Gift Exchange: Muffins and Malevolence by Shug/sshg316

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5280702/1/Muffins_and_Malevolence
http://community.livejournal.com/twi_exchange/6739.html
http://twilighted.net/viewstory.php?sid=7022

Official Description: Not everyone is muffin-worthy … especially not Edward Cullen. Twilight Gift Exchange story. Edward/Bella. All human.

Q&A with Shug/sshg316:

If you got more than one prompt – why did you choose the prompt you did?
Actually, at some point, I had chosen all three prompts. LOL I had first chapters for all of them, and finally settled on the storyline I liked the best. I may go back later and write the other ones.

Was this prompt out of your comfort zone as a writer? How so?
Definitely. One of the perks of being a mod is that I got to choose my own prompts. I loved dollegirl’s prompts–they were fun and a bit fluffy. Perfect for an exchange piece–at least for me!

What was your favorite passage that you wrote in the fic?

Hmm. That’s a hard one. Bella’s thought process was really fun, as she tended to wander off track a lot, but most of those wouldn’t make sense out of context. I think this might be my favorite of those, however.

I sucked in a gasping breath and stared at him with wide eyes as he took my hands in his. He wasn’t going to propose, was he? Holy crow! That would not be good, because of course, I’d have to say no. We hardly knew each other, and while we seemed to be finally on the same page, I wasn’t ready for that; not by a long shot. Right? We hadn’t even kissed yet! My heart betrayed my mind by imagining waking up to Edward Cullen every morning for the rest of my life. I could cook for him—he’d once said he was a miserable cook—and he could do the cleaning up. We’d listen to music together and argue over classic literature, and maybe we’d buy a cute little house in the suburbs and raise little music-loving bookworms who wore Converse sneakers and had perpetually disheveled hair. I was trying to decide the color for our imaginary living room walls when Edward’s voice broke through my insane thoughts.

“… so I contacted the president of Jasper’s fan club.”

Huh? Why was he talking about Jasper when he was proposing marriage? Uh, maybe because he’s not, dufus. Oh.

Did you know the person you were writing this for prior to receiving the prompt? If you did know them – did their likes and dislikes influence the plot choices you made? How so? If you did not know them did you just write the fic the way you wanted to or did you make any effort to get to know them?
I had read some of her stories, yes. I was a little nervous about writing for her because she is just so damn funny. I think I still wrote the fic as I always would have, however, although I was probably freaking out a little bit more than I normally would have been.

How long did this take to write? Did you write it at the same time as your other fic(s) or did you put them on hold in order to finish this? Has this influenced your other fics at all?
Keep in mind I had kids home for the summer! LOL It took me roughly three weeks. And yes, I put other projects on hold while I finished this one up. I don’t think writing it has influenced anything else that I write, though.

Why did you choose the prompts you gave the author who wrote your fic? Were these ideas you had for yourself or just fics you wanted to see written?
One was an idea I had that I just wanted to see written. I knew I probably wouldn’t, so I figured why not? LOL The others I put a lot of thought into, because I know how hard writing for someone else can be, especially if you don’t know them. Since this was my first foray into Twi-fic as an writer, there wasn’t anything really for the person writing for me to go on, other than my prompts. The person who wrote for me did an amazing job–I was thrilled with my gift.

Would you do it again?
Absolutely.

Thanks again!!

–
Kassiah says: What can I say about the unexpected joy and love that I feel for Muffins and Malevolence? It is fun and cute and full of win. I love it!

The story starts off with Bella, the owner of a struggling bookstore/coffee shop, and Edward, the owner of a new music store. They have the classic business-next-door wars. He gave out coupons for free muffins from her, she gave out coupons for half-off CDs from him. He played loud music and drove her customers away, she acted like a raging bitch (her own admission) to him. A huge fight culminates the night he plans a live band the same night she scheduled a book reading. All hell breaks loose and it seems that this pair can be nothing but bitter enemies. Cue chapter two, when Bella takes a break. She comes back to excitedly find people browsing in her shop. Her trip next door to find out what’s going on proves to be enlightning, to say the least.

This story is a quick read and lots of fun. Edward is just so sweet. Plus Shug uses my favorite word ever: “fuckawesome.” Exactly!

This is another story I recommend for a quick jaunty one-shot when you need a little pick me up.