Just a Bit About Me- For the Curious

A place to celebrate the publication of our own roswellianprincess16, AKA Isabelle Santiago!

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roswellianprincess16
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Just a Bit About Me- For the Curious

Post by roswellianprincess16 »

Hey guys!!

For those of you wondering who this girl is who has suddenly taken over an entire forum here on RF, let me help you out.

My name is Isabelle (known to most of you as Selena). I've been writing Roswell fan fiction since late 2001. My earliest (and most embarrassing) stuff can still be found on the Desert Dwellers archive. Which from what I understand is now being moved to Majiks! Yay for keeping it alive.

I had the privilege of having one of my stories on Crashdown.com, which at the time (from what I knew) was the be all and end all of fanfic. That's where I read. That's where I lived. At the time, it was seriously active. Then, one day, I stumbled onto a forum I'd never seen before. Roswell Fanatics. That's when everything changed for me.

I joined RF in early 2002. I somehow mustered up the courage to post fanfic here, among some really great writers, people who I admire, respect, and some I've grown to love as dear friends.

I've written 23 fanfics, (my goodness, that's insane) give or take a few, I assume. Here is my page, if you're curious. Some are one parters. Some are a tad longer. As the years went on, you can actually see my brain working harder, my muse getting more excited. The stories got more complicated, more intricate, until finally, I came up with the story I'm most proud of, to date: Awakening . The writing, even by my own rapidly changing and growing standards leaves much to be desired. But I feel the consistency prepared me for writing full on, complex storylines with several plot twists and arches.

It won several awards, many of which I hold very dear to my heart. It's my behemoth. My epic. The story of my heart. It's the story I feel I was meant to write for this fandom. I cried when it was done. Couldn't even inspire myself to write for months after. That's when I knew it was time.

I've slipped in and out of the fandom for the past 2 years as I started dabbling in original writing. It started with an idea. A random thought that hit me one afternoon where I said, man, that'd be really cool. My first response was to make it a Roswell story. But I couldn't. It was completely unrelated. It was completely original. The excitement of that moved me into action. I started writing. Just writing. I didn't know what I was doing. I just wanted to get it down on paper.

Two and a half years or so later, I can tell you that particular story has undergone MANY changes as I've grown as an author. I've read more writing articles than I could even tell you about. I took two classes with Barnes and Nobles. I've participated in workshops with a WONDERFUL writing community called Romance Divas. That support system, much like the system in place in the Roswell fandom, here at RF, and in the close friendships I've built with fellow writers, is what kept me going when I felt like I was drowning in my own thoughts. Writing original characters is like nothing I've ever experienced. It's all consuming. It's haunting. And yet the relationship you build with them is completely unique.

After writing for over a year and meeting up with the right people, I got a critique partner who served to improve my writing threefold. If you can, I suggest every author aspiring for publication get a critique partner. A good one whom you trust implicitly, who understands you and the way you work. You may have to test a few out. It's like a dating game. But when you find THE ONE, you just know it. ;) Her help and patient guidance led me to my current publisher.

Freya's Bower is an up and coming online publisher. They have built a reputation due to their variety of wonderful authors and themes. My CP has 2 books published with them that have fared very well. So, back in January, they put out a call. They wanted submissions for their one year anniversary celebration. The submissions had to fit two particular themes.

Now, I just happened to have a novella sitting around, an old Roswell story that in one of my darker writing months, I went to for comfort. With some tweaking, I managed to crunk out an original plan for it. It was already AU/no aliens, so it wasn't that hard. But the characters started to shift a bit. To morph if you will. Next thing you know, I was submitting it to the contest. In March, I found out I'd won first place in my category. I had my first CONTRACT!!!! It would go to e-book first, then be released in print six months later.

Since then, I busied myself with editing. Trying to polish the story to perfection. Now, I can finally see the fruit of my labor. :) Can you believe it? It's here!

http://www.freyasbower.com/content/view/273/80/

Final plug, I promise. Ha ha.

In the meantime, between edits, I've been working on my 'story of the heart'. It's a complex fantasy series with some very Star Wars influenced themes. I've finished BOOK 1. It ended at about 60k words. I may or may not blend BOOK 1 and BOOK 2 together, however, the storyline has taken an interesting twist. Still plugging away. My next step is to perfect the art of a query letter so I can land an agent. Who knows? Maybe this will be the year!! *crosses fingers*

Thanks so much for stopping by here. Check out the links in my signature. They're my author website and my blog. They're going to be undergoing a visual change soon, but in the meantime, they've got some info you might find interesting. ;)

xoxo,

Isabelle
Image
-Isabelle Santiago, Author of Scifi/Fantasy Romance
Not Every Girl Dreams of Prince Charming...
http://twistedfairytale.net
http://twistedfairytale.net/blog/
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Evelynn
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Post by Evelynn »

Selena, you're amazing. To took something and you ran with it. You should be very proud.
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roswellianprincess16
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Re: Just a Bit About Me- For the Curious

Post by roswellianprincess16 »

Thanks Evelynn. That means a lot to me. :)

I'm really proud of having been able to transition from fanfic to fiction and I hope that the more stories I release, the more people will see my growth! :D I owe it all to this board though, honestly. I truly developed a passion for writing here and til this day, the fanfic stories I wrote hold a special spot in my heart.
Image
-Isabelle Santiago, Author of Scifi/Fantasy Romance
Not Every Girl Dreams of Prince Charming...
http://twistedfairytale.net
http://twistedfairytale.net/blog/
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