I started reading the Trixie books at the age of 10, when I received #3, #4 and #17 for my birthday. The year was 1977, and I myself completed (or so I thought!) the rest of the collection, oftentimes riding my blue Schwinn bike to the Walden Books in San Jose, CA. These were the first books I ever bought with my own money, so I think that has a lot to do with why they mean so much to me!
I tend to write very traditionally. My "goal", if you can call it that, is to write stories that are a natural continuation of the original series. Of course, it’s filtered through my worldview, but I try to write each character as an extension of the traits that are already in the existing series. I do take a few liberties, however. I just can’t see Mart, with his extensive vocabulary and love of writing (see book #30!) as an agriculturist, so he’s an English teacher and writer in my universe. I also felt that while Dan would be a policeman for a bit, it wouldn’t ultimately satisfy his need to help other troubled youth, so he becomes a child psychologist. I also never could picture he and Hallie together (big deal. Another boy!), which is why I recruited Joeanne Darnell from book #2 to be his love interest.
But this is not to say that someday I may careen in another direction. If there’s anything I’ve learned from writing the fanfic, the gang loves to take me in directions I didn’t expect. So you just never know!
On a personal note, I finally, FINALLY graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in Creative Writing in January 2000. I’m your classic underachiever I guess, cuz I graduated from high school back in 1985! Ah well, better late than never, no? (BTW, Anne Rice also got her degree in Creative Writing at SFSU—I knew there was a reason I love her books so much!) It was an amazing experience; (that I’m still paying for every month, LOL!) all of my instructors were published authors, and I was exposed to varying styles and methods of writing. But it has only been through writing fanfic that I finally feel I’m on the verge of discovering my "voice", and I thank everybody here from the bottom of my heart for making my dream of writing stories PEOPLE ACTUALLY READ come true!
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Hello! My name is AprilW, and my stories include "Boys Will Be Boys", "A Day in the Life of Moms", and "Keeping Up With the Joneses". I have three unis: past, present, and future. The Jonesy story is set in the past and fills in some of the "whys" from the series. Like how did Jonesy get so wicked and why did Katie marry him. My present uni contains stories that occur shortly after the series ended. I am a traditionalist (Trixie/Jim, Honey/Brian, Di/Mart, and Dan/?. Of course, Jim is really milking those fond glances in this uni,...I have a future uni in the works.
As for me personally, I've been happily married for 10 years. I have two children. I am a homeschooling mother and a pastor's wife. I've always enjoyed writing. I've found that it is a great stress reliever! And I love writing stories about my favorite schoolgirl detective!
Hope you all enjoy my writing! I'll be looking forward to reading any fanfic you have!
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