================================================================================ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q: Where do you get the ideas for the stories? A: Mmm, nowhere in particular. The Delphi Project had been ruminating in the back of my mind for years. I was actually about halfway through "The Taming of the Shrew" when I had an epiphany regarding how to tie all the stories together under the Delphi banner. That's why the ending to "The Ties that Bind" has that odd post-script after it. It was the only way I could really "fit" the Delphi ending into it. Q: What about the Poison Chronicles? A: Well, that, in a different fashion, was noodling around, too. Weird hentai aside, there really wasn't much in the way of sexuality regarding the symbiotes. In and of itself, that was fine, but IN CANON they have so many abilities, it was nearly incomprehensible to me that not a one of them--and there were PLENTY of symbiotes--ever thought about at least forming their own little empire, much less world-domination. Q: So you go strictly by canon? A: Well. Not STRICTLY, no. I take a few liberties here and there, I admit. On the whole, however, what they do in my stories isn't too different than what they've been shown or intimated to be able to do in canon. Q: Why is there such a different "feel" between the Delphi Project series and the Poison Chronicles? A: That's how the stories wrote themselves in my head. I'm one of those writers (and I hesitate to use the term "author", since I don't think my smut merits such a noble description of its creator) who doesn't patiently craft stories as much as "lets them out". By and large, what you read is what I imagined, though I did of course edit when necessary. Q: Why are you more descriptive in the Poison Chronicles than in the Delphi Project series? A: The Delphi Project was meant more for reader self-insertion. Q: Aren't you advocating the real-world rape of children, then, if you're all but telling the reader to pretend it's him or her in the depicted acts? A: Pfft. Of course not. As I say in the Read Me, I think one can have a fantasy without having so little self-control as to ACT on those fantasies. I try to adhere to a sense of believability--even in the weirdness that is the Poison character--because I, as a reader or even movie-watcher, can't get "into" a story unless it makes some sort of sense. "Fight Club" was more interesting, to me, than the various books by Tolkien and the movies based on those works, because the setting was more believable. That said, I certainly am NOT about to go blow up buildings just because I happen to agree with Tyler Durden, to a limited extent. Q: So, back to the question at hand, the Delphi Project was more for self- insertion by the reader, and the Poison Chronicles are--what, exactly? A: More of a "story". In my head, Poison created himself with a very specific series of "looks", from the armored-ish "costume", the riff on Roman royalty, and the "casual power" business suit. Q: What sort of research do you do for your stories? A: A good amount, actually. My friends, acquaintances, and myself have a wide variety of experiences between us that I draw on. Both sides of the law, various modes of travel, various places seen. Then, of course, there's the Internet. I usually try and research two areas for locations--the basic geography, wildlife, and such, as well as personal views from bloggers. Together, they help me paint a vivid picture. The Travel Channel is a great resource, too. Plenty of shows about visiting other cultures and doing non- tourist-y things from really exploring cities, to tasting native foots, and more. Q: Do you take many liberties after your research? A: Eh, some. I try and keep it limited, which means that, by and large, if one Googled the locations I use, they'd find that I was MOSTLY true to reality. Some changes were necessary for one story reason or another, though I'll admit a few may have slipped in that were simply errors on my part. However, it's best to keep in mind that those settings, though close to our reality, AREN'T our reality. Consider them like "alternate dimensions", with all of the subtle (and occasional not-so-subtle) differences fiction has taught us to expect from that term. Q: On another note, your web site is pretty ugly, you know. A: Yes, I know, thank-you-very-much. I couldn't code my way out of a wet paper bag if my life depended on it. I copped bits of code from here and there and came up with the admitted mess you find. At least it's a pretty mess. Q: Where did you get the backgrounds? A: Also from here and there, though mostly from WallBase (http://wallbase.net/). I tried to keep to wallpapers that were free to take, though I may have gotten some from elsewhere. I'm a bit of a wallpaper-hoarder, so if any slipped in that weren't meant to be freely used, just shoot off an e-mail to me politely pointing that out and I will be HAPPY to take it down. Q: Just to make it clear, what exactly ARE you advocating for readers regarding real-life? A: Argh, back to this. What am I advocating? Self-control. If you have fantasies that involve "pedosexuality", well, fine, I suppose. HAVING the fantasies doesn't mean much. It's what you DO that matters. If you find yourself looking at real children--even "just" on television--with any sort of real desire--GET HELP. Seriously. In the fictional settings I write about, kids never really suffer detrimental psychological effects from sexuality, even forced sexuality, and even if introduced to it later on in life. That's because IT'S FICTION. Reality doesn't work that way. Q: But you said earlier you strove for believability. A: And I do. I LIKE to think I craft plausible--believable--ways that children never suffer for what they're put through, even though it's not realistic. That's basically the difference, right there--realism versus believability. Back to "Fight Club", not much--especially the ending--was "realistic", but because of how it was all presented, the viewer could "believe" it. Q: Fair enough. How would you describe your writing "style"? A: Some writers write down different "scenes" and later go back and try and piece them all together. Not I. I'm one of the sorts who pretty much start at the beginning and write through to the end. The only real editing I do is clean-up; grammar, spelling, that sort of thing. I haven't really had to re-work the stories themselves too much. Q: How did that style come about? A: I think it's from my numerous days of text-based role-playing. Q: What, like Dungeons and Dragons? A: Kind of, yes, but not that setting specifically. I've been mostly around games based on the Marvel setting, though I also hung around a few "adult" games. Q: Are you still on any of them that you'd care to mention here? A: Well, since you asked so nicely. I'm sometimes on "Shangrila", though I'm not sure if I'm comfortable giving out any character names. We'll see. By the bye, the web site is: http://shangrilamush.com/ Q: Aww, c'mon. Pleeeeeeease? A: Stop whining! We'll see. Depends on how things go. Q: What things? A: Just--things! I don't know. Quit being a tart. Q: You're really just insulting yourself, you know, since you're the one asking these "questions". A: ...shut up. Q: At least you're giving someone who read all of this something hopefully entertaining. A: True. ================================================================================