I am very pleased to be reccing my favorite fanfic tonight, Fearless, and lucky indeed to have the author, Alison aka
mygoldeneyedangel with me.
Before we get this show started, I should say SPOILERS for all to hear. You guys know the park rules *points to self* I never know what the fuck I'm going to say.
Fearless deals with the mature subject of physical and emotional abuse and I am unable to stress enough what it means to me. If you are suffering from this form of abuse, or any other, please know that you are not alone and that there is help available...for everyone.
After being severly abused for 10 years and witnessing his mothers death, Edward is adopted by Carlisle and Esme and moves to Forks. There, he meets Bella and she is determined to fight his hidden monsters. AH
"I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Carlisle. “You are here,” he said quietly, but with fierce compassion. “Now and always. You are family. Don’t ever doubt it again.” I reached out and hugged the man tightly. I felt Esme hug me from behind and for a brief minute was a locked between them. And I felt warm and cared about. But more importantly, for the first time in nearly ten years, I felt the safety of unconditional parental love. "
Me How did you become a part of the Twilight world?
Alison A friend recommended Twilight to me. I didn’t really listen to her and didn’t give it much thought. A few months later I was heading to the airport and needed something to read. I went to the bookstore and wasn’t sure what to get. My friend’s recommendation came back to me and I decided at that point to try it out. I read Twilight on the plane. I was in the process of moving from Nevada to Oregon so when I got off the plane, I put the book a side in order to pack, load a UHaul, drive 16 hours, unload the UHaul and unpack. Once I was in my new place, it was time to job hunt. But instead, I opened Twilight and spent the next four days devouring Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. When I finished Breaking Dawn, I went right back to Twilight and began again. I wanted to talk to someone about the fabulous story I had just read, so I went online and found the Twilight Lexicon. The rest, I suppose you could say is history.
Me How has Twilight changed your life?
Alison I was going through a difficult period of my life when I discovered Twilight. I had just broken up with the man I thought I was going to marry, had decided to completely uproot myself and move to Oregon, without a job. I needed something positive to hold on to and found that in Edward. He gave me someone to dream about. The love story spoke to me at a time when I was very down on love. I’m not sure how exactly it changed my life, I only know that it gave me something to hang on to when I needed it most.
Me Do you see your characters as the same characters as in the movie?
Alison I most definitely see my Edward as Rob portrayed him. My Bella, however, is not Kristen Stewart. I see my Bella as more gentle than Kristen portrayed. She is also stronger and her love for Edward radiates from her.
Me What inspired you to write Fan Fiction
Alison At first I wasn’t even going to read fan fiction. And then someone on the Lexicon told me I had to read Only Human by Amethyst Jackson. I did and found I loved fan fiction. I spent my winter break reading all kinds of stories. The more I read, the more ideas began circulating in my brain and finally, by the end of winter break, I knew that I had to write my own story.
Me Do you write professionally / or do you aspire to write professionally?
Alison I don’t write professionally, but oh gosh I would love to. I think it would be amazing. But I don’t think I’m in anyway talented enough for that.
Me Me and the little Rob inside my head disagree.
Me How did you come up with the idea for this story?
Alison When I first decided to write Fearless, my original idea was to write Twilight reversed, with Bella as the vampire. I didn’t realize how often that had been done. But as I started to write, I found I didn’t like that, Bella as a vampire just seemed wrong to me. Instead, I decided to do an all human story. But I still wanted to follow the base story of Twilight. I wanted Edward to still view himself as a monster, but a human monster. Vampire Edward sees himself as a monster, but he’s not. I wanted to same thing for my Edward. A lot of the story actually developed because of my reviewers and ideas or questions they had as they read each chapter.
Me Do you have any new stories on the horizon you would like to tell us about?
Alison Right now, I’m focused on finishing On the Wings of an Angel and the Other Side of Fearless. I do have some other ideas bouncing around my head, but I want to finish the other two before I start really thinking about another story.
Me If you could say anything to your readers/fans - what would it be?
Alison THANK YOU! You guys are absolutely amazing. I know my updating frequency for the sequel is horrible, but you guys remain supportive and that means so much to me.
Also, I’ve had a lot of people write to me about how much Fearless has touched them, and I can’t tell you what it means to me to have people tell me that. It amazes me that something I’ve written has had such an impact on people’s lives.
So again. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
Me This story at times was heartbreaking to read. How did it feel to write?
Alison I loved writing Fearless. I absolutely fell in love with my Edward. Even though he’s Stephenie’s creation, I feel like I made him my own. Because I cared so much for my Edward, there were many times I had tears on my cheeks as I wrote. Especially the scene when Esme and Carlisle find out the truth, and the scene in the gym with James. But I feel like those are some of the best scenes of the story so I think the emotions running through me as I typed came through.
It was hard because when I would think about the scenes, I would see them from another point of view. Usually Bella’s. But the whole story is in Edward POV. So it was hard sometimes to get the emotion to come through.
Me Will you tell us about any awards 'Fearless' has been nominated/won?
Alison Fearless was nominated for an Indie. It was also nominated for a Chocolate Edward. Unfortunately, I won neither. But I did make it to the final round of the Indies. Fearless is also nominated for an Immortal Cookie award. The winners will be announced on September 13, so keep your fingers crossed.
Me Favorite part and/or quote from the story?
Alison This is a TOUGH question. I think my favorite scene from Fearless is when Edward confronts James in the gym. That scene flowed out of me and I feel as if the intensity is just right. I’m really pleased with how it came out. I also like the scene after Bella rescues Edward from his nightmare and she makes him breakfast. It’s the first time we see just how protective Bella is.
Me Here is my favorite quote from Fearless and as for my favorite part...well...Halloween is my favorite holiday.
Me Team Edward or Team Jacob?
Alison Team Edward, no contest. Obviously. Jacob doesn’t even exist in my story. LOL
Me Because I run a Rob Pattinson site, I have to ask the money question, How sexy is Robert Pattinson?
Alison Oh he is beautiful and way beyond sexy.
Me Umm Hummm! Well said.
Other stories written by the author include:
This is the alternate ending to my story Fearless. If you haven't read that story, you need to read it before you read this. I will warn you, this ending is heartwrenching. Consider yourself warned.
This is a collection of POVs from my story Fearless. It starts at the beginning and works it's way through to the end, sharing what the other characters were thinking while Edward battled his internal monster. You should probably read Fearless first.
Sequel to Fearless. AH Bella helped Edward conquer his inner monster. Now that they've graduated from Forks High School, what does the world hold for them? Have they truly conquered all of the monsters?
A huge thank you to Sherrill and Cutie who offered to help me with this post and spread the love for the story in their own blogs.
It's been a damn good day and the best is still to come.
