Twenty-Seven Grilled Bards and One Reviewer: Wishes
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| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Twenty-Seven Grilled Bards and One Reviewer: Wishes |
| Interviewer: | |
| Interviewee: | Wishes |
| Date(s): | July 7, 1998 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | Xena: Warrior Princess |
| External Links: | full interview is here, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Twenty-Seven Grilled Bards and One Reviewer: Wishes is a 1998 Xena: Warrior Princess fan interview at Whoosh!.
Series
For others in this series, see Whoosh! Interview Series.
Some Excerpts
Oh, yes. "Lair of the Serpent" was meant to be a self-contained story about a monster. However, as I wrote the chapter in which Xena is asked to come to the countryside being ravaged by the monster, I found myself writing that this invitation was issued by the serpent himself. This brought a mystical element to the story that, I believe, led to the readers' questions that persuaded me to write "Valley of Regret." Even I could see that the second story was merely a bridge to the final conflict between followers of the ancient goddess religion and the worshipers of the new male god(s).
I think people like the characters of Janice and Mel and enjoy the role reversal involved: Janice, the Gabrielle-lookalike, being the rough, tough adventurer and Mel, the Xena descendent, being the soft, southern belle. I enjoy writing about them because of the World War II setting and because the episode told us so little about them that I get to make up all the other details. For example, I gave Mel an Aunt Helen and Janice an estranged mother married to an English lord. Other authors have picked up on the Aunt Helen character and, after kindly asking permission, have included her in their stories. I love that as well as all the details other authors have created for their Janices and Mels.
I didn't set out to write to form relationships, but I've formed some of the most important relationships of my life because of writing Xena fan fiction and poetry. Watching the series, reading others' fan fiction and writing my own have caused me to think about relationships and love and trust and all of the ideals one can too easily forget as one grows up and then grows older.