Meet the authors • Sons of Anarchy & Mayans MC

Interview with Venomis

Could you tell us a little more about yourself?
I'm Natascha, although I prefer Natas since I always have the feeling people are mad at me when using my full name. I'm 29 years old and I live in The Netherlands. I studied archaeology, but ultimately I started to work as an editor for various Dutch publishers. I'm also a published author myself; I've published a fantasy trilogy called 'Luotisade' and next summer my first historical novel 'Leviathan' will appear. 

When did you start writing for the SOA fandom?
I started to write Runaway in February 2018 on a Dutch fanfiction website. I've been an active user there for years, but the website was starting to die and so a few months later I went back to Wattpad (which I had abandoned for around two years). I have written fantasy for years, so basing my stories on an MC show was quite something else, but I'm totally dragged into the fandom now and it's hard to write anything that's not MC-related now. 

Who's your favorite character to write/read about?
Juice! I have ten stories about Juice, so in my mind he kinda feels like my best friend haha, writing from his perspective just comes naturally. He's such a layered character, I love to explore all the different sides of him. I also enjoy myself in exploring minor characters of which I wished they had shown more of them in the show, like Half Sack, Kozik and Esai. I have also a Coco and a Happy story, but those are both stuck. It's like Juice's voice is always drowning out the others, haha.

What do you like most about writing?
I love creating my own world and diving into it (or various worlds, in my case). I can completely lose myself in my stories; I'm always toying with the characters in my head and every day new scenes come up. Especially when I'm bored when I'm in the car, the bus or taking a walk, I distract myself by fantasizing about my stories and coming up with the next scene. That's probably also why all my stories are super long, haha. What I also love, and particularly in fanfiction, is the community. Getting my fantasy trilogy published was a dream, but lately I find more joy in writing fanfiction because I love to meet other fans, read their works and encourage them, cooperate in roleplays and stories and organize things like this interview book and the awards. I've met so many amazing people because of fanfiction, almost all of my closest friends, and I honestly can't imagine a life without fanfiction and writing. 

What is your biggest struggle during writing?
Having too many ideas is my weakness. I used to bottle them up and finish my works one by one, but it doesn't work; some stories need to get out, or I have a lack of inspiration by the time I can finally work on them. A few weeks ago I paused a few of my stories, which was a relief because it always feels like an obligation to update, which is really counterproductive. 
I'm also often insecure about my writing in English because it's not my native language. I started to translate my works only to improve myself because, really, my English was horrible a few years ago. I think I'm doing better each chapter, but since I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to writing I sometimes have a hard time to let it go. 

What is your favorite work and why?
I really can't choose between 'Last Kiss Goodbye' and 'Rivals'. Last Kiss Goodbye was a bit of an experiment because it takes place in two time frames: the end of season 7 and in Juice's youth. It's amazing to dive into Juice's teenage years since its unknown territory and I love to write his history and pretending that's how it all really happened haha. I also believe the side characters are very well developed and I love the relationships between Juice and his brother, mother, best friend and girlfriend. All these people feel real to me and I barely need to think when I'm writing a chapter for that story. I also never get demotivated, which is a little miracle since it's the story with the least comments haha. I'm at a point that I don't even care even anymore because of the pleasure writing itself gives me and that kinda feels like an end goal. :) 

The second story I'm addicted to is my newest Juice-story. It's about a romance between Juice and a Mayan. I was a bit nervous when I started to write it because I never focused on a gay relationship and let's be honest, gay people are very rare in the SOA fandom and I doubted people would like it, or that I would even like it myself. But I think Juice and Raine are an amazing and strong couple and it's very exciting because it takes place in a time frame when the Mayans and Sons are enemies, so they have to hide their relationship and will be (publicly) confronted with each other other during their war. I love all the complications in the story, not only the rivalry but also being gay in an MC world and being afraid to lose everything because of the one you love. Even though the idea is a bit basic, I've never come across a fanfic like this so I'm a bit proud of it. ;D  

What is your favorite SOA fanfic written by someone else?
My favorite fanfic is 'She Will Be Loved' by Love-Ink. I've been a big fan of her other works too and honestly I thought nothing was ever going to beat 'Hands All Over' but she managed to create an even more interesting story, probably because I prefer stories that don't stick to the original story line. Love-Ink is an inspiration in itself; I admire the way she fleshes out her characters and makes me fall in love with them. It's also because of her that I started to write a story about Esai and that I gave Kozik a major role in two of my fanfictions. 

What are you looking for while reading a fanfic?
I'm actually a picky reader. I've read lots of SOA fanfictions because of the contest and I have to admit: after a while a lot feel like a repetition of things I've read before. I'm looking for an original idea, but also for layered characters that are not too different from how they are depicted in the show. I also love stories that take their time to explore things and don't rush relationships. 

What advice would you give a starting author?
Read! I would advice to read a lot to see what's already there. I didn't do that, so Runaway's plot is quite trite with a girl running away from her ex and going to the MC for help. I think I gave my own twists to the story and there's nothing wrong with a basic idea, but it might be helpful to see what route other authors have taken and do things differently. I've heard from a lot of authors that they don't read about their main character because they're afraid to unconsciously copy things but trust me; that won't happen that quickly and even if you incorporate something in your own story, you can always discuss it with the author. Most will be fine with it if it's just a minor detail around which you will spin your own story, and especially if you mention them as your inspiration. Inspiration is a weird thing; we often get it from other books, movies or shows anyway.

Oh - and this was a golden tip for me: create a playlist for your story and always listen to it when you write. Somehow the songs get mixed with the story and when I need to get in the mood for a particular story, I only have to listen to that playlist. Often before I start to write, I take a walk and listen to the playlist of the story I want to write, and after an hour I always have straightened out the ideas for the next chapter (and future scenes). 

What other fandoms can one find on your profile or do you plan to write about in the future? 
The Hobbit, Loki, Shades (from Luke Cage), Stranger Things and Vikings fanfiction can also be found at my profile, although some are paused. I have also a few stories that are finished but still have to be translated, about the Tolkien universe, another Loki one, Diaval (Maleficent) and a few others where I'm stuck, Teen Wolf, Riverdale and The Walking Dead, that I plan to translate and finish one day.