HG

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Fan
Name: HG
Alias(es): hgdoghouse
Type: writer
Fandoms: The Professionals, Cassidy, Facelift, The Fugitive
Communities:
Other:
URL: hgdoghouse at AO3
hgdoghouse at Hatstand Archive
hgdoghouse at Circuit Archive
on The Hatstand website
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

HG is a slash writer in The Professionals fandom. HG first began reading Hatstands in autumn 1981, and "it snowballed from there."[1]

Fan Comments

1988

Where does one begin in a discussion of all the hours of reading pleasure H.G. has given us? The list of her efforts contains many favorites and certainly some of the best fiction in B/D fandom. H.G. will probably be most remembered for her two excellent novels, "Rediscovered in a Graveyard" and "Master of the Revels", and yet many of her shorter pieces are equally well written, perhaps more so because the shorter story demands a tighter structure and firmer control by the author.

A favorite of H.G.'s shorter stories is impossible to pick: "Loose Change," "Griff and Grimm", "No Strings," "Anticlimax," "Encore," "Two in a Bunk," "No Unicorns" all vie for the honor.

"Loose Change" is a terse, finely crafted piece that in such a limited space perfectly captures a moment in the life of CI5. The characterization is sharp, the tension in the room real enough to feel as the agents interact. What I like best about this piece is how the reader is drawn into what is a slice of life story and yet still gets a well rounded, complete picture of events, tensions, arguments that have created the undercurrents in the squad room. We are given a good look at how these strong characters react to one another. We glimpse what binds them together and separates them from each other. In short, both characterization and the creation of the scene itself are finely turned and honed to form a very vivid picture.

Excellent characterization as well as thorough exploration of motivation are strong elements of "No Strings" and "Anticlimax." In "No Strings" in particular the pain the characters experience is felt by the reader as well.

Another short story where characterization is especially fine is in "Gruff and Grimm." Not only the bears are given vivid personalities; the natures of the young Doyle and Bodie are well drawn, leaving the reader with a good feel for what the men were like as boys; thereby giving the reader insight into the adults as well.

Humor is another prominent feature of H.G.'s work. So often the humor is in context, not obtrusive but the typical, cynical humor one would expect from these characters. H.G.'s use of humor is all part of her ability to capture the characters so well. Her short stories are so often excellent examples of the slice of life type story because of the characterization, the humor, and the way we see Bodie and Doyle flow from moment of danger to moment of love.

Of her two long efforts, one can only say that they are among the best in fandom because of her strengths as mentioned above. "Rediscovered" is my favorite historical because it feels so complete. As a reader I understood why the characters acted as they did. All too often, significant motivation is ignored, but not here. The story is also complete; there is plot and some lovely scenes. The tenderness and love the main characters as well as the nicely drawn ancillary characters feel toward ne another is evident, giving the story a warm feel. "Master of the Revels" is a fine extrapolation of the characters from FACELIFT. In addition, it demonstrates H.G.'s skill as a writer as she crafts and fleshes out a world for her characters to inhabit and react to. The story line is good, although the ending creates more questions than it answers. (Though this is the sign of a well done piece - it leaves the reader wanting, begging for, more.) The way it was distributed, however, was a detriment as the story occasionally became repetitious and the writing itself was not always as smooth as it should have been. That perhaps, is H.G.'s worst problem - her work could sometime stand polishing from a grammatical point of view. And yet, such is the strength of her story line and characterization that often grammatical problems seem less significant than they would in lesser works.

... I must say thank you for the reading pleasure you've given me and please keep writing. [2]

1997

I find HG often a bit of a gamble - some of her stories are great, others are dull or annoying. I think I prefer her short works (where she tends to use a lighter touch) than her long works, but not always. And though I often find her works pleasurable, I don't find them very memorable.

And exception of a sort is "Rainbow Chasers", because it was the first Pros slash I read. (Not counting "The Hunting", which was long ago and AU. Well, "Rainbow Chasers" is AU too, but not so extravagantly.) And for this reason I have quite a soft spot for that story, even though I didn't think it was brilliant or anything. [3]

HG and Strange Days Indeed

Remember Angola was the first Professionals slash fanzine printed and sold. It was published in 1981 and was written by Anne Lewis. After reading the story, fan writer HG was inspired to write a similar story called Strange Days Indeed.

Morgan Dawn remembers fans discussing the story in 1996 when there was an uproar over Anne Higgins writing an alternative ending to Sebastian's "Catharsis":

I remember UK fans telling us that 'Remember Angola' was a very hush-hush story which for some reason you were *Not Supposed To Have Read* - although of course everyone had. The poor quality of the many-times secretly photocopied text gave one a definite thrill to read it, since rumor had it that the author had died young and under mysterious circumstances. HG rewrote the story with everyone sworn to secrecy (in the end she acknowledged the original story when her rewrite was republished in 1999). In many ways, the situation was similar to the Sebastian rewrite, i.e the author wasn't around to give permission, so perhaps some people felt it wasn't ethical for anyone to do a rewrite. But the rewrite was widely thought to be an improvement, so I guess ethics took a quick bow and retired. In the end, fandom split between being horrified and being thrilled at being gifted with something new to consume." [4]

Zines in Which HG's Work Appears

Alter Egos | Behind the Mask (Cherilyn) | British Takeaway | Celebrations | Cold Fish and Stale Chips | Compounded Interest | Dialj Bound | Discovered in a Letterbox | Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (Cherilyn) | HG Collected | Hunted by Devils | In the Public Interest | Jigsaw Puzzle | Leather and Blue Jeans | Master of the Revels | No Holds Barred | Old Friends | The Peerless Pair | Rainbow Chasers | Rediscovered in a Graveyard | Rhythm and Blues (Cherilyn and Grace) | Sebastian Collected | Short Circuit | Slippery When Wet | The Small Print | Strange Days Indeed | Unprofessional Conduct | Walking in the Moonlight

Professional Stories

References

  1. ^ comments in Be Gentle to Us #2
  2. ^ Agent 7's remarks, The Hatstand Express #18
  3. ^ from the CI5 Mailing List, quoted anonymously (September 14, 1997)
  4. ^ From Morgan Dawn's personal notes, accessed April 14, 2010.
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