Fear me, for I am Mel. Normally, I wouldn’t say things like this. But Darknight said it, I like it, so it stays.

Really, I started writing fanfiction when I was about nine or ten years old. Before I even knew other people did it. Heck, I think it was before the internet was really a mainstay in people’s lives. Most of my stories existed in various notebooks scattered throughout the house. The majority of them were based on the works of L.M. Montgomery, the Anne books in particular. When I entered my teens, I started messing with the Hercules universe, mostly because of the character Iolaus. And my first year in college brought me to the discovery of OTHER fanfiction. And here I thought I was the only one who did this sort of thing.

In my early twenties, I stumbled across fanfiction.net. Quite possibly one of the best things that has ever happened to me. It was here where I published my first fanfiction for others to see in May of 2003. This was in ‘The Mummy’ fandom, which eventually led me to Lady Deb and the first of many friendships through fanfiction. Writing then brought me to Lord of the Rings and the Gwethil. These people are my friends, my family, my support system, and my sanity. I would never have guessed that the decision to post a story on the internet would result in my being so blessed.

I now write for several fandoms. L.M. Montgomery, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, both Stargate fandoms, and, most recently, Star Wars. Because we can’t trust George Lucas to do a story right these days, apparently. So someone needs to fix it.

My Lord of the Rings stories are probably my most insane fics and most popular. I’ve had a ton of fun writing my Fanfiction Fellowship series, and it’s led to my little online business Muses ‘R’ Us. Which doesn’t turn a profit, but is a heck of a lot of fun to play with.

My own muses, in order of adoption, are Haldir of Lorien ("Lord of the Rings"), Daniel Jackson (Stargate SG1), Carson Beckett (Stargate Atlantis), Qui-Gon Jinn (Star Wars), Padme Naberrie (Star Wars), Rodney McKay (Stargate Atlantis), Luke Danes (Gilmore Girls), Benton Fraser (Due South), 'Pepper' Potts (Ironman) and The Doctor & Rose Tyler (Doctor Who). They haven’t done any work in quite some time, but I love them anyway. I also have a few original characters, or OC’s as they are called in the fanfiction ‘verse. Idrial of Lorien, who I adopted from the video game Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, and expanded upon. And Major Tierra Jael Whitney of the United States Marine Corps. Otherwise known as TJ.

I am working on an outline for an original book, currently titled ‘Sonrosado’. Someday, perhaps, I’ll be able to get it published. I’d need to get it beyond three pages first, though.

It has always seemed to me, ever since early childhood, that, amid all the commonplaces of life, I was very near to a kingdom of ideal beauty. Between it and me hung only a thin veil. I could never draw it quite aside, but sometimes a wind fluttered it and I caught a glimpse of the enchanting realm beyond. Only a glimpse ­but those glimpses have always made life worth while. ~ L M Montgomery