Cascade Library Interview with Susan Williams

Interviews by Fans
Title:	Cascade Library Interview with Susan Williams
Interviewer:	Cascade Library
Interviewee:	Susan Williams
Date(s):	July 3, 2000
Medium:	online
Fandom(s):	The Sentinel
External Links:	interview is here, Archived version
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In 2000, Susan Williams was interviewed for Cascade Library.

Some Excerpts

Aside from writing, I do some beadwork, read tarot cards, and I've been selling TS Bears, for which I make all the clothes. Since I was never any good at sewing before, it came as a complete surprise to me that I could do this. <g> Recently, I became Editor in Chief for Skeeter Press, a new zine publisher consisting of Kandace Klumper. D.L. Witherspoon, and me.

My first fanfic story was The Devil You Know. I wrote it in September of 1996, in about three weeks, which is extremely fast for me. I don't remember exactly when it was posted, but it was the first Sentinel story to deal with rape, and it caused quite a ruckus. I was accused by one individual on a list of being anti-gay and anti-slash, which made no sense at all, since it's a gen story and there are no gay characters in it. Aside from that, I was thrilled by its reception. I've kept every single LOC I've ever received on it. Pro stories don't tend to get feedback, which is a shame. Feedback is a wonderful thing. <g>

[The story I'm most proud of is] Masks, I think. It's the sequel to The Devil You Know, and it covers the aftermath of the rape and Blair's recovery, as well as its effect on Jim and on their friendship. I had a hard time with it, because there was so much to deal with and I wanted to do it right, to make the story both realistic and exciting. I'd read too many stories where the character makes an almost instantaneous recovery or is completely unaffected emotionally, and that's just so implausible. I've had a lot of positive feedback on the story, but what makes me proudest, and saddest at the same time, are the letters from people who have either been through a similar situation themselves or are close to someone who has, and who have told me that I got it right, and that the story somehow helped them.

I just adore the character of Blair Sandburg. He's brilliant, educated, intuitive, ingenious, compassionate, kind, and funny. Oh, sure, he's gorgeous, too, but you can't write gorgeous, there has to be an interesting character behind the face, and I find Blair fascinating. I'd say that he's the easiest for me to write, because there are so many facets to him. Jim's a great character too, but I find that I have to deviate a bit from canon with Jim in certain stories in order to make him a more sympathetic character. Basically, I make him nicer to Blair than he often was on the show. My least favorite? Probably Rafe. I can't seem to summon up any interest in him.

[Men talking to each other about feelings?] In my universe, they do. <g> But if I were trying to stick strictly to canon, then no, I don't think they would talk about it. I'm going to make a sexist statement, and say that most men don't really talk about that stuff, but most fanfic writers and readers are women, and we want them to. Canonically, the lack of communication contributed to the misunderstandings Jim and Blair had on the show, but they never learned from it. It's a convenient dramatic device, and I think it is realistic for most men, but I would have liked to see them grow in this area.

TS by BS was very hard to watch. For what we were given, I think it was well done. It certainly affected me emotionally, but a lot of the emotion it raised in me was anger. Jim's reaction to the release of the diss was in character given previous episodes, but I would have preferred to see a Jim who had grown emotionally--at least since Sentinel Too--and didn't leap to accusations of deliberate betrayal when something went wrong in his life. Blair's sacrifice was noble and moving, and I hated that he had to do it. By the end of The Sentinel, Blair has nothing left of his old life but his hair. Everything he has and everything he was has gone for Jim's sake. While this can all be interpreted as shamanic initiation, I doubt that was foremost in Danny Bilson's mind. <g> If I were in charge? Well, the episode would have been a lot longer. They would have dealt with the emotional issues and the fallout from Blair's declaration of fraud. Given a perfect world, Jim would not have accused Blair of betrayal, Blair would have told him what he meant to do about the situation, and Jim would have tried, unsuccessfully, to talk Blair out of it. Of course, that would have removed a lot of the conflict and drama, so maybe that wouldn't be a good idea. I would have liked to end it, not with an offer of a stint at the Academy, but with Jim and Blair going to Peru (as Bilson wanted to do if they were renewed) in order for Blair to explore his shamanism and for them both to advance in their knowledge and acceptance of the mysterious. Jim would finally be ready to "take that trip" with Blair.

[Regarding zines]: I expect that netfic will become more prevalent as more fans get online. It's amazing to me how many fans aren't online at all. I also think that, if the cost of zines keeps rising, they are likely to price themselves out of existence. Of course, I am in no way an expert on any of this, so feel free to ignore me completely.