Hello and welcome to my X-Files fanfic world. The concept of profiling and behavioral science has long held a fascination for me. While I have read books on this subject in the past, such as those by Ronald Kessler and John Douglas, FBI profilers, I have seen very few television shows or movies which have captured the 'profiler facing the abyss' dilemma in as gripping and interesting a manner as the X-Files episode 'Grotesque'.
After discovering fanfiction sites on the web, the idea for a story involving Mulder as profiler started to take root. After allowing the concept to blossom, I jumped into the story and completed 'The Abyss Looks Back'. What I originally thought would be a long short story ended up being a novel! Imagine my surprise. The story was well received and I was soon on my way to my second novel, 'And Then There was One'. 'One' has some of my favorite scenes of all my stories (Mulder's flight off the roof and the car chase, for instance), even though readers didn't seem to enjoy the novel as much as I did.
I must take a moment here to talk about my wonderful beta readers, and the woman who essentially acted as my editor for all my later efforts. The wonderful 'Julie' spurred me on and kept me honest while writing. Vickie Moseley, Heidi, and a host of others also helped me out quite a bit. I doubt these later stories would have been so well-received without their wonderful insights and help.
Now, back to my timeline. After 'One', I then began my third and most involved (to that time) novel, 'And Chaos Shall Reign'. I incorporated a bit of hard science into it (I happened to be reading a scientific journal on a plane ride and was enthralled with the GA-based self-programming computer chips), while preserving the profiling theme. My biggest goal, however, was to try to fill in what I perceived to be some characterization gaps between episodes of the show and the X-Files Movie. I believe I was somewhat successful.
My next major effort, 'Ascent to Hell' was pretty involved and required substantial background information. While I educated myself on some important concepts for the novel, I branched out into short stories. 'Fragile Fortress' was my attempt to provide insight into Mulder's thinking following 'Grotesque'. 'Through the Darkness' came to me out of the blue when I was looking at a listing of episodes and happened to notice that 'PMP' aired immediately after 'Detour'. I got the idea of linking the two as a way to explain the bizzare but fun 'PMP'. My third short story, 'Stalker's Prey', was actually written on two long plane rides (to and from Hawaii). I got the idea after reading a book by John Douglas where he spent some time delving into the mindset of stalkers.
This brings us back to my fourth, uncompleted novel, 'Ascent to Hell', an official Work-in-Progress for the past three years. I was seriously interrupted from a timely completion of the story through the rude interference of RL. I am determined to complete it, however, and am creating this website as a first step in getting psyched to delve into the story I began creating so long ago.
If you're interested at all in who I am, well, here's the short version. I'm a professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at a major research university. My research background is in Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO), which deals with how to design (optimally) large-scale complex systems such as automobiles, aircraft, etc. -- systems that are inherently coupled due to the interdependence of disciplines (e.g. structures, aerodynamics, controls, etc.). For the past 6 or so years I've been looking at the various ways that visualization, including high-end Virtual Reality systems, can be used to improve the optimal design process. It's been fun! For information on my Center, visit this link:
http://www.nyscedii.buffalo.edu
Let's see, what else can I say. I have a fantastic baby boy, Brandon, who makes every day more precious than the last. I have successfully convinced myself that the X-Files was only 7 seasons long. I still greatly appreciate and admire David Duchovny despite his recent choice of movie parts. I remain every hopeful that a second X-Files movie will be in the works, featuring my favorite duo (plus Skinner!!!).
Now, go read some stories - and let me know what you think at [email protected]. :) |
