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Old 09-13-2019, 09:21 PM
Stormdancer Stormdancer is offline
 
Default 'The Queenie Chronicles' Author Spotlight - sweetpinkpixie


Is pleased to present an
AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT WITH
sweetpinkpixie

The interviewer, Stormdancer, is in this color
The interviewee, sweetpinkpixie, is in this color
Hiii! Welcome everyone to the interview for our incredible third round winner, sweetpinkpixie! <3 For those who don't know you in all of your gloriousness yet, tell us a bit about yourself to start with.
Oh gosh Tori p u h l e e e e a a a s e you're embarrassing me but thank you for the warm introduction. Um... well...my name is Katherine and I tend to go by Kath or Pixie around these here parts. I'm a California born and raised gal who was inspired by anime when she was in elementary school (woot woot Sailor Moon) to study Japanese the first chance she got. That wouldn't come until university where I took up Japanese Studies as my major, studied abroad in Japan my junior year, and then moved to Japan to work as an English teacher once I graduated back in 2008. Aaaaaaaand I've been in Japan ever since! Started a family of my own (two boys, ages 6 and 2, who CONSTANTLY keep me on my toes and ensure there is never a dull moment) and currently work part time as an after school care educator for first through third graders.

Hehehe, would have thought the brain power behind Airey and Eiji would have needed more than a compliment to be embarrassed ;-) Hehe. But in all seriousness, that sounds like every geek's dream! Loving your fandom, being inspired by it and learning something from it in real life. If only we could go to Hogwarts. Your boys are adorable and now the eldest is coming into your teaching bracket, if I remember my grades properly? Did you always know you wanted to be a teacher? What subject would you teach if you could be a Professor at one of the Wizarding Schools?
You're doing it again, Tori *fusses at* It really was … and I am so blessed that I have such a supportive family. It can't be easy for your only daughter to leave on a jet plane and start a life an ocean away, you know?
My oldest is in first grade now and the little man will be starting kindergarten in April (over here kids start age 3 and it's sort of a combination of what Westerners would call preschool and kindergarten). And...yeah I always was drawn to education. I was one of those kids who turned my room into a classroom. Covered my walls with green construction paper to make a blackboard and wrote on it with chalk. I also made all my stuffed animals folders and textbooks out of construction paper My first job was coaching soccer, a job I started during the summer in high school and my preferred age group was the 5 and 6's.
GOSH that's hard Many probably expect me to say Astronomy (which I DO love and as the daughter of a NASA engineer...stars have been a part of my upbringing), but I think the art of transformation that comes from Transfiguration would be more in my magical wheelhouse if I were a true witch in the Harry Potter universe. Or Care of Magical Creatures


*sings* I’m leaving on a jet plane -- no wait. Wrong interview hah. Sounds like you and teaching were destined to go hand-in-hand. Ha, I’d have totally guessed Astronomy, but I’ll forever be intrigued and interested in each subject that we could have learnt there. Except for maybe writing their “14 inch long” homework assignments… Yet I never seem to have an issue with length when it’s fanfiction. (see what I did there?) Can you remember the first piece of Harry Potter fanfiction you wrote and what kept you coming back?
I think it would be fun to take Muggle Studies just to see the shift in perspective I wouldn't mind the 14 inches to be honest. I could do it! (and yes, I totally see what you did there ) My first Harry Potter fanfiction didn't come until after I joined Snitchseeker, actually. It was either my SS100 challenge (which I completed!) I wrote about the Hogwarts Founders or my Hedwig Chronicles where I intended to retell the Harry Potter series through the eyes of Hedwig. I only got 2/3 of the way through the Philosopher's Stone, however. But I think I have the outline for the whole story scribbled down somewhere in one of my old notebooks.

I think most of us have written something close to that in the past, whether it be for a class, homework, RP or fanfiction. Hehe. 14 inches just sounds more daunting than it actually is. Woah! Well done on completing your challenges, I’m still attempting to successfully finish a full set, maybe this time I’ll win! Getting ⅔ of the way through PS is a huge accomplishment though, have you ever taken part in, or even managed to complete a NaNoWriMo entry? I also haven’t managed that challenge.
I actually have managed to complete 5 challenges between all three of the Bertie Bott's Challenges, at least one in each category Most are based on HP canon characters, but I have a dash of my SS canon characters in there as well. I keep meaning to start some Newt Scamander ones (I planned on doing a combo of HP canon with him and SS canon with my character Derf in which my brain baby goes on these fantastical dream adventures with his childhood idol) but I haven't gotten around to them yet I've only attempted NaNoWriMo but I've never completed. I have half drafts of a few historical fiction (one of my favorite genres) attempts ... but I've never been a winner.

Who knows, maybe this is the year we both complete NaNoWriMo. *crosses fingers* We can try anyway. Oh, historical fiction is always amazing to read. Is that why you like writing for Queenie? The era she was based in? Or did you have another set of ideas when it came to your Queenie Chronicle’s piece?
I unfortunately do not have any plans to attempt it this year *wibbles* I will support everyone in spirit and be a cheerleader instead!
I wouldn't say that the era is what inspired me - I tend to go back to feudal times and far away from America when I do my historical fiction writing. Reading both Ern and Jess' entries just made me feel like this was all building up to something unexpected. This wasn't just going to be any old walk about the castle. So I reflected back on the Golden Trio and what those Gryffindors got into 'after hours' and then got to writing. I knew I wanted to include a creature encounter (homage to the troll in the dungeon and meeting Fluffy, perhaps), so I went poking around for those creatures native to North America and went from there.


Personally I thought it was fantastic homage to both, going to a magic school and those after hour trips around the castle, while giving insight into Queenie’s abilities. Though, you never know what you will find in the corridors of a Magic school when you are meant to be sleeping.
Ohh, about that; would you rather come up against a Troll or Fluffy in the middle of the night?

I really wanted to portray how someone still learning about their ability could so easily slip up and confuse the reality in front of them with the reality that their ability creates for them. Inadvertently magically navigating the mind of someone else when you both are extremely vulnerable and unable to control your emotions because of fear? Seemed like a good opportunity for some tension!
Fluffy...if for no other reason than I like dogs and Greek and Roman mythology


I think you did just that! Definite tension, luckily Tina was there to help save the day.
Ohh. Good choice! You’ve said that you have completed more HP character pieces - apart from the potential Newt/Derf work - is there anyone else from Queenie’s era that you would like the chance to write something for? Anyone that speaks to you creatively?

I knew Teenie had to make an appearance proper in any story with Queenie Thankfully she was easy to slip in.
Hmm...maybe Percival Graves. We know next to nothing about him other than he was a skilled Auror and someone that Grindelwald felt "worthy" to assume his identity for his plans in infiltrating MACUSA.


Everyone thanks you, or at least I do - I love Tina. I wonder what happened to the real Percival Graves. Maybe he ended up in the bottomless trunk that Moody was locked up in years later.
If you could write a piece about Grindelwald, what aspects of his character or past, do you think you would choose to explore?

The optimist in me wants to go with your theory rather than … well
The part where he took over Graves. His youth has been explored sufficiently enough for me and his later life we get in the Harry Potter books and now his rise to power is being revealed in the Fantastic Beasts films, but we have a bit of a gap in time between him stealing the Elder Wand and then assuming the identity Graves while he followed his vision of the Obscurus in New York. This period of his "disappearance" that was noted all in the wizarding papers while he took on another heist mission, this time instead of an object it was someone's identity. Why Graves? How long? Did he already know him before? So many unknowns!


*sits and munches popcorn* Ohh, that sounds fascinating. I’m here for it, if you ever choose to explore and write it!
Are you writing any drabbles or stories on site at the moment? Or reading anyone else’s work that never seems to be published quick enough and leaves you wanting more?

Backburner maybe
I wish I was, but as I mentioned I just haven't gotten around to starting anything new yet. I would like to maybe pick up my Hedwig Chronicles again someday though. I really enjoy writing about canon characters but with a fresh perspective or exploring characters we don't know as well. I really get excited any time I see canon character fanfiction pop up..like Jessiqua's Jily drabbles or thekraken's drabble take on Bellatrix. There is also Tegz's and Cassirin's Rose and the Memory Thief which is a delightful look at Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy with storytelling through a shifting perspective between the two of them And I can't talk about the fanfiction on site without giving Connie a nod! She has been dedicated to her fanfiction thread Answers Come The Hard Way (collections of short stories and one-shots) for over four years now and is super consistent with continuing to write. I really admire her dedication and unique spin on canon characters we know and love!


Oh! I started to Rose and the Memory Thief and I’ve been trying to catch up lately but I fell very behind so it is taking me longer than I would like. Connie is amazing! Though, I'm a little biased with my duel love of Stargate and Harry Potter.
Although you aren’t writing anything right now, you are constantly writing pieces across the Role Playing sections of SS. What advice would you give to someone who wants to take the leap from roleplaying to writing fanfiction?

Well, RPing is basically one big elaborate collaborative fanfiction! Fanfiction at its very core is simply taking a canon as the basis of an original creation of amateur writing. Collaborative fanfiction, like the Queenie Chronicles and the collaborative fanfiction game hosted in the Chocolate Frog Corner section of Honeydukes, relies on this element of another person changing things up and assisting in the driving of plot points. The daunting thing for someone who wants to tackle fanfiction on their own, at least for me, is in being the sole driving force of plot. It's all in your hands. That being said, any time you consider a 'what if'...you're already diving headfirst into fanfiction and the fantastic thing about that is the possibilities are endless.
So, to swing back around to specific advice, if you are just wanting to get your toes wet in writing your own stand alone fanfiction...I suggest starting with writing some one-shots on any character you feel attached to - either in canon or of your mind's own creation. Take the simple notion of 'what if' and find a concept you are excited about. If you need some extra creative juices to help push your writing, the EEFD in Honeydukes has some zany prompts to help you out.
Also, read. Read other fanfiction. Read read read read! Not only are you expanding your own horizons but you are supporting writers like yourself


Read! I love this advice, but my to-read pile of books next to my bed is testament to the fact that I’m on the PC too much to read as much as I want too.
We’re sadly coming to the end of our interview now so finally, would you rather take Queenie or Teenie out for dinner and what is the one question you would like to ask them?

I MISS reading. I haven't picked up a book other than picture books at bedtime in a long while. Grateful for Audible and it's amazing collection of audiobooks #notanadvertisement
Aw, well thank you for having me! I'd pick Queenie, but eat in and make the meal together so I could maybe learn some of her skills with cooking and baking charms. Maybe ask her if she would be my friend?


Awww. Audiobooks are great. I listen to them in the car when I’m on my own.
Aww, what a sweet (Hehe) answer. I’m sure you’d cook up a storm together while you discuss past exploits and future engagements .
Thank you for giving me your time and thank you once again for your amazing piece of writing that concluded our own Queenie Adventure.
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