Cascade Library Interview with Jess Riley
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| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Cascade Library Interview with Jess Riley |
| Interviewer: | Cascade Library |
| Interviewee: | Jess Riley |
| Date(s): | March 31, 2009 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | The Sentinel |
| External Links: | interview is here, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
In 2009, Jess Riley was interviewed for Cascade Library.
Some Excerpts
Jess Riley is the only name I write under; it comes from a mixture of family names.
I stumbled across The Sentinel reading an SG1/TS crossover. I can't remember the title of the story, but was intrigued enough by the relationship between Jim and Blair to go in search of more... I decided to start writing because I couldn't seem to find a story that covered a particular theme I wanted to read about, so I decided to take the bull by the horns and give it a go myself. I'd never really written anything before, so it was a huge step, but one I'm glad I took. I've met some amazing people in this fandom.
My first story was "Home for Christmas", and I was terrified. (Probably still have the bruises from where my knees knocked together!) Luckily for me, I met StarWatcher, who very kindly took me under her wing and has been guiding me through the writing maze ever since.
I work with two beta's and sometimes even three. Since my stories are normally long and involved, I find the input of beta's invaluable. They certainly help me iron out the rough edges and make sure I don't leave too many plot holes. After that the story usually sits on my computer for a week or so. Once I've got it out of my system, I give it a last read through and then send it off to be posted.
This is a tough one and I'm not sure there is any great secret [to writing great TS smarm]. I just tend to put myself in their shoes and try and keep their reactions and emotions as true as possible. It also helps immensely that the writers of the show gave us a solid foundation to work with and, even though they threw in a few major hiccups, the friendship was still there at the end of the series. The beauty of writing Jim and Blair is that you can show a very tightly-bonded, cohesive friendship or you can reveal all their warts and flaws and still not stray too far away from canon. I guess if I did have one secret it's to make sure that, no matter what I put them through, their friendship always remains intact.