Ask Annabelle - November 2017 (Patreon)

I've had some really good (and maybe not so good) questions from a lot of people in the last month that I thought would be fun to post and answer here. I am busy working hard to make that next chapter happen, but am taking a moment (#procrastinating) to share these with you.

Q: Are you actually new at this, or is this just an alt account on Lit?

A: Surprisingly, yes, I am actually new at this! While everyone has been real supportive, I have had a couple people ask me if I was a former Lit author masquerading as a newbie (not sure what the point in that would be, to be honest). I did write the first chapter of Iceman and Monsters in the summer of 2015, but I literally didn't finish either chapter-I typed them both right up to the steamy scenes, then got embarrassed and hid them on my computer, never to be found. Since I don't have my old journals anymore, I used my previously written ideas to test the waters on Lit, thinking I would just end up writing dozens of one-shots. Instead, I accidentally created a universe that I can't seem to tear myself away from.

Q: I noticed that [event] seems to act as a metaphor for [human condition] in this part of your story. Was that intentional, or...?

A: I have had some extremely eagle-eyed readers catch quite a few of the secrets I have hidden in HFHM, and get a lot of questions similar to this. Some of the things I have written in are very intentional, and others were not. What I love is that I have crafted something that many of my readers are interpreting in so many ways. It's like fan art for the soul, and you all should know my thoughts on fan art.

Unsurprisingly, my method of writing falls in with my motto: you deserve smart, and you deserve sexy. Even my sex scenes often have metaphors tucked away in them (I would love to hear a therapist analyze that Delightful Dragon scene). While you don't have to have a doctorate in philosophy to enjoy my stories, I did try and hide something for everybody.

Q: Where did you learn to write?

A: Practice, practice, practice. I was very good at grammar and spelling as a child, and even briefly debated being an English teacher. No surprise, I read a lot of horror growing up, which led to me reading Stephen King's On Writing. Some of his best advice was to avoid over explaining things, and to write in a manner that lets the reader's imagination do all the work. Oh, and avoid passive voice. I am still guilty of it sometimes, but when I do revisions, that is the first thing I look for.

Q: I think you're a piece of shit for trying to get me to support you on Patreon. You should just post everything for free.

A: Not a question, but I want to address it. Unsurprisingly, I have started getting a few of these. In the last week alone, I have had several people join my page, like/comment/read, and then cancel their pledges. In short, they are so impatient that they have resorted to stealing content. While I can't stop people from doing that, I am starting to ban people who do it more than once (some people are just checking me out, and I get that) as a means to protect the content that you, my actual Patrons, are so kind to pay for.

Q: Can I share your page with friends/tumblr/my pastor?

A: Yes, absolutely! Every new Patron will help me immensely (more money=more art).

Okay, I've procrastinated enough for now. Next chapter coming this weekend, I hope you enjoy it!

Annabelle