons. Years later, sometime in the early 2000s, the website for my Animated Batman fandom folded up shop and I was left fandomless. My dad found the Lois and Clark fanfic archives for me, and from there I found the message boards and other fan pages and got into watching the reruns of the show. I’ve been here ever since.
What was the episode (either entire or in part) that made you love the show?
I don’t really remember which episode got me hooked, since I came to the show via the fandom instead of vice versa, but I definitely loved the first season and still do. The pilot really hit the ground running and does an excellent job of introducing the characters and their world, and the momentum kept up very well over the following episodes.
How long have you been writing?
Probably since I was old enough to form words. I actually used to think I hated writing, but looking back, I seem to have always been doing it. I remember being a little kid and trying to write a novel on one of those old DOS computers: I think I got a whopping page of it done before I gave up and wandered off. Growing up, I was always day-dreaming about new worlds and characters, and sometimes I would try my hand at writing new episodes for whatever show I was obsessed with (back before I knew what fan-fiction even was). There was also a game called “What-If” that I would play with my Dad, where I would create the characters and the scene, and we would improvise the dialog and just find out how the story ends. It was a blast. Perhaps it was only the physical act of dragging pencils over paper that I used to hate: actually creating stories has always been a passion of mine.
How long have you been writing Lois & Clark?
My official debut was in 2004, appropriately titled “The Big Debut”. It was a Sweet-Sixteen birthday present to myself, though I posted it on my Dad’s birthday because patience was never my best virtue. *Technically* there was a WIP I started posting shortly beforehand called “Guys, Gals, and Guns”, which is basically “What if Lois and Clark took place in the Old West?”, but that doesn’t really count since it’s incomplete and kind of lousy anyway.
What types of fanfics have you written?
Mostly comedy. I was raised on comic greats like Mel Brooks and the Marx Brothers, and I love working humor into my writing as much I can. The best complement I can get is to make someone laugh.
I also love Alternate Universes, and have written quite a few glimpses into other possible existences for our favorite couple. There was that unfinished Old West story already mentioned, and a few shorts exploiting HG Wells’ universe-hopping abilities, and most recently I’ve been working on a series set in the Ice Age. The Big Debut itself was the launch of a series set in the Alt-verse from the show, and combines my other love: Next Generation. Really, Next Gen and AU both have the same appeal of putting Lois and Clark in a wildly new and different situation from what we saw in the show, experiencing moments that would be completely impossible in the canon.
Favorite story you have written? Why?
“Line up, children: Mommy has to pick a favorite…”
Which one I most want to reread for myself can vary; but as far as which one I’m most proud of, right now, I think it’s “Wishing You A…”. That story was written for the ficathon and managed to be significantly longer than my other stories without wandering or dragging. Unusually for me, it had two simultaneous storylines, and I really think I pulled off an ensemble cast quite well. The plot was very clear, and it really feels like it could be an episode of the show. It’s very different from how I usually write, and yet, it still feels like me. I’m proud of that.
Current project/projects:
My goal for the year is to finish posting “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”. Its length is pretty epic compared to my usual bite-sized fare, because I somewhat foolishly set out to encompass most of the first season of the show in one story. (Getting help from the queen of epics herself, Sara Kraft, has been a major blessing here). The premise is that Superman’s appearance catches the attention of a mild-mannered geologist in France who looks exactly like him, secretly has the same powers, and is also adopted. It’s been a rollercoaster, but so help me, the sequels will be significantly shorter. So. Much. Shorter.
Speaking of shorter, I’ve taken a cue from Bakasi and started posting a story that is actually a bunch of shorts stacked together in a trench coat: it has no series title yet, but it’s the one set in the Ice Age. Lois, Clark, Jimmy, and Lex all get temporarily stranded in another universe with a much, much younger Earth. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Kal-El and his mate Mad Wolf are living it up stone-age style. So far, it’s got “The Gift of Language”, “The Name of the Wolf”, and “An Icy Reception”.
There’s also my ongoing effort to answer all of the 2021 Kerth challenges via a connected series of shorts: that one is called “Challenged” on AO3 and also has a series page on the LnC message boards. Clark is married to Lois and has three small children, but one last job for Superman causes him permanent brain damage that changes his life and throws his very identity into question. Yes, it’s been taking a while.
Personal picks of other fanfics you have read:
There have been so many good ones, but if I have to whittle it down:
“In A Better Place” by CC Aiken is one that I love enough to have printed and stapled into book form. (Still hasn’t got a cover, alas). I love seeing Lois and Clark wander through Utopia, absolutely lost except for each other, and I love the relationships they end up forming with each other and their descendant during their stay.
The Home Series by Nan is a very different take on Lois and Clark living in the future; they’ve arrived there naturally, but the characters and world building are SO GOOD and I want that refrigerator that stops time for the food.
“Veritas” by Shayne Terry and “Fictitious Persons” by DebbieG are also two wildly different fics that nevertheless share a soul. “Veritas” asks what would happen if a Clark who had not yet become Superman suddenly found himself in our world, post 9-11. “Fictitious Persons” has a similar scenario for Supergirl, but has a much gentler take on it (as befits the younger protagonist) while still remaining very real and true to life.
And of course, there’s the collaborative S5 and S6 “episodes” written to extend the show, and which helped make me fall in love with this fandom in the first place.
General Interview Questions
What attracted you to writing fanfic and what about it do you enjoy?
I just love asking “What If?”. Fanfic has a very unique property compared to other types of fiction: the same two characters can be born into thousands of different backgrounds, fall in love in thousands of different ways, and live thousands of different lives. And yet, it’s still them; they are still the same characters we know and love.
What is it about L&C universe/characters that you enjoy exploring the most?
This is a surprisingly tough question. Of course, I do love seeing Lois and Clark get their happily ever after, but I think I also enjoy exploring what makes them…them. What makes Clark Superman when someone else is around who has the same powers and isn’t evil but still isn’t really the same person? What makes Lois who she is when journalism and writing don’t even exist? How much of Clark would still be the same if he couldn’t even remember his upbringing at all? And if their children take after them, where would the differences become sharply apparent?
What do you think makes the best story?
I think the best stories are the ones that take you somewhere. You’re either looking at an unfamiliar world, or you’re looking at a familiar one through unfamiliar eyes. You’re walking down a strange street in someone else’s shoes. For a moment, while you read the pages, you’re visiting a different reality and living a life that would otherwise be impossible. When you start to forget that it’s only words on a screen and instead start feeling the breeze or smelling the smoke or tasting the coffee, that’s when you know it’s good.