This is a fanfic by Joanna Capello, with Michaelangelo at the center. I read her original story, "Cold Fire," and out of our discussion of my fic and her fic, she conned me into hosting "Shadow Rising." (It took about ten seconds!) In all seriousness, she's probably the only author I've read who gives Mike the all the attention and respect he deserves-- at least if you're a mega-Mike fan like me! Don't worry: the other guys get their say, too...Anyway, without further ado, I'll pass the mic to Joanna:
When I started writing my story "Cold Fire," it was based mainly on fragmented dreams and ideas. Once I had it finished and posted on a friend's website, I looked back and realized how much I could have improved it. I know every writer is his or her own worst critic,
and it
was really the case here. I started working on the sequel,
"Ashes To
Ashes," several months after "Cold Fire" was completed. While I
liked
how the new story was going, I realized that I had left out a
lot of
things in the first story that I'd wanted to say. Then, I
discovered
Phishtar's work and saw not only something I liked, but
something that
inspired me. I immediately began work on "Shadow Rising," which,
in
essence, explores everything "Cold Fire" didn't. I wanted to
explain why
I had done what I had done to Michaelangelo, what it meant to
me. I
wanted to explore the depths of the psychic powers I'd given
him, which
I hadn't really done before. This story, consequentally, is very
dark
and "brooding," and while the Mike portrayed here may not seem
like the Mike we all know and love, I had an excuse for doing what I did to him. I decided to toss in a couple of my own supporting characters and situations to make it interesting. However, "Shadow Rising" is a stand-alone story, a direct follow-up to "Cold Fire" but not a sequel. It takes place in the same universe, but has no bearing whatsoever on "Ashes to Ashes." Just a little fun I decided to have when I woke up one
morning in a particularly twisted mood. Or maybe I just had some
weird dreams the night before. Whatever the reason, it's an
interesting brainchild. If anyone has any comments, feel free to email me.
A disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related
characters
are, of course, property of Mirage Studios. The characters
Carrie White
and Tommy Ross are mine, although the names actually belong to
Stephen
King. What can I say, the names fit. If he doesn't like it, he
can have
his agent call me. ;-)
A very special thanks to Phishtar for putting this story up on
her site
for me, and for her comments and suggestions.
