My relationships with reading & writing have always been complicated. As a child, & even most of my adult life thus far, I was never much of a reader. It wasn't so much that I didn't like reading, it's just that I always prefered to do other things more & when I did want to read, I always had a hard time finding a book that I like. While I was picky about the books I read, once I did find something that got my attention, it really got my attention & I just had to read it in one sitting. I'm still like that. As for writing, that I did hate with a passion because I was never any good at it.

Everything changed; however, when I found fan fiction. I'm still no more a book reader than I was before, but I love reading fan fic, especially long, multi chapter fics. My most common criticism in reviews is "This is too short!" or "Sequel please!"

Fan fic has started to change my view on writing as well. As I read more fan fic, I kept getting attacked with plot bunnies. For a while, my lack of confidence in my writing ability kept those inside. I was even too nervous to send my writings to a beta reader for fear of being condemned & mocked. Thankfully, through our love of fan fic, I've developed a friendship with 4luv4evr428 who is dragging me out of my writing shell putting up with me as my beta reader. So any fic I write, and that you enjoy, is possible only because of her. If you like my work, PLEASE send her a PM to thank her as well as follow her to get updates on her stories, they're fantastic! My writing process actually started when she asked my advice on getting over one of her own writing hurdles & we had a blast working together. I am still more a reader than a writer (in both ability & preference), but it's proving to be an interesting journey.

Other Interests:

Two of my other passions are Christianity & genealogy. If you are incorporating either one into a story & would like me to consult with you on the topic, please drop me a PM. I also have experience with several medical issues such as paraplegia (namely due to Spina Bifida), hydrocephalus, scoliosis, kyphosis, & non-verbal learning disabilities in addition to ailing family members, namely those with cancer.

I want to hear from you!

PLOT IDEAS WELCOMED! Just send me a PM! ...Although be warned, I may do what my beta reader did, & tell you to work on it yourself (with my beta reading & colaboration as needed). ;)

READING RECOMMENDATIONS WELCOMED! While I'm not a fan of pedaling one's own work, if you know of another author's work that I might enjoy based on my preferences & favorite stories list, please PM me with suggested reading. In spite of my quite lengthy fandom reading list, I'm often running out of new material.

Fandoms I read, write, &/or beta:

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any previously existing characters in the fandoms that I write for, I just borrow them & try to do them justice. All fan fiction is written with respect & appreciation to the original writers, actors, & real life people they're based on (if applicable).

I'm always up for a writing challenge in any of the below fandoms with other authors. Please PM me with details.

With a few exceptions (largely NCIS, see below), I read only cannon/non-AU stories, although since I over think almost everything, it might be headcanon lol. I much prefer stories that either deal directly with events in the book/TV series/movie, something pre/post those events that are in line with the media, or something the cameras/writers didn't cover in that time frame that is plausable.

I am especially interested in reading any story, regardless of fandom, that has to do with genealogy or family history as well as Finnish or Estonian culture and the events of the Holocaust or the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Unless it's in character (i.e. the Jenny/Gibbs pairing in NCIS), I only read love scenes between married characters; however, I never write a love scene between unmarried people.

Just because it isn't listed doesn't mean I'm not willing to beta for a certain fandom. If you have a fic for a fandom not listed, please send me a PM & tell me about your story. I'll make my decision on a case by case basis.

Books:

1.) A Child Called It

2.) A Christmas Carol

3.) A Farewell to Arms

4.) A Grief Observed

5.) A Hard Man Is Good To Find

6.) A Need So Beautiful

7.) A Room with a View

8.) A Separate Peace

9.) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

10.) A Wrinkle in Time Trilogy

11.) About A Boy

12.) Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

13.) Across Five Aprils

14.) The Adoration of Jenna Fox

15.) American Family Portrait Series

16.) American Girl

17.) Angela's Ashes

18.) Anna Karenina

19.) Are You Alone On Purpose?

20.) Around the World in 80 Days

21.) As I Lay Dying

22.) Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls

23.) Before I Die

24.) Bible

25.) Dear America Series

26.) Family Honor Series

27.) Little House Series

28.) Little Women

29.) Lurlene McDaniel

30.) My Sister's Keeper

31.) Number the Stars

32.) P.S. I Love You

33.) Redeeming Love

34.) Time Traveler's Wife

35.) Titanic 2020

Movies:

1.) A Walk To Remember

2.) The Blind Side

3.) Book of Eli

4.) Boy in the Striped Pajamas

5.) Corrina, Corrina

6.) Courageous

7.) Facing the Giants

8.) Fireproof

9.) Freedom Writers

10.) Home Alone

11.) Ice Age (ONLY Scrat centered fics)

12.) It's a Wonderful Life

13.) Miracle in Lane 2

14.) Miracle on 34th Street

15.) My Best Friend's Wedding

16.) National Treasure

17.) Night at the Museum

18.) Notebook

19.) Pacifier

20.) The Parent Trap

21.) Reign Over Me

22.) Remember Me

23.) Remember the Titans

24.) Replacements

25.) Schindler's List

26.) Sister Act

27.) Somewhere in Time

28.) Sophie's Choice

29.) Stepmom

30.) Titanic

31.) To Save a Life

32.) Ultimate Gift

33.) Yours, Mine, & Ours

TV Shows:

1.) 7th Heaven

2.) 8 Simple Rules

3.) A Different World

4.) Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction

5.) Bones

6.) Boy Meets World

7.) Dick Van Dyke Show

8.) Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman

9.) Early Edition

10.) Family Matters

11.) Friday Night Lights

12.) Full House

13.) Golden Girls

14.) Home Improvement

15.) Honeymooners

16.) I Love Lucy

17.) Joan of Arcadia

18.) Lois & Clark

19.) NCIS: ONLY Jibbs & McAbby pairings during (especially off cannon where Jibbs and McAbby are romantically involved) or post series time frame, "team family bonding" stories, AU no Judgement Day, or AU "Jenny comes back from the dead", I also don't read stories where Kelly lives (although I do read pre-series Shibbs). I also don't read any insinuated pairing of Gibbs with another woman, even if it took place before the setting of the fic (i.e. Gibbs having a child with someone other than Shannon or Jenny, even if only the child is discussed in the fic).

20.) The Nanny

21.) Promised Land

22.) Rescue Me

23.) Touched by an Angel

What I DO NOT read, write, or beta:

I DO NOT read fics including infidelity, under age sexual intercourse, prostitution, abortion, slash, BDSM, crackfic, filk, illegal drug use, rape, incest, abuse, etc for ANY fandom. If there's an element in your writing that I didn't mention, but you think might bother me based on this list, please ask before you ask me to beta.

I also do not have any desire to read, write, or beta crossovers. The only exception would be Dr. Quinn, Medicine cross overs with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Lake House, Somewhere in Time, or The Time Traveler's Wife. I'd LOVE to read those stories.

I don't have any interest in reading songfics, poetry, drabbles, or script formats. I do; however, love uncommon fic formats such as e-mail, IM, & Twitter.

I am generally not interested in stories that "character bash"; however, I do read NCIS fics where Kort &/or Vance go rogue & are behind Jenny's death, but only those stories where Jenny is actually alive & comes back to her family (i.e. the team) after being in WITSEC, either by her own will or because she's found by one of the team members, namely Gibbs). I think this stems from my bitterness that Jenny was killed off & my compulsive need to blame someone. I've also read so many "Jenny comes back from the dead" fics that I am now convinced that Jenny really isn't dead & will come back any time now. :)

Be warned, I'm not a fan of epilogues, so if you ask me to beta a story that includes one, I'll likely encourage you to add plot development during that missing time. I'm also a big fan of detail (I'm a "pretend I have absolutely no imagination and do not have the mental capability to fill in any blanks" type reader lol), so I'm likely to tell those I beta for to add detail, especially in love scenes.

Pieces I've Written for Writing Challenges:

FanFiction.net Writers Unite! Facebook Group Word Challenge:

1. The Salad

Characters, Places, & Things I've Created:

(in alphabetical order)

DISCLAIMER: I own any & all characters, places, and things that I create for the purpose of fan fiction; however, my parents raised me to share. If you'd like to borrow them, all you need to do is ask, promise to treat them nicely, & credit them as mine. I'll likely say yes. I'd actually love to see what you do with them.

Mr. Benjamin Abbott (I Love Lucy fandom, appears in In a Matter of Moments, The Salad & 4luv4evr428's Ricky's Story): headcanon character, middle aged man, short & stout like Fred Mertz (but with more hair), owner of The Tropicana, Ricky's boss, all business... but he really does have a heart, wife is Elsie, name randomly chosen with no significance, but Elsie is named after my great grandmother.

Mr. Edwin Domer (NCIS fandom, appears in The Case): off canon character, nept, unprofessional, and lazy medical examiner that performed the autopsies of Shannon and Kelly Gibbs. Named after my great-grandfather who worked in a funeral home... He was much more professional though. :)

Mr. Otto Erdmann (NCIS fandom, appears in The Case): headcanon character, Shannon Gibbs' OB/GYN. Named after my great-great grandfather

Mr. Thomas Green (NCIS fandom, appears in Jen's First Day): Headcanon character, Jen Shepard's driver, tall and slender, dark hair and eyes, mustache, named after my aunt's brother-in-law.

Mr. Pavel Lyamin (NCIS fandom, appears in What a Difference a Day Makes): Headcanon character, Jen's house detail, of Russian descent, late 50's, greying brown hair and beard, intimidating in looks (especially his glare), kind hearted, named after my best friend's father.

Mrs. Anna Mattson (I Love Lucy fandom, appears in In a Matter of Moments): mid 30's, brunette, neighbor to the Ricardos, husband is Henry, housewife, twin sons Michael & Joseph, family owns a car, named after my maternal great-great grandmother (her Americanized maiden name) & my great-great grandfather, the twins are named after my paternal great-great & 3x great grandfathers.

Nurse Betty (I Love Lucy fandom, appears in In a Matter of Moments): blonde hair & green eyes, just out of medical school, sits with Lucy while Ricky speaks with Dr. Harris when she's hospitalized after Rosita Maria's death. Named after my paternal grandmother.

Rosita Maria Ricardo (I Love Lucy fandom, appears in In a Matter of Moments): 2nd child to Ricky and Lucy, still born at 18 weeks during their 6th year of marriage, imagined by and unbeknownst to Ricky & Lucy, would have had Ricky's dark hair & Lucy's blue eyes, name randomly chosen with no significance, based on the real life marriage of Lucy & Desi. Rosita Maria was created with deepest respect to Lucy & Desi.

Mrs. Raquel Rizo (I Love Lucy fandom, appears in In a Matter of Moments): Mexican, singer, husband to Marco Rizo. The real Marco Rizo was married to a woman named Raquel, but as she never appeared in the series & the only things I know about her was that she was a Mexican singer, I'm listing her as mine to allow me to play with her character. As with Lucy & Ricky's characters, all character development I do with Mrs. Rizo is done with extreme respect to the real Mrs. Rizo.

Mrs. Linda Tyler (NCIS fandom, appears in The Case): Mother of Kelly Gibbs' best friend Maddie, Shannon Gibbs' best friend, named after my paternal aunt and her having breast cancer was inspired by my aunt's victory over it.

My Wonderful Betas:

I Love Lucy: 4luv4evr428

NCIS/The Nanny: 3Keys21Mind

Fandoms I'm in search of a beta for:

Movies:

1.) Facing the Giants (Family, Friendship, Humor, Romance, & Spiritual; K-T ratings, possibly M if I can do it tastefully in respect to the movie)

2.) Courageous (Drama, Family, Friendship, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Spiritual, & Tragedy; K-T ratings, possibly M if I can do it tastefully in respect to the movie)

3.) Fireproof (Family, Friendship, Humor, Romance, & Spiritual; K-T, possibly M if I can do it tastefully in respect to the movie)

TV Shows:

1.) Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (pairings: Sully/Michaela, Cloud Dancing/Dorothy, & Grace/Robert E.; genres: Angst, Drama, Family, Friendship, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Spiritual, & Tragedy; K-M ratings)

2.) Touched by an Angel (genres: Angst, Drama, Family, Friendship, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Spiritual, & Tragedy; K-T ratings)

3.) Who's the Boss? (genres: Angst, Drama, Family, Friendship, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Spiritual, & Tragedy; K-M ratings)

I love foreign languages!

In spite of not having a tongue, ear, or hand for foreign languages, I love when they're incorporated in fan fiction so I've partnered with different people to be able to add them to my own fics. All foreign language additions are thanks to the beta for that fandom unless otherwise stated. If you aren't familiar with the foreign language used in the fic you're reading, I've found to Google Translate be the most accurate... however, if you know of a better alternative, please let me know. For my own stories, I'm in search of FF users with the following foreign language knowledge:

1.) British English (London area dialect)

2.) Cheyenne

3.) Finnish

4.) Russian

5.) Yiddish