How old are you?
I am 17 years old.

Where do you live?
In the U S of A and the city of Brotherly Love! (Also home to the Flyers!)

Was "Stand By Me" your first fan fiction?
Well...no. But I would like to think of it as my first, only because the last one I wrote was short, trendy, and stupid. (Well, at least I think it was.) I have written a Hanfic too. [a Hanson fiction.] That actually was my very first and then I switched over to *NSYNC ones. If you want to read them, I have already taken them off the Net. Sorry. It's best to stick with what I have up now, though. ;)

Was "Stand By Me" based on real life?
No, everything in the story is completely fiction. (Well, okay, except for some inside jokes!) All the characters are fictional, except for the members of *NSYNC. I tried my best to capture their personalities and put them into writing. But Olivia, Brian, Serenity, Sidney, Greg...they all came from my head. :)

Do you have a mailing list I can get on?
Yes, I have two. The first one all you have to do is email me at HockeyZLyfe@aol.com and tell me to put you on my [Untamed Hearts] mailing list. The other is a Topica one, which you can join on the homepage to this site. I use both of them, but it is good to be on both just in case. ;)

Is your favorite from *NSYNC Justin Timberlake?
Honestly, I can't say that I have favorites anymore. I admire each of the guys for everything they each possess -- the talent, the hard-working attitudes, and the love they have for their music and their fans. I tend to write about Justin because he's the easiest for me to write about!

Do you know *NSYNC?
In fact...yes, I'm best friends with them and I go on tour with them every year! [sigh] Okay, okay, so I lied. So sue me. :) No, I don't know them, I'm not related to them or anyone that DOES know them. [Sucks, huh? j/k] Although, my dad does know John Timberlake, Justin's uncle. :)

What made you want to write about *NSYNC?
Hm, well...I liked them. lol. I write about things that appeal to me. They seemed easy to get into their heads and I gave it a shot. Their personalities are diverse and they exert so much excitement and to me, that's what first grabbed my attention when it came to them. So I put my head to work, and here I am now. :)

Do you ever get writers' block? How do you deal?
Yes, I get it too much. ;) When I do, I usually will just stop writing for a day, then return to it later [hoping to GOD that I can get out what I want to say], and put on one of my CDs. Music always seems to help. If all that fails, then I'll go read a chapter or two of MY favorite author and one of my biggest inspirations, FictionLyn. [I'm sure you've all heard of her, if not, go read her novels. Link is on my links page.] But, the one thing that NEVER fails when the curse of writers' block swings by, is all the feedback I get from readers. I save every single email I get and I'll re-read it if I'm stuck. It always pulls me out of the gutter...so keep it comin'! :)

How do you come up with such GOOD stories?! Any advice for beginners?
Well, thank you very much for the compliment! :) As for advice...be original, use your head and write from your heart. It would also be wise and would attract more readers if you didn't put yourself as the main character and base the supporting characters on all of your friends, because they TEND to all be the same type of story: girl meets *NSYNC, *NSYNC falls in love with girl, they live happily ever after. Yadda yadda yadda. I usually have a Thesaurus and a Dictionary right next to me when I write, for some helpful tips, hehe. If it's your first story and it didn't turn out as good as you want, don't let that stop you. My first ones were terrible, but I got a lot better with time. But remember the 3 important rules: Be Original. (don't copy other people's ideas!), Use your Head (try to be as realistic as possible) and Write from your Heart (it just will make it a better fanfic overall. Believe me.). Good luck! :)

Do you somehow relate to your story?
I assume you are talking about "Stand By Me", right? I think that everyone can relate to it one way or another, especially teenagers, just because it deals with a lot of the emotions and the turmoil that people-teenagers- go through when they're around Olivia's age. Personally, I do not relate to the character of Olivia Jacobs, though. In fact, I'm almost completely the opposite of her. The only thing that brings me together with her is the fact that everyone can feel lost and afraid like she does. Everyone goes through that at least once in their lives. So to answer your question, it really varies on the way you look at it. :)

Where did you come up with the idea to start your own fanfic and where did the idea come from? Was it a personal experience?
Well, the first fanfic I ever read was a Hanson one written by Stoked2383 (hey girl, I'm still waiting! :)) and I fell in love with fan fiction. I read a few more and decided to write one, but they didn't always turn out as good as I wished they did. The idea for "Stand By Me" came to me while I was listening to that song ('Stand By Me' by Ben E. King -- it's an oldie!). It wasn't personal at all, I just wanted to write something that could touch on teenagers' lives in this generation.

Do you like the Backstreet Boys, too?
Not particularly. I think that they have some great music, not all, but some. I don't like them, as people, though. And if you're going to ask if I'd ever write about them, I'd write you back with a big "Hell NO!" just because I don't think their personalities are the easiest to work with. Sorry.

Why do you use movie titles for your story titles?
Hmm, I dunno.. I have a hard time coming up with titles so I was just trying to find something that went with the idea I had. Stand By Me was a given and Untamed Hearts just sounded best. Actually the movie is Untamed Heart. hehe, no "s". :)

Have you met NSYNC or other celebs?
I almost met NSYNC but it's a loong story...so not yet. :) Yeah, I've met a slew of celebrities...um a few of them are Lifehouse, Hanson, Jessica Simpson, Pink, and LFO. Honestly, I don't really feel like listing them all, but if you must know, just send me an e-mail. It's really not a big deal because they're only people like you and me. Some are pretty rude [*cough* Christina Aguleria *cough*] and some are genuinely nice.

What made you start writing fan fiction? Do you want to be a writer?
I've always liked writing, and I have really imaginative and detailed fantasies. Once I started reading fan fiction, I was hooked, so I decided to give it a shot. I wasn't really serious about it for the first two stories and kind of based the characters on my friends and stuff -- you know, the teenybopper kind. hehe. But then I realized that maybe I could really write so I took it more serious...and that's when Stand By Me found its way onto paper. Do I want to be a writer? I used to...and maybe one day I'll change my mind again but right now I'm thinking about something else. Who knows? Maybe I'll combine all my interests and be a sports/entertainment journalist or something. :) Or maybe one day you'll see my name on a New York Times Best Seller's List for a big novel! Only time will tell, I guess!

Who is your favorite author?
I absolutely LOVE Nicholas Sparks. [He wrote "A Walk to Remember" and "Message In A Bottle", and he also has three other novels out - I REALLY recommend them!] I also like John Steinbeck. Give me a good book and you won't hear from me for a week. :) Annnd, as much as I hate writing papers about him, I think Shakespeare was brilliant.

Will you write another story?
I hope to, but time has been my issue with this one. I want to because it's something that I like to do, but lately I've been getting bored with it. Maybe it's the lack of time and energy I've had lately, or maybe it's how I've been getting more into my rock music rather than the pop stuff, or maybe I just need a long break. I don't really know right now but all I can tell you is that I really do want to and that I'll MOST LIKELY be back. I just hate making you wait for chapters so when I get free time. Maybe I'll come back one day and pop out a Blink182 story or something, lol!

Do you ever feel like you don't get enough credit for your amazing writing?
lol It's certainly not something I'm overly concerned with. You write because you love to write and because it makes other people happy to read it. Sure, you can get that awesome feeling of gratification when a person sends you incredible feedback. It's something that, I admit, I wish I got more of but in the end, it's the satisfaction that I get for myself that makes me happy. Everyone would love to get nominated for awards or to get email after email of feedback, but you can't really let that get to you.

If you've been wondering about anything, just drop me a note, my link is at the bottom. I'll post it as soon as I get it. Thanks!