Where did you get your name?

November Tuesday is not my real name. I stole it from a cool Duran Duran song called "Meet El Presidente."

Are you a boy or a girl?

I am female, American, but other than that I like to keep my identity a secret so I can write more freely.

How long have you been writing?

Since I was in my early teens, twelve or so. My first erotic story was about coupling with a boy in my class, and was very... unclear in terms of details, since I didn't know my subject matter very well. ;)

Are the true stories really true? What possessed you to post them for the public?

Yes!

I decided to share these stories when I was reading a diary entry from age fifteen, over ten years later, and I realized that it read nicely as a piece in its own right. Also, teenage sex is something people look down on, and I wanted to show that it could be beautiful and loving and erotic and responsible, not leading to catastrophic pregnancy or disease. Despite the way I was raised, I was almost militantly sex-positive from an early age. It has served me well.

Why did you start writing fanfiction?

Have you ever seen a movie or TV show which left you thinking for days, with characters that intrigued or emotional dynamics that resonated in your mind? I did, and that is the urge that lead me to creative experimentation with other people's toys.

I think my first fanfic was an X-Files, but I'm not sure.

Why don't you put that energy into writing your own stories, which you could then publish?

I am. In addition to the November stories, I am writing more original fiction which will not likely show up on this site, but hopefully will show up under my real name in publications like Clean Sheets and Nerve.

I will say this about writing fanfic: I don't feel that it's "art" in the highest sense of creation because it doesn't start from scratch. But it is an invaluable tool for honing one's writing skills. I look back at stories I penned six months ago and feel that I've become a better writer in that short time, and that's from writing so much fanfic. In particular, it's an excellent study in writing dialogue and mannerisms - keeping true to a set character. It's helped me enormously to create and portray my own characters.

Where do you get your story ideas?

I get a disproportionate number of them in the shower. I don't know why. Perhaps it's because most of the time I'm showering, I've just rolled out of bed and am half awake. Maybe I'm in therefore in closer touch with my twisted psyche. Who knows?

What do your fans mean to you?

My fans mean everything! I cannot begin to describe how incredibly good people make me feel when they respond to my writing. The fact that I'm turning a lot of my own painful issues into stories that other people read and love has changed my life. It makes me want to write more.

I've gotten mail that has made me laugh, and cry, and scream at the monitor. I've received email from soldiers in Iraq who tell me that my fiction was a welcome escape from the war, which honors me so deeply I can't even articulate it. I've made dear friends of people who have emailed me with feedback. I've had people write me with requests to write companion pieces based on my X-Men stories (which will soon be available here as well.) On occasions when I didn't properly do my homework, I've had kind fans who have set me straight and patiently endured my questions.

At the same time as they have given me the best ego trip on earth, my fans make me inexplicably humble and honored. I would or could not have done it without them.

Is Darah from "Everything and Nothing" based on anyone you know personally?

Yes and no. All of my original characters have facets of people I know in real life. Judy Pileggi from "Seasons," for example, is loosely based on a co-worker, a teacher from high school, and a family friend. Leah is modeled very closely on one of my best friends, and Darrell from "Everything and Nothing" is based on another friend.

I've been accused of using Darah as a Mary Sue, and it is true that Darah is very much like me. However, I'm not banging anyone as hot as Shane in real life, and if I were gonna Mary Sue myself with anyone, it would be Scully. Hmm, Scully...

Are you ever gonna finish "Seasons of Growth?" Please please please!

Yes! I've put it on the back burner for over a year because I've been consumed by other fandoms, but this story is dear to my heart in a way like no other.

The characters I've created feel like a family. This is a saga I started at a very dark point in my life, and it has allowed me to process a lot of my own emotional issues while creating something for others. I can't begin to say how good that feels!

I still have lots of twists and turns planned out for the Christensen family. An interloper will try to come between Logan and Marie. Maggie will make a career choice that shocks Marie and infuriates Logan. Oprah Winfrey will make an appearance. And Rogue will make a life-altering, agonizing decision that will alienate her from most at Xavier's.

Will you ever finish [insert name of CSI story here]?

Well, I won't bullshit you. ;) I'm turned off the Sara/Grissom relationship in a big way. I've sworn until recently that I would finish "The Blurred Red Line," but the thought of it just weighs me down.

I've grown frustrated with the show, and with the non-existent G/S arc. Plus these days I'm more into writing femmeslash than hetero stuff. Which brings me to two of the CSI stories that are forthcoming:

I've co-authored a story with Tres Mechante which is a Law and Order: Special Victims Unit crossover, wherein Sara also gets pissed at Grissom's withholding and moves to NYC. Mech, where are you girl? And I've written one wherein... well, I'll just leave that as a surprise. Let's just say that Lady Heather and bondage gear are involved.

Are you straight or gay? Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend?

I am bisexual, and unashamed of that. I'll take this opportunity to say that bisexuals get a lot of shit from both sides. A lot of lesbians think we have no girlfriend potential because we'll leave them for a man at the first chance. This is not only insulting but absurd. It attaches an assumption about one's morals to their sexual preference, akin to when people say that gays are child molesters. It's beyond half-baked. And now I'll hop down from this soapbox.

I've been blessed to recently become the girlfriend of the most amazing woman, ever.

Where do you know all that medical terminology from? Do you know it all already or did you have to look it up?

Great question. There are three places that I get the medical stuff I use in my stories:

1. Some of it I already know. I have sort of a medical background, and there are a lot of things I've picked up at work.

2. I've consulted all sorts of medical professionals, both fans and people whom I know in "real life." This is essential for scenes such as Shane's GSW in "Everything and Nothing", and these people have been essential in my attempts for authenticity in the details, and in setting the "tone" of the scene.

3. I do most of my research on the web. Medscape and WebMD are two good sites which I used when researching meningitis for "Seasons." One of my back-burner projects is an Oz story wherein an Ebola-type hemorrhagic virus kills most of the population. I hit the CDC website pretty hard for that one.

SPOILER WARNING!
Why did you kill Cherie Jaffee off in "Everything and Nothing?" Isn't what Steve did to Shane enough drama?

Great question. At first, that was the way I had it, but I have the blessing/curse of a mind that's obsessive over details.

Realistically speaking (as much as one can about a fictitious character) Steve is a.) loaded, and b.) in business with Harry Samchuck, therefore he probably has any number of unsavory business associates who would be happy to take Shane out for him. This would leave me with no story and Darah with a broken heart. Therefore, I needed a reason why the shooting was botched. It had to be half-ass, had to be non-lethal. So I tried to think of a reason why Steve would do it himself, and fuck it up. Therefore, I got the idea that Steve wasn't thinking clearly; he was distraught and emotional and doing dumb shit. Finding Cherie dead seemed like a good way to generate this state of mind. :D

Incidentally, I have a half-written little companion piece/drabble about the end of Cherie's life. I'm not sure if it will ever see the light of day.

What ever happened to the Reznor stories?

For those who are unaware, I once lusted for Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor more than anyone on the planet, and delighted in writing sexy stories about him. I have removed these stories from this site in the last several years. I felt uncomfortable posting stories about real people; it just feels too intrusive to me.

Will you ever write a Bette/Tina pairing?

No. Frankly I'd rather drive shards of glass into my eyes. The preponderance of Bettina fics baffles me, because I personally find the two to be so boring. Not to disparage those who write it, I mean, to each their own! I have just personally found them to be two-dimensional characters, particularly Tina.

In season three the two became downright loathsome: The Type-A Myopic Control Freak vs the Eye-Rolling Whiner. Ilene Chaiken and The Powers That Be are capable of creating more rich and real characters, but as of the end of Season Two, they just don't interest me. Who knows, maybe Season Three will pique my interest!

What other fandoms do you write/read in?

I read a lot of Law and Order: SVU fic. I've written some but it's not yet finished. Olivia Benson intrigues me. Mariska Hargitay is such a hottie. I really enjoy the Olivia/Alex pairing.