Quidditch Pitch Interview with bryonyraven

Interviews by Fans
Title:	Quidditch Pitch Interview with bryonyraven
Interviewer:
Interviewee:	bryonyraven a.k.a. coffee_n_cocoa
Date(s):	January 2006
Medium:	online
Fandom(s):	Harry Potter
External Links:	interview is here, Archived version
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In 2006, bryonyraven (now coffee_n_cocoa) was interviewed for The Quidditch Pitch.

See Quidditch Pitch Interview Series.

Some Excerpts

I first got involved in the fandom back in 2003, just before OotP was released. I'd read the first book, then seen the first two movies, which then got me to read the rest of the books. My husband was web-surfing soon after and found Fiction Alley Park and basically dared me to write something, which was how I got started writing fan fiction. Basically, you can blame everything I've done thus far in the fandom on my husband, because I wouldn't be here otherwise!

My favorite character is Neville Longbottom, and has been since the first book. Nearly all of my favorite scenes in the series include him. I tend to identify rather strongly with him: he's very introverted and shy; he had a rather conservative, traditional upbringing; he's teased and picked on and it seems as though he's always on the fringes, on the outside looking in, and that reflects my own childhood in a lot of ways. We both have an interest in plants, though I have no skill in growing them! I just like reading about their medicinal uses and folkloric symbology.

I also think Neville is a lot more capable than others give him credit for. He's got a quiet, internal strength, a determination and a resiliency about him that I find really admirable. No matter how much you knock him down, he always gets back up again. I also admire the fact that he's so good-natured and agreeable despite his own personal tragedies and the way he's been treated by other professors and classmates. A lot of people would have turned bitter, but he hasn't. He just seems to become sweeter and stronger and more likeable with each book!

My favorite book was 'Order of the Phoenix', hands down. I know a lot of people thought it dragged in spots, and occasionally that was true (I skip over the Grawp subplot, myself whenever I reread); but at the same time it introduced interesting characters such as Luna and Tonks, and by the end of the book supporting characters like Neville and Ginny were more complete and well-rounded, characterization-wise. They weren't just there in the background, they became people. Plus, the gum-wrapper scene along with the Battle at the Ministry of Magic are some of my favorites in the entire series.

[What inspires you to write?:] Something will catch my imagination. It can be a phrase, a quote, a song lyric, and a picture, something that grabs me and doesn't let go. Usually I'll get an accompanying mental image, and I'll go from there. On the other hand, deadlines work well, too. Sometimes, especially if the plotbunny gods aren't being kind, there's nothing like a looming deadline to force one's imagination into action!