Taylor the Victim? That is the question. It seems there are those folks out there who believe we (writers of hanfic) like to victimize poor Taylor. Well, I suppose I for one, cannot deny that. After all, I have in the past and continue to do so right now as we speak. But, I think to answer this question fairly, you'd also need to ask why we write this stuff to begin with. Well, it's a long story, so turn back now if you don't care. In '97 I discovered a band that fascinated me, Hanson. And in '98 I managed to see them in concert a couple times. One of the things that amazed me then, and still does, is that Hanson fans are such an interesting group of people. Mostly young, but not always. Mostly female, but not always. And we are a group of people so looked down upon, that we sort of stick together. And so, in meeting fans, I started exchanging email addresses and becoming sort of, pen pals with these people. Eventually, I got on the internet and started checking out Hanson sites. Well, as so many of us obviously did, I came upon Hanfic. And not just any old Hanfic, the first one I came across was "Walls". A classic.

Perhaps if the first one I'd found had been the girl meets Hanson, becomes their girlfriend, etc. etc. (and that is not to put down those stories, only to say that there are so many of them with that basic storyline) that, at my age, that probably wouldn't have kept my interest for very long. But, because it was a thought provoking, out of the ordinary, realistically written story, it made me search out more. And boy was it out there. It is so incredible how we all see the same three guys, see the same interviews, the same appearances-yet, we all have totally different takes on them. And so, I became a hanfic junkie. As time went on and I became friends with more and more people, we would discuss what was going on in the world of Hanfic. And so, it came to be, that my friend Lee (of Hanson Advent Calendar fame) and I were discussing the fact that it was a particularly dry spell for Hanfic-nothing new under the sun. So, we jokingly promised to write our own, making the other the love interest for the Hanson of choice. Thus the Lee character in "The Quiet One" is based on the real life Lee. Incidentally, I never in my wildest dreams wrote the story to actually have it see the light of day. Initially, I just sent the chapters to Lee, but when Tania over at what was then "Just Hanson" put up a contest where first prize was a DVD of Tulsa, Tokyo and the Middle of Nowhere (it didn't matter that I didn't have a DVD player), I entered it there at Lee's urging and Tania liked it and asked if she could post it. That was a scary thought, but I figured, what the hell! Now then, back to the question-- When I was trying to think of a plot, a lot of different things came about. First of all, every year I am attacked by allergies and slowly but surely over the course of a couple weeks, I lose my voice. Completely. And let me tell you, it sucks. I found myself at a kids birthday party surrounded by 20 or 30 people and none of them could read lips very well. I found myself clapping my hands or stomping my foot to get someone's attention. And they all felt very sorry for me-which gets old after awhile. So, while thinking to myself, damn, what does a singer do if they have a show and this happens to them? Another thought occurred to me, What if the greatest singer ever (that would be Taylor) lost their voice, like, permanently? And so, to answer the question posed to me many times, that is how I came up with that scenario. An Elvis Presley movie is also involved there among other things. Plus, I had to figure out how to get rid of his voice without a bunch of medical complications---something I am not comfortable with writing about and not having any medical knowledge other than what you can find on the internet (which ain't much) and just couldn't pull off anyway. So, I came up with the diabolical storyline that turned into "The Quiet One". So, while I did victimize the Taylor character, it was not because he was frail or because I don't like him. Far from it-I victimized a character based on the real life Taylor Hanson, because Hanson inspires me, because I think Taylor is a fantastic singer and performer, and because I see a spirit in him that would be able to overcome whatever obstacle he was given. Though I love to read the "Zac and Taylor Go to Walmart" kinds of stories, that is not the stories that I am inspired to write. Hell, that is my everyday life, I don't need to write about it. But, I do find myself putting those vignettes of real life in the body of my totally unrealistic stories. Though I've been raked over the coals on a message board or two, I in no way want, or even think it possible, for some insane person to get hold of Taylor and do such a thing to him. I was amazed for people to accuse me of being cruel and of wanting to hurt Taylor. That is just preposterous. I have nothing but respect and admiration for Taylor, his bandmates, and his family. As I said there, if the real life Taylor is uncomfortable or upset with these stories, I will take them down. But before anyone starts emailing me, pretending to be Taylor, you better be really good, because an email alone is not gonna do it. It'll take a phone call in which I listen very carefully and decide if that is the real live Taylor Hanson on the other end of the phone. And some very juicy, secret information that only he would know…..I'll have to think about that. What do you ask the one and only Taylor as he is begging you not to victimize him any more? Oh! I know, he'd have to sing to me! THAT is the only way I'd know the real live Taylor-If I heard THAT voice. Well, there you have it.

Happy reading!               krystal