More Than Fiction (Richard Armitage Edition)

By Abby Vegas

Is anyone keeping track of how much Richard Armitage character-inspired fanfiction exists online? I have no doubt the volume is staggering—and rightly so. Because one story about John Thornton will never, ever be enough. Guy of Gisborne’s three seasons of flailing angst? Enjoyable, yet in the end unsatisfying. John Standring’s story ended with the ending of Sparkhouse? I don’t think so. And don’t get me started on poor Lucas North. Series nine of Spooks/MI-5 had to be burned to the ground, erased from collective memory, and rewritten altogether.

I’ll admit it: devouring the further adventures of these fictional characters gives me life. But what about Armitage nonfiction? Well, there are a few short profiles of Richard to be found online—most of them connected with projects he’s done. The Old Vic’s production of The Crucible, in particular, attracted some high-profile media attention to its mysterious lead. But that’s the exception. Factual, true-to-life stories featuring Richard Armitage are in disappointingly short supply.

I certainly wouldn’t turn down an epic biography (paging Ron Chernow!) or a 15,000-word New Yorker profile on my favorite actor. HINT HINT. But if the world wants a book of Armitage nonfiction, it may in fact fall upon my shoulders to deliver the first dose. Because I’ve written about my own fangirling experiences, including—yes—meeting Mr. Richard Armitage. More than once. (I swear I’m not a stalker.)

So I offer you this e-book—Fangirling Armitage: Four Years in the Richard Armitage Fandom. It’s about Richard, yes, but more than that it’s about the whole experience of fandom: the friends you make, the kindred spirits you encounter, the silly adventures, the highs and the lows. (Mostly the highs. We wouldn’t do this if it weren’t fun.) More than anything, this book celebrates our wonderful, unique fellowship as Armitage fans. I hope you’ll enjoy reading about our experiences as much as I enjoyed writing about them.

Fangirling Armitage: Four Years in the Richard Armitage Fandom is available on Amazon. When you use any link on this page to purchase it, a donation will be made (at no extra cost to you) to support Richard’s charities via RichardArmitageNet.com’s Amazon Affiliate program. You do not need a Kindle e-reader to purchase and read a Kindle e-book; you can download the Amazon Kindle app free for iPhone, iPad, Android, and Windows devices.

Abby Vegas is an author and a fangirl. Visit her online at AbbyVegasAuthor.com.

 

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A North and South Confession on Valentine’s Day

What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with our favourite Victorian lovers- brooding Mr. Thornton and passionate Miss Hale?

Here’s a beautiful new short story by the talented Nicole Clarkston to make our romantic hearts beat a little faster on this very special day.

Enjoy!

“CONFESSION”

P.S: Thanks to the author for the gift and to More Agreeably Engaged for sharing it on her blog.

 

Fan fiction – a journey into original creative writing

Kate Forrester holds the distinguished title of fan fiction queen in the Richard Armitage fandom. She has written fan fiction based upon more of Richard’s characters than anyone else we know of. She’s written stories based on Lucas North, Guy, Harry Kennedy, John Porter, John Thornton, and John Standring and a few others. (We interviewed her at The Armitage Authors Network two years ago: here. )

Today she tells us a little about her relationship with fan fiction and how it helped her move into writing her own original stories:

It’s strange, I always thought that my writing fan fiction began when I joined C19 back in 2008 – yes, that long ago. However, in writing this, I was reminded that my first piece of fan fiction was written at school for English composition – a Sherlock Holmes story about a jewel thief. I think the reason I forgot about this little story is that life interceded. I became a nurse, a wife, and a mother — and more than thirty years would pass before I returned to creative writing.

I often ponder what might have happened if a certain tall dark handsome cotton mill owner had not passed through my life. You see, I wouldn’t have joined C19. That wonderful place led me to become aware of a genre of writing called fan fiction. I was a reader first, but all too soon I was taking my first tentative steps in writing one. Mr Thornton, how much I owe you!

It is odd to acknowledge my debt of gratitude to this literary character or at least his television incarnation, because he was the character I had the most trouble writing about. Unlike so many writers in the Richard Armitage (RA) fandom, I couldn’t and didn’t start with a North and South fan fiction. John and Margaret were too perfectly drawn by Mrs Gaskell. What did I have to say that was new about them? For a long time, the answer to that question was nothing. Instead, I followed an old adage and wrote about what I knew – medicine. Luckily for me The Golden Hour was shown about the time I entered the fandom and it was easy to write something based on a different ending to the hostage story.

Much to my utter surprise people enjoyed ‘A New Track’. Having written about one of Mr Armitage’s characters I found myself writing about another and then another. I became the RA fan who would write about most of his characters — that is, until he played Thorin. It seemed I had a new hobby and that is what fan fiction was for me — a hobby.

I get so frustrated when I read articles ridiculing and belittling fan fiction. Have the people out there sneering even read any fan fiction? There is a belief, wrongly held, if my experience is anything to go by, that if fan fiction isn’t written by obsessed teenagers, it must be written by middle-aged oddballs or sex starved housewives. Yet, the people I know who are writing fan fiction are normal folk with homes, jobs, and families. Yes, there is badly written fan fiction out there, I’ve even written some, but there is also some terrible original fiction out there as well. It could be and is argued that a lot of Shakespeare’s work is fan fiction, a retelling of old folk stories or history to suit his own purpose. Steven Moffat reimagines Conan Doyle’s Sherlock to huge critical acclaim while I reimagine Gaskell’s North and South as A Nightingale Sings and am nothing more than a fan fiction writer. The only difference is audience size and money.

This tale takes John and Margaret’s story into WW II

 

I don’t think creating fan fiction made me a writer. Somewhere inside of me a writer always existed. Rather, fan fiction facilitated my development as an author. It helped me develop the confidence not only to write a story but to allow that story to be read because that, for me, is the difference between being a writer and an author – allowing others to read and comment on what I have written.

WhileI was writing my John Porter fiction Absolution, I realized the time had come to write an original novel. What followed was Degrees of Silence.  This was the novel I had to write – it was so personal that at times it hurt me to commit the words to paper (well, the computer screen, but you know what I mean). I think because it is so personal it struck a chord with my readers, maybe they know that the two adult characters are, in a way, both me.

Kate’s first original novel is her most personal work

It occurred to me that my other original fiction could be thought of as fan fiction as well because it is based on a dancing show like Strictly Come Dancing or Dancing with the Stars. I think that The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing is the most commercial thing I have written and the most romantic. It is an example of that other much maligned genre: chick lit. Maligned that is by men, who manage to say ‘chic lit’ in a slightly insulting sort of way. Why is it, I wonder, that Boy’s Own adventures are not nearly as maligned.

People do wonder why I no longer write fan fiction and I guess the honest answer is that it has served its purpose. I have, to a certain extent, moved on. But I have only written fan fiction based on RA’s characters, and now I cannot watch the shows he is filming. So, you never know … if he re-emerges on British television in a show I love, I may go back down the fan fiction road.

Never say never.

Interview with the unsurpassable Kate Forrester

If you have spent pleasurable hours diving into Armitage-related fan fiction but haven’t yet run into Kate Forrester (alias Khandy), then you’re in for a wonderful treat! When it comes to Richard’s various roles, Kate is the queen of versatility and volume. She has written stories for at least 8 of his characters, including the good doctor, Alec Track.

Your interest in fan fiction need reviving? Dr Track is here to help.

However, it’s not versatility or volume alone that gives her claim to fan fiction fame. Kate is a gifted storyteller, whose work pulses with real emotions and drama. She’s also proved she can create compelling original work. The Armitage Authors Network is happy to showcase Kate and her talent.

Armitage Authors: You’ve been a fan of Richard’s for a long time. Tell us how you discovered Mr. Armitage.

Kate: My daughter was given a box set of BBC dramas, North and South was one of them, for Christmas in 2006.  We sat down one Sunday afternoon to watch one episode and four hours later we finished having been unable to stop watching. My ovaries didn’t explode but there was a loud thud.

AA: You have written fan fiction for such a wide range of Richard’s characters. Do you have a favorite?

Kate: That’s tough. I like different ones for different reasons. A New Track because it I proved to myself I could write a story. Black Knight’s Redemption because I began to learn about how to construct a plot. The Gruinard Project because I set myself the task of writing a novel length story that would hold the readers interest. I suppose looking back on them all there were two where it all comes together in a way I was really pleased with. The characters, plot, story, the actual writing – all of it, just seemed to gel perfectly in Let Right Be Done and Absolution.  But my own favourite was Redemption of a Haunted Man. I loved writing about Peter MacDuff. Richard had very little screen time but he blew me away and I wanted to explore MacDuff further.

[All the above-mentioned stories can be found on her Wattpad page.]

I have to mention North and South because it so loved. Of all the things I have written A Nightingale Sang was the hardest I think because the characters were so loved I felt this enormous amount of responsibility to the original that I felt a little restricted.

AA: What is it about Richard’s work that is compelling to you?

Kate: It’s his attention to detail. He invests so much in each character and that makes them so compelling. Like Peter Jackson I’m drawn to his stillness. I find it absorbing. It makes his explosions all the more interesting. I also love the breadth of his work. He has played everything from posh boys, poor boys, soldiers, spies, teachers, doctors, real people, fantasy, drug dealers, philanders, murderers, pedophiles, comedy, drama, ancient, modern, lover, husband, and father. He has done all this on stage, small screen and big screen. I guess what I’m saying is I love his versatility

AA: Were you a writer before you discovered Mr Armitage? If not, did writing fanfiction encourage you to write your own original stories?

Kate: No, I wasn’t a writer but, I was a dreamer and so when I discovered fanfiction on C19 I decided to try my hand at it. I feel that fanfiction allowed me to develop the skills to be a writer. It provided not only an audience of readers but, also critics and editors as well. It gave me the courage to publish something of my own.

AA: What was your first published work?

Kate: My first published work is called: Weathering the Storm which I adapted from my fanfiction In the Bleak Midwinter – It tells the story of a lonely Yorkshire farmer and the women who literally crashes into his life. Like all my novels it is available at Amazon.

AA: Tell us about your most recent release.

Kate: My latest novel is called The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing. It is set around a celebrity dance show and tells how shy, gauche, red haired Molly Cole is paired with Oscar winning actor, Adam Elliot. As the couple dance through each chapter, a troubled past is exposed and secrets are laid bared before they find the courage to realise that the best things really do happen while you dance.

AA: Is there a work of yours that is particularly close to your heart?

Kate: Obviously Degrees of Silence is very close to my heart, as a lot of Sabrina’s experiences as a deaf person are actually my experiences – for example, in the book, there is horrible incident in a shop which is based on something that happened to me.

AA:  What would you like Armitage fans to know about you or your work?

Kate: Most people know that I am deaf but not many know that I was twenty–two years old before it was picked up. I had been through school and nurse training and nobody realised not even my parents.

I’m also colour blind which is very unusual in girls. I never buy clothes on my own because I worry about what they will look like. So two of the hardest things I have to write about are sounds and colour. And my deafness means I cannot really hear Richards voice that well.

My dog Rufus is the hero of Redemption of a Haunted Man

I am a nurse but after A New Track I swore I would not write another medical romance but, my characters do suffer a lot and there is normally a hospital scene in my work somewhere.

I’m working on a new novel:  In the Shadow of the Games a re-working of The Gruinard Project set round the 2012 Olympics. I also have a new project in the planning stage about a detective in WW2 based in Cornwall.

Love Is In The Air And So Is Danger: A Review of THE GISBORNE SAGA by Prue Batten

Prue Batten was the first writer from the Armitage fandom that I interacted with, during FanstRAvaganza2. She posted chapters of a fic to her blog, at the time called Mesmered, during that year’s celebration of fan creativity that retold the story of Guy of Gisborne through the eyes of a woman named Ysabel. It was completely addicting and I was a bit bereft when it was over because I had to know what became of them. Eventually that story became this series, The Gisborne Saga, and it’s still addicting. This was supposed to be up yesterday but I was again caught up in Prue’s beautifully told tale and I lost track of time.

The phrase “sweeping epic romance” is frequently used to describe books that aren’t really but in this case it’s perfect. Ysabel de Moncrieff is living with cousins in France when her mother dies and her father sends his steward, Guy of Gisborne, to bring her home to England. They forge an uneasy bond on the journey that is strengthened when Ysabel saves Gisborne’s life. He spends the remainder of this book and the other two repaying that debt, and a few others of a different nature.

This Gisborne is inspired by Armitage’s but he is as far from the slightly ridiculous BBC henchman as he possibly can be. He tells her stories to pass the time and Ysabel finds herself both fascinated and infuriated by this man who her father trusts with her safety. Guy sees no need to explain everything to her and so we find out when she does that his ambition is animated by a broken and bitter heart. This is not a “bad boy saved by the love of a good woman” story, though. The world they live in is far more complicated and they endanger each other as often as they save each other.

Prue is also the author of the fantasy series The Chronicles of Eirie and she brings the lush world building from that setting to this one, a place we think we should know if we read Medieval romances. From the atmosphere in Le Mans after Henry II fled  to the rough passage of a small vessel in the Mediterranean the world we see through Ysabel’s eyes is incredibly vivid if confounding.  The political intrigue is tightly woven with the reality of being a woman who is seen as a commodity, something this woman won’t accept. Ysabel de Moncrieff is one of my favorite Gisborne heroines and spending time in her world, with the Gisborne that she loves, is absolutely worth it.

Prue Batten’s Gisborne Saga is archived here. Her four book cycle The Chronicles of Eirie is archived here. Miniature tales from the worlds in these books are available through Bo Press Books here. You can follow Prue Batten at her blog or on her Facebook page.

Love is in the Air: The Best Love Stories Ever Penned

It’s the season for hearts and flowers and The Armitage Authors Network has asked a few of our own talented romance authors — Elizabeth Hanbury, Nancy Klein, Hazel Osmond, and Charlotte Hawkins — to share which written tales of  love are most dear to their hearts.

Discover some traditional favorites and maybe one or two you haven’t read yet. What are your absolute favorite stories of true love?

 

Elizabeth Hanbury:

Persuasion by Jane Austen

I love Darcy and Lizzie in Pride and Prejudice but Persuasion resonates with me more. It’s a deeply moving, against the odds story of two people who get a second chance at love. It’s also about Anne’s personal journey. Anne is a slightly older heroine who is also the overlooked middle sister at everyone’s beck and call. During the course of the novel she realizes she is the best judge of what will make her happy, and learns how to live her own life and stand up to her family and well-meaning friends. You feel for Anne (and Captain Wentworth, the self made man who never stops loving Anne through the intervening years they have been apart) in such a visceral way you can’t put the novel down.

Favourite scene: When Captain Wentworth ‘placed it before Anne with eyes of glowing entreaty fixed on her for a time’. ‘It’ is one of the most beautiful love letters in literature:

‘You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone forever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone, I think and plan.’

Le Sigh.

The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer

One of Heyer’s most tender romances. No spoilers but due to circumstances Sir Anthony (Fanshawe) and Prue (Merriot) spend a lot of time alone. This is different from many of Heyer’s other novels—society at the time didn’t allow unmarried young women to be in a man’s company without a chaperone present.

Prue and Sir Anthony’s romance is also very tactile; Sir Anthony touches Prue on the shoulder or on the hand a great deal.

Georgette Heyer wrote The Masqueraders early on in her own marriage so perhaps that had some bearing on the restrained yet heartfelt passion. The high stakes plot also heightens the intensity of the romance.

Favourites scenes: Sir Anthony fighting a duel on Prue’s behalf (it’s complicated but trust me it’s incredibly romantic), the ‘ride through the night’ and ‘the proposal’, where Tony makes his feelings and desires for Prue very clear.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

There can be only one! The classic love story of John Thornton and Margaret Hale, beautifully imagined by the 2004 BBC adaptation and Richard Armitage’s broodingly powerful yet subtle portrayal of John Thornton. You have to look ‘ard ;0) for the romance in the novel but it’s superbly done.

Devil in Winter by Linda Kleypas

The rake/wallflower romance is a well-worn plot but Devil in Winter is brilliantly executed. The characters are three-dimensional, the pace and sensual tension don’t let up for a moment and the sex scenes are steamy yet also romantic and moving. A modern classic.

Favourite scene: When Evie decides it’s time to end Sebastian’s restraint and helps him lose his bet. Keep your fan ready to cool your blushes while enjoying the heroine taking control.

The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye

Not only a wonderful romance but an epic adventure and a story about identity and belonging, set across the class, cultural and race divides in 19^th century India.

Ash and Anjuli’s romance is heart wrenching every step of the way. You doubt they can ever be together given who they are (he is a British Army Officer, she is an Indian princess). When Ash has to escort Anjuli to her wedding in another state thousands of miles away, their turmoil is almost unbearable to read.

Favourite scene: Ash and Anjuli in the cave during the sandstorm. Exquisitely written and never have two characters deserved their moment of physical and emotional release more.

 

Elizabeth writes “wickedly captivating” Regency romances. See our interview with her here. 

 

Nancy Klein:

What are my three favorite love stories? Now, that’s a tough one—I have any number of romantic novels that I will revisit over and over. Putting aside North and South, which is a given, my three favorite love stories, in no particular order, are Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Marion Meade’s Stealing Heaven, and Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander.

I prefer my love stories to have a large element of angst—I believe it adds suspense to the story, depth to the characters, and longing to my soul as I read. Persuasion is such a perfect story of a couple who loved, lost, and came together again; Captain Wentworth harbors bitter feelings while Anne Elliott deeply regrets turning him away. The way in which Austen brings them together is quite lovely, and the story holds a great deal of foolishness and fun which I expect from Austen.

Stealing Heaven is a novel I stumbled upon in college when I saw a production (don’t even remember the name) of two actors reading the love letters of Heloise and Peter Abelard. The acting was dreadful, but the words stuck with me. I tracked down their tragic story and stumbled on this novel which portrays their lives and love perfectly. For those who know the story, the novel is a must-read. For those who don’t, the novel is a must-read.

Finally, I find myself revisiting Outlander over and over again (both in novel form and in the excellent STARZ series, which returns in April—hooray!). This time travel gem catapults a nurse from post-WWII Scotland via a circle of standing stones back to 1700’s Scotland—and into the arms of one of the best modern romantic characters ever written, James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser. Their story has been told to date across a series of novels, but the first one remains my favorite.

Nancy’s romantic fan fiction stories of both Guy and Thornton are legendary. We reviewed her published N&S story here. 

 

Hazel Osmond:

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to discuss a few of my favourite love stories …

It’s funny, when I started thinking about those love stories that have really ‘got’ to me, I realised that most of them don’t follow the trajectory of ‘boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins her back again.’

They are more ‘boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy loses girl forever’ or ‘loses her and might get her back, we’ll never know’.

I’m not sure what that says about me. Maybe I like the yearning, will they/won’t they element of these type of love stories? Maybe I find it satisfying that the doomed love affair will forever remain intense and unsullied – the couple will always remain true to each other and they will never have to navigate their way through the practicalities and niggles that creep into a life-long relationship? I mean, much as I love Pride & Prejudice, don’t you just wonder how well that love story continues? I can’t help suspecting that Darcy’s brooding intensity might hack Lizzie off three years down the line on a wet Sunday evening when they’ve been arguing about her family yet again.

No, the love stories that I come back to are not the happy ever after variety. One Day, Anna Karenina, a lot of Thomas Hardy’s books, Me Before You, The Fault in Our Stars… you’re probably getting the picture.

And if you can throw in one or both of the couple sacrificing their prospect of happiness for a noble cause, well, I’m hooked.

Here are two of my favourite love stories in novels – they don’t end happily but to me they are satisfying in a bittersweet way – the characters are battered or even defeated by what fate throws at them, but they continue to love each other. Timeless, all- transcending love, who can resist it?

‘His Dark Materials’ Trilogy by Philip Pullman

I remember reading these to my daughters when they were still quite young. As I reached the last few pages of the final part of this trilogy where Will and Lyra decide that for the greater good they have to part and return to their separate worlds, I started to cry – the tears streaming down my face variety. I remember my daughters looking at me as if were mad. What was all the fuss about?

Fast forward a few years and my eldest daughter revisited the books and appeared in the kitchen red eyed and sniffing. She was old enough to understand the emotional kick the book delivers. I still cannot think of the gentle, noble Will and the fearless Lyra’s pact to sit on the same seat, albeit in different worlds, every Midsummer’s Day and remember how much they love each other, without dissolving into a pile of mush.

Atonement by Ian McEwan

Oh my. The exquisite cruelty that McEwan inflicts on the reader in this one. Robbie is bright, funny, honest but wrenched away from the love of his life, Cecilia, for a crime he did not commit. She waits for him and they are reunited after much adversity. Except they aren’t … we find out the happy ending has been created by Cecilia’s sister the novelist, to atone for the fact that she played a huge part in the misunderstanding that ruined their real lives. The news that Robbie died at Dunkirk and Celia in a bomb attack on London, having only met once since he was taken away to prison, is devastating.

When I read the book the first time, I remember the shock of realising that there wasn’t going to be a happy ending. I felt cheated of it, but now I think the lack of one actually makes Robbie and Cecilia’s story much more poignant. In a story that goes from a dream to a nightmare, they endure as honourable and true.

Sigh …

Hazel has written several contemporary love stories. Her ‘Who’s Afraid of Mr. Wolfe’ was shortlisted for Romantic Comedy of the Year 2012 by the Romantic Novelists’ Association. She’s also written a Guy of Gisborne fanfic that gets raves. Find out more about her and her works in our interview here.

 

Charlotte Hawkins:

The Armitage Author Network contacted Charlotte via Twitter and she gave the following short summary.

AAN: Tell us your two favorite romance books and why.

CH: My two favorites are Caught in the Act by Betina Krahn and Outlander, book one.

Caught in the Act is set in Elizabethan England. It’s about a rogue entering into an arranged marriage in order to pay off his debts. His bride is a naive but very intelligent beauty who tries to get rid of her intended groom. Of course, they fall in love. But …

The story is anything but typical. It’s clever, witty, and romantic. And very sexy.

As for Outlander, I love it because of the characters. Jamie and Claire are fantastic. The story is wonderful too, and it’s sexy as hell.

AAN: But you are also a big Jane Eyre fan as well, aren’t you?

CH: I wasn’t sure if Jane Eyre would be considered a romance novel, since it’s a classic piece of literature. But yes!

AAN: And you love Jane because….

CH: I am Jane. I feel her experiences and words are mine. Although I’m still waiting to find my Mr. Rochester!

AAN: Thanks for your answers.

CH: Thanks for having me!

 

Charlotte is well known for her very romantic Guy of Gisborne series of books. For more about Charlotte and her work, see our recent interview with her here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SpReAd The Love Children’s Book Challenge: Dr. Seuss Is On The Loose Again

The 2nd SpReAd The Love Children’s Book Challenge, a fandom project of Obscura and jazzbaby1, is coming up in the first week of March and The Armitage Authors Network will be participating. If you’d like to participate but don’t have a blog of your own to write a review, Trudy and I are willing to host you. Just let us know via the Contact form on the About tab and we’ll get in touch.

SpReAd The Love

When Obscura and I were talking about what we’d like to do with SpReAd the Love this year the one challenge that we really wanted to keep was this one. Last year our participants donated twenty-seven books to libraries, schools, children’s hospitals, and to special children in their lives and hosted twenty-one posts on blogs all throughout Armitageworld. Can we outdo ourselves this year?

The challenge is this: if there’s a book you loved as a child or a children’s book you’ve read and loved as an adult, we invite you to write a review of it and then donate a copy to a school, a library, a children’s hospital or Ronald McDonald house, or a child in your own life. Pretty simple, right? If you’d like to write a review but don’t have a blog of your own we can arrange a host for you or if you’d prefer…

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The Armitage Authors Network Interview With Charlotte Hawkins

Love is definitely in the air this February, and Trudy and I are working to bring you a month filled with romantic goodies. Yesterday we published our review of The Tempest and today we’re thrilled to introduce you to the author, Charlotte Hawkins. She talks to us about how she discovered Richard Armitage, why she’s revising her series, and the search for the perfect actor to voice her version of Guy of Gisborne.

Armitage Authors Network: Welcome to the Armitage Authors Network. Can you tell us a little about how you first became a fan of Richard Armitage?

Charlotte Hawkins: It was by accident. In early 2006, I was researching the BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre. At the time, the cast wasn’t announced, so I was trying to find out who would be playing Rochester. I was on different forums and websites and I kept hearing the name Richard Armitage. Everyone was talking about him – how he would be a perfect Rochester. They were all gushing about his role in the BBC’s North and South, which I had never heard of. So I went out and found the DVD, and the rest is history.

AAN: You’ve been revising your previously published Gisborne Saga, what made you decide to revise these books and what’s the process been like?

CH: I’m a perfectionist, and I’m always trying to improve my craft. The story started out as a simple fanfic, and I didn’t expect it to find much of an audience. But it took on a life of its own, eventually outgrowing the Gisborne fanfic audience that was around at the time. I self-published it mostly because I had requests for a paperback version, but I didn’t think anyone outside the fandom would be interested in it. Much to my surprise, people discovered it through word of mouth and for the most part, they loved it.

But there was a small group of readers who found it either distasteful or silly. Some even hated it completely. As a writer, I take all opinions into consideration, and I use them to better myself. As time has gone by, I’ve found ways to make the story and the characters richer – the writing better. But I don’t know if I’ll ever be completely satisfied with the results.

AAN: What is it about Guy that inspires you?

CH: Guy, especially as portrayed by Richard Armitage, was such a multi-layered character. Watching him, we could see all these emotions swirling underneath the surface, and it made the viewer curious about him. We wanted to know what made him tick – where he came from, how he came to be who he is, and what would happen to him in the future. He was definitely the most interesting character on the show.

AAN: Guy’s match in this series, Cassia, is a very strong-minded character in her own right. Was she fun to write?

CH: Oh, yes! I love writing about smart, strong women. I’m not a fan of the damsel-in-distress types.

Armitage Author Charlotte Hawkins

AAN: Was this your first piece of fan fiction?

CH: No. I wrote several Jane Eyre fanfics before I became a total Guy fan. And I didn’t start writing Guy stories until the series was near its end.

AAN: What was your first published novel?

A novel called Finding Grace that I published in 2008. It’s a love story set in Chicago during the prohibition era of the 1920’s. It’s currently on my schedule for a rewrite, a re-title, and a republish.

AAN: Have you always wanted to write?

CH: I’ve always been a storyteller, but I haven’t always had a willing audience. When I was young, no one was interested in hearing my stories, so I started writing them down on paper as a form of self-expression. It turned into a life-long hobby.

AAN: How is the search for a voice actor going? Can you tell our readers a little about the auditioning process?

CH: I’ve only heard one audition so far, but I have some actors who are interested and will audition soon. The process is done by an Amazon company called ACX. Using an excerpt from the book, actors submit a recording to the website, and I listen to it. I then decided if I like it or not, and the process moves on from there. It’s a new process for me, so I’m learning as I go.

AAN: Any hints on what you’re working on next?

CH: I’m working on a fourth Gisborne novel. Fans of the series are eager to hear more, so I’m hoping to give them what they want. But because of my work schedule, it’s been a slow progression. Hopefully, I can get things moving more quickly in the near future.

Charlotte Hawkins is archived in the Guy of Gisborne menu. She blogs at From the Quill Tip . You can follow her on Twitter @LadyCharlotte79 or her Facebook page. Our review of The Tempest is here.

 

New Year, New Reading List: What Book Would You Recommend to Richard Armitage?

I had one of those moments yesterday that happen to book lovers every once in a while. I’d just dropped oldest and her BFF at the movie theatre so they could see The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 and when I came out there was a FedEx truck parked behind me. I knew I wasn’t going anywhere for a while so I went into a second hand shop that normally has a great book selection. Within a few minutes I had a few books in my hands and then found a copy of Floating In My Mother’s Palm by Ursula Hegi, one of my all-time favorite writers, on the shelf. I picked it up and said aloud, “Oh, I love this book!” at the same time another book lover slightly down the stacks said the same thing about a book she’d found. We chatted a moment, exchanged books, and I walked out with The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.

When Richard Armitage talks about a book he’s reading many of us put it on our reading lists, too, so he’s kind of the Recommender-In-Chief for us. What if it happened the other way, though? If you ran into Richard Armitage in a book shop, what one book would you want to put in his hands?

I managed to narrow it down to two. The first is A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman, which has always been one of those books that is kind of a bonding experience for me: if someone mentions that they read and loved it we’re going to get along just fine. Ackerman is a philosopher, poet, and naturalist and her writing here is luscious and graceful about what it says on the tin, our senses. I devoured most of this book in two days but took a week with the last chapter because I didn’t want it to end.

Another one that I didn’t want to end the first time I read it was Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. I went looking for a good plot summary because there’s so much happening in this book I didn’t want to forget anything. At Wikipedia I found this: “Beets and the god Pan figure prominently.” They do indeed. Robbins is not for the faint of heart but I think he’s a national treasure.

So now it’s your turn and the comments are open: if you could recommend a particular book to Richard Armitage, which one (or two, or more) would it be?

The Hobbit: Battle of the Thorin Oakenshield Feels

Richard Armitage at the Berlin premiere of TH:DOS in December 2013, pic used by permission of Guylty

So have you seen The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies yet? I saw it last Sunday with my oldest daughter and we both loved it (Martin Freeman broke our hearts). The ending was what it was supposed to be, of course, but if you need an antidote to the feels (or different feels altogether) check out these fics.

Thorin and Thera — Jollytr (An Archive of Our Own)

This came from a prompt on Tumblr that went something like “I want to see Thorin Oakenshield care for a human child.” Jollytr is a prolific fic writer but this is one of her sweetest.

Home At Last — madame_faust (An Archive of Our Own)

A very young Thorin misses his father.

Return to the Blue Mountains — Cat Winchester (Wattpad)

Canon divergence. A bookish dwarf named Rori is called on to help her king.

Iron and Oak  — CarlyQ (Wattpad)

Another canon divergence. Richard Armitage said during the PopCorn Taxi Q&A that he worked with a head-canon that Thorin had lost his love during Smaug’s attack on Erebor. I like CarlyQ’s version of that, including the companion Iron and Oak – Short Stories for Rainy Days.

Okay, confession time: I am a total sucker for Crossover and Alternative Universe fic. The Hobbit Crossover archive at FanFiction.Net is huge but of particular interest to Armitage fans are these.

North & South Crossover — Poles Apart by kkolmakov (FanFiction.Net)

This story is part of a larger series called We Are Scattered Through Time and Space and is rated M.

Vicar of Dibley Crossover — What Dreams May Come by Jest’lyn Tal (FanFiction.Net)

A drabble of a dream.

So, what are you reading these days to battle the Thorin Oakenshield feels? Or are you working on a piece of your own? Leave a link in the comments with any recs. We’d like to give a special thank you to Guylty of Guylty Pleasures, who has graciously allowed us the use of one of her beautiful pictures taken at the Berlin premiere of The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug above.