Hi everyone! It's that time again: time to celebrate in honor of our Members of the Month! Your April Author of the Month is EnglishPoet18 and your Reviewer of the Month is krissyg927! 

EnglishPoet18 (Author)

What draws you to the Caryl ship?
I have to be honest here and say that I haven't always shipped Caryl. I was late to the game (Hey it happens!). I remember visiting a friend out of town and we ordered dinner in and decided to watch Netflix. We were surfing the channels for something good when I just stumbled on The Walking Dead. The whole first season was already out, but from the first episode I was hooked. What started out as a slow crawl almost immediately transpired into me completely submerging myself into the world of TWD. 

I think it was in season 2 that I started to notice something there between Daryl and Carol. The way those two interacted intrigued me and I began to want to see more of them. Then one day a fellow Caryl shipper introduced me to the world of Fanfiction and I was lost. Yes, my first story ever was not Caryl (Can I say that here?), BUT I had no idea of ships nor did I know too much about the characters at the time. 

Then it happened. I stumbled across Haitus80's story, 'Saints and Sinners'. I binged like no one has ever binged before. I literally could NOT stop until I had read every single bit. I was hooked. That's when I attempted my first Caryl fic, 'Fallen Angels' and from there as they say, the rest was history. 

There's so much history and such a rich friendship between these two that it's almost impossible not to ship them. You would have to be blind not to see it. It is, perhaps, one of the most beautiful love stories without actually being a love story that I've ever witnessed. I'm almost afraid for the writer's to take it any farther just for the simple fact that I'm scared they will screw it up. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that Caryl is my baby and although I may branch out a little, a mother never abandons her babies. 

Did I answer the question? I feel like I danced all around it. I suck at this writing thing. 

Who are your writing influences?
Wow. Good question and there are so many ways to answer it.

E.L. James. HA! Just kidding! 

Stephen King, Dean Koontz, VC Andrews...my husband and my fellow fanfiction writers as well. I have met so many wonderful people here and they influence me every day. However at the end of the day - you are your own person and we shouldn't let anyone else influence us too much or then we wouldn't be the unique individuals that we are, now would we? 

How do you handle writer’s block?
Sigh. I loathe these two words. I've suffered through so many bouts of writer's block that I should have a surefire solution to it by now, but sadly I don't. 

Music helps. Spotify is my friend and sometimes all it takes is the right song for the moment and everything else can click right into place. 

If music fails then I'll try my hand at a oneshot or simply start writing whatever comes to mind and see where it takes me. This is how 'Soulmates' came into effect and I'm actually pretty proud of that piece. 

Sometimes I've found that simply stepping away from the laptop and digging up the ancient tools known as a pen and paper do wonders for my creativity. It forces my brain to focus on what I'm working and surprisingly does help. (Try it!) 

If all of those fail then I usually find myself on Pinterest or Youtube. If I've resorted to these methods then 9 times out of 10, I usually don't end up producing anything of value because I'm a great procrastinator.

Really...ask anyone. 

Anything you want to say to your readers? ;)
What are you all thinking reading my stuff?!? Do you not have better ways to spend your time? 

LOL...Seriously though - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. 

I've been through a lot of ups and downs, had my share of trolls, and waited eons to update some stories *cough* Playing for Keeps *cough*, but even through all of that my readers have stuck by me. You all are some incredible people. Even when I manage to produce a crappy chapter they always make me feel cherished. I can't express enough what you all mean to me, but please know that I see and hear you all and you're much appreciated. 

I'm not sure how I managed to make author of the month, but I am honored. I think someone just got my name mixed up with someone elses, but I'll take it anyway. I'm easy like that (Don't think about that too much) 

krissyg927 (Reviewer)

Ok what draws me to the Caryl ship?
Carol first, from the moment she pulled that grenade out of her purse at the CDC I was blown away by her guts. She had it in her purse! She is my hero and I relate to her on a personal level. She has overcome a horrible marriage and tragedy. She is strong. Daryl is in my opinion her soulmate and I believe in soulmates in real life, too. That we meet who we are supposed to meet in life and learn the things we need to learn. So seeing it played out on the show and in wonderful fiction here makes my heart sing, for real. They both had such hard, awful lives. Then they met by some wonderful twist of fate. He showed her that all men weren't out to hurt her and she showed him he has worth. They helped each other grow and change and we get to watch. I could go on and on about this forever, total acceptance, no matter what, no jugement, complete trust, its just so beautiful. The actors, Melissa McBride and Norman Reedus, have created the perfect pair in my opinion. I don't think any other two actors would have done what they did. So what draws me is the soulmate/destiny factor I see in the relationship. It could have gone so different for them had they NOT met. I see them as two halves equaling one whole. They make each other better. Sappy but true for me.

What do you look for in a story to keep reading?
This is hard to answer because I love Caryl in all genres. As long as they are together I will read it. I actually haven't read any other books in over a year! I have read wonderful ZA, AU, Fluff, Smutt, I love all of it. I guess I just need a good story with lots of details. I am a detail person. I also like to know what the charecters are feeling in the moment. I need to know that for some reason. I also love when there's lots of other WD characters in the story. It can be angsty and emotional as long as they end up together. But I truly love everything I read.

What are your top five favorite stories?
Only five? This is not gonna be easy. I love everything I read.

• 1) Embers by Equuleus86- I totally got everything about it. I love it Big.
• 2) Of a Certain Age by Ramblinrose- I love Alice!!!, I also Loves Road Dogs :)
• 3)Fixes by The Walking Carol- I loved her Daryl, I always love him tho.
• 4) Landslide by Lamport- her portrayal of Carol making plans to escape touched me.
• 5)Safe Haven by Darylsdiva1- This is an awesome story read it if you havent.

I also really really love Fallen Angels, Atlanta PD, Contrapposto, To Never Get To Know You, Mad City, and every other story I have read here.

Anything you want to shout out to the authors out there?
What I want to say to the authors here is THANK YOU. I never know such a site existed, so thank you to the admin also. I work and go to school, have a family and a little stress in life, This is my escape and sanity sometimes.I love the stories I read and truly appreciate all the hard work everyone does. From the prespective of someone who doesn't write at all I have to say I am in awe of the talent here. Thank you so much.

Congratulations, ladies! Thank you to everyone who voted last month. Show these lovely gals some love and Caryl on!