This month's featured author is Jungle Kitty. Jungle Kitty writes mostly TOS fanfic, featuring her original character, Captain Brandt, and five of her stories are featured on this page.
Beldaran's Rec: Jungle Kitty's stories are more than just reads to make you have a cold shower. She shows the characters as real people. TPTB didn't do that to the extent she does. Kinda makes you think as to what the *characters* are up to off camera. You know, the stuff you don't see.
If you're a fanfic writer and would liked to be featured on this page, please drop us a note at [email protected] We'll also gladly take recommendations for writers whom you think deserve to be "in the spotlight."
Name: Jungle Kitty
Web site: http://www.invisibleplanets.com/
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I'm an independent consultant in technical publications and training and an occasional actress/singer. I have a husband and a dog. I'm very flattered to be included in Best of Trek Fanfic.
How long have you been writing?
I've been writing fan fiction for about three and half years. Prior to that, my only creative writing was a one-act play written about 25 years ago.
How long have you been a Trek fan?
About 30 years.
What is your favorite series to watch? To write for?
TOS.
What type of fanfic do you like to write?
I would like to write all kinds of fanfic--gen, het, slash, romance, comic, drama, action, filk, character study, you name it. I haven't covered them all yet and doubt that I'll ever manage some of them. Right now, I seem to go back and forth between comic pieces and more segments of my Kirk/Brandt series.
Have you done any other type of writing?
I've written user manuals and training materials, but no creative writing other than that play. How did you get started writing fanfic?
I started reading it
on the net in the summer of 1997 and after reading only a few stories, I wanted
to do it, too, but I was very hesitant. Finally I told a friend that
Out of all the stories you've written, which is your favorite and why?
I don't think I have an actual favorite but I guess I'm most proud of "Random," "The Siege Perilous," "Contemplating the Death of an Old Friend," "Golden Boy," and "Rain Check."
Do you have a section of that story you'd like to share with us?
This is the opening of "The Siege Perilous." It's set shortly after Kirk's death in "Generations" and was inspired by RabbleRouser's "A Captain For a New Age."
THE SIEGE PERILOUS (c) 2000 Jungle Kitty
Trudging homeward under the clear night sky, Admiral Morrow reviewed the events of the past several months, trying to figure a way through the tangled thicket of blame and uncertainty.
During the furious housecleaning that followed Khitomer, Admiral Daniel Berman Finnegan, as newly appointed Commander-in-Chief, had made it clear that you were either for him or against him. Morrow, still relieved to have retained his position, had put himself firmly into Finnegan's camp. His first assignment from the new C-in-C had been to inform James T. Kirk that his offer to postpone his retirement had been rejected. It hadn't been easy, especially when other officers were being asked to stay on, but Kirk had said he understood, and Morrow had the uneasy feeling that he did.
That quiet acceptance had vanished when Kirk learned the identity of his replacement.
"Jason, have you lost your mind?" Kirk had demanded after storming into Morrow's office unannounced.
"Now, Jim, just calm down. The C-in-C wants Harriman in that position--"
"Harriman's not qualified and we both know it."
"You're out of line, Kirk. If Admiral Finnegan thinks--"
"Finnegan's not qualified either!"
"That's not a very nice thing to say, Jimmy-boy," Finnegan drawled as he sauntered in. "Regardless of your opinion of me, lad, I am the Commander-in-Chief, and contrary to what you may believe, the Enterprise isn't your personal property to bequeath to whomever you want. Now you've done your bit for king and country, so why don't you just go home and polish up your medals so we can toast you at your retirement dinner. Oh, and give my regards to Suzanne, won't you, boyo?"
After that scene, Morrow had been sure he'd heard the last of Kirk and frankly, he'd been relieved. He should have known better. How many times had Starfleet tried to tell Kirk that his day was done? Promotion to the admiralty, a posting at the Academy, one court-martial and several near-misses, and still he always had one more card to play.
What was it Nogura had said when Morrow had sought his advice on commanding a man of Kirk's talents?
"It's amazing," Morrow had puzzled aloud. "Trouble clings to Jim Kirk like cold on an icicle and yet he still lands on his feet every time."
Nogura had laughed. "He's destiny's lightning rod, don't you know that?"
Remembering the harsh irony behind Nogura's words, Morrow turned his face up to the sky.
"Don't you ever run out of lightning bolts?" he muttered.
Two days ago, the lightning rod had once against stepped aboard the bridge of the Enterprise. It was a symbolic gesture, the old passing the torch to the new, and Morrow had been surprised that Kirk had agreed to participate.
"Kirk's ego is like the universe--if it ever stopped expanding, he'd cease to exist," Finnegan had expounded, brimming with satisfaction as he leaned back in his chair. "He may hate every minute of it--in fact, I'm sure he will--but he'd sooner cut off his own arm than let that ship launch without him. The Enterprise without Jim Kirk? Unthinkable. Since that stunt with the whales and then Khitomer, people talk about him like he's some kind of a god. And no one believes that more than the man himself. He'll be there. It'll stick in his craw that we're shining his light on our future, but he'll be there."
Morrow wasn't sure about Finnegan's assessment of Kirk's character, but he had been right about one thing. Kirk had been on the Enterprise-B when it launched. And when the news reports had begun pouring in, Morrow had gone straight to Finnegan's office. The old snake was no longer smiling and lounging in his chair. Together, they'd issued statement after statement, vouching for the correctness of Captain Harriman's actions while promising a complete investigation. They'd tried to put the lid on, but several of Kirk's former officers had already made statements to the press, and their angry grief made a much better story than the carefully crafted declarations of the spin doctors.
***
Note: The rest of the story can be found at http://www.invisibleplanets.com/tos/siegeperilous.htm .
What is your favorite fanfic written by someone else?
"Fortune's Favoured Child" by UK Jess.
Who is someone who inspires your writing?
I find Kirk very inspirational.
VERY inspirational.
What is your favorite book?
I can't say that I have just one favorite but here are a few that I keep going back to re-read. "The Prince of Tides" (Pat Conroy), "Beauty" (Sherri Tepper), "To Say Nothing of the Dog" (Connie Willis), "Outlander" (Diana Gabaldon), The Fionavar Tapestry (Guy Gavriel Kay). Do you have any advice to other fanfic writers?
Write, write, write. Listen to your heart and listen to your beta reader. If they don't agree, listen to your heart. Write the stuff people aren't expecting and soft-pedal the stuff they are. Learn at least the basics of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Finally, I don't know who said this, but I found it on a "fanfic how-to" site--if the characters have to act out of character in order for the story to work, there's something wrong with the story.
Anything else?
If anyone who reads this
is thinking about writing a story, do it. Now. Don't wait. You are insulting
your muse.
Note: Each story opens in a separate window. Close the window to return to this page.
The Uneasy Dancers NC-17.
Sequel to "Blood
Claim." Mr. Spock and Captain Brandt are sent on assignment together, resulting
in a crisis in their relationships with Captain Kirk. To quote Ned Fox: "The
best TrekSmut ever." Yes, he said I could quote him, and, no, Ned Fox is not
someone I made up. 1999 Golden Orgasm--Best Multi-Part TOS Story, 1999 Golden
Orgasm--Best Multi-Part TOS Hetsmut, 1999 Golden Orgasm--Best TOS Multiple,
1999 Golden Orgasm--Best Kirk/female, 1999 Golden Orgasm--Second Place, Spock/female,
1998 ASC--Best Kirk/female
Rain Check PG-13. A romantic comedy of events
at home and afar during Captain Brandt's first off-world assignment after living
with Admiral Kirk for nearly a year. ASC 1999--Best Kirk Romance
Contemplating the Death of An Old Friend PG-13.
A response to a challenge to write a story involving a ghost, chocolate, and
blood. 1999 Golden Orgasm--Best TOS "Single Person," Story 1999 ASC--2nd
Place, TOS Challenge 1999 Golden Orgasm--Third Place, TOS Challenge 1999 ASC--Honorable
Mention, TOS General Story
Duty, Pleasure and Privilege PG-13. NC-17. A very silly trilogy about a very strange Starfleet tradition. 1999 Golden Orgasm--"A Captain's Duty" Third Place, TOS Humor
1999 Golden Orgasm--"A Captain's Pleasure" Third Place, TOS Single-part Hetsmut
1999 ASC --"A Captain's Privilege" Third Place, TOS Humor
Blind Curve PG-13. Captain Brandt attempts
to dispel Admiral Kirk's unhappiness with a dangerous gift. 1998
Golden Orgasm--Second Place Kirk/female
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