Lixxle said she wanted a place to talk to other people about my stories. (Although her stories are also up for grabs too, if anyone wants to talk about them. I'm a huge fan of hers!) And I'd love to hear back from my readers in a more direct way than just the reviews section. Those are great but it means I don't really get to interact or answer questions or anything like that.

So if any of you want to ask me questions about current plot lines, stories on hiatus, stuff I might have in the works (and boy do I have Something in the works!)... of if you just want to talk Labyrinth related goodness, I'm all ears!

Hi, KE! Loved the new chapter of DU but as usual it left me wanting more, more, more! You're one of my favorite authors and I'm way excited (fraggity excited, if you must know) over your Something. I'm pretty sure I remember Lixxle mentioning it very vaguely in an email quite a while ago. Can you tell us more about it? Please? Hints? Excerpts? Teases? C'mon, c'mon! :)

fm

I'm glad you're excited. :D

At the moment I don't want to give too much away. Suffice it to say that it's currently around 50,000 words long, and not quite to the half way point yet (though I should hit that sometime soon). As for the plot, well, it came out of a long discussion with Lixxle and Phuridae about the many, many, many tired plots and cliches that abound in Laby-ficdom. I wanted to write something that was very different, that read very much like a real sequel. It is not a fluff fic: Jareth has not been pining for Sarah all these years, nor has she been pining for him. When they encounter one another again in this time there is a great deal of distrust they have to work through before they can even be real allies, let alone anything else. It's also drawing VERY heavily on old fairytales and folklore to build an Underground that is rooted in old magic and beliefs.

I'm really excited about it, but I'm determined to finish it before posting (even though Lixxle is begging).

And to answer your question in your review: Yes, I know I'm mean. I tend to hold on to chapters for a long time in case I need to go back and edit them so that something that happens a few chapters down the line makes sense. It's one of the reasons why I prefer not posting a new story until it's completely finished: it gives me a chance to really polish it and insert little bits of foreshadowing about things that will happen later.

Also, I'm mean. Very, very mean. :D

Well it's something to look forward to, that much is certain. It sounds amazing, to be honest. I can't wait! But I guess I'll have to, huh? LOL I know what you mean about posting when complete or almost complete. I did that with my current story and all that's left to be written is the epilogue. Still, I'm going through each chapter yet again before posting, adding bits here and there and like you mentioned. Plus, once it's finished it's easier to see it as a whole, which can cause you to make small changes here and there. So I do understand that and I'm going to attempt to finish or mostly finish my stuff from now on before posting it. Anyway, looking forward to whatever is next from you! This is a fun little forum you've started, btw.

I think that's one of the things that sets a "writer" apart from your standard fanfic author: the need to see the story as a whole and not just a collection of scenes full of fan service. There are some stories that you start reading and about a third of the way through you can tell the author has no idea where the story is going, and they're just writing more chapters to fill in space while they try to figure it out. I usually stop reading them once that becomes clear. "Dangers Untold"'s only saving grace on that is that I DO know how it ends. I wrote the last chapter about a year and a half ago. Now I'm just filling in everything that happens to lead up to it.

Now that's interesting! I tend to NEED to write chronologically. I may know how a story ends, but I've never been able to write the last chapter and then fill in. I usually have outlines of chapters, that's as far as it goes in the 'pre-planning'. But yes, I get what you mean about writers not really knowing where they're going. The middle of the story just drags on and on or meanders through chapters of nothingness. Worse yet is writing yourself into a corner and not knowing how to write yourself out of it, lol.

I almost always write chronologically. With the exception of the last chapter of Dangers being written (and that only because I didn't want to forgot the idea), all of my previous stories have been written beginning to end, with editing after to polish it all up.

This new story, this Big Thing: it has warped my mental fic continuum. It refuses to come chronologically, and instead I get weird scenes that take place several chapters ahead of where I'm currently at. So I go write those. Then I'll figure something out that fit into a gap two chapters before, so I write that in, then I go back to grilling the characters on how they got from point A to point E, with that brief stop at point C in the middle there. It's one of the reasons it's taking longer to write this than usual, on the other hand the quality of the writing I feel is much better than my usual, and the chapters are longer, the character arcs are more realized, and more things are *happening* than usually occur in the course of my stories. It's a painful way to give birth to a story, though. I'm not sure I'd want to write another one the same way.

I think I would end up frustrated and confused with a story like that, so I really admire that you're tackling it. My mind has a hard time wrapping around that sort of thing. Even in stories that jump back and forth in the timeline, I get a bit mentally fatigued, so to speak. So writing one like that, for me, would be a disaster! Kudos to you!

Im really really REALLY looking forward to the new big thing, but do u think u can post one more tiny wittle chapter of dangers as maybe like a holiday gift or something????? please please please, its like crack it really it. Sorry about the bad grammar... and spelling.... in general.

Allo there. (You know me from elsewhere, look for literary connotations. I'll note you if it comes round to reviewing time and I haven't mentioned who.)

Very much looking forward to the darker, primeval elements of the Underground in particular. On a personal note I kinda wanna see whether it comes up feeling more British, French or German in the elements of its lore (not to rule out any other options, but these tend to be our general ancestries of myth as English-speakers here, and thus our tropes in writing - funny how few Spanish tales we know, for example, or even Italian.) I've considered looking at the original story from each perspective and pulling out elements suiting each, so I sort of wonder what you'll vivify over other elements...

Hi, I was wondering if we could get a status update on your future fic and maybe also Dangers Untold?

It's been a while since we heard from you and I was just wondering how things were going fic wise.

Patience is a virtue, atleast that's what my GraMa always said, and I am always willing to wait for a good fic.

Status update:

On the new fic I've reached just over 73,000 words (approximately 17 chapters). I'm thinking it'll be around 26 chapters long, give or take a few. It has taken on a life of it's own and refuses to give me up for anything. My goal is to see it finished by the end of May or the beginning of June perhaps. Since I began it sometime last year around June it seems fitting to finish it in a year.

Dangers is once more on hiatus until it is finished and other (paying) projects are wrapped up.

So happy that the new fic will be long! I am also glad that you are not going to post it until finished. I can' wait to sink my teeth into it. I am also glad that you will be posting it in June as I have a couple weeks of forced downtime then. (having some elective surgery done on my knee) and will need a great fic to keep me occupied. I was wondering if you are going to post it all at once or chapter by chapter weekly? Also do you have a title for it yet?

Sorry for all the questions by the way.

Well, first let me say I'm sorry. I had really hoped it would be done by June, but I got stuck with an extended case of "Not Enough Time" and haven't had a chance to finish it. I've only just got back to work on it in the last few days. Still hoping to have it done in the next few months, though. When I do publish it, it will be chapter by chapter, possibly every other day or twice a week. I like reviews, and giving people time to read and discuss it before the next installment. Even if I published it a chapter a day, it would take almost a month to post the whole thing. Spreading it out gives people more time to enjoy it. :)

And yes, I have a title for it, but I think I'm going to hold on to that for awhile yet. It's fairly original in the grand scheme of Labyrinth fiction, and I'd like to keep it that way until I publish it. :)

I too am excited to see the next story you have for us! The idea sounds wonderful too. I'm a huge fan of J/S romance, but I'm not a fan of them throwing themselves at one another at the beginning of the story. I'll have my eye out for it!

Not enough time is something that seems to be spreading lol. Summers are always busy for me as a mom. Anyway, I had a few questions on the new fic and also on the Dangers untold.

Can we look forward to more original characters/goblins like Shove showing up in the new fic? I just loved Shove, in fact I just read through Shove's Tale again for like the 10th time.

Will you be posting the new fic or your other works other places besides here?

Can you give any hints on what the the new fic will be about?

I know that Dangers is on hiatus until further notice, however I was wondering if it will be the end of that particular universe or if it will also have a sequel.

Can we look forward to more original characters/goblins like Shove showing up in the new fic?

The new story has a multitude of characters (far more than any of my other stories). Some of them are prominent, but I'm not sure any of them are as prominent (or loveable) as Shove. That was deliberate. I don't think I could replicate another Shove. He's one of my favorite creations and I wouldn't want to eclipse him with another character. That said, there are original characters in the new fic, and there are goblins behaving in typical goblin manner.

Will you be posting the new fic or your other works other places besides here?

At the moment I only have plans to post it here, and possibly over on my (long disused) blog.

Can you give any hints on what the the new fic will be about?

It is, essentially, about Sarah's return to the Labyrinth. It might be easier to list what is NOT in it, though.

You will not find: anyone wishing anyone away to the goblin kingdom; inexplicably modern plumbing; Jareth replacing the goblins with human and/or elven servants; boring faerie courts, Sarah getting fitted for a wardrobe full of medieval dresses; Jareth acting sadistically; Sarah acting like a b!tch; Jareth pining over Sarah for the last however many years; Sarah pining over Jareth for the last however many years; tedious dinner party scenes; Jareth introducing Sarah to his parents, tedious fencing scenes; love triangles between Sarah, Jareth, and his new fiance/previous queen/previous girlfriends/women of the court; Sarah wearing dresses involving corsets; a clean and well mannered goblin castle; Sarah as former stripper/psycho/drug addict; Jareth acting like a perfect gentleman; Sarah with a baby; Jareth as High King; Jareth/Toby (yeeeeuck); Jareth/Hoggle (even further yeeeeeeuck); Jareth tricking Sarah into returning; Sarah returning because she is dying; Sarah's parents/family dead; Sarah coming back for the sole purpose of jumping Jareth's bones; sex every three pages; underage relationships.

Some things you will see in it: LOTS of sexual tension, action, adventure, mystery, suspense, plot and character development, old friends, new faces, and (god I hope) a realistically developed relationship between Jareth and Sarah.

I know that Dangers is on hiatus until further notice, however I was wondering if it will be the end of that particular universe or if it will also have a sequel.

At the moment I'm not planning a sequel to Dangers. I'd really just like to be able to *finish* it. :D And Shove's Tale.

You will not find: anyone wishing anyone away to the goblin kingdom; inexplicably modern plumbing; Jareth replacing the goblins with human and/or elven servants; boring faerie courts, Sarah getting fitted for a wardrobe full of medieval dresses; Jareth acting sadistically; Sarah acting like a b!tch; Jareth pining over Sarah for the last however many years; Sarah pining over Jareth for the last however many years; tedious dinner party scenes; Jareth introducing Sarah to his parents, tedious fencing scenes; love triangles between Sarah, Jareth, and his new fiance/previous queen/previous girlfriends/women of the court; Sarah wearing dresses involving corsets; a clean and well mannered goblin castle; Sarah as former stripper/psycho/drug addict; Jareth acting like a perfect gentleman; Sarah with a baby; Jareth as High King; Jareth/Toby (yeeeeuck); Jareth/Hoggle (even further yeeeeeeuck); Jareth tricking Sarah into returning; Sarah returning because she is dying; Sarah's parents/family dead; Sarah coming back for the sole purpose of jumping Jareth's bones; sex every three pages; underage relationships.

_____________________________

Well, way to whet our appetites!!! :-P I'm dying for this story, you must know that. I've heard rumors, whispers and accolades for like a year now but still have NO idea what the story will be about or anything! Everyone in the know is extremely tightlipped on the subject and do you have any idea the kind of tension/anticipation that creates? LOL! While some of the things you mentioned can and have been done well, I'm relieved that your story will be so different and unique. Nearly every story has one or more factors you mentioned above some of them I despise (Sarah as a stripper/hooker or acting like a biotch, etc), some of them I don't mind if they're done well, and some of them I actually do enjoy. Nevertheless, I know you're capable of doing something completely different and I'm just SO looking forward to it... the way I'm looking forward to Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Uh huh -- pressure's on, KE, pressure's on! Seriously, when might we see this story make its first public appearance? Please give us a little hint, you know we're all on tenterhooks! faeriesmidwife, your humble fan

Thanks for answering my questions! Like FaeriesMidwife, am looking forward to this fic and cannot wait until you start posting it.

Looking forward to this, and have been for a long time. Even better without unnecessary corsets!

I have to say that I like the list of what we'll -not- see. I do think the idea of Jareth being basically an offstage member of the Midsummer Night's Dream cast is not a bad one, but well.... PaisleyRose has done it to the point where Shakespeare's estate ought to be forking over royalties to her. It's nice to see someone doing something -else-. I'm not going to tell you what -I- am trying to do, neener, neener.

Hello!

I want to say that I absolutely love your stories! And I have a question because of that:

Who are your favorite writers? Do you have books you would recommend?

I'm asking that because I really like the combination of humor and romance (sexual tension?) you are using! So far I cannot find a book that matches your writing style (or even comes close).

Thanks in advance for answering!

I thought I would check in with you to see how the writing is progressing, and to once again thank you for answering my questions in the past.

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