My
name is Diandra Hollman and I am a public librarian in the state of
Minnesota which, according to Dave Barry, is actually located inside
the arctic circle. But, for the benefit of non-Minnesotans, I am
required by law to say that it is "just a bit nippy here".
I have been writing (and reading) fan fiction since I was 17, which
was none-of-your-business years ago. My first story is probably not on
this site anymore as I find much of what I wrote back then to be
laughably bad. But the motivations behind those early stories were
often the same: a desire to do something DIFFERENT. I started a
"Titanic" story (that never saw the light of day) from Cal's point of
view because I was tired of seeing him treated like a stereotypical
villain. I wrote romantic stories pairing every combination of the
quadrangle in X-Files (except Scully/Reyes as I am usually not that
interested in femslash) just because I couldn't stand all the
infighting and wanted to explore alternative pairs. I will support
just about any pairing in any fandom and do not feel a need to treat
them as mutually exclusive. As a result, my stories tend to vary
(though they have been gravitating more and more towards slash to the
point where I'm not sure I can write het anymore). What has not
changed – and never will – is that no matter what pairing I choose to
explore in a story or fandom, I will do so without "taking sides". No
jealousy, no hatred, no character bashing. Period.
I'll be the first to admit that some of the stories on this site are
bad. At least I think they are. They are my first stories, some of
which were written just before I graduated from high school. You can
recognize them by the terrible characterizations and lapses in logic.
I like to think I've improved as a writer over the years. I've also
learned a lot about fan fiction writing through research projects and
have adjusted my style accordingly. This is not to say I'll never
write a bad story again, but at least my standards are higher and I
have a better idea of what the hell I'm doing. Also, I'm (slightly)
more mature. Stress slightly. Which brings me to my next point...
Recaps. When I first started my website (back in the days when
computers were powered by hamsters on wheels and they were a bitch to
feed), I wrote reviews. Then I started reading recaps on "Television
Without Pity" and my reviews started getting longer and a whole lot
less pretentious. Nowadays I'm basically writing jokes and meta that
follow along with whatever movie/show I'm recapping. Christine Anscher
joined me back when I recapped "Pirates of the Caribbean" as a running
joke and has graciously been helping me and keeping me entertained and
mostly sane for many other recaps since. When we both felt we needed
extra support getting through That Episode of "Sherlock", Emilio
Taylor joined us. He has also been providing support, entertainment,
snark and, occasionally, alcohol whenever we need a third wheel.
Check out my AO3 account for fanfics in progress and my Dreamwidth for
general rants, recap previews etc. (or if you just want to chat).