Hey, you've reached Darth Mara! Leave a message after the... odd sense of humor. ;)

I am female, 19 years old, and in college, studying to be a nurse, but in my free time, I like to read fan-fiction. I've written a few stories of my own, but I'm probably not going to post them here. I might someday, but for now, there's so much good stuff here that I spend too much time reading as it is. I've been lurking for a while now, but I finally decided to get an account so I could review some of the more interesting stories I've come across.

The fandoms I'm currently an avid member of are:

The Legend of Zelda: I've only played 'Ocarina of Time', 'The Wind Waker', and 'Twilight Princess', but I love them all. If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably have to be 'Twilight Princess', since not only is it incredibly fun to play, it has a great story as well. I'm currently hunting for good stories based on it, so when I find some, you can be sure I'll add them to my Favorites. Mostly, I look for stories that revolve around Ganondorf; he's an interesting villain, especially in 'Wind Waker', and I love stories that give him some depth and character

Star Wars: As should be obvious from my user name. ;) On an interesting note, I sort of resemble Mara Jade, since I have red hair and green eyes. That might be why she's my favorite Star Wars character. That, and the whole 'ass-kicking sarcastic Jedi' thing. ;) Anyway, I've been a Star Wars fan since the cradle; both my parents are huge Star Wars fans and have been since the very first movie came out. As an example, my father proposed to my mother after they saw 'Return of the Jedi' in the theater for the first time. Sweet, right?

I've read practically every novel in the EU, but I didn't care for the 'Legacy of the Force' series and so started looking for great stories written by my fellow fans instead. While I like stories based on canon, I personally prefer AU stories, since there are a ton of great 'what if this went differently' points in Star Wars and some people have come up with incredibly creative tales. Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader is one of my favored characters; he's just so interesting, especially considering all the tragedy he's lived through. He could have been portrayed a little better in the prequel movies, but that's okay; I prefer reading the books most of the time anyway.

Firefly: I love this show, and every time I break out my DVD set I have just way too much fun. Whoever jerked Joss Whedon around with this show needs to be shot; this could have been a long-running sci-fi show, and if not for network executive stupidity, might still be on right now. But I digress. I didn't watch the show when it originally aired, but instead discovered it when my best friend thrust her DVD set into my hands and said "You must watch this show with me!" and so I did. I fell in love immediately, and both of us were first in line at our local theater when Serenity came out. Here's hoping another movie gets made at some point; this universe is just too good to leave alone permanently.

Star Trek: Yes, I'm a hopelessly nerdy young woman. Nerds are more interesting to talk to, anyway. ;) Anyway, while I like the Star Trek universe, I am not, repeat not the embarrasing sort of Trek fan. You know which ones I'm talking about. I don't think I own a single piece of merchandise aside from a communicator pin I wear occasionally and a Bajoran earring my friend gave me a few years ago. I've seen most episodes of all the various series, but I still prefer 'The Next Generation', since I practically grew up watching that show.

J.R.R. Tolkien: Besides being a sci-fi nerd, I'm also a Fantasy nerd. Astonishing, right? ;) I love Tolkien's writings; he's probably my favorite author, though he's got some fierce competition from a few others. I have, of course, read everything Middle-Earth related I could get my hands on and own the extended DVD edition of Peter Jackson's movie trilogy. I don't read fan-fiction based on The Lord of the Rings or any of Professor Tolkien's other writings, but I thought it important to include that I like it.

The Sword of Truth series:While Terry Goodkind doesn't allow fan-fiction based on his work, I still thought it important to say that I like his series. Truthfully, I only started reading the books after I saw a few episodes of 'Legend of the Seeker', and while I still faithfully watch the show every Sunday night, I have to say I like the books better. The Richard of the books is a much more interesting character than the Richard on the show, though I think they cast Zedd and Kahlan perfectly. Darken Rahl shares only his name with the character from the books; he doesn't even look the same or act similarly. That happens with any adaptation of a book, though; it's never the same on the screen. It's still a good show, though.

Now that all that's out of the way, I would like to share the following recommendation: As an avid reader, I have a discerning eye for good writing. A story will only appear on my Favorites list if it's really well written and interesting. So, as you look through my Favorites, keep in mind that each one has some quality that particularly impressed me and just might impress you too. Think of it as my 'recommended reading' list. An author only joins my Favorites list if I've read two or more of their stories and liked them enough to add them to my Favorites, or I'm impressed by their general writing style.

Thanks for stopping by!