How is it already a brand new month!? And with that comes our SOTM interviews for May! 

First up we have our Author of the Month: flootzavut

Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.

I got into Buffy because it was coming off Netflix and I thought I should watch this seminal piece of fandom history at least once. I was already deep in fandom and had written lots of fic, but I didn't mean to get hooked. Cut to a month later and me bawling my eyes out over Chosen, I posted my first Spuffy fic about a week after that... oops!

Where do you find inspiration for your stories?

I find inspiration everywhere, usually my problem is having too many ideas and not enough brainpower to keep up with them all.

Who is your favorite character to write and why?

Spike is probably my favourite character to write, there is just so much richness to his character, so much growth, so much life lived even before he came to SunnyD, so many possibilities to explore. Also, I love how much he loves Buffy, who deserves the world, and his relationships with Dawn and Joyce.

Which story of yours are you most proud of, and which was the hardest to write?

I think favourite story might be too hard to narrow down, but the series I'm most proud of is "all the reasons (why)" and my most difficult story to write is from that, Perception, which literally took me almost 8 years to finish, eep. I am really proud of all three of the main stories and the exploration of those three characters' POVs in pivotal moments (especially Dawn who was a labour of love), and of the short & Spuffy follow-up stories which also brought in some Tara and Lorne. As a series, it's very near and dear to my heart!

As a writer, what would you have changed on the show and why?

I'm always torn about what I would change, because I love so much of the show exactly as it is even when it drives me nuts, but probably the One Thing would be to get Buffy a therapist or counsellor (maybe let Mr Platt stay around!) because damn she needs and deserves so much help to deal with her many traumas.

Thank you, flootzavut, we are so happy to have you here! And we agree about the therapy for our beloved Buffster.

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Next up we have our Commenter of the Month: Kenijo


Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.

Well, this dates me lol but I am an OG Buffy fan. I was watching the show as a teenager as it aired. I remember having to record on a VHS tape because of you know school commitments and games and things like that. I always was a fan of Buffy Buffy was my favorite character until School Hard. And I fell in love with Spike, and I wanted her with Spike right away. Surprisingly, I was one of the few teenage girls who did not like Angel from the jump. I liked Angel once he went to his own series, but I never liked him with Buffy. He bugged me LOL. I still remember the fights I have with my sister over Angel and how terrible he was for Buffy…like, only the kinds of fights teenaged sisters can have that seem so important at the time that you laugh yourselves silly over later in life. She is three years younger so let’s give her some grace lol. And she totally came around to Spuffy by season 5 Season five, so obviously, she’s a smart cookie! So I got into fanfic by reading around AOL forums and tell him that forums and just talking it over with fans of the show who appreciated Spike and Buffy together. I didn’t find this little Spuffy corner of the Internet until recently, but am I glad that I did. The authors and artists here continue to breathe life into the greatest OTP of all time. <3

What motivates you to leave comments?

My motivation for leaving comments has always been for the authors. Particularly with fanfic authors are giving some something wonderful for free just for the sheer enjoyment of sharing their thoughts and visions and stories that they are able to come up with about our favorite couple. It feels like something very minimal to give back to an author in return for being so generous as to share something so amazing with the fandom. My other motivation is maybe a little bit selfish. It’s my hope that comments can encourage a writer pass writers block or encourage them to continue with a difficult story that maybe isn’t well receive because it touches own things that aren’t popular or maybe go a little bit darker because I am a full spectrum fan thick reader I love all variations of stories, but not everyone does And sometimes because they don’t like a story. Some people some readers feel they’re entitled to leave negative comments that may derail an artist or an author from their vision, and I of course, want the author to see through what they start with because it’s their vision. It’s their story, and they deserve to tell the one they are telling and not have it maligned by someone with no skin in the game. When you think about how brave you have to be to post something that is really a piece of you, it makes it really easy to want to leave a few words as a comment for an author or an artist. 

Do you also write or are you strictly a reader?

I consider myself a reader who is dabbling in writing. I just recently started writing, and although my story got derailed by real life, my child being sick for like two weeks straight, I’m excited to get back to it. I also have one coming up that I hope will be well received. It’s a, it’s definitely a story that is out of my comfort zone as a writer—not as a reader LOL. It’s something I would love to read written well by another author, but I’m having fun with it. So keep a look out for an update to “Faith Around & Find Out”, and part one of the three part “Bed Chem”. 

Were you a lurker before you started leaving comments or did you comment right away?

I was a lurker only in the sense of I didn’t really pay attention to how to work the commenting for the longest time but as soon as I figured it out, I was all in on commenting as much as possible. In fact, I tracked Dusty down here just to be able to respond to her time travel fact that ruined my life in the best way possible. So, if you haven’t read read, “The Time We Had”, by Dusty, run, don’t walk. But bring along tissues. I cried out my contacts, no lie lol. 

How important is it to receive a reply from the writer when you leave a comment?

I don’t particularly mind when writers don’t respond to a comment, however, I do love it when they can respond. I like to have conversations, particularly when they have such fantastic ideas and complex stories and themes and explorations, but I’m a total nerd!! Also, I totally realize that these authors have lives of their own: they have jobs, they may have kids, maybe they go to school. Truly, I don’t expect it, but if I can have a conversation with one about their fanfic, that makes my day as a reader all day, every day, no lie. A comment, a reply, a conversation…that to me, with these amazing fanfic authors, that’s like meeting a celebrity and do that with do with that information what you will lol. 

Thank you, Kenijo! Your comments are fantastic and always put a smile on people's faces. And we SO look forward to reading your work!

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And that's a wrap on this month. We hope you're all busy writing for Wanderlust 2025! Take us places, y'all! 

-Chelle, Dusty, GetItDone, and GriefCounseling