For my first Author of the Month interview, I’d like to introduce Karri Shea. Karri is a teacher, blogger, and aspiring author who has just finished an epic, novel-length sci-fi romance called “Learning to Dance.” This story is fanfiction, based on a new musical you may not have heard of (“Starship,” from the same people who wrote “A Very Potter Musical”) but you don’t have to be a fan of the musical to get into the story. The quality of Karri’s writing is amazingly high– in fact, this fanfic is more enjoyable and professionally written than many published novels.

Hi Karri! First of all, I’d like to ask you, what inspired you to write Learning to Dance?

I have been a huge fan of the work produced by Team Starkid since their first Harry Potter-based musical hit the web just over two years ago. “Starship” is their most recent production, and I found that even after I had finished watching the musical, I just couldn’t get Taz and Up out of my head. Of all the characters, their history was the richest, and just seemed to me to have so much potential, so much depth to be explored. After finding a few like-minded fans on Tumblr who had begun writing and posting “Tup” (Taz + Up) fanfic, I decided to take a break from my own projects to write and post what would become the beginning of “Learning to Dance.” I hadn’t really written any fanfic since I was a teenager, and thought I might have some fun with it. I had no idea at the time what it was going to develop into.

I’m not the only fan of this story. Could you tell us a bit about the community around “Learning to Dance,” and how it started? Who are your fans? What are some of the responses you’ve gotten to your story?

The response to this story of mine has been completely unexpected, humbling, incredible, and a little bit overwhelming, but in the best possible way. I received enough positive feedback from the first instalment to encourage me to continue, and as I plotted out the story and published each chapter in turn, I began hearing from more and more people who were enjoying it. Sometime after chapter 11 was published, a talented young artist named Ree posted the first piece of “Learning to Dance” fanart, and over the next few months I watched with complete incredulity as things began to explode, in ways I could never have imagined. In addition to the wonderful art by Ree and others, LtD readers have created and shared songs, original piano compositions, videos, LtD trailers, t-shirts, armbands, graphics, role-playing blogs, and even fanfic (I like to refer to this as “fanfic-ception”) inspired by the events and original characters of “Learning to Dance.” And then, of course, there’s Pedro’s Army.

What is Pedro’s Army?

How do I explain Pedro’s Army? Pedro’s Army is a group of LtD readers, founded by a vibrant young lady named Carlie (the third member, along with myself and Ree, of the so-called “Golden Trio of Tup”), who take their name from one of the original characters I created for “Learning to Dance.” They range in age from pre-teen to mid-twenties, and live all over the world. The community they have formed defies description. They have a Facebook page, hang out on Tumblr, and often can be found in their Tinychat room, reading chapters of LtD to each other, discussing other common interests such as Doctor Who or Pottermore, and breaking out in general hilarity. They are responsible for much of the LtD-inspired creativity I described above, and I cannot begin to describe my gratitude for the support they have given me and my story throughout this entire experience. They are some of the funniest, most creative, caring and welcoming people I have ever had the pleasure to know, and I have received truly touching messages about how members have found love and support there they’ve been unable to find anywhere else in their lives. I am in constant awe of them.

I love the mounting sexual and romantic tension between Taz and Up. Have you thought about writing a sex scene for them? Would you consider writing romances in the future?

I get this question a lot! Believe it or not, in “Starship” it is established that both Taz and Up are virgins as of the events of the musical, and so I couldn’t have written a sex scene for them even if I’d wanted to (though this did allow for plenty of sexual tension between them, which I had fun writing). I have no objection to sex scenes so long as they don’t seem gratuitous to the plot of a work of fiction, and in the case of “Learning to Dance,” I think it would have been.

For some reason, I rarely read novels that are classified purely as romance, although I like a healthy heaping of it in my reading material. But “Learning to Dance,” in the end, is more of a romance than anything else, so I may surprise myself someday.

Do you like science fiction? What are your favorite sci-fi TV shows and movies?

I am more of a fantasy girl than sci-fi, but one of my favourite shows of all time is Battlestar Galactica, which is purely good television regardless of its genre, and I have watched the entirety of Star Trek TNG, Voyager, and Enterprise (and am working my way through Deep Space Nine). Having never written in the sci-fi genre before, I relied rather heavily on what I learned watching these shows to flavour the adventures I gave Taz and Up in LtD.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

I always find this a difficult question to answer. I admire specific elements of different authors’ writing – the pure creative genius of Scott Westerfeld’s world-building, the authenticity of Stephanie Perkins’ teenaged characters and relationships, the engaging, incredible voice Rick Riordan gives to his young protagonist, Percy Jackson. I love the style and humour of Roald Dahl and the wit of Jane Austen. And I can never say enough about JK Rowling’s meticulous plotting and story-telling abilities, or the way she gave millions upon millions of readers something – and someone – they could really connect with through the Harry Potter series.

Some authors– like JK Rowling– really support their fans, and support the writing of fanfic in general. But other authors hate it. George R.R. Martin considers it copyright infringement or “bad training for any aspiring author” (you can see more of his stance here)– and Diana Gabaldon courted controversy last year by stating that fanfic was immoral and illegal. She also said that “it makes me want to barf whenever I’ve inadvertently encountered some of it involving my characters.” (Her blog entry where she rants about fanfiction has been deleted, but you can read a decent summary of it on Fandom Wank.)

If you could speak to Martin or Gabaldon, how would you defend your love of fanfic? Do you think– as opposed to Martin’s opinion– that it makes great practice for an aspiring author?

No one is going to take the time to write fanfiction based around your work unless they adore it. Every fanfic is a gift of love, and I’m afraid I have a hard time understanding why any author would find this offensive. That being said, I firmly believe that fanfic writers must be careful to follow a code of ethics – if you don’t own it, don’t claim it, and never ever attempt to make money off of someone else’s work – and respect the wishes of individual authors on the subject. (Don’t worry, Mr. Martin, I will not be writing any Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth fanfic anytime soon.)

I believe that writing fanfiction can be an excellent practice tool for young and developing writers. By taking the sometimes crippling character and world-building process out of the equation, fanfic writers can focus on specific aspects of their writing, such as voice, dialogue, pacing, plot. The best fanfic also aspires to maintain the original author’s characterizations and tone, a great challenge in itself. Teenagers who freeze when asked to compose a story for school might have scores of fanfic posted online, where they can get feedback on their writing and with any luck, use it to improve. I used “Learning to Dance” to practice all of these things, and I believe I’m a better writer now because of it. The trick is then to take all you’ve learned and apply it to your own, completely original work.

Would you consider someday turning “Learning to Dance” into an original fic?

No, I wouldn’t. I don’t think I could ever separate this story from Taz and Up, and they’re not mine. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing in the world Team Starkid created – but I’ve got my own ideas.

Tell me about some of your other, non-fannish, projects. What other stories are you working on right now?

I actually have several projects in various stages, and I’m looking forward to having time to focus on them again now that LtD has been completed. I write mainly for YA and middle grade audiences, because that’s what I enjoy reading, and magic usually has a way of working itself into my stories. Currently my projects include a gender-bent dystopian fantasy for YA readers, a middle grade time-travelling romp, and my first ever contemporary project, which delves into the fangirl world of the internet.

What do you think “Learning to Dance” has taught you about writing?

This story has given me the chance to stretch myself as a writer – it’s a new genre for me, and as you mentioned, the original musical is pretty goofy – so keeping my vision of Up and Taz’s story in line with what we see of them in “Starship” has taken all the creativity I’ve got. I developed new characters and backstories tailored to fit the world Team Starkid created. I got to practice writing action, dialogue, emotion, even kisses. I’ve experimented with different story-telling techniques – flashbacks, weaving together multiple story strands, even incorporating an actual Mexican legend into the narrative. But the most transformative part of this experience, for me, has probably been the response and interaction I’ve had with my readers – not only is their feedback valuable, but it is incredibly reassuring to know that people in the YA age group are able to connect with and enjoy my work. This is the first major piece of writing that I have shared with more than just a few key people, and I think that has been an important step on my journey to becoming a better writer.

You’re actually moving to Prague next week. Do you think that living in Eastern Europe will inspire you?

I’m sure it will! I previously spent two years living and teaching in China, and while there picked up plenty of little things, cultural and individual, that got me thinking about various aspects of the societies and worlds I was building in my head and on paper for future projects. I’m very much looking forward to starting fresh in a new environment, a new home. You never know where ideas come from – and I’m excited for whatever comes next.

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