Dear Readers,

Welcome to the Lois & Clark The New Adventure of Superman Writer's Showcase. At the bottom of this web site you will findlinks to past featured writers. Just click on the any writer's name you might have missed or want to read again and you will be taken to their interview.

Now, in keeping with Annie's famous words, without further ado I am proud and honored to present this week's Writer in the Writer's Showcase ...

Annette, Labrat, Kaethel, Avia

Personal Information

Author name
Jessi Mounts

E-mail addresses
jessicam@mail.sgcl.org

Residence
A town in Southwestern Missouri only a little bit larger than Smallville <g>

List, AOL, or web affiliations
Lois and Clark fanfic list, Zoom's Message Boards

Lois and Clark or Superman Status

How long have you been watching L&C?
I saw L&C exactly once when it was on ABC. I was eleven years old, the episode, I now realize, was WWW, and the only memory I have of the whole experience is that Lois said "counter-sue". I thought it was a cool word. No, I am not making this up. <g>

Fortunately, I was a little more impressed when I caught it on TNT. It was my little brother's show to begin with, actually. He watched the last half hour every day, only because he couldn't find anything else to watch while he waited for Babylon 5. I, of course, was entirely above the whole Superman thing, but somehow I ended up in the same room one day for WIEAK. The next day, I just *happened* to be back for JSN. From then on, I demanded that he watch the whole hour. I'm pretty sure it was the "I think we just made up" kiss that did me in.

Anyway. I watched a few episodes whenever I had the time, missed the whole wedding argh, thank goodness, but managed to catch the New Krypton arc. When Clark left for New Krypton, that was pretty much it for my dignity. Silly Superman show or not, I was hopelessly in love with these characters.

Okay, I rambled. <g> The point of all that was to say I've been watching since March or so of 1998.

How long have you been a fan of Superman?
Since, I don't know, July maybe of 1998. Even once I was an establish fan of Lois and Clark, it took me a while to admit that I, the mature teenager, actually enjoyed Superman. The first day I wore a Superman shirt to school, I though I was making this brave statement. Now I own five of them and a purse to match. I really ought to wear them all in one week sometime and freak everybody out. <g>

How long have you been writing?
I'm pretty sure my first story was the one I wrote in first grade about how Thomas Edison didn't really invent the light bulb. It was, you see, actually a koala who gave Thomas Edison the plans in return for eucalyptus leaves. Uh-huh.

I do know that it was second grade when I decided that I loved to write. My teacher that year made the class write one new story every day. And every day, I spent a recess in study hall trying to find the end of that story. <g> For some reason, I liked it anyway, and I've been hooked ever since.

How long have you been writing L&C fanfic?
I started Between Floors 7 and 8 in, I think, June of 1999. (See, I can do short answers. <g>)

What types of Fanfic have you written?
All Lois and Clark, mostly lacking any real a-plot.

Most recent story posted? Where?
I've just finished posting For Better or For Worse on Zoom's Message Boards, so that should probably have made it to the archives by the time this is posted.

Favorite story you have written? Why?
Oh, that's just not a fair question. I'm very attached to Between Floors 7 and 8 because it was my first, my longest, (until For Better or For Worse, anyway) and, when I wasn't ready to throw the whole thing out the window, it really was fun to write. But in spite of all that, I like the very short To My Love just as much, if not more. Haven't got a clue why.

Current project/projects?
That, I suppose, would be For Better or For Worse. It's a story in which Lois and Clark go to work on morning and find themselves married...sort of. <g>

Other than that, I'm not writing anything at all at the moment. My next major project will probably be a fanfic for another fandom entirely. I feel like such an awful traitor saying that. <g> I'd rather not do it, actually, but the darn thing won't get out of my head, so I guess I'm pretty well stuck with it.

I'm certainly not going anywhere, though. I've got an idea for a fun little (I hope <g>) L&C fic that I'll probably also be starting pretty soon. (And, no, you're not getting anymore plot clues than that. <g>)

Personal picks of other Fanfics you have read?
There's another unfair question. Okay, let's see. Meet Me in Kansas City is the story that convinced me that fanfic could be a very good thing, and it's still probably my all time favorite. To this day, I can't see a copy of the Kansas City Star without grinning. Some other favorites are Dimensions of Loving, Dawning, Caped Fear, Are You Lonesome Tonight, Tryst, Certain Point of View, Ad Astra Per Aspera, Counter Clarkwise, Penfriend, Firestorm, It Happened One Super Night...I know I'll be irritated with myself for missing some later, but those are some favorites off the top of my head.

General Interview Questions

What attracted you to writing Fanfic and what about it do you enjoy?
Would you believe I can't even remember now what attracted me to it in the first place? <g> At first, I swore to myself I wouldn't write fanfic. There was no way that I, a high school kid, could intelligently portray characters twice my age. And then somewhere along the way, I started writing Between Floors 7 and 8. By the time I remember I wasn't supposed to be writing fanfic, I was having too much fun to care.

I enjoy fanfic for the same reason I enjoy writing in general. I love playing with words until I find just the right combination that makes a story come alive. The difference with fanfic is that I'm motivated to *finish* a story. Unlike with "real" fiction, I know I have people who will read my story and who care whether it's ever finished or not. And if I ever forget, I can always count on FoLCs to ever-so-gently remind me. (I think someone threatened to send bloodhounds after me at one point. <g>)

What about the L&C and the characters do you like the most?
I'm going to be just absolutely shameless here and admit it's the romance. <g> I've always been a sucker for love stories, and I really don't think there are many more beautiful than Lois and Clark's.

How do you interpret them in your work?
I've always wondered what my answer would be if I was ever asked this question. Now that I'm finally being asked, I'm still wondering. <g> In all honesty, I don't have any idea how I interpret Lois and Clark. It's not exactly a conscience thing. I'm always surprise when someone tells me I've written something in character, because never had any idea of what I was doing in the first place. <g>

How did you begin writing in general?
Oops, I think I answered this one already.

How do you feel about being nominated for a Kerth Award?
Wow. Kerth Awards were what introduced me to fanfic in the beginning, so to be nominated for one myself was just...wow. (And, okay, okay, I'll admit, I was indeed doing the math to see if I was the youngest. <g> Never did figure that one out. :)

What story of yours was nominated for a Kerth Award and could you tell about it?
I ended up with three nominated. Atom Bomb Lane is a vignette directly inspired by Dimensions of Loving. In that, Perry mentions a time Lois showed up at work with a fever, and Clark had to carry her home. I waited a year to see someone make a story out of that before giving up and writing it myself. To My Love is another vignette, directly inspired by Irene's Spying Games. (Sensing a pattern here? <g>) That story was, I think, the result of entirely too much time spent out in the sun. <g> And Between Floors 7 and 8 was my "masterpiece". All 41kbs of it. <g> Believe me, my brother had plenty of fun pointing out that my longest piece of writing to date won an award for "short" story.

What are you working on now and where do you see it going?
Oops, I've answered this one already too.

What is your opinion about the following types of L&C fanfic's?
Action?
I'm not all that interested in action for action's sake, but it can add to a story if it's done well.

Drama?
I don't think I've quite developed a talent for it, but drama, I think, is the difference between just a fun story and one that I can't get out of my head. Of course, sometimes I'd prefer just a fun story <g>, but I think my favorites are mostly strong dramas.

Humor?
Ooh, humor. Humor is my weakness. I enjoy it entirely too much. I think I could set out to write a serious drama and still end up with a comedy. I know I said my favorites are dramas, but a really great story, for me, is one that can balance the dark spots with humor.

Round Robin?
I have no ability whatsoever to participate in one myself, but I love watching what other people can come up with. I always pounced on the new "episodes" in the IRC group's fifth season.

Nfic?
I'll let you know in about seven months. <g>

Has *everything* been done in your opinion, and if not, what is left?
"There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves just as fiercely as if they had never happened before." Which is, I suppose, just a long-winded way of saying there are no new stories, only new angles, but I had to get *some* use out of that Willa Cather I did last year. <g>

I think someone, Tank maybe, said that the great thing about Lois and Clark is that there's no end to its possibilities, and I agree with that. With the group we've got, I don't think we'll ever run out of things to write about.

What do you think makes the best story?
I've already said this, more or less, but the stories that can mix drama and humor with a little bit (Okay, a lot. <g>) of romance are the ones that I always fall for.

Would you like to add a link or URL to your favorite fanfic for the readers to sample your writing?
All of my fanfic can be found in the M section of the archive http//www.lcfanfic.com/authorm.htm

Where is the best place for a reader to locate your work?
Same place. <g>

Open Forum For Author Comments
FoLCs are amazing. I don't think that can ever be said enough. They're intelligent, and they're supportive, and they are really, really good writers. <g> There might be a group somewhere on the internet that's as much fun to be a part of, but I seriously doubt it. Thanks, everyone, for a great three years.