This week's author spotlight shines on leiascully. She's the author of many works and recently has received much-deserved fan acclaim for her pre-revival series "Visitor" and "Resident." "Visitor" is told from Mulder's point of view as he's trying to put his life back together after he and Scully have broken up. It's a wonderful journey inside Mulder's head and was one of my favorite reads while waiting for Season 10. In "Resident" we hear Scully's side of the story. "Resident" is still a work in progress, and if you haven't read either series you're in for a treat when you start. But these are just two of many great works created by leiascully over the years.
We talked with leiascully about writing, her process, and what brought her to The X-Files.
How long have you been a Phile?
Since the summer of 2000. I actually got into TXF when I read a friend's fan novel, so I was reading fic before I even started watching the show. She was a Skipper (Scully/Krycek shipper), so that was an interesting perspective to come from.
What was your first episode?
"Duane Barry." My friend sent me all her tapes and I almost started with "Dreamland," but halfway through the cold open, I took it out and put "Duane Barry" in instead because that was the first mytharc episode on the list. My first live episode was "Within."
How long have you been writing fic?
Since shortly after I started watching, so about fifteen and a half years.
For more questions, read after the jump.
What inspired you to start writing?
Fic was always a huge part of the show to me since it was my introduction. It was my favorite way to connect to the fandom, although I did also get into fanart.
Who is your favorite XF character to write?
Scully, probably? It depends on my mood, really.
Are there any XF characters you dislike or find too difficult to write?
I've never written CSM, but writing anyone else has never been a problem. It takes a little effort to shift from one voice to another, but I feel pretty confident after all this time.
Is there a story you're most proud of or that's a favorite?
I'm pretty proud of "Visitor" and "Resident," because I don't usually write anything long, but I have a soft spot for "Endeavours Too Short Of Desire."
Where can people find your work?
My main archive is on AO3, but most of my stuff is on Tumblr as well. I find AO3 is better for keeping things organized.
Do you take fic prompts from fans?
I do! I've got a pretty big backlog at the moment, but if people have sent me prompts, I keep them all for when I have time.
Have you written your own original characters outside of fandom?
On occasion. I like writing original stuff, but I find that fanfic is just as valuable a use of my time.
Anything you’d like to share about your writing process?
My writing process is just sit down and write (and then edit, edit, edit, and hopefully have a beta look it over as well).
Do you have a favorite author? (fanfic or published!)
I have too many to list! Extensive reading is fundamental to good writing. Jeanette Winterson is definitely one of my inspirations, though.
Thank you to leiascully for talking with us. If you'd like to contact her to send feedback, you can do so through Tumblr or AO3.
Here's a taste of "Visitor" if you haven't added this to your reading list yet.
She still takes him apart with cool hands, but it's as impersonal as the way she cleaned her gun. Cleans her gun, he corrects himself. She's packing heat again, wearing Special Agent in front of her name. She continues to be his doctor as a courtesy, because she's been his doctor for twenty years, but mostly because his medical history is too complicated to explain to anyone else.
He sits in her office and waits for her. At least he's guaranteed to see her once a year. He tried to take himself off her calendar once, and she just looked at him with winter sky eyes, icing over.
"Mulder, if you don't come in for a wellness exam, your insurance premiums will go up. Don't be ridiculous."
At least she didn't call him Mister Mulder. He's not sure he could stand that. She doesn't pretend there was never anything between them, but in a way that's worse. There's a ten-foot thick lead wall but through the little window, he can glimpse the way they used to be. MulderandScully, all one word, of one mind when it came to dealing with the rest of the world.
Now there's Mulder. Now there's Special Agent Dana Scully, M.D. She made it out of the woods, but he lingers under the shadow of the treeline, afraid of the light, or so it seems. This is what twenty years of monster mashing does to a guy, and twenty-five years of letting himself get sliced open over and over by the shards of his shattered childhood. This is what dying does. He thinks of Micah Hoffman's account of Jesus' life after the resurrection and wishes he could read it. There aren't a lot of tips, no "Surviving Your Funeral For Dummies". He's been crawling back out of a six-foot hole for more than a decade now.
Find the rest of "Visitor" here on AO3.