Lauren, better known as Ursula, author of Enchantments and Desolations and webmistress of Le Jardin du Luxembourg, is 18. She attends high school in Massachusetts, where she gets confused by precalc teachers who always insist on using R as a variable. She sings showtunes often, but only on occasion does she sing the right notes.

Q: How long have you been writing fanfic?
A: Since 9th grade--about three years, then.

Q: Why do you write?
A: Because it's so much fun. And also, my mood frequently improves proportionately to the suffering of the characters. If I'm in a bad mood, I want to inflict bad things on the fictional people. Or at least odd things.

Q: What got you interested in Les Miz?
A: I got the OBC for a birthday present in middle school, and liked it, though I never saw the show. Then I got really sick of it. I have a vague, shameful memory from eighth grade of hearing a friend show recite the names of the Amis de l'ABC from memory and thinking she was a first-class freak. Real bright, me. But a year later, after she had quite rightfully disowned me, I was websurfing and found some amusing fanfic, and got hooked. So I read the book to find out who the characters I didn't know were. And got completely obsessed. And have remained that way.

Q: Do you tend to base your stories on the novel, or the musical?
A: The novel. It's yummy.

Q: What condition is your copy of the novel in? ;)
A: I've got the bricklike Barnes & Noble hardcover thing, so it's in decent shape. Sort of. But I lost the slipcover long ago, and certain pages have probably seen better days.

Q: What kind of fic do you tend to write the most?
A: Whichever. It depends on my mood. I always want to cross Les Mis with things it shouldn't be crossed over with, though.

Q: Do you usually start with a plot idea or with a character?
A: A character, almost always. The exception is Enchantments and Desolations, where I started with the so-called plot, but when I go to write specific chapters of that, I start with the character.

Q: Do you research your fics? What are some sources you consult?
A: If I feel motivated. I like The France of Victor Hugo and the Modern History Sourcebook, though the latter doesn't have much on the July Monarchy. Sometimes I check my old Euro history textbooks. I'm really woefully ignorant about the entire time period, though, so I tend to avoid writing about what I don't understand whenever possible. Which is everything.

Q: Who's your favorite character and why?
A: Either Marius or Grantaire. I don't know how to explain it.

Q: Do you like to write about original characters, or do you prefer to stick to the ones from the story?
A: I prefer to stick to the ones in the book, but lots of irritating Ami siblings and the like have been popping up out of nowhere and worming their way into the stories, which worries me, because they're all unbelievably annoying.

Q: What one character would you like to read more about?
A: Bahorel. It's bad enough that his own friends don't seem to notice he's dead; then he gets shortchanged in fanfic--not that I think the world is ready for melodramatic Bahorel poetry, but really, a story here and there wouldn't be amiss.

Q: What's your favorite moment from the novel/musical?
A: Grantaire and Enjolras's death scene in the novel. Sigh.

Q: What's your favorite story of yours, and why?
A: I don't think the Enjolras Random Romance Generator counts as a story, but it's my favorite, because I can generate new stories when I'm bored. As for something I've written, probably some of the weirder chapters of E&D.

Q: What story have you gotten the most feedback about?
A: Probably the romance generator, if that counts.

Q: What gave you the idea to write "Enchantments and Desolations"?
A: I had just finished reading Sandman, and wanted to write something with the Les Mis people, and my brain is small enough that the two obsessions collided with each other. Possibly because I wanted to do something involving certain characters' ability to deal with change, among other things.

Q: What other fanfic writers do you enjoy reading?
A: Oh, lots of people. Amy, Elsb, Rabs, Jenelin's's silly stuff, and a bunch of other people who also have written stories I really like--I actually want to list more, but am trying to show restraint.

Q: What's your favorite story of someone else's?
A: I don't have one favorite. Off the top of my head, Amy's Untitled, because I'm a sap--I like Elsb's "The Days of Wine and Roses", too, but that's not even close to finished. And I really, really, really like Jenelin's Odd's My Life. Decisive, aren't I?

Q: Do you read or write fanfic in other fandoms?
A: I read it, but don't really write it.

Q: Do you think Victor Hugo would approve of what you write, and do you care? :)
A: Why on earth would anyone disapprove of having the characters from one of one's most successful novels resurrected and forced to interact with comic book characters... ones which also don't belong to the person writing the story? But I don't particularly care what Victor thinks. He's dead.

Q: What's your advice to beginning fanfic writers?
A: If your first story is crap, you don't have to crawl under a rock for the rest of your life. I let half a year go by between deleting my first story and starting my second piece of non-sillyfic, and sometimes I rather wish I hadn't waited so long. Of course, I've read first stories by some authors that were very good, but those people are unnatural and should be feared.

Q: What's a book you'd recommend to everyone?
A: Sandman--comic book goodness. Also Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Q: What's a question you'd like to ask another author?
A: How the hell do people come up with decent French names? It still eludes me.

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