Angelfish

Fan
Name:	Angelfish
Alias(es):	Harper Fox, Angelfish Archivist, angelfish777
Type:
Fandoms:	The Professionals, Blake's 7, Star Trek: TOS, Starsky & Hutch
Communities:
Other:
URL:	on The Circuit Archive on AO3
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Angelfish was a fan writer who now writes professionally.

Interviews

• Hatstand Interview with Angelfish (2010)
• AUTHOR, AUTHOR! Harper Fox (2013)
• Interview with Author Harper Fox (2014)

Some Fiction

• Far Shore
• Absolution
• Painted Angels for 2010's CI5 Box of Tricks
• Chances
• Broken Cover

Some Comments by Angelfish

That [first story B/D I wrote] was called On The Rack and I never finished it. I wrote it in shorthand then dropped the notepad in the bath. It was totally self-indulgent. I felt lonely and isolated so needed to portray D (that animus of mine) in a situation of extreme isolation which B and B alone can cure. I think I was reminding myself that it can be cured; I was writing myself a safe path out of my own unhappiness. But there's only so much of D being extremely needy and weak and B laying out superhuman devotion and support that you -- or even I -- can take, and I recognise that stories written as self-therapy do not necessarily make good fiction.

[Regarding someone else rewriting an ending or doing a sequel, unauthorized or with permission of one of my stories]: Goodness! I've never had that happen -- not as far as I'm aware, anyway. I don't think I'd mind. It would be a compliment, I suppose, provided they didn't simply find your own ending so godawful they felt overpoweringly compelled to rewrite it.

Some Comments by Fans Regarding Fiction

[Callisto]
I know this fic has caused mixed reactions, so I think I should state my take on it at the outset. I have a blind spot when it comes to Angelfish. I adore her, she’s my favourite writer in the fandom. And my blind spot is what I like to think of affectionately as the Maclean/Fish Syndrome. The pair of them do things to the lads that shouldn’t work in the cold light of day, but through the skill of their writing I’m drawn into their world, their Bodie and Doyle. Hook, line and bloody sinker. Yes, Ray Doyle – and Bodie, actually - weep a fair bit in this, but their demons break my heart in Far Shore, so I’m there.

Her stories never worked for me; I've always just boggled at those readers who talk about her stories as "brilliant" and "amazing". To me, there's a coolness, a mechanical disconnection; I never felt engaged by her Bodie and Doyle or their relationship. She's like the dead opposite to Sebastian, for instance. And Angelfish's grim endings on at least some fic has never been my thing. They are technically well written, true, but their content didn't jive with me.

I might try a Harper Fox book at some point, from curiosity if nothing else. Though I don't even know what genre she writes in, other than m/m, so they might not hit an interest. It's quite possible her original characters will ring truer than her takes on Bodie and Doyle, who never pinged remotely as "my" B and D, even in a stretched way. I gave up trying after finding her 1st 2 stories utterly unrewarding. But she does write well.

Angelfish is a fabulous writer. I enjoy her style, although sometimes the angst factor is a little too much for me. However, she can drag you deep into a story and hold onto you. Written in first person, [Painted Angels] is one of my favourite styles, we meet a Bodie walking the edge. Cowley gives him one last chance to stay in CI5 and to stay, he must partner with Doyle. I rank this as one of my favourite Angelfish stories.

Some Comments by Fans Regarding Pseuds

... while I knew Angelfish had broken into the market, I didn't know her pseud. I'm wondering (mildly, not enough to actually check) if I might enjoy her m/m books more than her Pros stories. I dislike her Doyle intensely, and can't really make it through any of her stories anymore. Alas, because she can put together beautiful sentences. But the content absolutely does not work for me. It was Josh Laymon who got her into the m/m market, I believe. They got to be friends--no idea if they still are. She wasn't active in fandom itself--never joined in on discussions or anything, that I know of. But she conversed with people through email. (I met her once, and she was absolutely lovely in person. It made it all the more difficult for me that I really didn't like her stories. Ah, well.)

• see Interview with Author Harper Fox (2014)
• see the Harper Fox Facebook page
• fan comments at Random Thursday, ^{Archived version}, October 1, 2015