Winterfest Interview with Cindy Rae
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Winterfest Interview with Cindy Rae |
| Interviewer: | Winterfest |
| Interviewee: | Cindy Rae |
| Date(s): | 2017 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | Beauty and the Beast |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
In 2017, Cindy Rae was interviewed for Winterfest.
See Winterfest Interview Series.
Some Excerpts
When did you first become aware that B&B had a fandom?
In April 2013, and I was floored. I'd used my computer to search for "Beauty and the Beast" for the first time ever, and stumbled into what was for me, the Magical Land of Oz. (Or in this case, the marvelous world of the online tunnels, and fan fiction, and art.) I had no idea fan fiction existed, like it does, or that our fandom is so prolific with it, and so talented. I can't tell you whose site I first clicked into. It was probably an old Winterfest. But I followed links like a detective on a trail, and every time I found a new site which listed more links, I followed those. My computer got full of them. And my heart got very, very happy. The skill level of so many of our fan fiction authors and artists leaves me humbled, and all but gasping. They are so very, very talented.
Do you prefer long stories or short ones?
The latter when I want a quick kiss. The former when I want something more. What I really prefer, long or short, is the feeling that I'm "there" with the characters. Writing fan fiction gives me a very "immersive" sensation. I really feel like I'm "down in the tunnels, and running through them”. Long or short, a lot of BatB fan fiction authors convey that sensation very well, and as a reader, that's a joy. For me, a piece doesn't have to be "long" or "short." It just has to be done with heart. BatB authors do this marvelously. They care about these characters. That shines through. A piece doesn't even have to be perfectly written. It just has to take me where the author wanted me to go. I've seen 100 word tidbits that do that. And multi-chapter epics. All are treasures, to me.
Have you written other fiction, or any non-fiction?
Non fiction, yes. I used to cover the stock market in the 1990's, for CBS Marketwatch. Though there are plenty of people who would tell you that was fiction, too, considering. (Smile) I'd never written any fiction for online consumption until BatB came unexpectedly into my life, though like all writers, writing was a skill I'd used to one degree or another, all my life. To this day, this is the only fandom I've ever written for. I doubt that will ever change.
What aspect of the series do you like least?
Cathy's death. It's not that I hated S3 for being there. (I don't. Some of Ron Perlman's best acting is in that season.) It's that I felt that the unspoken contract between the show's creators and its audience had been violated, and probably in one of the most torturous ways possible, emotionally speaking. The series that begins with "Once Upon a Time" has an unwritten obligation to end with "And they lived Happily ever after." Fantasy does this with almost soothing regularity. That's part of what makes it 'fantasy'. It's okay if there are serious bumps along the way. But the outcome is almost a given.
For various real life reasons, this one didn't do that. I'll read any season, and any rating, (happily) because I love the show. I've seen wonderful, well written characterizations of Diana, out there, and those deserve all the praise and attention they're due. She's an intricate character to write for. She's intuitive, vulnerable, and sharp. There are worse characters to wrap your pen around. But my heart hurts to know that (as a premise, since it became a part of the show) Vincent found love, and then lost it, horribly. That Cathy took a chance on re-inventing herself, and ultimately, was murdered for it. With hindsight a 20/20 thing, I think I'd rather they'd simply recast the role of Catherine, and taken it from there. Even if the show had still lasted only 12 more episodes, it would have maintained its original premise, and its "urban fairy tale" quality.
Having said that, the real aspect that I liked the least was that it ever ended at all, or that it ended with the number of episodes that it did. Double that number, then add some more for good measure, and I'm perhaps a bit happier. There was so much more that could have been explored. Nowadays, a series that knows it's going to end, (even if it's on the ratings chopping block), can do that with a decent series wrap up. I'd like to have had that, in some fashion.
Which is why I bless all the fan fiction writers and artists who came before me, as well as those who are still coming, to this day. They DID "keep the show going" and added years worth of "episodes" to the mix. They DO "keep the series alive" for all of us. I thank those people more than I can ever say, and to everyone who encourages them, gives them a place to publish, or just plain writes them a note of encouragement, thank you, as well. You all do more good than you know. It's become almost trite to keep saying "We keep the dream alive for each other." But we do.