Hello Nine Lives family! The time has come once more to honor two of our own. One author, one reviewer, both of whom bring a lot of style, pinache and enthusiasm to Nine Lives. Give it up for our August Members of the Month: Argent Gale and AmalynJon!

Argent Gale - Author of the Month

What draws you to the Caryl ship?  
Caryl is just...amazing.  Who would have thought the unlikely pairing of a battered housewife and a surly redneck would stir so many feels in me.  I love their special bond.  I love how they are always there for each other.  They know when to approach and when to step back.  They see each others strengths.  They know each others weaknesses and help each overcome those weaknesses.  The cornerstone of their relationship is a profound respect for one another.  When Norman says Carol and Daryl's relationship goes beyond being siblings...he is right.  I feel they have a soulmate thing going on.  They love each other very much. 

Who are your writing influences? 
Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Sidney Sheldon. Those are my top three. I remember when I was about 11, my mom let me read Salem's Lot. God how I loved that book. I devoured it. I love how Stephen King will write the scariest scene, create these really horrible characters, and yet he manages to interject just a bit of humor to make you chuckle while he is scaring the crap out of you. Stephen King's books were a huge part of my youth, lol. I would have to say he is a huge influence on my writing. I always loved how he described things, brought you into the story. 

How do you handle writer’s block? 
Ugh. Writer's block.  Yeah...I just had a rather nasty run in with that not very long ago.  It was getting to the point where I was getting upset for not writing...not updating.  Writing wasn't fun anymore.  It was this awful looming task.  Finally I just said to myself, "It's okay. You can quit. You don't HAVE to write."  I didn't think about writing at all for a few days. And like magic the desire came back.  So in the future if it happens again, I'll give myself  permission to rest and step back a bit.

Anything you want to say to your readers? ;) 
I love you guys.  Seriously.  Whoever nominated me for this amazing honor, I just love you to bits and I am so thrilled my work touched you so.  From the bottom of my heart, thank you.  I hope my writing continues to add to the Caryl fandom.

 

AmalynJon - Reviewer of the Month

Wow! To say I am shocked would be an understatement. I am extremely honoured. Thank you to whoever nominated me! I will do my best to review as many fics as I can to fully deserve this title! 

What draws you to the Caryl ship?

 Initially it was a picture. I was a late comer to The Walking Dead fandom. I literally just watch the entire series in October. I had always wanted to watch but I'm a bit of a wuss and anything slightly horror'ish' freaks me out so I figured I wouldn't like it. After the season 5 premiere my twitter dash was going nuts and Caryl's reunion gifs/photos were splashed all over. I thought it looked like the most beautiful reunion ever. I was certain they were married or at least together and I shipped it. I shipped them based on a photo basically. I had never seen them interact, didn't experience the build up of their relationship, had never even seen MMB or NR act before but I just wanted those two characters to be happy and together. I took the plunge and watched the entire series in two weeks and I loved it and I was definitely still aboard the Caryl train.

 I guess to answer the question more directly, I continued to be drawn to Caryl because it is so unique. There is really nothing like their relationship on television. Just these two lost souls, with much in common, who found each other when the world went to hell. Even if it never goes romantically canon we have been witness to a beautiful friendship.  It helps that Norman and Melissa have mad chemistry as well!

 But also, MMB basically came to own my soul in those two weeks so Carol's happiness is a top priority for me and I totally think Daryl makes her happy.

What do you look for in a story to keep reading?

 Characterization is huge. If I am starting a story and I get to a point where Daryl or Carol do or say something totally off the wall, I'm out, Like if Daryl is all “Hey baby, how you doin'?� and the story isn't some freaky Friday type thing then I will slowly back out. That doesn't mean that the story is bad, it's just not something that I am interested in.

 I think we all establish mindsets of things we are not interested in seeing in a Caryl fic (or fics in general). Interestingly enough, there have been times where I have went into fics where I was certain I would not enjoy what I was about to read because of those mindsets, but then I have my mind blown by an amazing and well written story. I have learnt that I need to be open to all the possibilities, you never know when you will fall in love with a genre you thought impossible to love. (ie. I'm looking at you Stephtron312 and your HS AU that had me giddy with every update!)

I won't lie, a slow burn tale chock full of emotion and sexual tension really does it for me!

What are your top five favorite stories?

 I don't think I have read even half of the Caryl fics out there. There is so many more than five that I count as favourites but I won't list them all! I am going to cheat though (like most have) and include a few more than five. These stories in particular either were ones I couldn't stop reading and/or were ones that left a lasting impression on me. The Long Road Home – Tinkerbell99, If It Helps – sweettooth7, Down in the Willow Garden – Praxid (on ff.net), Broken Mirrors – ramblinrose, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades – NotLaura, The Sunny Side of You & Me – Stephtron312. The next four are works in progress but are all amazing and have me longing to find out what is going to happen next! Mad City – Fairies Masquerade, Five Veils – Argent Gale, the midas light turning your limbs to gold – queenpeletier, and Little Do You Know – Sweet Little Bullet. Seriously though, so many fics in this fandom are pure gold!

Anything you want to say to all the Caryl authors out there?

 Thank you! Thank you for your creativity, your time, all your sweat and blood that you put into each and every story. I think it is important to remember that you should write for yourself first. Write what you want and write it in a time that you are comfortable with. In another fandom I got so bogged down by trying to churn out fast updates to please others and it nearly turned me off of writing. Also, don't ever be afraid to put your stuff out there, especially here on NineLives. It is so worth it! You are all amazing and I look forward to all the adventures that await!