SERENDIPITY
(SPOILERS BELOW)
Q: How did you manage to think of all the non canon things and build them up so well? This really applies to the whole series.
A: Thank you! So "Serendipity" was the first Marauders Era fanfic I ever wrote. I knew I had to work out how I pictured the characters in my mind first. Once I did that, it was really easy to imagine all of the trouble they'd get up to at school. Character creation is my favorite part of writing. I truly love writing three-dimensional characters that can stand on their own feet and take control of the narrative. I hope I've done that here.
Q: I love how you captured Eva and Sirius' relationship. Did you have an inspiration, and if so, who or what was it?
A: To me, Eva and Sirius represented young love. They were the people Molly and Arthur were talking about when they said that people were marrying young in times of war because they didn't know if they had a tomorrow. I wanted to capture the innocence and passion of that in their relationship.
Just for fun, a few Evarius songs
-She's Got a Way by Billy Joel
-We Were by Keith Urban
-Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift
-You and Me by Niall Horan
-Somebody to Love by Queen
-Brandy by Looking Glass
-Tiny Dancer by Elton John
-Livin' on a Prayer by Bon Jovi
Q: I want to know how in the world you managed to capture the essence and character of the Marauders so well given that there is so little information given about them!
A: That is such an amazing compliment, thank you! I really hope I did justice to this world that we all created together. Let's be real: the Marauders fandom was created solely by fans. We came up with so much simply because we loved the idea of such a pure friendship between four boys. I think that is truly awesome.
To me, the "essence" of the Marauders is a feeling. It's driving down the highway with the music blaring, only to crash. It's "nothing lasts forever, but this is getting good now" (borrowed your phrase, Taylor). It is youthful recklessness and young love and true bravery and faint rays of hope.
Oh, and it all happens in the 70s, so it's fight scenes and rock music.
Q: Also, Marlene the Queen! Lily, Eva, and Kriss!!! How do you write such bold and vibrant female characters!??!!
A: First of all, thank you! It feels really good to hear that, because I've always felt like I've written stronger male characters, and I've always been worried that my female characters aren't up to par.
I wanted my leading ladies to all be different but strong in their own ways. They each have qualities that I admire. I love Eva's optimism and undying loyalty, Kriss' soft nature and intelligence, Lily's bravery and true love for her family, and Marlene's boldness and spirit. I think that the girls really grew into their own as the story progressed, and I'm weirdly proud of them all.
Q: How did you create Eva?
A: Eva's creation is interesting because I saw her before I knew her. In the planning stages of "Serendipity", the Marauders came first. I knew Sirius was in love, and I knew he was staring at the curly blonde across from him on the Hogwarts Express. But who was she? I had absolutely no idea. I just knew that she was the kind of person that could make Sirius Black fall head-over-heels in love without even trying.
She's fun-loving. She's optimistic. She's endlessly kind. She's fiercely protective of her friends. She's not afraid to stand up for her beliefs. She wants to change the world.
And suddenly, Sirius is in love.
I actually own a pair of floral bell-bottoms. Those pants and her leather jacket became signature to Eva, but they also helped remind me of the time period. All of the characters are products of the seventies, and their clothes helped me anchor them to that decade.
Q: What inspired you to write this trilogy?
A: It's been so long that I honestly don't remember. I just really love the Marauders!!!
Q: Would you ever do an amortentia one shot?
A: Honestly, no. I don't really like one-shots.
Q: This is more of a general question but who's character was your favorite to write?
A: That's so difficult! I would have to say James. I love his protectiveness and loyalty! He's just the best.
Q: Did you remember everything off the top of your head, or did you have to look it up?
A: Some and some. I used to reread the Harry Potter books ALL THE TIME, so I know way more than a casual reader, but I liked to be as accurate as possible.
(To everyone who took offense, I am not sorry that "Beauty and the Beast" was not accurate to its actual release. The Hogwarts food fight would not have been the same without it).
EPOCH
(SPOILERS BELOW)
Q: How on earth do you write such sadness back to back with immense joy?
Q: How do you make things that would normally leave me crying into something I laugh at?
A: "Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light."
Q: Did any of Marlene's justice movements go through!?! Or are they all gone? Will they ever resurface!?! Would they have stayed if she hadn't died!?! Why did she die?!?
A: Marlene was more of a voice of the people than anything else. She told the truth when all other journalists were too afraid. She didn't write any laws except for finishing Kriss' defense essays. I think those would have been revisited, but not until after the second wizarding war, when Remus is the first werewolf to be awarded the Order of Merlin.
If Marlene hadn't died, Sirius never would have asked James to make Peter their Secret-Keeper. Her death was what pushed him over the edge. Marlene was one of those people that no one ever really considered dying. She was a force of nature.
And she (unfortunately) had to die because I wanted to write "Epiphany" and because JK Rowling said so.
Q: Sirius is more reckless in this book than the previous one, would he have been more so if he didn't have Eva to worry over? Do you think if they had communicated he would still give up being secret keeper!?!?
A: He ABSOLUTELY would have been more reckless without Eva. For the first time in his life, Sirius had someone to come home to. He most certainly would fight for that!
If they had communicated more, he wouldn't have given up being Secret-Keeper. She would have been able to calm his concerns about Remus. One of my favorite traits about Eva is her trust in her friends. She and James were the glue of the group.
Q: If Kriss didn't die, then what would she be doing by the time Epiphany happens?
A: First of all, I love this question.
Kriss would have stayed with the Scamanders in Dorset for a long time, probably even after the war ended. She'd also do a fair bit of traveling and writing, being Marlene's most frequent confidante. They likely would have collaborated more writing-wise, and she also would have collaborated with Newt.
I don't think she and Remus would have lasted forever. Not all first love does. I think they'd stay together until the war ended, and grief would slowly make them more distant until it made sense to end things. They would have remained on good terms, though, and I think that Kriss would take time to travel more once no one was anchoring her to one place. I think she would actually enjoy the freedom of being on her own, actually. She was an introvert, through and through.
She would have made sure that Marlene's work was recognized, just like Marlene tried to do for her.
She would be Charlie Weasley's hero.
Q: What would have happened if Sirius and Eva got married by an Elvis?
A: Half of the group wouldn't know who that was, but the other half would tease them forever.
Q: Did you cry when Kriss, Marlene, the Prewett twins, and the others died?
A: Honestly, not really. I don't usually cry when I write. I did get very emotional, though. I was so attached to these characters. It got to a point that it felt like the bad events were a snowball rolling down a hill - each one kept getting bigger.
EPIPHANY
(SPOILERS BELOW)
Q: Are we gonna get a Francis and Sirius reunion or...
This is kind of a stupid question, but will Sirius get Francis back?
A: ;)
Q: Thank you so much for keeping Remus and Eva together!!! They were so good for each other! I was wondering, if Remus helped Sirius attack Peter that night, and they were both sentenced, do you think they would have survived Azkaban? Would Eva be okay!?!? She's strong, but Remus was her rock!
A: First of all, you're welcome :) As much as I hate to say this, I don't think Remus would survive being in Azkaban. He was depressed to begin with. And I think if Remus died, Sirius would have actually gone insane.
I also think that the loss of Sirius, Remus, James, and Lily in one night would have absolutely DESTROYED Eva. She would have been in a horrible place mentally. You're absolutely right. Remus was her rock. Without him, even I don't know where she'd be.
Q: Can we please have more Harry and Eva moments!!! She would make such a great mom, and I love them together!!!
A: OF COURSE! I love Harry and Eva moments! I love that Harry is actually starting to appreciate her as a stable figure in his life, as well.
Q: I'm so excited to see more of Remus and Sirius again. How do you write such good friendship and dialogue and interactions? Does it come from life experiences?
A: I've been writing these characters for a long time. At this point, their interactions feel natural. As far as life experience goes, I'm a total introvert, so yes and no. I've been blessed with some wonderful friends. Their warmth definitely influences how I write friendship.
Q: I love the Snape that you write. How did you go about building/"copying" his character from HP to Epiphany?
A: Snape is interesting, because he's a jerk (fun fact, I just wrote a paper on Snape). I do love that he and Eva bonded through their mutual hate of Lockhart. I'd like to think that in the world of "Epiphany", he's learned his lesson a bit as far as Muggle Borns go, so he's trying to act differently around Eva. They aren't and will never be close, but Eva's forgiving nature gives them a shot at friendship.
Q: Also, in the last chapter, what happened to Snape? We know that Remus is off being wolfish, and Sirius chased after him, and Eva chased after Peter... is Snape just chilling on the ground from Eva's Petrificus Totalus or what?
A: Her spell wore off once she lost focus. He protected the kids, then found Eva, Harry, and Sirius all down at the lake.
Q: Can Eva be a mom!?!?!
A: That sounds like a spoiler.
Q: Do you enjoy writing the golden trio era or is it hard to work in all the canon tidbits?
A: I do enjoy it, but it is a bit frustrating sometimes. The freedom of the first two books spoiled me, haha. I enjoy seeing how Eva grew into herself after the first war, and I like her interactions with other characters we got to know in the first two books. And of course, I love writing scenes between Eva and Harry :)
Q: Will you be adding more lovable OCs?
A: I'm not sure. OCs kind of just show up and I let them in.
Q: So is Peter good or bad?
A: Well, he's a Death Eater. He might have become one originally to save Eva, but that doesn't make it right, and he never turned from that path. I personally enjoyed playing with Peter's ambiguity throughout the books, and writing his downfall was interesting to me.
Q: Will Blondie and Sirius have a family or look after Harry?
A: My lips are sealed.
Q: WILL SIRIUS OR EVA DIE?
A: Nice try.
GENERAL QUESTIONS FOR ME!
(SPOILERS BELOW)
Q: If you could save one person from the HP books, who would it be?
A: This might be cheating, but I'm going to pick two: Tonks and Lupin, because Teddy deserved parents.
Q: What is your favorite word in the English language?
A: "Defenestration", AKA the act of throwing someone out a window. I also like "vanilla," "bibliophile," and "wanderlust".
Q: In your opinion, who is the classiest Weasley?
A: Bill Weasley, hands-down.
Q: I adore your writing so much, and as someone who is struggling to do just that, how do you continue to write updates for a book and find inspiration for it?
A: THANK YOU!
Remind yourself why you're doing it. Remember how much you love the characters. Think about the thrill of finishing a chapter. Listen to some music that reminds you of your book, then just start typing. The words don't have to be perfect. They just have to be there so that you can fix them later.
Q: How did you get started writing?
A: An elementary teacher complimented my writing, and I started to write little stories. My first real attempt at a book didn't happen until I got stuck in a dull computer class years later, when I started writing out of boredom. Just like that, I was hooked. I've been writing ever since, and I started writing fanfiction a few years ago in an attempt to work on my writing skills without having to create as much original content.
Q: What's your favorite ice cream flavor?
A: Coffee ;)
Q: How did you get so good at writing, other than the general answer "writing a lot"?
A: Unfortunately, that's my answer. I write a lot.
Q: Do you own any plants?
A: I grow a garden most summers. I don't have any plants currently (my wildflower in a mason jar named Molly just shriveled up). I have plans to grow a few flowers on my desk, though. I'm naming them Tolkien, Lewis, Shakespeare, and Austen.
Q: What pet would you want to take to Hogwarts if you could have any magical beast or regular creature?
A: I WOULD LOVE A MINI OWLLIKE RINGO AND PIGWIGEON!
Q: You're a Hufflepuff. What do you think of our house? What of the other houses? Do you have grudges against any of them, or are you indifferent to the Lion Snake feuds?
A: PUFFS UNITE! I absolutely love our house. I love that Helena Hufflepuff wanted to teach everyone. I think people look down upon Hufflepuff, which is unfortunate. If the world had more Hufflepuffs, it would be a better place. Kindness and loyalty are so important.
I spent years thinking I was a Ravenclaw. I love the other houses, and I feel like we all have traits from all four houses. We're all divergent!!!
Q: Are you similar to Eva? Is that how you formed her character so well?
A: I'd say we're similar! We both share the same love of teaching, and we're both very passionate people. We also love and protect our friends and family fiercely. On the flip side of that, Eva is way more extroverted than I could ever be haha.
Q: How did you plan the books out?
A: I'm not a major planner when it comes to writing. I think of a general storyline and loosely follow it, doing my best to be open to any change that may occur. I always wanted Eva to end up at Hogwarts, though.
Q: Any advice for writers?
A: You're going to hate me, but
1. WRITE.
and
2. READ
In order to refine any skill, you have to practice and you have to study the greats. That's where writing and reading come in.
For anyone who doesn't believe that reading well-written stories is vital to storytelling, I've noticed that you write similarly to whatever you're reading. My writing during my John Green phase is completely different than my writing now, as I'm wrapping up Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy (which is good, because my WIP is a fantasy adventure, not a YA rom com, which I have also written).
READING MATTERS.
DO NOT NEGLECT READING JUST TO SPEND MORE TIME WRITING. YOUR CRAFT WILL SUFFER.
Q: Would you ever be keen to do a Regulus Black OC fic?
A: If I had the inspiration, absolutely! I love writing about Regulus. I find his character fascinating.
Q: Are you a swiftie?
A: YES. Her lyrics are so beautiful. My favorite album is "folklore", I actually saw the 1989 World Tour, and here are a few of my current favorites:
Back to December
New Year's Day
Champagne Problems
Forever and Always (piano)
Cornelia Street
Out of the Woods (piano)
Enchanted
Peace
Exile
Coney Island
All Too Well
Thank you all for your questions! I apologize for taking so long to respond, but this was fun!
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING MY BOOKS! YOU ALL MAKE ME SMILE SO MUCH!