Author Spotlight: Cedward
with SarahBella
I had the honor of interviewing Cedward for her Fandom Gives Back Author Spotlight. Cedward is the author of countless twifics, six of which are posted with us at MVF, including the winning entry in the Humans of Twilight challenge and her entry in the Volturi challenge. Check out the bottom of the interview for my Cedward fic rec.
And so, without further Adieu, I give you, Cedward!
So, Char, uh, I mean Cedward, can you start by telling us your real name and any other pertinent life details?
My name is Charmaine, or Char and I live in Las Vegas with my husband Taylor. And yes, it’s the Las Vegas; there really is a thriving community beyond all the glitz and glamour of The Strip.
And how long have you been a part of the Twilight fandom?
I have been a part of the fandom since 2008, right before Braking Dawn was released. One of my friends posted on his LiveJournal that Robert Pattinson was going to be in a vampire movie. He started to read the series and it got me into it, as well as the other Potter folk here in town.
Do you write for any other fandoms?
Of course! Harry Potter was my first fandom and I started writing those in 2002. Since then I have added LOST, Vampire Academy, Morganville Vampires and there might be another one, or two but I can’t remember.
Which of your fics is your favorite and why?
Oh, that’s a tough one. As far as the vampire ones go, ‘Just One Night, Courtesy of Edward Cullen stands out in my mind. I don’t think it’s on MVF though (I’ll have to remedy this very soon). It’s a Jacob/Bella, which I do not ship whatsoever, but this story came to me and would not leave my head. It, of course, situates around the infamous tent scene in Eclipse.
Also, my Rosalie/Emmett 100 word drabbles. I just completed those, so be expecting those on the site soon.
Can you tell us your plans for any future fics? Give us a little something to look forward too?
My friend and I are thinking about collaborating on a fic. Project Runway: Hogwarts VS. Cullens. Complete crack. He’ll be writing the Hogwarts portion, I’ll be doing the Cullens.
What is the best advice you have for aspiring fanfic writers?
I remember when I first started out, it was daunting. The stories I came up with were complete crack and slash, at the time I was a Snarry shipper. I usually posted to ff.net, but soon found other sites. When submitting, most were rejected due to grammar issues, but then I got a beta and everything worked out all right in the end.
I guess in a round about way, I am saying is don’t be intimidated by these sites. Learn from your mistakes, read guides online to help you and always ask for help. They’re not the boogeymen and deeming your work is wretched, they’re trying to help better your writing.
I know that you have participated in several contests. Do your ideas just ‘come to you’, or do you tend to use prompts and contest for inspiration?
Usually they just come to me. I know as far as the challenges go (Thanks to the people that voted!) most of them just helped me to write the fics that I already had in my head that wanted to come out. I know with my human Charlie story I was playing around with that for months before the challenge was issued, though it was initially from Jacob’s POV.
And, usually we do this on Wicked Wednesday, but I thought it would be fun to do a modified version here. Who are your top three favorite vampires of all time?
Jasper
Butch
Michael
Of those three, who would you kiss, kill and marry?
Jasper-Marry
Butch-Kiss
Michael-Kill
Thanks Char, for sitting down with us today!
Cedward’s story, Baby Steps, is the story of Edward and Bella’s first attempts at physical intimacy, without risking Edward’s virtue, so to speak. It’s a very sweet emotional journey that helps answer the question, ‘How did they go from hand-holding to more?’ The emotions are very real and the characters are canon, even if the events might cross the line a bit into AU. And, ah, it’s a bit NC-17. Just sayin’.
Well, th-th-th-that’s all folks! And don’t forget, read, rate & review!!
♥SB
I totally agree with Heather – great advice Char! It can be intimidating the first time you put your stuff out there.
Love that you’re a Butch girl. LOVE.
Char – you had great advice for every writer who is on the fence about posting their stories. Very few writers are amazing right of the gate. It takes writing a few fics to find your rhythm and to get reacquainted with all of those pesky punctuation rules. But, like you said, there are tons of great websites out there to give you a refresher course, and hooking up with a beta is a must for any writer.
Thanks for posting your stories with MVF – I can’t wait to read Baby Steps!