Introduction (01)
Grit Jahning's Head (02-175)
Grit Jahning's Stories
Acknowledgments
Articles
Biography

Introduction

^[01] The first day I read this new bard's stories, I was hooked. Extremely good stuff here, folks, from beginning to end. Mary D. snatched this one up fast. Read and feed, you will love her as well. Now let us get to know Grit.

Grit Jahning's Head

Interviewer:
^[02] Why did you start writing?

Jahning:
^[03] Because this is something I have been doing since I was twelve. I always enjoyed creating worlds and characters. I started out writing poetry but then eventually discovered the beauty story writing holds. The emotions and depth I can put into it.

Interviewer:
^[04] If you had to do it all over, would you be a bard? Would you write?

Jahning:
^[05] Yes, no question about it. I love writing! All I ever really wanted to do was write. And to have people read my stories and like them. I think when I die they would have to pry a pencil and a pad out of my hands.

Interviewer:
^[06] Give us a brief day in the life of Grit.

Jahning:
^[07] Wake up, grumble at the world, have breakfast, do what ever I need to take care of during the day. (At the moment, this involves an awful lot of paperwork. I'm about to go back to college so there are a lot of things I have to get started on.) Have supper, read or watch TV, snuggle up with my partner, go to sleep. Brief enough?

Interviewer:
^[08] How do you handle stress?

Jahning:
^[09] Good question. How do I handle stress? I ignore it. No, honestly I usually have to take off for awhile. Just get my mind cleared out and get focused again. Some of my poems actually were written when it got really tense.

Interviewer:
^[10] Years from now, how would you want to be remembered?

Jahning:
^[11] As someone who cares for others.

Interviewer:
^[12] What is your pet peeve?

Jahning:
^[13] Well, it does take an awful lot to get me mad. So, 'pet peeve'. I can't stand rude people! That one thing for sure will get me angry!

Interviewer:
^[14] Who is Grit?

Jahning:
^[15] Interesting question. I happen to ask myself this question once in a while when I look into the mirror. My partner says I am a rather easy-going person, funny and stubborn. (But she loves me anyway.) I enjoy spending a quiet evening at home reading or watching TV, writing on my stories. I am not a 'crowd' person, meaning that I don't enjoy being around an awful lot of people. Give me a good book, something to drink and some chocolate and you have a happy camper. (I'm easy, I know.)

Interviewer:
^[16] What is the most sensitive part on your body?

Jahning:
^[17] I will NOT put the answer my partner came up with here, so "No comment!"

Interviewer:
^[18] Do you think fans ask too much from stars?

Jahning:
^[19] Do we ask too much from stars? I guess sometimes, yes. We forget that they 'only' portray fictional characters and that they actually do have a life of their own. A life they have every right to live without millions of fans being a part of it. But is it too much to ask of a 'star' to actually give their best every time they act in a movie or a TV show? No, I don't think that's too much asked.

Interviewer:
^[20] If you can cure one disease, what would it be and why?

Jahning:
^[21] One disease? You don't ask easy questions do you? There are so many diseases out there people suffer from. So many that die because there is no cure for them. So I don't even want to choose one of them. If I could cure one disease, I would try to find a way to cure all of them. But, yes, AIDS and cancer are high up on that list.

Interviewer:
^[22] What do you see yourself doing in the future? Future projects?

Jahning:
^[23] Writing. I would like to turn my writing into a profession but until this happens (and I know it will take some time) I want to get my degree in CIS. And of course start some new stories. There are still sequels to two of my stories waiting to be finished.

Interviewer:
^[24] How do you handle depression?

Jahning:
^[25] Eat tons of chocolate. Probably curl up into a ball and just shut out the world for a while.

Interviewer:
^[26] What was the hardest thing you ever did?

Jahning:
^[27] Leaving my partner in a few days so I can take care of some things back in Germany.

Interviewer:
^[28] What was the easiest?

Jahning:
^[29] To get on a plane to finally meet her.

Interviewer:
^[30] What advice can you give to future writers?

Jahning:
^[31] Advice and criticism isn't such a bad thing, even if it seems that way at first. Yet, always stay true to yourself and to what you want to write. Your stories are a part of yourself - don't let anyone take that away from you.

Interviewer:
^[32] What has the show Xena meant to you?

Jahning:
^[33] It meant that I met a very, very special person I would have never met if it weren't for the show and the Xenaverse.

Interviewer:
^[34] How do you feel about its end?

Jahning:
^[35] Incomplete, in a way. It certainly wasn't the end I expected or hoped for. Actually, I think Ides of March would have been a much better ending than Friend In Need. Many the things in Friend In Need just didn't add up. The reason why Xena has to stay dead didn't make sense at all. To avenge those 40,000 souls it should have been a family member of one of those souls who killed Xena, not just anybody. Yet, the idea of Xena being a ghost only Gabrielle can see and feel does open a whole new fan fiction genre. So, it was the end of the show but it also is a beginning for all the writers out there.

Interviewer:
^[36] What are your dreams? Hopes? Wishes?

Jahning:
^[37] To actually make it one day as a professional writer. To be happy with my partner and with what I am doing.

Interviewer:
^[38] Who do you trust?

Jahning:
^[39] My partner.

Interviewer:
^[40] If you are a parent, what is the greatest wish you have for your child?

Jahning:
^[41] I am not a parent but I would think the greatest wish I would have for my child is for him/her to be happy.

Interviewer:
^[42] What would you say every writer needs?

Jahning:
^[43] Well, I think to be a good writer you really should be able to study people. Being able to actually put into words what you see. It's like drawing. The most difficult things to draw are things you see every day! It's similar with writing. Just try to write down your every day routine and you'll see how difficult it is. In a way, it is a need to write. To put into words what your mind is trying to tell you.

Interviewer:
^[44] Do you believe in prayer? Explain.

Jahning:
^[45] Um, I really am not a religious person. I do believe, though, that there is more to life than just being born, live and then die. And sometimes to believe that there is someone or something out there watching over you--it is comforting.

Interviewer:
^[46] How do you feel about subtext?

Jahning:
^[47] The first episode of Xena I saw, funny enough, was A Day In The Life and I thought, "Hey, that's nice.". I didn't really get into it until the third season but by then I was hooked. Over here in Europe you do find TV shows with strong lesbian characters in them - that do not only play on the fact that the character is gay. So, to see an American show that more or less 'openly' hinted at a gay relationship between the main characters was great. And I do think LL and ROC did a marvelous job! So, to me, yes, Xena and Gabrielle are lovers.

Interviewer:
^[48] What makes your best friend your best friend?

Jahning:
^[49] Being there for me when I need them the most!

Interviewer:
^[50] 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?

Jahning:
^[51] I haven't heard one of my stories read out loud. But if this would ever happen I probably would blush to my roots and hope that it will be over soon.

Interviewer:
^[52] What's the most romantic thing anyone has done for you?

Jahning:
^[53] Calling me in the middle of the night to play love songs to me.

Interviewer:
^[54] What theme would you like to tackle in your next work?

Jahning:
^[55] There are two sequels I want to write. One for Never and the other one for A Beginning. Both of them X/G stories and there is one Uber story I started quite some time ago and I probably will start working on this one again, too.

Interviewer:
^[56] What was the last thing that made you smile recently?

Jahning:
^[57] The Hershey's commercial with the dancing cow! I love this one!

Interviewer:
^[58] What made you angry?

Jahning:
^[59] To be honest I can't think of anything at the moment. As I mentioned, it takes a lot to make me angry.

Interviewer:
^[60] You now have absolute authority over the world. Omnipotent in all areas. What's your first move?

Jahning:
^[61] Split this absolute authority I have been given. Power corrupts people and with time, it's going to be too tempting not to use it for the wrong reason. I grew up in East Germany, I know what I am talking about.

Interviewer:
^[62] How would you categorize your best writing, and give the URL's for them if posted?

Jahning:
^[63] How would I categorize my best writing? "It really isn't that bad?". You can find all my stories at http://www.fanfictiongrit.homestead.com. Just click on the link saying Fan Fiction. You find short summaries of the stories there, too.

Interviewer:
^[64] What stupid thing did you do as a teen?

Jahning:
^[65] There are a dozen stupid things I did as a teen. Shaving my head and dying the rest of the hair left blue and green is only of them.

Interviewer:
^[66] What, if anything, can stop you writing, if only for a while?

Jahning:
^[67] A good book. A good meal. It depends, really. If I really were intense on writing, it would take a lot to stop me from doing it.

Interviewer:
^[68] In your opinion, do you fit your astrological sign?

Jahning:
^[69] I am an Aries, and I've been told I do fit the sign. I, myself, of course don't believe in these kinds of things. I am a very nice and amiable person. Really.

Interviewer:
^[70] What to you is the worst feeling in the world?

Jahning:
^[71] Being scared and helpless.

Interviewer:
^[72] The best feeling in the world?

Jahning:
^[73] Being loved.

Interviewer:
^[74] Favorite song of the moment?

Jahning:
^[75] There are way too many songs I love to list them here. But all time favorites of mine are Unchained Melody and Longer Than.

Interviewer:
^[76] What is the first thing you think of in the morning?

Jahning:
^[77] Going to the bathroom. Actually, saying good morning to my partner.

Interviewer:
^[78] Is there one part of the writing process where you usually get stuck? What have you tried to change that, successful or not?

Jahning:
^[79] I usually have problems finding the right beginning for my stories. I know what I want to write and usually have the ending already in my mind but it takes quite some thinking to get the story started. That's what happened with Falling. I knew for sure how to end it, all I needed was a beginning, and it hit me late at night as I was getting ready for bed. I haven't tried to change this 'problem' because you can't force writing, and because eventually I do find the right words to start a story. (Usually during a long, hot bath.)

Interviewer:
^[80] Does the best writing flow for you, or does it come from rewrites?

Jahning:
^[81] Once I get started on a story and I really like the plot and my characters, it does flow. I have to be in the right mood to write, though. But if the story goes well that usually isn't a problem.

Interviewer:
^[82] Which part of writing do you enjoy most and why?

Jahning:
^[83] Sitting down with a pad and a pencil, somewhere quiet, with soft music playing in the background, and just let my mind go.

Interviewer:
^[84] How often do you think about a piece when you're working on it and when do you think about it?

Jahning:
^[85] Once the idea for a story is in my head and I know how I want to develop the story, I don't change it. I might rewrite certain scenes but the general plot won't change. I usually think about my story all through the day. Working scenes and dialogues in my head, trying to find the right words. So, it is a constant process in my mind.

Interviewer:
^[86] When someone walks into your bedroom, what are the first 5 things that they're likely to notice?

Jahning:
^[87] Books, my cat, the mess on my desk, videotapes, chocolate.

Interviewer:
^[88] Do you feel in control of your writing, or do your inspiration or characters carry you away?

Jahning:
^[89] Um, I would say, I am in control? Actually, yeah, I do feel in control of my writing.

Interviewer:
^[90] If you consider yourself to have a muse, what exactly do you mean?

Jahning:
^[91] Someone that keeps the ideas flowing in your head. Making them bright and filled with colors. Giving them a meaning and inspiring me to put life into them.

Interviewer:
^[92] Tell the truth--are you your favorite writer, or in your own top five? Why or why not?

Jahning:
^[93] I didn't quite make it in the top five of my favorite writers list. But I am right there at number six.

Interviewer:
^[94] Would the world be a better place if women ran it or would it be the same?

Jahning:
^[95] Ooh, tricky. I would like to think that the world would be a better place. I do believe it probably would be less violent.

Interviewer:
^[96] What is your favorite spot where you live now?

Jahning:
^[97] I love the sea and rivers. There is a little creek nearby where I live and I enjoy sitting there and just listening to the sounds of the passing water.

Interviewer:
^[98] What books are you reading now? What about it/them is holding your attention?

Jahning:
^[99] I finished Victor Hugo's Notre Dame not long ago. What a beautiful book! (And forget the Disney movie. It wasn't even close to the storyline.) Hugo has an amazing way of bringing Paris of the medieval times to life and to draw you into its spell.

Interviewer:
^[100] What would your friends say is your worst trait?

Jahning:
^[101] Being stubborn.

Interviewer:
^[102] Do you type with your fingers on the "right" keys?

Jahning:
^[103] Yup, aitw do. I mean, "Sure do!". Yeah, I usually hit the right key.

Interviewer:
^[104] What is the longest any plant in your home has been with you?

Jahning:
^[105] Six years. It is still alive so hopefully it will 'survive' a few more years.

Interviewer:
^[106] Do you have any particular bedtime rituals (glass of warm milk, etc.) that you follow every night?

Jahning:
^[107] Other than actually going to bed, no.

Interviewer:
^[108] If you find a spider in the bathtub, do you help it out or squish it?

Jahning:
^[109] Help it out... I really do. But that's just me.

Interviewer:
^[110] What was the last thing you bought that you really didn't need?

Jahning:
^[111] Hey, I'm going to need everything I buy. One day.

Interviewer:
^[112] Have you ever smoked cigarettes--explain

Jahning:
^[113] Back in school. A few friends and I sneaked out of the schoolyard and tried one of the cigarettes one of my friends took from her mum. I was so sick afterwards my teacher actually sent me home that day. I haven't smoked since then.

Interviewer:
^[114] Who is your favorite Greek God?

Jahning:
^[115] Tough one, but I would say Aphrodite.

Interviewer:
^[116] Why do fools fall in love?

Jahning:
^[117] Takes one to know one, right? So I would say: Because it's the most beautiful feeling in the world.

Interviewer:
^[118] Do you keep a diary and if so what do you call it? If so, what effect has it had on your writing?

Jahning:
^[119] I don't keep a diary. To me, writing has always been a way of dealing with whatever was bothering me or making me happy. You could probably consider my stories a diary.

Interviewer:
^[120] How has online writing affected your life and how you see yourself, your goals?

Jahning:
^[121] Online writing affected me because I actually got a feedback about my stories--if people liked them or not and it gives me a chance to improve my writing. Helping me to be the best writer I can be.

Interviewer:
^[122] What skill would you like to have that you don't have now?

Jahning:
^[123] Actually, I am quite happy with the skills I do have.

Interviewer:
^[124] Who is your real life hero and why?

Jahning:
^[125] My mum. She raised all four of us by herself and was working full-time and yet making our lives as happy and joyful as possible.

Interviewer:
^[126] What fan fiction story touched you so much that you still remember it vividly?

Jahning:
^[127] I love Tonya Muir's With Faltering Steps and Making Strides http://ausxip.com/bards2.html#tonya as well as Redhawk's "Tiopa Ki Lakota" http://www.blmiller.net/room/historical/tio1.html. Radclyffe's Love's Melody Lost as well as Safe Harbour http://ausxip.com/bards3.html#rad. And of course, Melissa Good's stories! http://www.merwolf.com/. I love all of them, and there are many more stories I read and still remember as well as reread them.

Interviewer:
^[128] If you could only choose a single climate with no variation would you prefer it to be sweltering hot or freezing cold?

Jahning:
^[129] Freezing cold. I love snow and winter. Christmas without snow, cold and red noses is like chocolate cake without the chocolate.

Interviewer:
^[130] What is the first thing you notice about someone when you meet them?

Jahning:
^[131] Their eyes.

Interviewer:
^[132] How is $25 well spent?

Jahning:
^[133] Making someone else happy.

Interviewer:
^[134] Would you rather live in a sociable suburb, or alone in the deep woods?

Jahning:
^[135] Alone in the deep woods. Of course, with all the necessary creature comforts like TV, computer, and running hot water.

Interviewer:
^[136] What literary character did you most identify with as a child?

Jahning:
^[137] Pippi Longstockings. I loved the stories by Astrid Lindgren. She could pick up horses, men. Lived by herself. Her father was a pirate. Yup, certainly Pippi Longstockings.

Interviewer:
^[138] What is the source of your inspiration?

Jahning:
^[139] Life. People around me.

Interviewer:
^[140] Where do your ideas come from?

Jahning:
^[141] They just hit me. I can do anything, work, read, eat, talk to someone, and all of sudden this idea pops into my head and I actually stop everything I do to write it down.

Interviewer:
^[142] What do you find most satisfying about your job?

Jahning:
^[143] Not having one at the moment.

Interviewer:
^[144] What are the three things you enjoy most about writing?

Jahning:
^[145] 1. Creating characters 2. Getting lost in a new world 3. Research.

Interviewer:
^[146] What were your favorite book, TV show, and movie when you were a teenager and what do you think of them now?

Jahning:
^[147] Book: There are probably a million books I read as a teenager so I won't even try to find a favorite. I still have most of them and yes, I do read them now and then. I think those books really started the idea of becoming a writer. TV show: Star Trek. I liked the idea behind Star Trek about the human race actually being able to live together in peace. Movie: Again, there are many movies but to pick on I have to say Dead Poet's Society. I still cry watching the movie.

Interviewer:
^[148] What's your idea of a perfect world?

Jahning:
^[149] People living together no matter what their religious beliefs or sexual orientations or cultural background is.

Interviewer:
^[150] How real is your fiction to you?

Jahning:
^[151] It is as real as fiction gets. If you start dreaming about characters you created, I'd say it's very real.

Interviewer:
^[152] What Disney character do you most identify with and why?

Jahning:
^[153] Piglet, because he might be an awfully small animal but he cares, and he is a brave one, too!

Interviewer:
^[154] Who do you read for inspiration?

Jahning:
^[155] Thomas Mann. Kafka. And many other fan fiction writers.

Interviewer:
^[156] What's your favorite website?

Jahning:
^[157] MaryD's site. It was one of the first Xena sites I found and I still think it is one of the best out there! http://ausxip.com/new.html

Interviewer:
^[158] When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up?

Jahning:
^[159] A writer.

Interviewer:
^[160] What are the limits in sacrifices for true love?

Jahning:
^[161] Sacrifices for true love? If you truly love someone, I don't think that there is such a thing as limits.

Interviewer:
^[162] If you could interview your favorite author, what questions would you ask? And, WHY?

Jahning:
^[163] One of my favorite authors is Stephen King and if I could ask him one question... Would he ever want to write a love story? Why? I just wonder if he would be able to create a story about love without turning it into a something dark and dangerous. He is able to express and describe so many deep emotions and yet they always turn into something different. I wonder if he would do the same with love.

Interviewer:
^[164] What makes a great kisser?

Jahning:
^[165] Expressing with a touch what's in their hearts.

Interviewer:
^[166] What have you learned from your animals?

Jahning:
^[167] That sleeping close to 20 hours a day isn't such a bad thing, after all.

Interviewer:
^[168] Does our society glorify violence to the point we have become desensitized to it and the consequences?

Jahning:
^[169] Well, interesting question. Have we become desensitized? I think with all the violence we are face to face with every day, it becomes difficult to always care as much as we should. It always takes a drastic, awful event to actually start doing something against it. Maybe, in a way we have become desensitized but it doesn't mean we don't care!

Interviewer:
^[170] What is your motto?

Jahning:
^[171] Actually, I don't think I really have something like a motto. Just take every day as it comes and make the best out of it! Hey, that probably is a motto, huh?

Interviewer:
^[172] What do you think we take too seriously as writers?

Jahning:
^[173] Criticism.

Interviewer:
^[174] What questions should I have asked? Then answer them.

Jahning:
^[175] Are there actually any questions left?

GRIT JAHNING'S STORIES

Grit Jahning's e-mail address is: Grit_Jahning@t-online.de

Grit's site is: http://www.fanfictiongrit.homestead.com

Falling:
Sent on an errand for her mum, a fifteen year old Xena comes to Poteidaia. There she meets a small, blonde girl - and feels herself growing close to her quite without being able to explain this feeling. Not knowing about the pain Gabrielle has to go through at home, Xena leaves Potedeia after a few days. But sometimes we are meant to meet and be together. A lesson Xena is about to learn herself - but will she accept her destiny? A beginning: Taking a day off, Xena and Gabrielle use the chance to explore their feelings for each other... and sometimes all it takes is a kiss. (short story)

Never:
Set right where FIN left off. Gabrielle is on a ship heading west. But is she really alone? (short story/won a XIPPY)

Fragments:
Rayne, a tall Brit, and owner of a bar in Lübeck, Germany, and Liv, a young Swede and student at the University of Lübeck, meet as Liv comes to Rayne's bar to apply for a part time job. They both know much from their first meeting that there is something between them. Something that feels a lot like coming home. The story covers five years in their lives and their love. A love that will survive the difficulties they have to face.(Uber story -- part one is finished and posted and part two is almost done!)

You can find all my stories at: http://www.fanfictiongrit.homestead.com

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, 61-66,68-76

Biography

Amy Murphy
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)