Interview!
How long have you been creating fan art or writing fan fiction? Unofficially, I've been writing fan fiction since I was a wee pollitt. It wasn't until the summer of 2000 (ten years ago!) that I fell into fandom with the show Oz and the HBO boards, and before you could say "fanfic" I was posting.
What drew you into fandom in the first place? See above. I was going through a pretty rough breakup and started watching Oz and reading every book I could get my hands on (which included the first three Harry Potters in anticipation for the release of the fourth.) and I found I wanted to talk about these shows and books and characters I was watching and reading about. I found the HBO boards and online discussions of Harry Potter, and it all went from there.
Best thing about SGA fandom: go! The community--the fans and the actors. I love how creative the fans, writers and artists are in the fandom and how supportive so much of the fandom is. And I adore how much the actors loved the show and their fans, and how they stay in touch.
Are you a fandom monogamist or do you participate in other fandoms? Which ones? I'm active in, and have been active in, a number of fandoms. Within the fandoms, however, I'm very, rabidly, almost insanely monogamous to my pairings. I'm an OTP girl.
Other fandoms I've participated in--be it just reading, or writing about, and to varying degrees--are: Oz, due South, House, Harry Potter, Horatio Hornblower, SG1, Oceans movies, Shelter, One Life to Live, Castle, Bones, Angel, CSI, Sports Night, Doctor Who, True Blood, Torchwood.
Best thing about McKay/Sheppard: go! That they are friends first, and they just *fit* together. Since their first steps on Atlantis, they've been doing it together--Sheppard and McKay, understanding one another's quirks, bickering, bantering and saving worlds, and protecting one another no matter what.
Why did you decide to participate in McShep Match? I've been participating since the first year, and I can't imagine not participating. I love sharing my joy of McShep with like-minded fans :)
And how did you choose Team Work/Play? First and foremost, I am an optimist and I love lightheartedness and Team Play definitely allows me to put my particular spin on McShep. And it's fun!
Best thing about your contribution to this year's Match: go! John's big realization and the aftermath is pure, happy, in love, dorkface John and Rodney.
Where can interested readers/viewers find more of your work? My Memories and at An Archive of Our Own. I need to update both.
A word to our sponsors? Be. Sure. To. Drink. Your. Ovaltine.
Extra Questions
1. Your user name intrigues me - can you elaborate on it? I'd love to! The short answer is that Pollitt is the last name of the family in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Mendacity (my fannish email address and website name) is the favorite word of the Pollitt clan.
I was raised watching Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Paul Newman in his blue pajamas. It's a thing of beauty.) and when I grew a bit older, I read the play and saw the play, and it is, has been, and will always be one of my favorire plays ever. Long before I got involved in fandom, when I was writing stories in my wide ruled notebook, I decided that the name I'd write under was M. Pollitt and when I began posting fic… I knew exactly the name I'd write under.
2. What is your favorite McShep piece you've created and why?
This, I thought, was going to be an easier question. But then I went back and reread three of the contenders, the first ones that sprang to mind as being close to my heart… and I had second thoughts. But in the end, I think the first one that came to mind is the one I'm going to go with, and that's Vigil. I wrote the story for a sga_flashfic/picfor1000 and because it was only 1000 words, every word had to be carefully chosen, there was no room for filler. And I think it was a success. There's love, devotion, and a man of science who turns to faith when his lover is missing. I love the quiet interactions between Rodney and his friends and teammates, and the feeling of family and community. And above all, it's a love story.
(The runners up (because I had to cheat a little and mention more than one story ;) were Requiem, which is a post-"Sunday" piece, and Gravity and Inertia which is five moments in John and Rodney's relationship and it has the dorky-in love moments that I love and that my muses tend to specialize in.)