I claim writing roots in the Xenaverse. If that baffles you, here’s the explanation:

Xena: Warrior Princess spawned tons of lesbian fanfiction from viewers frustrated by the reluctance of the show’s creators to follow through with the subtextual romance between Xena and her companion, Gabrielle. If you missed this show during its run, you can still catch it in reruns or on DVD, and you’ll find an epic story of two women with so much on-screen chemistry, you won’t be able to grasp why they call it “sub” text.

I loved the TV show and followed my instincts to the Web, where I found fan-written stories not only of Xena & Gabrielle, but the characters in future lives – women by other names, but with the same physical and personality features of their ancient ancestors. These stories were called übers, loosely interpreted as “super-versions” of Xena & Gabrielle living in other times. Here were two strong women – police detectives, trauma surgeons, attorneys, professors – finding adventure and romance, and the best part: All of these stories were posted on the Internet for free. Overnight, I became addicted to reading.

After reading … oh, about five or six hundred tales, I began to play with an idea in my head, my version of an über, what I wished someone would write so I could read it. The idealized romance in my head began to take form, and I imagined different scenes that illuminated what I wanted to see in the main characters – which was not the traditional über formula of “dark & deadly” and “light & innocent” – but real people living ordinary lives. But like most of those posting these online stories, I envisioned lead characters who looked like the Xena stars, Lucy Lawless and Reneé O’Connor.