MAC

Name or Pseudonym:
MAC (formerly Glo)

Emailaddress:
gentlerainfall@yahoo.com

Website (if any):
http://www.e-fic.com/~starwinders/mag7/index.php

Where are you from (Country and/or State)?
USA but living out of country for last 33 years, soon to return to la patria!

How did you get into the Mag7 fandom?
Coaxed in by the marvellous SueBeth, supreme archivist of Do You Want Fries With That? / Starwinders / and Sihn's Mag7 lists

How long have you been writing Mag7 fanfiction?
Started in 2001

How has your writing changed since you first started?
Sure, I suspect everyone's writing evolves over time. I'd like to think it's getting better. First and foremost, for me, is character. Once I had immersed myself in both the canon (what I could get of it on video!) and fandom (gen and slash), I got a 'handle' on each character, though I confess that I will rewatch eps just to ensure that my writing never wanders too far from the way the characters revealed themselves in the series.

Is this your only fandom, your major fandom or one of the many?
I've written extensively in Houston Knights - it was my first on-line fandom for writing. I have a stray MUNCLE or two sitting out there as well. But, once converted to Mag 7, I haven't been able to go back - I'm hooked! My earliest writings were for TOS - Star Trek The Original Series, but were more like a private journal. This was pre-PC and pre-Internet days (I really am a dinosaur…). From there, I moved in to Starsky and Hutch, Simon and Simon, Miami Vice, Man from Uncle, Wise Guy and Houston Knights. My heart has always belonged to TOS, though - a good K/S (sigh).

What is it about this fandom that you like?
Well, first and foremost, Ezra! Oh, yes, I am a died-in-the-wool Ezcentric fan <g>. Next, the synergy of the seven. There is a marvellous camaraderie amongst the boys that really does strike one as a destiny that might defy time and the odds. The possibilities that abound here are intriguing too. In all the fandoms mentioned above, fanfic never really strayed from canon universes…might grow past it, but as an extension, i.e. what happened after the Five Year Mission, or the end of a series, or when the characters got older / left their jobs / etc. Here, in Mag7-dom, A/Us are the rule rather than the exception. And the A/Us are large and well founded, with set parameters. It is really amazing that MOG's ATF has become so real that it transcends canon OW in some writer's fics. There are even A/Us that build on ATF! Then there's the growth of the 'child character' A/U here - another phenomenon that I'd never seen before. The Little Britches A/U is enormous. Of course, it wasn't until Wyvern and Twyla Jane that I saw the merit in that particular bent…and that's when I met "Little Ezra."

Did you like the Old West before Mag7 or did that come afterwards?
Hum, I assume you mean did I like westerns? Oh, yes! Lord help me, my favorite read for years was Riders of the Purple Sage. Then Louis Lamour showed up and I was lost. Sigh. Ah, and then there was TV - marvellous shows like Bonanza, The Rifleman, The Rebel, Wagon Train, Wanted (I think it was called that - had Steve McQueen), and Wyatt Earp. Oh, I grew up on those shows, mostly in black and white <g>. The great epic movies also emphasized the western. I'm only sorry that it fell out of favor with the advent of social consciousness. I think there is room for both - and that The Magnificent Seven proved that, well, magnificently.

Did you see the show before you got into the fandom or after, or haven’t you seen the show yet?
Never saw the show during its actual run - wasn't on here. Saw the made-for-tv movie pilot; then, when SueBeth suggested that HKers would like Mag7, a good friend in HKdom managed to get me most of the first season eps on video tape. Some eps, that are classics in the discussion groups and jump offs for fics, like Serpents, I have never seen.

What do you think about the show opposed to the fandom? Is the show your main interest and the fandom comes after or the other way around and why?
Fandom came first, as I explained above, and continues to do so because the show is over. Too bad, but sometimes that makes it easier for fic writers - they don't have to accommodate surprise changes in the canon. I think that if I'd just seen the fic, I still would have been drawn in - there is such an abundance of good writing here! I know that when I first found Blackraptor I was like a hog in a wallow, just waded right in up to my chin! Took great gulps of the stuff - such great writings, pulling at heartstrings, shoving hearts into throats, making me yearn for more. I think, too, the characters became more rounded through the fic, expanding upon minute moments in the screenage, making full personalities and histories out of a few gestures and throw-away phrases.

What are you working on right now?
Taking a breather. I'm relocating in two months and have an entire household to deal with. Played hookey, writing my last big fic, Finessed, in serial form for the past month. It went up at two lists - AGL (A Gambler's Lust) and EBOS (Ezra's Body of Slash). Now posted to my archived locations. Before that, I wrote a spate of shorties between January and March of this year. Now…gotta pack a house. BUT, truancy beckons, so ya never know ;-)

How and where do you write?
I write before and after RL <g> - which means mostly at night, though sometimes early, which for me is 5 am.

What’s the hardest part about writing in this fandom?
Stopping. It's addictive.

Why do you write?
Hum, well, I usually write because I get frustrated finding *exactly* what I want in a fic and decide to do it myself. I'm a SLASHer. Okay, out of the closet now <BG>- and that's just the way it is. When I first came over to Mag7, there was very little slash, and most of it centered on Chris and Vin. Not my cuppa. I'm Ez-centric, as already mentioned. A few bright lights out there, like Lumina~ and Jesse aka Ankh, were not enough to feed my appetite. So I started writing what I wanted to read. Love to hear positive feedback from others about my fics - 'tis my secret vice (um, guess not anymore <g>). But, mostly, I write because I truly enjoy it and it is a wonderful escape from RL.

What writers do you think you've been influenced by?
Well, Lumina~ and Jesse, of course. Then others have appeared such as Kay, Chaz, cobalt, Athea, Wyvern…in slash. But, I truly admire some great gen writers too - Nottasha, Midge, Tipper, Twyla Jane, Heather F. And more, just not on the screen at the mo' for me to think of their names.

What advice would you offer to beginning writers?
If you find the English language challenging, find a good Beta. Poorly written prose, grammatical errors and spelling mistakes - will cause me to drop a fic, despite a good plot and shining characters, just can't wade through it. Not that I'm any shining star! But, that's my first reaction to the question. Write a lot. Write what feels true to you and to the characters. Include OCs only if they make sense for your fic but know that not everyone is going to read it, if the boys take back seat to the OC.

Where do you get your inspiration for your stories from?
Good sex. No, seriously. It does help. Ok, in addition to that…other fic writers' stories are often enough to leave me yearning for a different ending, a what if moment, or even a new plot bunny. Mostly, though, I look intently at the characters and try to imagine how they would get along / survive / cope with any given circumstance, and then take it from there.

Do you read any of the other AU’s (ATF, LB and so on) out there and do you have a favourite?
Truth be told, I don't read them all…and definitely not unless Ezra is central. So I know I cut off my nose…a lot. I actually found ATF easier to write to start with, my very first fic was in it. Modern - what I know - was more comfortable, yet once you saddle up, Pard, the OW isn't so hard. Of course, if you read my fics, you quickly find very little historical detail…just enough references to place it in time and space. I have never really cared for LB, still don't - but if it features Uncle Ezra, heck, I'll read it too! There are several A/Us out there with the whole gang as youngsters, such as Meg Tipper's recent Academy fic - gosh, I *loved* that - but then, Meg always does wonderful things with Ezra. Any A/U by Twy is fine by me - she takes us on all sorts of wonderfully tormenting journeys <g>. MotherRati and Texaries have some fascinating A/Us, including a newly developing one that recently went up at Blackraptor adult site.

What do you look for as a reader of fanfiction?
Ezra. Ok, that wasn't fair, was it? I look for Ezra and good writing. Now I am a slasher, so I always look in at the slash sites, but even within slashdom there are degrees of style. I am not really a deep-throater (how do you like my new phrases?), that is, if there is a steamy sex scene, I usually skim right past it. I'd much rather read the bonding - ooh, TOS word ;-) - or the cuddling and consoling. Good smarm, h/c, or tlc will get me going but if it stops at the hospital room (sigh) or the clinic (sigh), then I feel cheated. I want them to see the full potential of a relationship, the no-boundaries relationship, the one that goes as far as two lovers want it to go with mutual consent. So often, really good gen leaves me thinking…one more step and those boys would open their eyes and Yowie!

Do you think there's anything missing in the fandom?
Types of stories or certain characters that you'd like to see more of? More Ezra. ;-) Okay, well, aside from that, love to see more slash that includes a plot, character building, and a happy ending (gotta have my final cuddle). In gen, more 'c' in the 'h' - some gets rather bloody and then, ho-hum, all patched up, let's skip six months, and the boys are all better now. On the other hand, can't say I want to wade through those six months either (geesh, ya can't make me happy, can you?).

Are there any characters or situations that you don't think you'll ever write?
Het. NEVAH! Oiy. Let my Ezra (or any of my boys) go play with …well, you just won't see it. Okay, I do read some - very little. Some. Setcheti and Mother Rati have some het stories that I'll read. Honestly can't think of any others. Write 'em? Don't think so. Now, if the relationship is there - like Raine and Nathan - I do let it be, even in some stories, but only as passing reference. Chris and Sarah…Buck and anyone <g> in passing…but never central to the story. Of course, having said that, it is interesting that I have wandered over into Little Ezra-dom and written a slew (does 14 constitute a slew?) of stories there in a quasi-a/u within that a/u. The bond among the seven is such for me that I could see them rallying around the boy. I think Jen Brooks' story over there was another convincer!

Who’s your favourite character and why?
….oh, hard one….hum…{{squeezes eyes shut tightly and ponders deeply}} …gotta be…EZRA! Heh, heh. Okay, seriously, he is so layered, charming and such a trickster, the heart-of-gold truism come to life. Conflicted, sensitive, courageous, deft and sly, kind and confused, and just plain called out to me.

Who’s your second favourite character and why?
Chris…largely because of his strength, loyalty to the others, sense of justice / right, willing to put himself on the line, tortured past and emotional drag - almost promethean ponderance at times. Then, just when you think he'll never speak or smile, that delightful grin and sneaky sense of humor flash out. Put him together with Ezra - and for me, you have Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn come to life!

Who’s your favourite bad guy and why?
Now that's harder. Since I never saw all the eps, I'm not certain who the baddies all are. I did rather fancy the strong Ma Nichols - potent woman, blind and vengeful, loving and bereft, grim and driven.

What’s your favourite episode and why?
Have to say the pilot. But then, haven't seen all the eps. Why the pilot? Well, it sets up much of Ezra's history and his attitude, his skills and his fatal error as well as his heroic triumph, his legendary 'second chance', and some incredibly great one liners for all of the guys.

What’s your favourite story and why?
Fandom story? Oh, my. After all is said and done, I'd pick two - Watershed by Lumina~ and Just Desserts by Nottasha - and it was painful to exclude so many others when I did that! Ouch! Gosh, I have a hard-drive full of downloaded favorites!!!

Any favourite author?
In gen, Nottasha, though the others that I've mentioned aren't far behind.

What storyline would you most have liked to see in season 3?
Only saw a few of season 2, so hard to say. The idea of the boys travelling to Tascosa to clear Vin has always been tempting - and has been done well by The Travelling Dimestore Novelist (think I got the author's name right there…), that idea would have been interesting (providing Ezra had a LARGE role <g>). Then, Ezra getting his saloon finally - would love to have seen that. Nottasha's Redbird and sequels does so well with that idea.

If you could change one thing about the show, what would it be?
Change it? Sacrilegious! …um, unless it was to give more air time to our Ezra <g>…

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