You started out writing Jane Austen fanfiction. How would you feel if people wrote fanfic based on your books?
I learned a tremendous amount about writing through my dabbles in fanfiction, as did several other authors I’ve met. And if someone were to write fanfic based on my characters or stories, I think I would be carried away with glee. To me, fanfiction is the ultimate compliment to a creative work. Fanfic’s existence means that fans want to find ways to stay in that fictional world a bit longer, and that the characters and setting have the depth and complexity to support more story than the original creator gave them. That said, although I’d be thrilled to hear such fanfic existed, I don’t think I’d read it–most authors have a policy of not reading fan-produced works for various legal and creative reasons.
