I have to confess
that I am not a life-long fan of Thunderbirds.
When I was growing up, in the "neck of the woods" where
I lived, we had three television channels to watch (and
that was in good weather!). So, it wasn't until December
2002, when my husband as usual was flipping through
satellite channels and happened upon Tech TV during
their Thunderbirds Christmas Marathon that I saw
it. Despite my early TV handicaps, something about it
was...familiar. It brought back memories of something I
avidly watched, and played for hours when I very small,
a program called Supercar. Then I realized that
these "marionettes" were just like those of another
favorite program, Fireball XL5. So now, nearly
forty years late, I can unequivocally say I am a fan of
Thunderbirds as well.
My husband once asked me
why I write fan fiction. Why spend so much time and energy
writing stories using someone else's "intellectual property"
knowing I can never earn a cent from my hard work? And I've
written a lot of it (but never shown it except to a very few),
everything from Hawaii Five-O and Mission Impossible
to Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Star Trek,
and now Thunderbirds, of course. (Being the average
irresponsible teenager that I was, I no longer have the
others, so don't ask!) But I guess the reason I started
writing fan fiction, is that I loved the characters or the
ideals they were trying to accomplish. For some, like
Thunderbirds, the run of the show ended and I wanted to
share more of their adventures. At the time the only way to do
that was to write my own. Now I've discovered there are a lot
more people like me and that maybe they're just as embarrassed
(or proud) of the adventures they created for their favorite
characters as I am.
So I hope you enjoy the
"adventures" I envision for our boys just as much as I have
enjoyed reading yours, or, if you've never tried or have been
afraid to try, perhaps be inspired to write some of your own.
(Note of caution: Most
the stories my muse supplies to me are not for young children
and often employ some "whumping"!)
