So let’s try this again. My last attempted resulted in a blank page. Not amused…

If you find yourself here, I suspect it is because I may have left a review that might have irked you into saying “who is this “jstapny” chick anyway”; lol. First I must say if this is the case it is most likely due to my need to understand what I am reading. I can’t help but question what I don’t understand. If I am overly critical it is because I have found a plot hole or crater that I am trying to fill; more of that later. If it is not the case, I hope you are here because you found my review helpful. I really do try to be constructive.

But to fill you in a bit on who I am; simply put I am one of your audiences. I LOVE to read; it is my passion. I do not write fiction for obvious reasons. The primary being I lack creativity. I am a Business Analyst by trade and I’m also a Youth Minister. I was raised in Las Vegas, NV and believe I have a pretty high tolerance level for people and a good sense of humor because of my upbringing.

I discovered fan fiction the summer of 2009. Prior to this I had no idea that there were people who wrote stories based on their favorite TV shows. Nor was I aware of your propensity to ship major characters of these shows.

I was indoctrinated into this world when I stumbled on a story on my favorite show Law & Order Criminal Intent. I was surprised when the main characters were “shipped” at the end of my first story. Prior to this, I had NEVER considered them for a couple. Then I had my “ah ha” moment and can only read stories where they are together or not with anyone else, lol. But the funny thing is, while I love them together on “paper”, I do not envision them together on screen. Basically, I take what is given on screen as is and leave it at that which is pretty true for all shows I watch and read.

Next I ventured into my next favorite show NCIS and quickly fell in love with JIBBS. Although that was purely out of necessity since every Jenny stories winds up being JIBBS, lol. However, I truly started reading this show because of missing Jenny. I don’t read anything else. I simple never recovered from her “death” even though I knew Lauren Holly was leaving the show.

Now I am stuck on CSI: Las Vegas of course. I have been following this show since the first casting call was announced in the local papers, lol. With Marg Helgenberger leaving after this season I most likely will follow. I just loved her character since she truly had the “Vegas” background. However, when I first looked at this genre I was put off with all the Sara and GSR fics. She is one character I really can’t stand at all. Every time she left I cheered. She is a gnat to me that needs to be permanently swatted. Yep that is how I honestly feel.

I find myself branching out more and more to other shows now which is really bad for this new obsession. I find that I cannot go a day without reading something on this site. With my work, home and cell phone I am never without a “connection”.

So what kind of stories do I like? I really prefer multi-chapter fics to one-shots (but I will read these from “trusted” authors). I really love anything that makes me go “hmmm” and has me self evaluating my beliefs on something. Anything that makes me feel something will get extra special kudos from me. Because of this, I really appreciate descriptive stories-paint me a picture please. I also like angst if it has a point. Don’t depress me for the sake of being depressing if that makes sense; lol. AU stories are the best to me since they place characters in unfamiliar situation. I’ve already seen the episodes so if you are not adding anything to it I really don’t need to “read” it again. Just saying.

What don’t I like? Well I really dislike stories that are not realistic or rush to a happy ever after ending. Come on people, how can you have a character shot 9 times, stabbed 4 times, in a coma for a month but when the awaken the first thing they do is declare their undying love to someone and live happily ever after? Or how about those fics that have this secret kid and the father immediately forgives the betrayal and takes everyone in. Hey I am for “forgiveness” and everything but really when have you EVER seen this happen in real life? Or how about when a character goes through some major trauma, you name it (torture, death, divorce, etc.), but the recovery of that trauma is ignored. I could go on and on. Basically anything I read has to pass the “smell test” to me and if it doesn’t, I won’t like it. I need to be sold; so explain it to me and I most likely will buy it. Use the internet if you are unfamiliar with a medical procedure or legal process-do your research please.

Oh, for the record, and if you haven’t already figured it out, I have a really good memory so plot inconsistencies or holes really irk me. I have no problem recalling what is going on in a story no matter how many stories I am following or how long an update has been; plus I will reread if necessary. For this, may I offer some advice, if it has been a while since you have touched a story please read it before writing or posting another update because I will call you out on inconsistencies no matter how long it’s been.

I also do not like song fics (although I have read a couple that I have enjoyed-these actually had more story that song-hint) or any slash/femslash fics. Really sometimes I wonder what people are watching when they do this to obviously heterosexual characters. I guess it really doesn’t matter since I won’t read them anyway but I truly appreciate the warnings. But my biggest dislike is unfinished stories. I have several really, really good stories that I am still awaiting updates on. This makes me really sad.

And finally I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on those stories/authors that make my favorite list. These are the true gems to me and I often re-read some when there is a lack of quality updates on the shows I follow. No, I do not read everything that is posted. If you are a favorite author, then I trust your writing because you passed my “smell test”. While I would love to rank stories and authors, I don’t think it would be fair to me even though I think I have all time favorites for each show, lol.

Well those are the highlights. If you want to know anything else about me or just want to rip me for my opinion/review just PM me; I can take it, lol. I also don’t mind sharing my all-time favorites either.