I'd often wondered the same thing myself! Well, this week Vicki (aka thecleric007) tackles that question, as well as many others that relate to our favorite wandering deadwalker, Tamara Adama, in her story, "Fallen Angel," which can be found HERE.

"Fallen Angel" also features a gorgeous pencil drawing of Zoe from one of our most consistent artists, Abby Geiger, and another Capri-Tours ad (with an interesting take on post-Apotheosis tourism on Caprica) from Dora Kecskes.

I'd be curious what you think of this story as it provides our first overlap! It's the second Tamara Adama story after the 3-part "Safe Journey" story (Episodes 5-7), and while it provides a different take on what Tamara might do with her life, there are also many similarities in how her character will develop. As Tamara is one of Caprica's least-defined characters, I thought it interesting that two writers here at the site saw a lot of the same things in her having not consulted each other at all!

You can talk about the overlap in these stories at the "Worlds of Beginning of Line" section of our Forums, or you can discuss the story itself in the "Current Story" section. Either way, this site does better when people talk to each other! :)

Happy reading!

Your Guatrau,
Teresa

Remember when Caprica used to air on Tuesday nights? Well, here's the next best thing! Our latest story at BOL is up, and it's a great one by Abby Geiger, proving that this woman can do more than just draw! It's a Tad Thorean-centric story called "Purpose", and it features beautiful art not only by Geiger, but by fellow Quebecer, Elizabeth Louvaris! And remember, you can discuss the story with other fans in the BOL Forum!

Also, WE'RE OFFICIALLY HALFWAY THROUGH SEASON TWO here at Beginning of Line, and I couldn't be happier. I'd love to take this time to thank all of my writers and artists without whom none of this would be possible. Here's to the next nine episodes and to completing a second season of Caprica. Someone had to do it! :)

Enjoy!

Your Guatrau,
Teresa

Hey there! So, um, I forgot that I had to do one of these. :) But as every other writer so far got to do this, and will continue to do this, I thought I'd get mine in, too. My story is complete now, after all. :) So, without further ado:

1) If you had to choose ONE, what's the most important thing people should know about you?
That I am tolerant and open-minded. I am very, very reluctant to judge anyone based on what they believe, the lives they lead, etc. I don't know if it's the writer in me, or the fact that I used to be an actor - but there's something in my make-up that makes me always want to understand people on their own terms rather than form an opinion of them. I think this is why I liked Caprica so much - the characters were so fascinating even when they were morally questionable. Also, Atticus Finch will always be my hero. :)

2) Favorite thing about writing fan fiction?
Getting to actually put down in words what is usually going through my head when I'm watching the show anyway! :)

3) Least favorite thing about writing fan fiction?
Wishing I'd come up with characters and stories this good myself!

4) Of all the characters on Caprica, why did you choose to focus on Tamara in this way?
I'd always sort of resented the focus on Zoe during the show, when there were two daughters in V-World. I was always compelled by Tamara, because she seemed to accept V-World in a way that Zoe didn't, and I found that fascinating. What kind of person accepts existing only as an avatar? It struck me as a really Zen position, and something that wouldn't necessarily occur to a teenager. Zoe seems like a typical teenager, just always defiant. Tamara, despite her girlish, high voice and  her more demure style of dress, seems to me like the more mature of the two. It also seemed like a grounded way of being that was informed by her culture and upbringing. Had Caprica gone on, I would've been curious to see what kind of life she would've made for herself in V-World. Would she have continued on with Zoe? Would she have gone back to her life as the heroine of New Cap City - half of the Avenging Angels? Or, would she have done something else entirely? I chose the third option, and I think that I came up with something that was both true to her character and true to where she ended up at the end of Caprica. I hope people enjoyed it!

5) If the technology were available, would you want to be resurrected as a skin-job cylon?
Definitely. I really, really enjoy being alive. Unlike several respondents to this question, I actually do believe in God, even if I don't know what God is. I don't believe we just stop. The thing is, I believe that this world, this universe, our bodies, our hearts, are minds are here for us to enjoy the hell out of them. And I plan on enjoying all of that for as long as I can. And if that means my consciousness has to be contained in a synthetic body, then so be it! It probably wouldn't be forever. After all, I'm sure there comes a point after a couple hundred years where you just wanna stop. But it'd be nice to know that I could decide when that point was and not have it decided for me by my failing body.

Your Guatrau,
Teresa

At long last, the third and final part of my Tamara story, Safe Journey, is posted for your perusal. It's called The New Guatrau. Intrigued by that title? Go on and check it out, then feel free to discuss the story over at the forums! That's what they're there for!

You might be wondering about the title of this post. I've had a lot of trouble getting these stories up, and I apologize for that. I've been trying to keep you updated and let you know I was still here and still care about the site even as crazy stuff has come up. However, even with the crazy stuff, it was just my own stupid fault these stories haven't posted on time, and I've learned a couple of things:

1) Fan fiction is still writing, which means that it's hard work and takes time.
This should be obvious. Hell, I've made that point to non-geeks who don't consider it "real writing" for a while now. But I haven't written fan fiction in a long time - not since I was about 12 - and when I decided to do a three part story for Beginning of Line, I didn't write it before the site went up. I figured it would be easy to dash off, and I could leave it for last minute, because it certainly couldn't be as difficult as the "real" writing I do.

Ha. Ha.

I got really into writing the first part, featuring Sam, and it surprised me that it took me several weeks. It surprised me how much I wanted to edit it, and how well I wanted to craft it. It shouldn't have, but it did. Then the second part, though I knew what I wanted that part of the story to be, proved more difficult, and the week it was supposed to go up came at a time when I had a trip planned to L.A. Then all this other stuff happened, and well - hiatus. After I posted that, I swore to myself that I would get the third part up on schedule. But again, life got in the way, and resolving this story took more time than I anticipated, because I didn't take into account that, Wait a minute, I might have to put some actual thought and energy into this.

Props to all the fan fiction writers out there who already knew what it apparently took me running a fan fiction site to figure out. Fan fiction deserves the same attention and care as original fiction. Case closed.

2) Finish the piece before you agree to submit it.
I learned this not only with my own piece, but through several people who submitted stories to the site. I agreed to do a three-part story before I'd written it, and I shouldn't have. It held up the site. As editor, I accepted work based on the promise of a second part without knowing whether it would be finished or not. I shouldn't have. Thankfully, everything's worked out, and I have every single episode through the end of the season (eleven more episodes!) present and accounted for.

Still, it's caused me more aggrivation than it's worth, and you lapses between stories you didn't need.

I'm still very new to this. As I said when I started, I'll be making mistakes and figuring things out as I go. But I'd like to tell you that the bumpiest parts of the journey are behind us! I'll be back on schedule, editing and working with each writer on their story as I was doing before my story came up. I'm already making plans for Season 3, and when the time comes, there will be deadlines that will be strictly adhered to. I will be doing my best to make this site as awesome an experience as possible for all of you.

As always, if you have any suggestions for me on how I can make things better, or just have ideas in general, you can talk to me about them in the comments, the forums, or by emailing me at beginningofline[at]gmail[dot]com.

Thank you all so much for your patience, your understanding, and your support of Beginning of Line!

Your Guatrau,
Teresa

After a good part of the day down, Weebly finally got its act together and Beginning of Line is back.

And I've finally put my money where my mouth is. :) Episode 5 is the first part of a 3-part story I've got planned called "Safe Journey." This first one is called "Safe Journey: Hypatian's Bluff." I hope you enjoy it. If you don't enjoy the story, at the very least you should enjoy the GORGEOUS illustration of Sam and Tamara Adama submitted by the super-talented ABBY GEIGER! 

This episode is also the premiere of a new feature at BOL! Composer Bernard Kyer has volunteered to do "Previously on Caprica" videos for us, for which he composed another short piece of music! I love that we attract such a talented group of folks! :)

Enjoy! And I'll see you in the forums! :)

Your Guatrau,
Teresa