EpiGuide Chat - June 14, 2009 - Interview with Kira Lerner, the Epiguide's co-founder, administrator and Editor-in-Chief, and writer of About Schuyler Falls.

NOTE: The only edits to this transcript were to remove side chatter (such as greetings and personal/off-topic discussions). Comments themselves remain original and intact. The start of the interview was conducted primarily by Andy Eckles.

Andy Eckles: So our interview today is with Kira Lerner, writer/producer of About Schuyler Falls, and the editor/administrator of the Epiguide.....welcome Kira.

kira: Thanks, Andy. Evenin', all.

Andy Eckles: kira, tell us about who you are (i.e. your location, your family, your professional life, and other miscellaneous items you'd like to share)

kira: All in a bunch? Okiedoke. Well, I'm in NYC, Manhattan to be exact; I've lived in NY all my life, but grew up on Long Island and moved here after college.

Andy Eckles: So you are a New York native then.

kira: Oh definitely. Born and bred. I even went to college in Albany. Wow, that's kinda sad now that I think about it. I wish I had a wider range of living experience, geographically speaking.

Andy Eckles: I often hear that New York natives couldn't see themselves living anywhere else because they love it that much. Is that a true statement?

kira: Hm. Well, I could see living in London, and I could definitely see living somewhere blissfully country-ish in New England somewhere.

kira: I am used to the vibe here in NY, but I could get unused to it too, I think. I'd miss it for sure.

Andy Eckles: I'm sure it's a lifestyle that you really do come to get used to.

Andy Eckles: Do you work in Manhattan as well?

kira: True, though I'd say I have a fairly atypical NYC life because I'm such a homebody. Yes, I work in Manhattan, indeed from my very home.

Simply Bexeth: i'm late but i'm here...

kira: (Hiya Bex!) Erm, familywise, I'm single and have two older sisters, plus a brother-in-law and a ridiculously fabulous and talented niece. My parents are sadly passed away.

Andy Eckles: Is your family creative as well?

kira: Disgustingly so. We all grew up very musical; my oldest sister is a pianist and teaches music at a private school, and my other sister studied to be a singer, like me.

kira: My mom and pop also sang, and my father wrote and was a radio announcer for a little while in the post WWII period.

Andy Eckles: I did not know you studied to be a singer. In what capacity?

kira: Musical theater and opera, studied 'em in high school and majored in college. I really thought that was gonna be my career.

Andy Eckles: What changed your mind in going that route?

kira: (Actually there's a youtube of a community production of "Kiss Me Kate" out there where I played the lead. We'll see if I have the cojones to link to it...) (Edit: link added! - kl)

Andy Eckles: I

Andy Eckles: i'm sure a lot of us will seach for it now.

Simply Bexeth: (yep, searching)

kira: My name isn't on that sucker, so good luck! :)

Andy Eckles: haha. ok, fair enough.

kira: The reason I didn't go into it... well, there were a couple of reasons.

kira: As I've mentioned in the past, I have a lifelong battle with depression and social phobia. This always made things difficult for me, performingwise, although once I was on stage I had no fear whatsoever. (Weirdly.) But I managed to persevere until my mom died back before my junior year of college.

Andy Eckles: Did things change then for your stage life?

kira: Definitely. I think I lost my strength and my joy of singing with her death. She was always my biggest supporter and I just kinda caved in on myself. I graduated from college and made a few half-hearted attempts at workshops and things but I really couldn't beat the depression.

Andy Eckles: sometimes tragedies do take away the joy in things that we love doing, so I think a lot of us can understand that

kira: Yes, it's fairly common. So I ended up taking jobs at music-related institutions (the New York Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall), which at least kept me connected to the music field, but that was as far as I could go.

Andy Eckles: What about now? Do you ever have aspirations to return to your roots of music-related professions?

kira: I dream about it. I can honestly say I was never as happy as I was on stage. But y'know, I'm 42 (almost 43) and I'm overweight and really, there ain't much of a likelihood of an actual career. But someday I would like to take lessons again. I've sung at many a wedding and funeral.

Andy Eckles: What do you do now as a profession?

kira: Mostly web design and site maintenance for a variety of clients, as well as copywriting/editing for a book publisher.

kira: Jobs I would not have if it weren't for ASF, by the way, so there ya go.

kira: Oh for a brief while I was with CBS Daytime, that's probably something that would interest the folks out there. But it was VERY brief.

Andy Eckles: so ASF led to some career developments? That is wonderful.

kira: Yeah, it's pretty cool, I must say. Something that distracted me at my fundraising jobs led me to another career.

Andy Eckles: What did you do for CBS?

kira: I was assistant to the Director of Daytime Programming (East), who had responsibilty for CBS's NY-based soaps, ATWT and GL.

kira: Basically the scut work one can expect from such a position: reading scripts, writing stuff for the website, writing summaries of said scripts for the promo writers, that kinda thing.

Andy Eckles: Still that's very impressive even for scut work!

kira: Oooh I helped 'cover' the Emmys for the website, that was fun.

Andy Eckles: Was that a result of ASF as well?

kira: Well, it was a result of my interest in writing soaps, of which ASF was the most worrying symptom. :)

kira: I actually just went to the Director for an informational meeting -- I'd gone to a career counselor to discuss how to proceed in a writing career, and this counselor just happened to know the PR person at CBS Daytime. Freakish coincidence!

Andy Eckles: Speaking of About Schuyler Falls, it debuted in November, 1997. Can you give us a summary of how it came about?

kira: The short version of ASF's history: while at Carnegie Hall, I had a habit of writing silly little genre stories and sending them to colleagues, who would then supply the next paragraphs of the story.

kira: At one point my friends Cassie and Victoria both mentioned how much they'd loved soaps back in the late '80s early '90s, and we started to write a ridiculous round robin soap story, starting with the murder of a waitress. We all got really into it ...

kira: This went on for MONTHS. Eventually Victoria left, but Cassie and I looked back at the old stuff and realized, y'know, this was damn good and had lots of potential. So we looked into publishing it online. I did lots of research into online series, which in those days numbered maybe a dozen, and learned how to create websites on AOL.

kira: Cassie & I rewrote all of ASF with an eye to removing the most ridiculous aspects of it, like ghosts and implanted babies and so on. And then we premiered in November '97. I'd say the whole thing took two years to gestate.

kira: (Yipe, and yes, that was the "short" version.)

Andy Eckles: Did you both co-write it at that time? How long did that last?

Andy Eckles: the co-writing aspect, i mean

kira: Oh yes indeed! Cassie and I split the writing duties for the entire first season, and the planning of the second season. Cassie then had the unmitigated gall to get married, and thus was too busy with that which I believe is called "real life" to continue. :)

Andy Eckles: Do you still talk to Cassie?

kira: We planned a great deal together moving forward, though, and there are still aspects of the story that can be blamed--er, credited--to Cassie.

Andy Eckles: Wow, that's great plotting!

kira: No, we've drifted apart, sadly. It's difficult when you're single and a friend is married... life just turns very different for both of you.

Andy Eckles: True.

kira: (...But in fairness it's mostly due to my depression. I have a tendency to cocoon and not get in touch with folks.)

Andy Eckles: So....now that we know about the birth of ASF, where is it sitting today? Last year you brought the story back and posted severeal episodes. Are there more in the pike?

kira: It actually came back in '07, scarily enough. Yes, I do want to continue and more episodes are in the hopper.

Andy Eckles: That's great! I know it is one of the mose acclaimed series on the web. What do you think sets it apart from other series?

kira: Oh lordy.

kira: Um. Well, I don't know. I try my best to write in an engaging way, so that readers really feel like they are *there*, y'know? There's a lot more description of senses in ASF than I see in other series.

kira: Like, I try to show what the point of view character in each scene is seeing, hearing, feeling... I do my best to make things visceral.

Andy Eckles: It does appeal to every sense, I think.

kira: Thank you! What else ... well, it's pretty dark and more mystery-based than maybe some other series. Mainly 'cause I suck at romance, LOL. No, actually it's because I like psychologically-damaged, very flawed characters.

Andy Eckles: Does any of the story model after real life? Yours or otherwise?

kira: Heh -- model after real life? I guess I answered that with "psychologically damaged, very flawed characters." :)

Andy Eckles: haha, ok, point taken!

kira: Yes, all the characters are #$%^&* d up, and there's a lot of angst and tragedy, which sadly does stem from my life.

Andy Eckles: Do you believe in the first rule of writing, "write what you know?"

kira: Also, the characters are ... forgive me ... pretty articulate and smart. I have many faults and lots of insecurities but even I can admit I'm smart.

Andy Eckles: so there's a bit of you in all of your characters?

kira: Very much so. Too much so.

kira: Even the scumbags.

Andy Eckles: Moving on from ASF for a minute, what shocks you?

kira: As far as writing what you know...

Andy Eckles: oh, yes, go ahead

kira: Well, I actually think it's more important to "know what you write." In other words, you don't have to stick to your own life experiences/knowledge. But if you DO go outside that stuff (as I think everyone should now and then), you should absolutely do your best to learn as much as you can about said subjects.

kira: That's the researcher in me. (I was a researcher in my fundraising days.)

Andy Eckles: I agree. Particularly in this genre.

kira: Amen, and researching is FUN. You can get so many new ideas from research!

kira: So what shocks me. Cruelty, I think. Lack of compassion. Or are you asking for something specific?

Andy Eckles: No, just general so we can get to know Kira Lerner

kira: Gotcha. So yeah, I guess what shocks me is when people display a lack of concern about others, especially those in difficult situations: the poor, sick, or just plain *different* from others. I know I shouldn't be shocked but I can't help the outrage whenever I hear certain politicians or broadcasters. It always feels like the first time I've encountered it.

Andy Eckles: What are your pet peeves?

kira: Pet peeves: people who don't like animals, inconsiderate smokers, inconsiderate cell phone users, omg, cell phone users.... yeah, they're the biggest pet peeve these days.

Andy Eckles: They really are, aren't they? You go to dinner with soemone and they spend the whole time texting? I hate that

JAYJAY1979: i'm guilty of that :)

kira: Seriously! I know I'm showing my age, but my GOD, people: step. away. from. the. electronic. nipples.

Andy Eckles: We'll deal with you later then, JAYSON

Andy Eckles: Oh i Know - put it down people.

Andy Eckles: It's like "you're with me but apparently i'm not interesting enough"

Simply Bexeth: speaking of that, obscenely loud and obnoxious ring tones bother me as well...

kira: Oh I'm annoyed by people just walking in the street suckling on the teat of their iPhone or iPod or Blackberry or whatever the hell they've got attached to 'em. It's like no one can be alone or by themselves anymore. We Must Be Occupied! Every Minute of the Day!

JAYJAY1979: guilty of that too :)

Andy Eckles: haha. Kira,as a New Yorker, has your life changed since 9/11? Or your outlook on life?

kira: Ooh good question.

kira: Certainly it made me more fearful, for quite a while. I admit I still get nervous when I hear a low-ish flying airplane.

Andy Eckles: I'll bet.

kira: The aftermath, how our government reacted, made me more politically active and aware and, well, angry.

kira: I felt a lot of outrage that NY was being used as some kind of focal point on the war on terror.

Andy Eckles: I can imagine so. It was horrorific for everyone else in the country, but I'm sure unless you lived in NYC at the time, you weren't fully aware of the horror.

Andy Eckles: The aftermath, etc.

kira: Like, certain political types HATE New York. We're East Coast liberals, we're godless, we're next door to commies, that kinda thing. But when we're politically useful, they'll use our tragedy for gain. #$%^&* off, I say.

kira: (Dang, I really thought I'd gotten rid of the censor.)

kira: Whew. Anyway. Sorry for blathering. I don't mean to use this as a soapbox.

Simply Bexeth: your interview. Blather as you wish!

Andy Eckles: Not at all.

kira: As far as the horror, yes. I don't think I'll forget the smell of ashes in the air that lasted for a couple of weeks after the event.

JAYJAY1979: it's cool.... venting is the most important thing in life

Andy Eckles: How did 9/11 change the media like soaps and even websoaps?

kira: Another great question. I think there was a time when soaps and websoaps were tentatively dipping their toes in war-related storylines.

kira: Some were exploitative, some were sensitive. I don't think they were in it for the long haul, though, which is the problem. It's too big an issue to dabble in.

Andy Eckles: Either do it all the way, or don't do it at all.

kira: Well, pretty much, yeah. It's a tough issue.

kira: I think I made a conscious effort to create an Arab/Muslim character as a result of the war.

kira: His religion isn't really a major part of the character, but I just wanted to include a normal, sympathetic guy with this background/

Andy Eckles: Were you happy with that character and the outcome/

kira: Sadly my pathetic episode production rate has slowed down his involvement in storylines (along with everyone else's!). The character, Kalid, is a psychiatrist and has only just (in the last episode) gotten several good scenes.

kira: Considering the number of psychos in Schuyler Falls, he will be very busy in future.

Andy Eckles: haha, no doubt.

Andy Eckles: Speaking generally, what do you think is the future for webseries and web entertainment? Do you see it changing in big ways?

kira: Yes, I think we're already seeing that. The focus these days is on video webseries; we texties probably seem woefully behind the times.

Andy Eckles: Even with the recent addition of things like the Another World revival on the net?

Andy Eckles: in a texed-based format, et al.

kira: Many of the newer text-based series tend to be on blogs and use a more "serial novel" format -- not, IMO, taking full advantage of the web's capabilities.

kira: I certainly hope the AW revival gives the text-based series more of a spotlight.

Andy Eckles: I think it will - what a great thing to remind everyone of its value.

kira: Amen.

kira: I think they could do a better job at integrating the web's nonlinear capabilities to their site, though. There's almost no excuse for not having links within their episodes to character bios and so on.

Andy Eckles: So, you are the editor/administrator for the Epiguide. Tell us honestly, how is that gig going for you?

kira: Ah the Eppy. It's a tougher job than I think people realize.

Andy Eckles: Do you feel like the principle of a high school?

kira: High school if we're lucky! :)

Andy Eckles: Ok, junior high at times!

kira: No, we actually have a good group of folks here these days. There's ALWAYS ebb and flow, and sometimes the craz-- er, eccent-- uh, *livelier* types are more prominent than at other times.

Simply Bexeth: I think a lot of the time, you do not get the credit you deserve for keeping this place going, kira. I must say, I do admire what you've done by acting as "den mother" for the community, through various phases of growth, as it were...

kira: Wow thank you, Bex. I really appreciate that.

Simply Bexeth: I also apologize for not giving you proper credit before....

Andy Eckles: I can imagine, not only the technical aspects, but the moderating and reminding those individuals of forum rules, etc, must feel like a full time job a times.

kira: No need to apologize at all, Bex. But it's very kind of you to say.

kira: Part of being an admin is alternating between being invisible and very very visible. I don't always make a good balance.

kira: Yeah, if y'all only knew how much time I spend on new registrations and lost passwords and weeding out spammers and so on!

Andy Eckles: I think people don't realize that!

kira: The fact that we seem to get so few spammers is totally misrepresenting how many actually creep onto our sunny shores.

kira: Recently I started moderating new posters, which means even more work alas.

Simply Bexeth: That's something I didn't realize; that new posters were moderated...

kira: Do you want to know how the Eppy started? I don't think we've really discussed it much, recently.

Simply Bexeth: I was just going to ask.

Andy Eckles: yes, my next question indeed.

kira: Yep, Bex. It just began about... oh, two months ago, maybe? New guys have to make six posts that past muster before they become unmoderated. (Sometimes I switch 'em to unmoderated sooner, if I get the sense that they're legit.)

kira: Like ... that spammer who posted the game thread? That was actually moderated and I could've just deleted it rather than bringing it live, but instead--because it was an interesting subject (and admittedly because I thought of a funny respond with)--I decided to let it go through.

kira: Okay, so about the Eppy's origins.

kira: Back in February or March of '98, I was contacted by the producer of "Lake Cybersen" (you can tell this was a long time ago... serials had such gimmicky titles!) about starting a website promoting our series.

kira: Eric, for such 'twas his name, asked me for some ideas on whom to invite, and since I was a fan of Covington Bay, I suggested Anthony Langford, the producer; I also recommended these two young producers of the series Nordan's Isle, an atmospheric and beautifully written British series. Eric meanwhile contacted the producer of Newport, Daryl Russ, and Travis Covert, who wrote Casino.

kira: So because I was the most into web design and that kinda stuff, I dealt with getting the domain ("EpisodicReview.com" -- a worse name for a new site you couldn't find) and creating the site. We decided we'd create articles about our series and ask for outsiders to write reviews.

Andy Eckles: episodic review still comes up on google searches. amazing how nothing on the web is ever gone forever.

kira: Oh I still have the domain and keep it active. You never know! :) But I always lusted for "Epiguide.com" which was a webseries review site run by Oliver Willis, who is now a prominent blogger. Meanwhile, I brought on a couple of people, Mike Chwastiak -- who had a website devoted to analyzing/reviewing websites, but whom I didn't know -- and a friend of mine, Chloe Samuels, who was a colleague in PR and who'd helped with ASF's search engine stuff.

kira: Anyway, we started out pimping our own sites, and it was pretty much a glorified network where "featured series" had to participate with articles and recaps and so on. Later on we decided to change the standard for FSers by dropping the requirements and making "Featured" more of a reward for quality of the series rather than just willingness to promote themselves.

kira: Lots and lots of drama over the years, as you can imagine.

Andy Eckles: yes. was ASF ever a featured series?

kira: The stories ... the hatred ... the death threats ... you wouldn't believe.

Andy Eckles: hatred over what?

kira: Yes, ASF began as a featured series -- hey, we were cofounders, we kinda had to be! :) Originally, the Eppy was co-administered and co-written. I kept getting more and more responsibility for the site, and gradually I realized I needed to ask for the power to run the damn thing already.

kira: Once I became Editor in Chief, I took ASF out as Featured Site.

JAYJAY1979: logical

kira: ... To avoid conflict of interest and accusations of self-hypery.

kira: So as far as the hatred goes... Well, the newer series tended to expect to become Featured Sites and didn't always understand that we kinda wanted a series to have a relatively longterm history before we recommended it. I think we -- or at least I -- didn't do a good enough job of emphasizing that the newbies were welcome. Anyway, that led to resentments and accusations of being Haters and splits to new magazine sites that competed with us and slammed the Eppy for elitism and omg stop.

Andy Eckles: so when was the switch from episodic review to epiguide?

kira: The switch came when at long last I noticed that EpiGuide.com was available. This coincided with my purchase of vBulletin software and a move to a forum-based site.

kira: Other drama came in the form of fanfic vs. original series, of sci-fi series vs. soaps, of East coast rappers vs. West--- oh wait, no, that wasn't us.

Andy Eckles: haha, wow, sounds like a bitter time in the era of websoaps.

Andy Eckles: *webseries.

kira: It was crazy. CRA-zee.

Andy Eckles: things seem relatively tame now.

kira: And yet it was a bit fun, too. The rough and tumble world certainly made for good gossip.

Simply Bexeth: speaking for myself alone, a lot of it can be explained by a lack of maturity, and a lot of misunderstandings.

Andy Eckles: ditto. ;)

kira: I think that explains it for me, too. Though I can't blame it on immaturity, just general bitterness. I admit I've gotten a harder shell as time passed, and thus I probably don't seem as supportive as I should be. As I *want* to be. I really do try to make things easier for the newbies but I am sadly often just worn out.

Simply Bexeth: trust me, I tried to do the same with my own split-off-eppy community, and I was amazed at how fast I got burned out. a year later, I didn't cae anymore.

Simply Bexeth: So Kira, you got my props for sticking it out

Andy Eckles: I'm sure it makes it difficult to take when there are new series coming and going every few months.

kira: Thanks! I forgot about the Thought Box. That was a supportive environment. I feel very strongly that networks are of immense value to series. They're not required, certainly, but the mutual support can be vital, especially when just starting out.

Simply Bexeth: RIP Thought Box, which is now Pimp My Site (Desi did that, not me...)

kira: LOL!!! Awesome.

kira: I miss that aspect of the Eppy. Er, not the pimping ... we get a helluva lot of pimping ... but the mutual group of producers working together to create a site that's bigger than themselves.

Simply Bexeth: It's a utopia of an idea, which I think you achieved at times...and can very well achieve again. Just getting more involved is the obstacle.

kira: I really want people to have a feeling of ownership of the EpiGuide, but I don't think it's possible without that Featured Site aspect. People want quid pro quo, which is to a degree quite understandable. But it means I feel all the more grateful for people who participate with articles, like Jay (south beach) and Ira.

Simply Bexeth: I miss Aunt Eppy, personally.

Andy Eckles: When I found the epi about 4 years ago, I was thrilled. I never knew anything like it existed. I think it's a real useful tool for a lot of people.

kira: LOL, Aunt Eppy! Ah yes. She was a hoot. :)

kira: It's a tool all right. :D

JAYJAY1979: who was aunt eppy?

kira: It was an 'advice column' whereby webseries characters could send in their problems and receive advice from the eponymous "Ephilia," aka Aunt Eppy.

JAYJAY1979: that sounded interesting....

Simply Bexeth: The identity of Aunt Eppy was a closely guarded secret, though I always had my theories...

JAYJAY1979: when did aunt eppy retire?

kira: She was cowritten by ... oh lord, I don't remember the author's name. :( Maryiana, maybe? Anyway, she wrote a first draft, and I edited it and added to it.

Simply Bexeth: that's who i thought it was! i found a post taht alluded to it, a long ass time ago...

kira: Marianya. I think that was her name. She was one of the writers of ... oh GOD my brain is going. One of the skating soaps... Okay, Currents.

Simply Bexeth: Is Currents still around?

kira: Y'know, I'm not sure. I think they have tried to get started again -- they're one of the groups that started as an email RPG and ended up creating episodes -- and the trouble there is that if a writer drops out, you lose the characters s/he created altogether.

Simply Bexeth: yes, one of the cons of a group effort.

JAYJAY1979: exactly

kira: I feel like Currents used to be a Featured Ste, too. I know Secret Horizons was, and I associate those two series together.

kira: Yeah, thankfully Cassie and I never had that setup. We both wrote for all characters.

Andy Eckles:Kira, when a new series debuts and begins "advertising" on the Eppy, do you always log on to chck it out?

kira: I fear that the RPG-as-webseries sometimes feels a bit ... disjointed. There are scads of characters and they rarely interact, mainly because the writers don't seem to crossover as much.

kira: Andy -- I absolutely do. I don't know of a webseries mentioned on the EpiGuide that I haven't checked out. It's my responsibility, I think.

kira: Even if it's not in a genre that particularly appeals to me, I just think it behooves me to stay aware of the scene.

Andy Eckles: As I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of sereis that come with a big splashy premiere, then fade away without a word. After so many years, can you usually pinpoint which new series will suffer this fate?

kira: What an interesting question! I think ... I think sometimes they're surprisingly unpredictable. ...

JAYJAY1979: how so?

kira: Some of the sites that are beautifully put together and seem to have promise end up fizzling a lot sooner than I'd expect. I wish I didn't have so much cold medicine in me so I could remember a few names.

kira: ... And some of the series that seem a bit slapdash end up hanging around. You really can't tell.

Andy Eckles: Ten years ago would you have thought Footprints would still be around today with almost 500 episodes in the bag? ;-)

Simply Bexeth: Do you think some of the early fizzling could be a failed quest for "fame"? Some of the ones I encountered wanted to be insanely popular overnight, then fizzled when that didn't happen. They just gave up

JAYJAY1979: Sometimes life gets in the way of creativity..... it affects everyone differently I think

kira: Ten years ago? (Thinks back...) No, probably not. Well, I might've expected the 500+ episodes, but I definitely was surprised and amazed at Michael's growth as a writer in that time. It seemed to happen overnight, though I'm sure he doesn't feel that way. I mean, one day he was sticking Claire in a vat of acid, the next he had one of the best series.

kira: That's only in retrospect, though. It really was a lot of hard work on Michael's part.

kira: And a long time coming. So to answer your question, Bex...

kira: Yes, I absolutely think it's a desire for a quick burst of fame and popularity, rather than being in it for the long haul, like Michael was, like I was, like many of us are.

Simply Bexeth: One (without naming names) was really annoying about it. Every other day, bugging people to read his/her story...

Andy Eckles: are you talking about me, Bex? :(

Andy Eckles: lol

Simply Bexeth: How did you guess, Andy????!!!!

Simply Bexeth: lol

JAYJAY1979: I recall one poster did announce a lot of times that he had to withdraw from writing due to difficulties, lack of fan interest, etc

Simply Bexeth: yes, that one too...

JAYJAY1979: I write for fun...

kira: It is DAMN hard to get an audience. ASF had a much smaller playing field when we started and it was still hard to grab audience eyes. I got lucky (well, okay, it wasn't really just luck) when Yahoo named us "Site of the Day," and thus we got a flood of new visitors. But that was a result of both luck of the draw -- that Yahoo apparently had nothing better to highlight that day! -- :) and our own hard work in site promotion, search engine optimization, and hopefully having a good series.

Simply Bexeth: I agree with that. I will stop when I am done. If everyone reads it, great. If not, that's fine too. I got very preoccupied with it myself...and it just burned me out with BCD faster than it would have, otherwise.

Andy Eckles: Kira, those are all of the questions I had prepared. Anyone else can feel free to fire away their own now.

JAYJAY1979: i have one...

kira: Thank you, Andy.

kira: Great questions all.

kira: Shoot, Jayson!

JAYJAY1979: do you think ASF is similiar to the late Edge of Night? If so, how so? If not, how so?

kira: Huh. Now that's a fascinating notion. I lurved EON back in the day -- probably my first soap opera, mainly 'cause it was after school. I would say there's a definite similarity in the focus on suspense and mystery, and a more ...

kira: "sophisticalted" (for lack of a better word) presentation. EON seemed a little more primetimey than the other soaps. But it may be simply my memories as a kid, because it was on at 4PM and thus seemed on the cusp of nighttime. The ... Edge of Nighttime, if you will.

kira: (Actually the real better word would've been "sophisticated" rather than "sophisticalted.")

kira: EON was all about mysteries, not nearly as focused on romance as the other soaps, as I recall. Which suits ASF quite a lot. Man, I can't believe I never really internalized the similarity before.

JAYJAY1979: And how do you think ASF differs from EON?

kira: The ways ASF is different from EON ... well, we're not putting poison in anyone's makeup compact any time soon. :) To be honest, I don't remember the mysteries being very ... um ... good.

kira: I'm a huge, HUGE mystery fan, as in Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, Arthur Conan Doyle... and I simply must craft mysteries that are both exciting and above all *fair*. I don't think EON was as good about being *fair* with the viewers.

JAYJAY1979: I hear the Serene Farday mystery was interesting.... plus the return of Nicole Drake... but the later years suffered i hear

Andy Eckles: I liked the crime syndicate aspects of Edge.

Simply Bexeth: Edge was a little before my time, sadly...

kira: Gosh, y'know, I don't remember there being a crime syndicate. I remember Schuyler Whitney and his evil doppelganger, um, Grant? Crapples, I don't remember the guy's name. But he had a big ol' thug named Gunther. Who also had a doppelganger. LOL.

Andy Eckles: I just remember some "mob" type stories being predominate in there somewhere.

Simply Bexeth: Kira, I have a few questions for you...

kira: Roll 'em.

JAYJAY1979: i was like 4 or 5 when the show was cancelled... though the 3 pm thing would have worked for me..

kira: Oh God, I am very old.

Simply Bexeth: Okay, I'll ask the more light hearted one first! :)

kira: Uh oh.

Simply Bexeth: It's well-documented that you are a cat lover, as am I (I write this covered in kittens). Tell me about your Choie, and your current kitties, if any.

kira: Choie! Aw, thank you for asking about her! Yes, she's the little face that greets everyone every time I post. She showed up on our doorstep in 1983 and I had her until May 2001. Just a wonderful cat, very smart and independent but always ridiculously loving to me.

kira: It took me a few years after she died before I could stomach getting another cat. Actually it was after my father died that I finally decided, y'know, I need the support of a cat.

Simply Bexeth: cats are incredibly supportive and comforting.

kira: In 2003. So I was gonna get a pair of kittens, a brother and sister, but then I learned their mom was also up for adoption, and the kitties were only like four weeks old, and I couldn't bear separating them. So I figure, hey, two cats in a studio apartment can't be that much different than THREE cats, so ... I got 'em all.

kira: They are Mina, the momcat; Sophie, named after an ASF character (a dog); and Therblig.

Simply Bexeth: awww, I can imagine how crazy it gets having that many in a studio apartment. I live in a hotel room and have six cats at present, five of which are kitens I keep saying I will adopt off, but probably never will. Crazy cat lady ahoy!

kira: Holy cow, six cats?? Nirvana! :) Therblig is the little boy. He's named after an element in motion study, called "therbligs," which are defined as the tiniest units into which a task can be separated. To me, "therbligs" are the little steps you can take when the big steps seem too overwhelming.

Cruella: (Honestly just wanted to apologize for getting confused with the time - right now 15th already here, not 14th! I am just hopeless with this. Now I am afraid I have to go to sleep! WIll expect the transcript with much anticipation.)

kira: Aw, do you have any questions, Cruella? I know you were wanting to ask some.

kira: It's very late where you are, though, I totally understand you need to sleep.

Simply Bexeth: Yes, I've gotten shamefully attached to the kittens. I helped Giselle (the momcat) give birth, so of course, I'm hopelessly in love.

Cruella: I am afraid I am incapable of thinking at the moment! Apologies for interrupting you too. All the best!

kira: I can only imagine.

Simply Bexeth: Good night Cruella!! :)

kira: Please don't apologize, Cruella! I'm sorry it didn't work out.

kira: Bummer, she'd have asked some toughies I bet!

Simply Bexeth: She lives in Russia, correct? I can't imagine the time difference!

kira: I'm sure Andy knows this at the drop of a hat.

kira: I think it's coming up on 3AM there.

Andy Eckles: hehe, time zone expert here. yes, it is.

Simply Bexeth: wow. bless her heart

kira: So what's the non-lighthearted question, Bex? She asked worriedly...

Simply Bexeth: Okay, so for the heavier question: you've been very forthcoming on your issues with depression. How are you doing now, and do you find that depression is common among artistic types? I've also had great difficulties with depression, as have others that I know.

kira: Ahhh okay, here we go. Yeah, I'm probably too forthcoming, actually! How I'm doing now .... Honestly, it's touch and go. As you are no doubt all too familiar, depression is one posessive, jealous sumbitch. It doesn't let go easily, and even when you think you've gotten out of the relationship, it stalks you and sucks you back in.

Simply Bexeth: My apologies if it was too personal a question!

kira: No, that's all right. It's not good to be ashamed, that's one of the worst aspects of mental illnesses that keeps us from getting better. When you don't see me around the Eppy, it's usually because I'm not in a "good place." It's sometimes very difficult to see others in what is, for me, a semi-competitive environment, when I'm feeling like a failure.

Simply Bexeth: I understand that completely. When I'm "low," I tend to hide.

kira: Which makes my administering of the Eppy an exceedingly ironic decision, huh? It's like I decided, "hey, what can I do that will make me responsible for helping other people who are more successful than I am, and thus make myself feel worse? "

kira: As far as creative types, I do think we gravitate to the arts -- by "we" I mean depressive folks -- maybe because it's an outlet for the messy stuff in our mind.

Simply Bexeth: As you said, the flawed characters and etc. Its a good channel to get out the feelings that plague our souls...

kira: Absolutely, very well said.

Andy Eckles: hmm, i write about a lot of steamy sordid sex. I wonder what that says about my feelings that I'm trying to channel? lol

Simply Bexeth: My new passion is acting, because I like the idea of ditching myself to play someone completely unlike me for a while. But, as you said, i'm 27 and overweight and there aren't a lot of opportunities here in the middle of Nowhere, TX

Simply Bexeth: Steamy, sordid sex is also good for the soul!

kira: LOL, Andy. Yeah, you can see a lot of that kinda stuff in ASF. Though it tends to be seamy rather than steamy. Bex, I agree that acting is an excellent escape at times. Being someone else? Even for a little bit? It's ... it's magical, isn't it? Like letting go of an anchor.

Simply Bexeth: It's very freeing. You don't have to worry about your own shit, you can worry about this person's shit, which I've always found it's easier to carry someone else's than my own.

kira: Part of what draws me to writing ASF is my being able to "act" the characters and become them. Which makes me a better writer and probably a sicker individual, because c'mon, some of these people's lives are just ... awful places to be.

Simply Bexeth: But that is probably the number one rule of writing, which so many don't quite get. You have to BECOME your characters in order to effectively convey them.

kira: At least for a little while, yes. It really helps. I think you can tell the writers who don't put themselves in their characters' places, and those who do.

kira: Have you been performing in anything recently?

Simply Bexeth: Yes, they're painfully easy to point out.

Simply Bexeth: No, not since at least 95, when I aws the lead in the Christmas play at the church. I do my little private acting, though. I am such a dork. I read a book and pick out one character and act out their part.

kira: Aw, that's cute! I do that too! Well, with plays, anyway. And ... um ... oh God, do I admit this? ... with a certain webcomic.

Simply Bexeth: hahaha. it's addictive!

Simply Bexeth: A few years ago, I thought about approaching Roger for a part in S&S, but thought it wouldn't be cool to just ask like that, so I never did...lol

kira: Oh man, you totally should have. At least you could've auditioned! I mean, nowadays he hires pros and well-known types, but back then it was his friends and so on. And no offense, but they weren't all ... that ... terrific. :) So there's no reason you should've been intimidated, is what I mean.

Simply Bexeth: I also (way, way, way, way, way back in the day, like 98) thought about doing BCD in a radio style thing. But I would have ended up playing every single female character. So I said no to that. And yes, about back then...I used to follow along with the scripts and say, "Wow, I could haveplayed that better."

Simply Bexeth: I'm a snarky bitch...lol

kira: LOL. Hey, it's no sin. It was, at least back then, a much newer and shakier production than it developed into. Which is true of all of us. I don't look with rosy eyes on ASF's early stuff.

Simply Bexeth: oh gosh, i know.

Simply Bexeth: it's so polished and professional now. I'm envious.

Simply Bexeth: (both ASF and S&S)

Andy Eckles: kira, how long are your episodes usually?

Andy Eckles: on ASF

kira: That's very flattering of you, thank you, Bex. Polished and professional is as polished and professional does. It'd be way more professional to actually, y'know, produce an episode once a season. :) I would adore doing ASF as a radio or video series, although some of the storylines just wouldn't work well, because they were purposely written to take advantage of the non-visual medium. Certain mysteries wouldn't work at all.

kira: How long are they, as in, number of scenes, number of words, number of Word processing pages?

Andy Eckles: wp pages on average.

kira: It's funny, I never think of them that way.

kira: Sorry for the delay, I was just opening up Word to check.

Andy Eckles: i mean, i try to keep my at a fairly consistent length and I know your episodes are usualy fairly long like mine are..

kira: Well, to take two of the most recent ones, #4.39 and #4.38, they were 18 pages and 13 pages, respectively; the difference is mainly due to a slightly different formatting style for the former; I used double-spacing for that one. They both average about 9K words.

Andy Eckles: Ok. Mine are around 10k-11k words

kira: I usually have anywhere from seven to sixteen scenes an episode, depending on whether it's a longy or a shorty. So yeah, I'm totally inconsistent. Not very helpful, huh?

Andy Eckles: no it is, i just was curious.

kira: I've been trying to write relatively short, ha ha. Funnily enough I got a few comments in the last episode that indicated I was writing TOO short. Which is hard to imagine, because I'm so damn wordy.

kira: I think ours are probably the longest out there. Not that size matters. :)

Andy Eckles: haha.

Andy Eckles: Well, thank you for your time today for the interview. I must be going now.

kira: Some of the readers noticed that scenes seemed to be ended a little too fast.

Simply Bexeth: great interview, andy.

kira: Oh thank you very much, Andy.

Andy Eckles: NP, have a good night everyone.

kira: Goodnight! [TRANSCRIPT ENDS]