People ask how I got into Xena fanfiction. Well, one day I was channel surfing, not really paying attention, then whoa! What was that?! Two girls in a tub?! I clicked back, and sure enough, there were two girls giving each other a bath on national (U.S.) television. That's when I realized that one of the women was that Lucy Lawless chick that just broke her ass on The Tonight Show. I was intrigued and watched the rest of the episode, which was absolutely campy, hilarious and tender. I later learned that episode was called, 'A Day In The Life'.  Needless to say, I was hooked. I showed up week after week and then in 1997, I got a job that had Internet access. I typed Xena into Netscape Navigator (remember that?) and I found all these fantastic Xena fanfiction stories! I'd never written a fan fiction story in my life, but I did like writing original fiction over the years. I thought, "Heck, I could do this," and my time in the Xenaverse (and as a fanfic writer) snowballed from there. Over the years people, like Lunacy, have told others about my tales so the stories kind of spread word of mouth, which has been great.  I've collaborated with other bards as well as artists (Sunset, Ice & Snow) during that time. 

I was on the Netforum at USA studios (nicknamed the Nutforum for those who members who remember) and I met a great group of women out there that we called 'Amazons' who became an improv writing group. I had a lot of fun with them as their 'Queen'. The reason I became Queen was because I pulled an Autolycus - I called myself the 'self-proclaimed' Queen of Subtext (not because I'm an egomaniac; I thought it sounded funny and goofy since I'm far from regal). 

A member named Zwolf would give their humorous take on upcoming episodes but it was often missing 'the good stuff' (aka subtext moments). So I offered my take on all those subtexty times in the show (as well as my deep love for Gabrielle: 'I love Gabby. Have I mentioned that?'). Those posts became Subtext Reports I did each week. In fact, my parents had a satellite dish so I'd get up every Sunday morning at 7 AM to haul my butt to their house. I could watch the new episode and report on them before they were released that week via syndication around the nation. Subtexter and maintexter alike seemed to enjoy them and we had our fair share of heated debates out there. 

Since I could get the eps early, TNovan and I planned a get-together in Columbus, Ohio to watch the last episode on that Sunday it aired. We were certain we'd finally get a genuine kiss between Xena and Gabrielle because it was such a 'maintext' season. Instead of being a celebration, the event turned into a wake since Tapert decided to 'off' his main character (Xena) and send the sidekick (Gabrielle) sailing home alone (Thank goodness Joss Whedon learned from Tapert's mistake and didn't off Buffy in some half-assed, plot hole riddled script. I'm not bitter. Not at all :). I guess I can take some comfort in the fact he didn't off Gabby too like he planned with Varia the amazon as the last one standing (~sigh~). Anyway...

I have to say (and many fans, rather than critics, agree), it was one of the worst series finale's in TV history. In truth, I never really wrote anything more after that (at least in the Xenaverse). People have asked if I'd ever come back to Xena, and while I'll never say never, I honestly don't know. I have ideas rolling around in my head, like a Sappho 'musical' tale that could have kept the subtext sub while sneaking in a kiss. For the moment though, I try to focus on what made the series great when I re-read these stories because writing about their future when one of them is dead, well, it's kinda hard to feel inspired. But who knows... perhaps my Xena muse might strike again someday. 

With all that said... onto the Xena fanfic concoction of CN's Caldron...

Myself and the late Xena bard Tonya Muir did a little novelette called 1971. She was a wonderful new bard to the Xenaverse back in 1998 and her descriptive powers blow me away. (She passed away in Jan. 2001 after a battle with cancer.) I'm more of a plot and dialog person myself - so she seemed like the perfect one to 'spiff' it up. About a month into the project she said she wasn't feeling well and two weeks later she told me she'd been diagnosed. Automatically I told her she wasn't bound to working on the project but she insisted on looking it over and lending her descriptive talents. The Xenaverse lost a great bard and an even better person. As for the story itself... before Gabby's trip to India (Heck before the fourth season), I wondered what two uber characters would Xena and Gabrielle be in modern times. My first thought - a cop and a hippy in the early seventies. Both characters fight for the greater good - both go about it differently much like Xena and Gabby. 

This story has been totally reworked with the same main characters, Officer Carol Johnson and Radical Erin O'Fallon, with a bit of a harder edge to reflect the time period. It was released in full length novel form by Baycrest Books under the title 'One Belief Away'. The name was changed because the year has changed and another 100+ pages were added. I don't want people thinking they're purchasing the same story only to ask, 'What the heck is this?'. Is it still a good story? Yeah, it is... the road to happiness is just a way bit harder for Carol and Erin in this one and although it's not in print you might be able to find it on Amazon.