Hello, everyone! We hope you all enjoyed Wanderlust! We certainly did! You guys did an amazing job! And we're still trying to figure out where the heck three whole years went! The time has flown by because you ALL make our jobs so fun here. It's an honor and privilege to work behind the scenes for you. We adore you ALL!

And we are thrilled to bring you the new SOTM interviews to celebrate. First up, we have our Author of the Month: gwennie

Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.

I was lucky enough to watch as a teenager when it first aired, but I didn’t start reading fanfic until years later when I got re-obsessed with the show. I rewatched incessantly, and then began gobbling up fanfic in an attempt to sate the clamouring need for MORE.

Maternity leave prompted me to jump from reading to writing. A month into my leave, I could feel my brain atrophying. So, between baby-feedings, I started writing in an attempt to exercise a brain cell or two. Initially, I had no intention of posting anything; I just wanted to play with the characters, to smoosh them together like Barbie and Ken dolls. And then change a few elements and smoosh them together again.

Where do you find inspiration for your stories?

For me, it usually starts with the show and with my desire for either more or different.

What don’t we see? What happens before and after scenes? Where can I shoehorn in Spuffy smut, conversation, and intimacy? 

What aspects of characters are not given time or attention? What topics are broached and then abandoned? 

What’s annoying or unsatisfying in canon? What do I want to tweak or gloss over or recontextualize or scrub from the record entirely?

Who is your favorite character to write and why?

I find the English characters much easier to write than the Americans, and Giles is by far the easiest for me. The fact that my stories aren’t all lazily written entirely from his POV is a miracle.

Which story of yours are you most proud of, and which was the hardest to write?

I’m horribly British and riddled with diffidence, so the idea that I could ever be proud of something I’ve written is genuinely unfathomable to me.

As to which of my stories was the hardest to write, that’s a sixteen-way tie between the sixteen stories in my WIP folder. They sit there, unfinished and festering. Occasionally, I poke at one of them, removing an adjective or shifting a speech tag. Occasionally, I write a new scene that does absolutely nothing to advance the plot.

Most of the time, though, I simply glare at them, refusing to abandon them entirely but never willing to put in the work to actually finish ’em.

As a writer, what would you have changed on the show and why?

I’m not being hyperbolic when I say I could very easily list a hundred changes. And that’s not to disparage the show; the more I love a story, the more likely I am to want to prise it open and rearrange its innards.

But rather than bore anyone with a bloated list, I’m going to mention just one teeny change I would’ve liked:

I wish Sunnydale hadn’t been destroyed in the finale. 

After appearing in all 144 episodes, poor Sunnydale is blithely dismissed as collateral damage in a shonky CG sequence (a sequence that inexplicably moves Sunnydale inland).

Looking beyond the subpar CG, I’m just not convinced that imploding Sunnydale serves any narrative or thematic purpose. Destroying the Hellmouth? Yep, sure, absolutely. That’s a perfect way to untether Buffy from the burden of constant slaying. But I don’t see what’s gained narratively or thematically by destroying the town as well.

That said, if I’m being honest, the overriding reason I’d love Sunnydale to survive the finale is pure selfishness. The destruction of the town means that fanfic authors can’t easily set their post-series fics in Sunnydale. And I think losing the show’s setting is a big honking loss for post-series BtVS fanfic. 

Or maybe we just need a new AU: Sunnydale (Lives) After Dark? Everything else in Chosen can stay the same, but the town survives.

Thank you, gwennie! And consider this massive encouragement to write a whole fanfic about Spuffy from Giles' POV. We want it! Badly! We wanna know all his thoughts and feelings and see them through his eyes. :)

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Next up, we have our Commenter of the Month: Stephaniem191

Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic. 

So, I initially watched Buffy when it aired.  I am basically the same age as Buffy, so I was watching in high school, and I distinctly remember gathering together with my floor mates in someone's room to watch in college.  I own all of the DVD box sets for Buffy (and Angel), but didn't watch them for a while.  Then COVID hit, and we were stuck at home.  I think Hulu (or Netflix) was airing the seasons again (along with Dawson's Creek), so I decided to watch the whole series again in order.  I was searching the internet for the proper viewing order between episodes of Buffy and Angel, and stumbled upon fan fiction.  I know I must have been living under an actual rock, but I had never really read fanfic, let alone heard of it.  My eyes were opened that day, and I never turned back!

What motivates you to leave comments?

I feel like it's the least I can do to show my appreciation for those of you that take the time to write AND share your stories with the world.  I haven't been reading as much lately because real life has been hectic, but I do appreciate all that you authors share with us!! Sometimes I get so into a story I forget to leave a comment on the chapter because I can't wait to click "Next"!

Do you also write, or are you strictly a reader?  

hahahaha I am strictly a reader!  No one would want to read a story I would write.  This is why I teach Math instead of English!

Were you a lurker before you started leaving comments, or did you comment right away?

I was definitely a lurker at first.  I honestly thought no one would care about my opinion of a story haha.  I eventually saw how much the writers appreciated the comments, so I decided that I needed to show how much I appreciated their work by commenting!

How important is it to receive a reply from the writer when you leave a comment?

I think it's nice for them to reply, but it's not necessary for me!  They already do so much work in writing and editing the story that they do not need to worry about replying to little old me! 

I just wanted to add that I absolutely love this site, and I wish I could read your stories all day long! You all amaze me with these ideas that you come up with and how you are able to coherently put those ideas together into these fantastic worlds! Thank you!!

We are thrilled to have you here, Stephanie! Your comments are incredible, and this site exists for you and all the fans. :)

<3<3<3

That's a big ol' wrap on July! See you next month! Get your nominations in now. :)

Chelle, Dusty, GetItDone, and GriefCounseling