Hello and welcome to our feature Immeritus MEMBER Blacklight! This feature puts the Blacklight on the some of our most memorable and talented members —and we're finding out more about what makes them tick. In our interviews, we ask for their views on the Harry Potter books and the fandom and learn what inspires their creativity. We're interested in their methods of working and their favourite characters. As Immeritans, they also have the unique opportunity to be able to answer questions about their favorite Immeritus memories and hang-outs. So if you are new to Immeritus, or an oldbie like our interviewee, enjoy the show!

This month, we bring you Tarafina, known as mauvaise_etoile on Livejournal. She is a puppyshipper, dog-owner, married, and just gave birth to her first son last week. Talk about a busy gal! Fortunately, we caught up with her before she hit the delivery room and she had some time to sit down and answer a few questions for us. Enjoy!

I: Which (real-life) authors and/or artists do you most admire?
T: I have so many.  I'm such a bibliophile that I've always read a huge variety of authors, so it's really hard to pinpoint even a few.  I admire any writer who has the gumption to write their book and get it published.

I: Have they inspired your own style in any way?
T: I am constantly drawing inspiration from books I read, whether it's a direct event in the plot or just a sentence that strikes me.

I: What advice would you give to novices wanting to start writing/drawing?
T: Write, write, and write more.  It doesn't matter what you write just so long as you're writing.  Give yourself exercises to do if you don't feel you can just write on a whim.  As with a lot of things, you'll never get any better if you don't practice.  Fanfiction (even if you don't even know it's called that!) is a great starting point as well because you're dealing with characters and background that have already been developed.

I: Why did you read your first Harry Potter book?
T: I had heard about the series (I believe it was after PoA had come out).  I have a younger brother and he had borrowed SS from his friend who was into the books and so I borrowed it too and read it.

I: Which is your favourite HP book and why?
T: PoA.  I purchased SS, CoS, and PoA for my own some time after I had originally read SS (this was after GoF came out) and really got into SS this time.  I dove into CoS immediately after and didn't love it so much, but continued on.  PoA completely captivated me right away.  There was just something deeper about that book than the other two.  I think I realized for the first time while reading PoA that this wasn't solely a series of children's books: the way the plot twists and turns is too complex for that.  There are numerous reasons I consider that book my favorite, one being the introduction of Sirius!  I liked also how it wasn't Voldemort directly going after Harry in this book; it was a welcome change to think that there was someone else trying to get to Harry.  The scenes in the Shack where it is revealed that Sirius isn't a baddie and we learn history is wonderfully written.  It flows seamlessly and you're constantly on your toes wondering what is going to happen next.  I don't think there is another section of any of the other books that is quite as suspenseful as that.

I love the characterization in the third book.  Sirius is written as SO evil right up until it is discovered that he isn't.  JKR did a fabulous job.  Also, I think, as an older Harry Potter fan I naturally gravitated towards the previous generation, the Marauders and professors.

I: What do you like most about the Harry Potter series?
T: I love that it appeals to such a wide audience; that is so rare with books.

I: What do you like the least?
T: The waiting!  It's torture, really.  I'm SO excited for the last book to come out.  I know there will be so many questions left unanswered that we'll be able to theorize forever without having to worry about our ideas not being true. 

I: Who's your favourite canon character to read about and why?
T: Now what kind of Immeritan would I be if I didn't say Sirius?  Really though, he is absolutely my favorite character and I could never tire of reading about him.  After reading PoA, I was hopeful that he would become an integral part of Harry's life throughout the rest of the series and was excited to see he was in GoF and then geeked that he had such a vital (albeit horrible!) part in OotP.   I'm hoping for at least some mention of him in Deathly Hallows.

I: What would you most like to see in Deathly Hallows?
T: There's so much I want to see!  I'm hopeful that we will further learn about James and Lily's sacrifice to save Harry and the night of their death.  I think there is a lot of story lurking behind the magic that was involved there in addition to finding out more about the actual events.

Oh, and Snape to get his… Actually I would love to see Neville kill Bellatrix and Harry to kill Peter (that makes me sound a bit sinister, doesn't it?!).

I: What would you say to someone who referred to the HP books as childrens' books?
T: I'd say that technically they're correct, but there's so much more to them than simply being “children's books”.  Captain Underpants is a “children's book”.  Harry Potter is an all-ages book because on the surface it is a story about a young boy that a child can appreciate, but underneath there are intricacies that not many children would understand.

They might be considered children's books, children's literature even (as opposed to regular, ordinary books), but if they are regularly read by adults and mentioned in college courses, they are no longer just for children.  There is that true saying about not judging a book by its cover too.  I'd have to mention that.  They'd probably walk away as I was jabbering on about it and I'd have to chase them down the street to have my full say.

I: How do you view the gender divide in the HP series? Do you find the female characters as engaging, well-rounded and strong as the male characters? If not, why not?
T:  I think the focus is on the male characters in the series: Harry, Ron, Dumbledore, James and his friends (we never really hear about Lily's friends), the multitude of Weasley men, Snape, Voldemort, Sirius…Some of these characters are complex, but I find the complexities in the female characters as intriguing as the men. 

I feel there is quite a bit of information behind the scenes with the females, whereas with the men it's more straightforward, but there is good reason for that: the books are told from a young boy's point of view.  He's more apt to relate to men than women. 

Getting back to the question, basically I think for the books that they are, the female characters are substantial enough. 

I: When and how did you first discover Immeritus and the HP fandom?
T: I discovered them both at the same time.  I didn't know there was such a thing as fandom until I found Immeritus.  I was bored at work one day eagerly anticipating the publication of HBP and was poking around on JKR's site for the umpteenth time.  I went into the one area I'd never been before: fansites.  I never bothered because I thought, “Oh, lame.”  (*hides from fandom*)

Immeritus was the last one I visited because it had that little Dark Mark symbol (which at the time I didn't know meant that it was for spoilers).  I was gobsmacked to discover an entire site devoted to my favorite character! 

I came specifically to see the piece of fanart that JKR references on her site as looking much like Sirius the way she envisioned him.  I then tooled around the forums for a couple of days before I couldn't resist registering and posting on my own.

From Immeritus I found other sites and fandom circles.

I: What appealed to you most about Immeritus?
T: The discussions and orderliness around the forums.  I joined shortly after Immeritus switched to its own domain, so things were a little confusing because stuff was still being moved around, but I still liked it more than some of the other sites I'd visited.  I loved the rules about posting.  It seemed like an intelligent and slightly older crowd than some of the other fansites out there, so I felt that I fit in immediately.

I: Did you like the questions you had to answer in your application to join the Club? Did you enjoy the application process?
T: Oh, my essays.  I was anticipating getting to do them and so I spent a couple of days posting like a madwoman and getting involved in as many discussions as I could.  I got my questions and started on them, then promptly abandoned them because I was so scared that they'd be rejected.  I finally went back to work on them months later after I had already become a fixture on Immeritus, so I had a lot more confidence in what I could come up with.

My questions themselves were fine.  I'd dug through old applications and didn't have any questions I had my heart set on because I knew I could answer anything thrown at me; none of the questions struck me as any harder than any of the others.  They all had their own challenges.

I: Which is the first forum you visit when you log on?
T: It depends.  If I'm involved in an RPG, I'll go there first.  If I'm hosting a swap, I'll check The Burrow first.  If there's a canon discussion going on that I'm particularly intrigued with, that will be my first stop.  Lately I've been stopping in The Burrow first.

I: Which topics are your favourites (old or new)?
T: I enjoy the character of the month discussions, even if I don't participate in them.  It's a great way to get some new juice flowing in everyone's brains on a character that they've maybe never thought much about before. 

When I first joined, shortly before HBP came out, I loved reading all of the threads with predictions on what would happen or theories.  I'd never have been able to come up with a lot of that myself!  Once we start getting a few tidbits about Deathly Hallows, I know the discussions on it are going to pick up and it will be great to see what others predict may happen. 

I love the threads on James, Neville, and Luna.  They are characters that I love and love discussing. 

I: What is your favourite non-forum area of the site e.g. gallery, translations?
T: Being a linguaphile, I love the translations; I've not seen anything like it on any other sites.  The summaries are wonderful also.  I take a lot of advantage of those when I'm trying to look something up in the books.  They're very useful for reference.

I:  What are your favourite memories of your time so far on Immy?
T: How can my baby shower be topped?!  Despite the many wonderful memories as I've had on the site and the many more that will come in the future, nothing will ever compare to the virtual baby shower.  Other than that, I don't have any bad memories involving Immy, so they're all my favorites!  A majority of the more memorable ones happen in chat.  You never know what will happen when you're in there!

I:  You've met some Immeritans in real-life. What was it like finally meeting people that you'd talked to online? How did you spend your time with them?
T: It's seriously the coolest thing!  It is really amazing to be able to spend actual time with people who you've got to know and consider friends.

Spello was the first Immeritan I met and I was a little scared (I think she was too!).  She had a lengthy layover in my local airport, so I drove there to help her pass the time.  It was incredible!  We had very few uncomfortable silences and I felt perfectly at ease with her like we'd been friends for years, not just two girls meeting for the first time and only “knowing” one another for a few months. 

Ife was my next meet up as we live close-ish to one another.  We took our dogs to the dog park together and spent several hours there chatting away.  Since we live so close, we've been able to spend a lot of time together at each other's houses and hanging out.

I met Tree when she came here to visit Ife.  We spent a few hours chatting (and drinking and eating!). 

And most recently I attended Lumos where I got to meet a whole slew of Immeritans!  Mag, Pen, Molly, Dexy, Mum, Lish, Adara, Nadi, and Star.  We all had a riot together and the worst part was having to leave.  We were like a group of girlfriends who were reuniting after years apart. 

I feel so lucky to have met so many of you and hope to meet more of you in the future.

I: When did you first discover the HP fandom and fanfics?
T: I was put off by fanfics at first; I had no desire to read them.  Then one day I just decided to for no particular reason.  I was amazed!  Here were incredible writers doing nothing but fiddling around with characters I already knew.  I only read some of the stuff posted on Immeritus, then, as I made more friends and got more involved in LJ, I found more and more fanfic. 

I: How would you say your work has improved since you first started out in the fandom and how instrumental has feedback been to that?
T: Oh, god, my first couple of fics are horrendous (as, I'm sure are many of the other things I've written! ;) ).  I've been writing nearly my entire life and I had NEVER let anyone read any of it (that wasn't done for a school project!), so I was extremely nervous and I'm certain that showed in my writing.  It took a lot of support from many of my friends here to post some of it.

Feedback, whether it's positive or negative, has been crucial to my writing.  I have been fortunate to have excellent betas at my disposal to help me.  I learn from my mistakes in writing.  For example, I used to have a huge problem with repeating words and since it was pointed out to me, I make a conscious effort to avoid it now as much as possible.  I think any writer putting their work out there is silly if they don't want concrit.  It can only advance your writing.

I: Are there any topics which you think are taboo or out of bounds for the HP fandom? Are there any subjects that you personally would not address in your fanwork? Would you censor your work depending on who you thought your audience would be?
T: I believe in ‘don't like, don't read'.  If someone wants to write something I don't personally agree with, that's their prerogative and it's mine to not read it.  I have certain squicks that I'd probably never write, but only because I don't think I could because it would gross me out too much.  I don't believe in censorship of any kind so no, I wouldn't censor my work.  I rate my work and post warnings accordingly.  It's up to the reader to decide whether or not it's something they would like to read (or if it's appropriate for them to read it).

I: What genres have you worked in? Are there any genres you would avoid and if so, why?
T: I suppose I've done most genres.  I think I do more angst than I mean to.  Not that I dislike it, I just don't mean to write angst usually, but it just sort of happens.  I can't think of any I would intentionally avoid though.

I: Have you noticed a bias towards male slash in the HP fandom? If so, has this affected the kind of work you've produced (e.g. by making you less likely to write about/draw het or femmeslash)? What are your thoughts on the reasons for a mainly female fandom writing/depicting a lot of male slash?
T: I was sucked into slash!  I wasn't into it at all when I first started reading fanfic and then it sort of took hold of me, so yes, I think there's a bias towards it.  You don't have to read it or enjoy it, but in this fandom it's completely unavoidable.  It's affected the work I produce insomuch as I write slash and never thought I'd even read it, let alone write it.  I was never against it, I just am the type of shipper that needs to see canon plausibility behind a pairing (unless it's done from an absurd, cracky point of view) and it took me awhile to see how some of the pairings could fit into canon.

I honestly have no clue why there's so much male slash.  I'm sure there are all sorts of sociological reasons that I could hash out here, but I have no expertise to.  The main thing that springs to mind is something I touched on earlier with the focus on male characters in the series.  They're the most developed characters, so they're easiest to work with.  (Can you tell I really don't know what I'm talking about?)

I: Do you keep your fandom life separate from your 'real' life e.g. do friends and family know that you write? Why do you think so many people keep that divide - is fandom something people are ashamed of, in your opinion?
T: Like I mentioned before, I've always been very private about my writing, so I've only shared a couple pieces of my fanfic with people not in fandom.  It's easier to have people who you don't have to see face-to-face (on a regular basis, at least!) read it.  If I were directly asked, I'd not deny it, but it's not something I openly advertise.  The main reason is a lot of people don't understand fandom unless they're involved in a fandom of their own.  It's really horrible to try to explain fandom to someone who has no sense of what you're on about.  Personally, it's not something I'm ashamed of being involved in, but it's not worth the effort trying to explain it.  Most of my friends, family, and co-workers know that I'm “really into” HP and that I attended a conference, but truly, they don't know what that actually means because it's not something they're familiar with.  Blank stares abound when trying to explain how you can endlessly discuss a series of books.

I: Who are your favourite fanauthors?
T: Minnow (minnow_53 on LJ) is my favorite.  I've never disliked anything she's written.  Shaggy (shaggydogstail on LJ) is incredible as well.  They are two of a small group of writers whose work I always read, regardless of the pairing (even though they both primarily write Sirius/Remus).

I: What do you like best about the fandom?
T: The people.  If I didn't like the people, I'd not have stuck around.

I: What prompted you to start creating your own fanworks?
T: My first fanfic was in response to an unofficial challenge.  My second was in response to a challenge on Immeritus.  I thought, “Hey, I can do this!” after reading several fanfics.

I: What preparation do you have to do to create your fanworks? How essential is it to muse on canon characters and storylines before putting forward your interpretation?
T: I must have background.  It usually makes it onto paper and incorporated into the story, but even if it doesn't, it has to be in my mind.  If I can't find a way for it to fit into canon (or be the total opposite of canon on purpose), it won't happen.  If I'm writing a character I'm less familiar with, I do more research on them than someone like Sirius, who I feel like I know like the back of my hand.  Basically, I just review whatever parts of canon could be important to my story before I write (or during writing).

I: How would you describe your approach to writing? Do you sit down and plan out your entire piece, or do you let it develop on the fly?
T: I nearly always just sit down and write.  I'll be inspired by something and just start writing, with a very general idea of what the story will be about.  A lot of times it never goes anywhere (the uncompleted fic folder on my harddrive is huge), but I save it in case it can be used elsewhere or later.  I constantly write myself little notes in case I'm not able to write at the time.

Alternatively, I do plan out stories in their entirety if I know there will be a lot involved with the plot.  However, even stories I've planned out have changed direction because it just happens while I write.

I: Who's your favourite canon character to write about and why?
T: Sirius, of course! I find him so interesting that I'd not tire of writing about Sirius just like I'll never tire of reading him.  There are so many missing parts of Sirius's life in canon, but that have a few details, that we'll never run out of things to write about him that could be plausibly canon.

I: Of all your work, which is your favourite piece and why?
T: My favorite piece is “New Year's Resolutions”.  It's a nontraditional piece (done in a list format) and I spent more time researching it to ensure I had the order of events and dates correct than actually writing it.  I went back and fiddled with it so many times to make it perfect.  It does reference slash, but that is unessential to the point of the story and I consider it a genfic.  It is one of the very few pieces of my own that I can read and honestly not want to change a thing in it.

I: You've written quite a lot of Sirius/Remus. What's your attraction to the pairing?
T: The romance mostly, which shows how big a sap I am.  When I first started reading Sirius/Remus, I don't know if I got lucky with finding some really great pieces, or if I just really liked it that much, but it didn't take long to sway me.  It's the pairing that is so close to canon it may as well become officially so.  Anyway, the first fics that I read made me realize how possible, and likely, their relationship was. 

I mentioned above about how writing Sirius could never get old because we know enough details to piece things together, but there is so much left unsaid that it gives plenty to work with.  It's the same with Sirius/Remus.  There are enough details to run with, but enough is unknown that it's always interesting to read someone else's take on what happened during those missing moments.

I: Some writers seem intimidated by comedy yet you've written a fair amount of humor and crack!fics, and you've done it quite well.  How do you approach writing humor?  Do you find it easier or more difficult to write in this genre?  Why?
T: It's not easy for me to say positive things about myself, but one thing I'll admit is I do consider myself a fairly funny person, so writing humor comes naturally to me.  I've always used humor in life as something to sort of hide behind when I'm nervous or stressed out, so that gets reflected in my writing, because it's always a scary thing putting your work out there!  I do love writing humor though because it's so easy to me.  I don't have to think about it usually.

I: Your crafty!Sirius story arc seemed to take on a life of its own for a while there.  What inspired you to have Sirius experiment with crafts and do you find yourself thinking up different ways to get him into crafty trouble while you work on a big piece involving lots of mindless Stocking or Stockinette stitch?  <- Pen being cheeky there; you can ignore the last half of that question if you like.  :p
T: Ahaha.  I have no clue.  It was just one of those ideas that came into my head one day.  Actually, the first story in the arc was inspired by one of Minnow's fics because of a comment that passed between us and after that, it snowballed.  I received great comments about how much people enjoyed the pieces, so I was continuously trying to come up with something else silly for Sirius to do.  I was fortunate to have a plethora of suggestions given to me through comments, so whenever one struck me, I'd use it.  I've thought about resurrecting the series several times, but nothing has sounded just right yet.

I: You delved into the world of poetry with your collaborative piece “The Love of His Life” last year.  What was the poetry experience like for you?  Do you think you'll attempt poetry again?  What do you think about the fandom reaction to poetry in general, since you write both fic and poetry, and why do you think there is so little poetry in the HP fandom?
T: Ruby and I had a hoot writing those poems.  I've entered a few of the poetry challenges on Immeritus, but I've never felt that it's my niche.  Generally speaking, it takes me as long to write a poem as to write a (short) fic, so typically a fic gets chosen over a poem.  I don't dislike writing poetry, but I just don't think of writing it unless I'm bunnied by a challenge.

I do find it odd that there isn't more poetry in fandom.  There is such an educated and intelligent presence in fandom, that poetry would certainly be well met especially as an alternative to fic.  I wonder if people aren't hesitant to post or write poetry because they're afraid it won't get as big a reception as fic or art.  It can be discouraging to work hard on something and then not have it noticed.

I: You've written a few pieces that have been inspired by fanart, including “…Stay Out of the Kitchen” featuring James and Lily?  What prompts you to write from a piece of art?  (eg. lighting, coloring, expressions, details)  Do you have to mull over an art inspired story longer than one without art to draw on, or is it a question of putting words to the story you see in the picture already?
T: There's nothing particular.  If a piece of art really inspires a story and I have the time to write it, why not?  Like I've alluded to in some of the above questions, my writing is almost always inspired by something, whether it's a line in a movie, another fic that I read, something I see or something that is said to me, so why should fanart be any different?  I think when a writer posts something inspired by a piece of fanart, it's a bonus for those reading it because we get to actually see the inspiration itself.  So nothing in my preparation changes when dealing with an art-inspired piece.  I'm not terribly educated in art; I just know when I like something and when I don't, so things like considering lighting or coloring are pretty lost on me. 

I: Very soon now, you're going to be experiencing a life altering change—mommydom [OK - so this happened between the time she did the interview and the time we published]]!   How do you feel BabyTara may influence you from here on out? How do you feel it will affect your fandom social life?
T: I don't know!  I've always had the opinion that, just because you have children, your life shouldn't have to completely change.  I consider fandom as one of my hobbies and something I do for enjoyment, so I can't see myself ever giving it up while I still have fun in it.  Will my time be more limited?  Probably and especially at first. 

No matter how busy my life gets (and it's generally fairly so), I've always needed decompression time for myself, else I'd have wound up in the loony bin ages ago.  So unless BabyTara and Mr. Tara want an insane person running their house, they'll have to deal with me taking a few moments for myself now and again! 

I've already been less active in fandom the past several months, so I don't envision my presence being diminished any further.  Just because I'll be a mom, it doesn't mean I still won't act like a fangirl when we see new pics from the OotP set or we get a release date for DH.  However, never having been a mom, I don't know what life will be bringing me from here on out.  I've always gone with the flow of life and will continue to do so once this little guy arrives.

I: And finally, fill in the blank: Sirius is _________
T: Sirius is a character who has influenced my life in ways I never thought possible. 

We want to thank Tara for taking the time to answer our questions and we hope that you all enjoyed reading our MEMBER interview. If you would like to review her Sirius fanfics here on the site, find her works in our fanfic forums. You can also find her on her livejournal here. If you want to comment on and/or discuss this interview please follow this link.