Meet Sam! Known as ‘S.A. McAuley’ or ‘OTPPureFuckingMagic,’ she is a fanfiction author from Detroit, U.S.A.
How long have you been writing?
I went through eight years of major personal upheaval and introspection, and those are the only years of my life that I don’t remember writing at all. Otherwise, I have notebooks full of writing and ideas that date back to before I was in elementary school.
How did you get involved in the Shadowhunters fandom?
I read each of the books as they came out and fell in love with Magnus Bane; totally, completely, and irrevocably in love with Magnus Bane. Then I was at a family party in 2015, and one of my cousins said, ‘Hey, did you hear they’re making those Mortal Instruments books into a TV show?’ Skip to 2017 and almost 300,000 words of fanfic later…
What is the appeal of fanfiction to you?
Freedom to experiment, instant feedback, and lots of interaction with the amazing people reading my words. It’s an incredible experience.
What character or aspect of the Shadowhunters world makes you want to write?
My answer to this is the same as it would be for any character or aspect of world-building. I love placing characters into tough situations and finding out how they withstand the pressure. Bringing them to their absolute breaking point and discovering how they build themselves back up. The entire Shadowhunters universe provides a foundation for the stakes to be higher than they would be in a normal situation. It opens up a lot of possibilities.
What emotion do you most like to write and why?
All of them. Working through emotions with characters on the page is my therapy. It’s safe territory. And it’s also an excellent way to learn how to see through other people’s eyes and attempt to understand their personal journey in a new way.
What is your favorite fanfiction trope?
My favorite to read or write? If we’re talking writing, then I don’t have a favorite. The beauty of fandom is that I can explore them all. If we’re talking about reading, then it’s a three-way tie between hurt/comfort, friends to lovers, and battle couples.
What ships do you ship, and why do you love them so much?
Malec owns me, heart and soul. I wrote a really personal blog post on Tumblr about why I love them so much and what they mean to me. It was posted way before I started gaining any type of a following, and I’ve often thought about taking it down because it’s so personal. But I think it’s important to acknowledge the role Magnus and Alec played in helping me accept my own bisexuality.
What has been the best part of your fandom experience so far?
The people I’ve met. Hands down. I’m grateful for every single person who has taken the time to send me a message, click the ‘kudos’ button, or just put up with me in general. I have a lot of feelings and I deeply apologize to everyone who has been attacked by them since I joined the fandom. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of stories I want to tell, so y’all may be dealing with my feels explosions for a while.
Like what you see? You can read S.A. McAuley‘s fan fiction on Archive of Our Own or follow her on Tumblr and Twitter.
