Story of the month August 2005:

Julia

by Billie Shears

This months story is the supernatural fantasy, Julia, which asks the questions, what would you do if you were immortal? And added to that, what if you were a witch?

Julia has a dark secret about her past and who she really is...and when she encounters the Beatles,it's threatened to come to light..Would her curse threaten the Beatles lives or will she reveal her secret to 4 men who will change the world?

Here's what the author had to say about her story...

BFFD: When did you start writing Julia, and what gave you the idea for the story?

BILLIE SHEARS: I started writing Julia 5 years ago out of all things after a breakup with a boyfriend...[Laughs] But I was inspired by reading other fics and I needed an outlet to get everything out...And I was tired of reading stories that have such a quick ending to them...So I thought I could shake things up a bit...

Horror or supernatural elements such as witch craft are rare in Beatles fan fics. Why did you decide to write a story combining the two?

It's an interesting twist to combine the Beatles and witchcraft together..Besides being my religion and using Julia to break down the stereotypes,it opens up a whole new trunk of conflicts that could be solved or even new ones created that have never been thought up before...It only expands how far the characters could go and go beyond what simple imagination can do.

What was the inspiration for the character of Julia?

Julia just popped up partly based on me and what would I do in a situation if I was someone else... I wanted Julia to be a powerful character as to make her stand her own ground but not totally make her either too Mary Sue/Girly or too Manly...With my insanity for the boys and wanting to contribute to the Fab Fic community I decided to write this little story...And so far,she's still standing and still inspiring...

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I made Julia for others to be inspired to sit in front of their computer screens or paper and just break out of the stereotypes and barriers that make up most fan fiction and do what you think feels good...If I could get comments from 14 year old girls to 40 year old guys who both thing it's good,then go for it! I really do hope you enjoy my story and feedback is always appreciated...

Here's an extract from 'Julia'...

Paul, Julia, and John walked in to this spacious home where the wonders of her imagination seemed to be laid out in front of her. The dreams that she had of walking in to his home, spending some time with the Beatles was coming true.

"By the look on your face, you think that this is so palatial or are you star struck?" Paul said as her smile widened across her face.

"I bet you she's shocked that she with the famous Beatles than anything else!" John laughed as they walked.

"To tell you the truth, I'm more in awe both for it being so palatial and the antiques..."

She stopped at mid sentence when she noticed a mirror that hung on a wall near the room where the other Beatles were at.

She set down her book on a table near the mirror and stared at it, noticing the details of the frame and the mirror.

"I thought I would never see this again...." Julia whispered as her fingers delicately touched a dent.

Both Paul and John exchanged weird looks at Julia's amazement with a mirror. They walked over and caught what Julia whispered which made them wonder even more why she said that.

"Uh, Julia? What did you mean by... seeing this again? If you want to know it's from somewhere in the 1600's."

"1566 to be precise. It was shipped from Italy and then to Spain. It was given as a gift to a very wealthy aristocratic family to one of their two children, their daughter as a gift as a birthday gift. She was turning 24. And now I notice that it's 400 years old. How time just flies doesn't it?"

"How did you know all that? Especially who first owned it and everything?" Paul asked with a bit of fear in his eyes.