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Introduction (01)
L. Fox's Head (02-149)
L. Fox's Stories
Acknowledgments
Articles
Biography
INSIDE THE HEAD OF L. FOX
Introduction
[01] What can I say about this bard? I love his writing. It is outstanding. Those are just a few of the words I could use to describe how wonderful his tales are, and how much I have enjoyed them. There are so many great male bards and L. Fox is one of them.
Joxer was creative too
GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN
L. Fox's Head
Interviewer:
[02] Why did you start writing?L. Fox:
[03] Basically just to see if I could do it. I have always been interested in storytelling and after stumbling upon this thing called "fan fiction" in late '96 I knew I just had to try it. Imagine my surprise when it turned out some people actually liked my stuff.Interviewer:
[04] If you had to do it all over, would you be a bard? Would you write?Fox:
[05] You know, sometimes I really don't know. There are times when I can't say for sure that all the time and effort expended in the thirty-odd stories has been worth it. Then somebody is kind enough to write and tell they found something you wrote enjoyable and that's when I know it is worth it after all.Interviewer:
[06] Give us a brief day in the life of L. Fox.Fox:
[07] Well there's not much to tell. Up at 5:15, take my cocker spaniel out for dawn patrol, get ready for work. Spend eight hours running a steam power plant for a large food processing company, back home, more dog patrol and then it's usually TV or playing on the PC after that. Or both.Interviewer:
[08] How do you handle stress?Fox:
[09] I try to dwell as little as possible on things that cause stress. I am not one to let every little thing eat me up. As they say, "Don't sweat the small stuff." Mainly I just try to avoid it if at all possible.Interviewer:
[10] Years from now, how would you want to be remembered?Fox:
[11] As a decent guy who loved life and who tried to enjoy every minute of it as best he could.Interviewer:
[12] What is your pet peeve?Fox:
[13] That people tend to underestimate me at first.Interviewer:
[14] Who is L. Fox?Fox:
[15] I would like to think he's a nice enough guy who, though a little hard to get to know, is one who will stick by a friend.Interviewer:
[16] What is the most sensitive part on your body?Fox:
[17] Heh heh, this is a trick question, right?Interviewer:
[18] What do you see yourself doing in the future? Any future projects?Fox:
[19] Probably just more of the same. I have a total lack of ambition in most things.Interviewer:
[20] How do you handle depression?Fox:
[21] As with stress I just try to keep my mind occupied on other things.Interviewer:
[22] What was the hardest thing you ever did?Fox:
[23] Saying good-bye to my dying father.Interviewer:
[24] What advice can you give to future writers?Fox:
[25] I guess it would be to be sure to get the technical stuff down first as best you can. Spelling errors and such can distract many from even the best of stories.Interviewer:
[26] What has the show Xena meant to you?Fox:
[27] A LOT the first couple of years. The special bond between the two lead characters was what drew me in and kept me coming back, regardless of how weak the story itself might be. After Dahak, the India arc, etc. it was all downhill for me. When they started doing the world tour thing I found I wasn't as interested.
Xena and Gabrielle have a special bond
THE QUEST
Interviewer:
[28] How do you feel about its end?Fox:
[29] I think it was something that had pretty much run its course. I suppose what pains me the most is thinking about what might have been instead of what we ended up getting.Interviewer:
[30] Who do you trust?Fox:
[31] My two older brothers. Family is the bedrock of our lives and those two guys are the ones I know I can always count on.Interviewer:
[32] What would you say every writer needs?Fox:
[33] A good imagination is a nice place to start.Interviewer:
[34] How do you feel about subtext?Fox:
[35] It's what drew me to the show in the first place. I have never seen X and G as "just friends".Interviewer:
[36] Could you or have you ever experienced, you or someone else reading one of your stories aloud in the public? What did/would you feel?Fox:
[37] So far as I know that's never happened but if it did I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't find gratifying. Everyone likes a little recognition every once in a while.Interviewer:
[38] What theme would you like to tackle in your next work?Fox:
[39] That's the rub. I have so many directions from which to choose. I'd like to do another Jan and Mel. I'd REALLY like to follow up on Cold War. Most likely, though it will be the third story in the Young Ephiny series.Interviewer:
[40] What was the last thing that made you smile recently?Fox:
[41] My puppy asleep on my foot as I type this.Interviewer:
[42] What made you angry?Fox:
[43] I read in the paper this morning that some idiot shook his three month old son to death. Why do people such horrible things to those so helpless? Jeez.Interviewer:
[44] You now have absolute authority over the world. Omnipotent in all areas. What's your first move?Fox:
[45] To try to ensure that everyone has the basics such as food on the table, clean water, access to proper medical care, etc. There are things that most of us take for granted but for millions of others such things are just a dream.Interviewer:
[46] Do you have stalkers? If so, how have you handled them?Fox:
[47] Nah, never had a stalker--as far as I know.Interviewer:
[48] What stupid thing did you do as a teen?Fox:
[49] Dived head first into the river off a pumping station and darn near knocked myself out in the shallow water below.Interviewer:
[50] What, if anything, can stop you writing, if only for a while?Fox:
[51] The sheer boredom of it. Writing wears me down very quickly.Interviewer:
[52] In your opinion, do you fit your astrological sign?Fox:
[53] No. I'm a Libra and I'm not one for weighing things carefully. I usually have strong feelings on a subject one way or another.Interviewer:
[54] What to you is the worst feeling in the world?Fox:
[55] When someone tells you they don't love you anymore.
Arguably Joxer's worst feeling was being told to wait behind a bush while bleeding to death
EVE
Interviewer:
[56] The best feeling in the world?Fox:
[57] The knowledge that you made a real difference in someone's life.Interviewer:
[58] What is the first thing you think of in the morning?Fox:
[59] Turn off that stupid clock!!Interviewer:
[60] Is there one part of the writing process where you usually get stuck? What have you tried to change that, successful or not?Fox:
[61] I've never been one for meticulously outlining a story and because of that I tend to just let the writing take me where it wants to go. Invariably I hit a snag somewhere along the line and then I am forced to really hunker down and hammer things out. I'd rather not do that but it usually happens every time.Interviewer:
[62] Does the best writing flow for you, or does it come from rewrites?Fox:
[63] The flow thing for me. Rewrites for me are mostly taking care of technical aspects of the work. By and large all the creative stuff is taken care of the first time around.Interviewer:
[64] Which part of writing do you enjoy most and why? (e.g., Taking the original notes, final rewrites ...)Fox:
[65] Dreaming up various storylines, scenarios, etc. That's the easy part. Setting it down is where it gets tough.Interviewer:
[66] How often do you think about a piece when you're working on it and when do you think about it?Fox:
[67] During idle moments my mind does sometimes wander to something I'm working on, particularly if I happen to be against one of those snags I previously mentioned.Interviewer:
[68] Do you feel in control of your writing, or do you get carried away by your inspiration or characters?Fox:
[69] For the most part I'm very much in control, however there are times such as when I wrote the letters at the beginning of A Last Little Thing that it can get emotional. That doesn't happen too often, though.Interviewer:
[70] If you consider yourself to have a muse, what exactly do you mean?Fox:
[71] Nah, no muse here. Just a lot of hard work.Interviewer:
[72] Tell the truth--are you your favorite writer, or in your own top five? Why or why not?Fox:
[73] Gosh no. I guess it's because I don't take it so seriously. This is not life and death for me. It's mainly something to do.Interviewer:
[74] Would the world be a better place if women ran it or would it be basically the same?Fox:
[75] Women have proven that given the chance they can be as ruthless and power hungry as the fellas. So no, I don't think there would be much difference.Interviewer:
[76] What is your favorite spot where you live now?Fox:
[77] It used to be the softball park but since I don't play anymore I'd say it's right under the maple tree in my own back yard. It's very peaceful there.Interviewer:
[78] What books are you reading now? What about it/them is holding your attention?Fox:
[79] I just finished a book about Tecumseh. He was a man with great vision but was doomed to spend most of his life in frustration.
Tecumseh
Interviewer:
[80] What would your friends say is your worst trait?Fox:
[81] That I tend to hold a grudge. I'm not one for forgetting the past.Interviewer:
[82] Do you type with your fingers on the “right” keys?Fox:
[83] Yes, but not very skillfully.Interviewer:
[84] What is the longest any plant in your home has been with you?Fox:
[85] I've had this little cactus for a couple of years now. That's pretty good for me.Interviewer:
[86] Do you have any particular bedtime rituals that you follow every night?Fox:
[87] No. My work schedule is not very conducive to routine.Interviewer:
[88] If you find a spider in the bathtub, do you help it out or squish it?Fox:
[89] Probably squash it. I don't much like spiders.Interviewer:
[90] What was the last thing you bought that you really didn't need?Fox:
[91] A computer. I have five of them now.Interviewer:
[92] Who is your favorite Greek God?Fox:
[93] I'd say Hephaestus. He pretty much did his work and kept his mouth shut. There's a lot to be said for that.Interviewer:
[94] Why do fools fall in love?Fox:
[95] It's the great dynamic of human existence. Everybody wants to love and be loved.Interviewer:
[96] Do you keep a diary and if so what do you call it? If so, what effect has it had on your writing?Fox:
[97] I've never kept one.Interviewer:
[98] How has online writing affected your life and how you see yourself, your goals?Fox:
[99] I've met some great people and learned that there is always more than one way to look at something.Interviewer:
[100] What skill would you like to have that you don't have now?Fox:
[101] The ability to hit a 95MPH fastball.Interviewer:
[102] Who is your real life hero and why?Fox:
[103] George C. Marshall. He spent most of his entire adult life in brilliant public service and yet never sought the limelight for himself. Such was his selflessness that he was willing to let lesser men such as Dwight Eisenhower take the lion's share of the credit when in truth he was the man his own president said many times he could not do without. Another president would later say Marshall was the greatest man of the twentieth century. So do I.
George C. Marshall
Interviewer:
[104] What fan fiction story touched you so much that you still remember it vividly?Fox:
[105] I have ready very few other works but I'd say what touched me most were a couple of poems by Tim Wellman way back when. These were really my inspiration to try my hand at writing.Interviewer:
[106] If you could only choose a single climate with no variation would you prefer it to be sweltering hot or freezing cold?Fox:
[107] The heat. When it's hot you can still go out and sit in the shade or something but there's no getting away from the cold.Interviewer:
[108] What is the first thing you notice about someone when you meet them?Fox:
[109] Whether or not they'll look you in the eye when they talk to you. I am always surprised by how many that won't.Interviewer:
[110] Have you ever done something that accidentally caused something really bad to happen to someone?Fox:
[111] No.Interviewer:
[112] How is $25 well spent?Fox:
[113] A ticket to a baseball game and maybe a couple of hot dogs while I'm there.Interviewer:
[114] Would you rather live in a sociable suburb, or alone in the deep woods?Fox:
[115] There is something to be said for each of them. There was a time I would have said deep in the woods but now I'd just as soon stay where everything is within a convenient drive.Interviewer:
[116] What literary character did you most identify with as a child?Fox:
[117] I don't know if I identified with him as such but the character I liked the best was Tom Sawyer. I liked how he usually seemed to be on top of things.Interviewer:
[118] What is the source of your inspiration?Fox:
[119] Just being alive. Life is beautiful.Interviewer:
[120] Where do your ideas come from?Fox:
[121] Mostly from my own head but occasionally from something I might read or a movie or whatever.Interviewer:
[122] What do you find most satisfying about your job?Fox:
[123] That I am pretty much left to run things as I see fit. My supervisor allows me a lot of latitude.Interviewer:
[124] What are the three things you enjoy most about writing?Fox:
[125] First and foremost answering the "what if?" What if so and so were placed in this situation ... ? Secondly I guess would be the creation of new supporting characters. I think it's one of the things I do best. Third is the feeling of accomplishment one gets when a project is finally finished.Interviewer:
[126] What were your favorite book, TV show, and movie when you were a teenager and what do you think of them now?Fox:
[127] My favorite book was Seven Days in May. Favorite TV show was the Columbo segment of the NBC Mystery Theater and the favorite movie ... ooh a tough one. I'd say it was ... still thinking ... Oh! The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Love that movie! I still like the book and the movie but I have yet to see any of the latter day Columbo eps.Interviewer:
[128] What's your idea of a perfect world?Fox:
[129] One where hate is an abstract concept--unknown in the real world.Interviewer:
[130] How real is your fiction to you?Fox:
[131] Not very. It's just stuff I made up.Interviewer:
[132] What Disney character do you most identify with and why?Fox:
[133] Being more into Warner Brothers animation I never was much of a Disney fan but I guess if I had to pick one it would be Donald Duck for the simple fact that like him, nothing ever seems to go quite the way I want it to.
Although independently wealthy, Daffy Duck has always been jealous of Donald Duck
Interviewer:
[134] Who do you read for inspiration?Fox:
[135] No one, I read for knowledge.Interviewer:
[136] What's your favorite website?Fox:
[137] A tie between ESPN's site and CBS Sportsline.Interviewer:
[138] When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up?Fox:
[139] I wanted to be major league baseball player. Three decades later I still do.Interviewer:
[140] If you could interview your favorite author, what questions would you ask? And, WHY?Fox:
[141] I would ask William Shakespeare if he really wrote all those plays.Interviewer:
[142] What have you learned from your animals?Fox:
[143] That loyalty and unconditional love are precious.Interviewer:
[144] Does our society glorify violence to the point we have become desensitized to it and the consequences?Fox:
[145] I don't know if it's the glorification of violence as much as it is the way children are brought up today. There was plenty of violence in the movies and on TV when I was a kid. No one wanted to run out and rob a bank after seeing Bonnie and Clyde. We knew what was real and what wasn't and we darn well knew what right and wrong was and, more importantly, that there were consequences to be faced it we crossed the line.Interviewer:
[146] What is your motto?Fox:
[147] Live and let live.Interviewer:
[148] What do you think we take too seriously as writers?Fox:
[149] Our own selves.
Xena not only has many skills, but many selves as well
L. Fox's Stories
L. Fox's e-mail address is: lfox@scottsburg.com
A Warrior's Lament
During "The Rift" Xena reflects on her relationship with Gabrielle.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/l/lament.htmlBlood Ties
An aging Xena and Gabrielle are enlisted to find one of Xena's niece's.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/b/blood1.htmlEternal Warrior
Xena's spirit helps other warriors over the centuries.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/m/marine.htmBuccaneer Xena
Xena and Gabby meet "Captain Kidder" in this pirate parody.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/p/pirate.htmXena: Warrior Quarterback
Xena and the gang battle the Romans in the "Stupor Bowl."
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/q/qb.htmLast Reflections of a Heart Most Pure
On her deathbed Gabrielle reflects on her life.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/r/reflect.htmThe Cage of Elysis
Xena and Gabrielle team up with old friends and a former enemy in order to rescue Hercules.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/c/cage1.htmThree Wishes for Gabrielle
As a reward for assisting an old man Gabby is granted three wishes with harrowing results.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/w/wishes.htmA Bard's Faith
Gabrielle faces many dangers in taking care of a blind Xena.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/f/faith1.htmBeloved Enemy
Thinking Gabrielle dead, Xena seems to fall back into her old ways.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/b/beloved.htmlIt Takes a Thief ... And a Couple of Sidekicks.
With Xena and Hercules away, it falls to Gabrielle and Iolaus, assisted by Autolycus, to stop a power mad priest.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/i/ittakes.htmlIt's an Ill Wind
Mistaken for a "Gabriel," Gabby gets drafted!
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfic4/illwind.htmlDeborah
A shipwrecked Xena and Gabrielle arrive just in time for Xena to assist an old friend fight a historic battle.
http://www.stories-n-stuff.net/fiction/deborah.htmIt's Hard to Be a Bard
The trials and tribulations of yours truly.
http://www.stories-n-stuff.net/fiction/beabard.htmThe Vigil
While waiting for an overdue Xena, Gabby's imagination runs amok.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfic6/thevigil.htmCold War
In 1958 East Berlin, a young American woman and a Russian KGB major find they have more in common than they know.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/c/coldwar1.htmlMistress of the Two Lands
Xena and Gabrielle travel to Egypt where Xena is called upon to perform a service for the great female pharaoh Hatshepsut.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/m/mistress.htmlI Remember
A seasonal feast brings memories of Ephiny rushing back to Gabrielle.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfic11/iremember.htmlThe Adventures of Young Ephiny: Coming of Age
Ephiny faces her first test as a young warrior.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfic13/younge1.htmThe Adventures of Young Ephiny: Ephiny Alone
After her companions are captured it falls to Ephiny to rescue them.
http://www.stories-n-stuff.net/fiction/ephalone1.htmThe Favor
President Franklin Roosevelt personally calls on Janice Covington go on what will prove to be a dangerous mission.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/f/favor.htmlTraitors in Our Midst
Working for the OSS, Janice and Mel must stop a plot to blow up the Panama Canal.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfic4/war1.htmlA Last Little Thing
In their last mission for the OSS, Janice and Mel must go behind enemy lines to bring out a noted scientist.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfic6/thing1.htmlTake Two Tablets and Call Me In the Morning
In 1947 Greece Jan must rescue a kidnapped Melinda.
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfic11/tablets1.html
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Kamouraskan for the beta.
Articles
L. J. Maas and Murphy Wilson [Amy Murphy].One Step Beyond ... Uber, That Is. WHOOSH #49 (October 2000)
The "Inside the Head of..." series in Whoosh issues #58, 61-66,68-73
Biography
Amy Murphy
Thirty-one-year-old Amy Murphy resides in Indiana, and is an avid reader of Xena: Warrior Princess Fan Fiction. If it exists in the Xenaverse, chances are she has read it! Murphy has also tried her hand at writing fan fiction, turning out two very nice pieces that reside on a couple of web sites throughout the Xenaverse.
Favorite episode: IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE (24/124)
Favorite line: "I Have Many Skills" Various episodes
First episode seen: TITANS (07/107)
Least favorite episode: LYRE, LYRE HEARTS ON FIRE (100/510)
