Quiara, who is Not Old Enough to Know Better, lives in upstate New York. She is studying liberal arts in Ithaca, NY, and likes to roleplay. She is best known for her classic slashfic Orestes Drunk and Pylades Fasting. Her other works include One Of Three and The Dead Revolutionary Sketch.

Q: How long have you been writing fanfic?
A: Since sixth grade, on and off, that being 6 years all told.

Q: Why do you write?
A: That depends on the story. Sometimes the characters prod me. Sometimes they give me sad puppy dog eyes. Sometimes I'm trying to amend other wrongs.

Q: What got you interested in Les Miz?
A: When I was in eighth grade, the choruses did a very pathetic concert version, highly adulterated. The director had highfalutin ideas about the whole thing, all of which went unrealized, but she managed to make me interested in the story. I acquired the Original London Cast recording, then decided to read the novel, and all through the performance I was terribly upset when the 'principals' mispronounced names. Then we got to watch the video of the Tenth Anniversary, and I was 'with it' enough to cheer for Grantaire whilst the rest of the chorus was swooning over Michael Maguire. After that, I forgot about the whole thing until June Fifth, 1999.

Q: Do you tend to base your stories on the novel, or the musical?
A: When I'm not working on drawn-out roleplays that have long since diverged from anything M. Hugo envisioned, I rely on the novel. I haven't seen the goshdarn musical. Yet.

Q: What condition is your copy of the novel in? ;)
A: It is very loved, dogeared in places, bookmarked, and memorized in that I can flip to just about any section I want, whether or not I have a bookmark there.

Q: What kind of fic do you tend to write the most (humor, romance, vignettes, crossovers...)? Why?
A: I write a lot of slash because most of my incubi -- er, I mean muses -- are, well, not heterosexual. Apart from that, I'm a heretic. I like seeing Enjolras in love. All the Enjolrati in my head happen to be misogynistic to the Nth degree. The 'Ami falls in love with random girl' is quite overdone, anyhow. Yes, Les Mis slash is beginning to be overdone, too, but it wasn't when I started.

Q: Do you usually start with a plot idea or with a character?
A: I generally start with a plot idea, though they are often bound up in whatever character wants to tell me his story at the moment.

Q: Do you research your fics? What are some sources you consult?
A: I've read the book quite a few times. Other than that, I've read Jeni Baron's research on costumes of the time. In other words, I'm lazy.

Q: Who's your favorite character and why?
A: My favorite character to write is Enjolras, but I like M. Gillenormand better. M. G. is funny, complex, and ignored.

Q: Do you plan on writing any fic about him?
A: He hasn't presented me with any particular plot, so, no. Writing about M. Gillenormand should be left to the people who can write a clue-enabled Marius.

Q: Do you like to write about original characters, or do you prefer to stick to the ones from the story?
A: I stick to the ones from the story, generally, because there are plenty of men in the tale itself, and nearly all women who would be at all sympathetic would tend towards Mary Sue-ism.

Q: What one character would you like to read more about?
A: Louison.

Q: What's your favorite moment from the novel/musical?
A: 'Enjolras and his Lieutenants.' It hurts. It has so very much potential for exactly the kind of thing I love to write.

Q: What's your favorite story of yours, and why?
A: That would have to be 'Orestes Drunk and Pylades Fasting', which I've finally revised in a significant way. It's better now.

Q: What story have you gotten the most feedback about?
A: The same. It was my first mizfic, after all, and rather revolutionary at the time I posted it.

Q: What's your favorite story of someone else's?
A: I don't want to pick just one. Mersault's 'Assumptions', Amy's 'Grantaire', and Dessa Asp's 'Javert's Elocutions'.

Q: What other fanfic writers do you enjoy reading?
A: Our sainted indexer, Lonely Gamine, Jeni Baron, Jenelin, Ruel, and a whole bunch of other people.

Q: Do you read or write fanfic in other fandoms?
A: Yes. I'll read fanfic about just about anything, and I'll write about whatever characters are most persistent in my mind when I have time to write.

Q: Do you think Victor Hugo would approve of what you write, and do you care? :)
A: No, and no. I don't approve of everything he wrote, either. He certainly liked his exposition, not to mention his digression.

Q: What's your advice to beginning fanfic writers?
A: Proofreading is next to godliness. If you find an author whom you respect, you might want to ask him/her to proofread (aka beta read) your new story. The more eyes see whatever it is you've written, the more likely it is that the bugs will be worked out of it. Everything has its own problems. Your job is to work them out.

Q: What's a book you'd recommend to everyone?
A: 'A Song for Arbonne' by Guy Gavriel Kay: lush, well-written fantasy. Set in France, no less.

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