Zejan answers: The earliest anime that I ever recall watching was Kimba the White Lion (I almost recall the song, good grief!). And I had no idea of what it was, other than a typical cartoon. I was a kid, after all, and pretty cluless at that. I do recall thinking that their mouths sure moved funny, though. ^_^

HRH: Was there something specific that prompted your interest in anime?

Zejan: I've always liked cartoons and have always watched them, long as I can remember. There was, fortunately, no one around to tell me I'd grown too old to watch them when that time supposedly came. I think anime made for a logical progression. Robotech and Voltron were what really got me started though, back when they first aired on TV. I was surprised to see something that was made up of stories other than funny talking animals carrying on for half an hour. And since I enjoy Science Fiction, it was all the better.

HRH: What's your current favorite anime movie/series (or both)?

Zejan: Fave anime series currently would be Cowboy Bebop. Great animation, great story. I can watch it over and over and over again. "Pierre Le Fou" is one of my favorite episodes. Current fave movie is "Vampire Hunter D - Bloodlust". I don't care for vampire characters, but I really felt for Meier Link and what he went through in the course of the movie.

HRH: What's your all-time favorite anime movie/series (or both)?

Zejan: All time favorite anime movie...well, I have to say that there are two of them, running neck and neck. One is Macross: Ai Oboete Imasu Ka? and the other is Dirty Pair: Project Eden. Favorite series... again, more than one. Voltron (big surprise there, eh?), Nadesico, Record of Lodoss War, Cowboy Bebop (hmm, that again), Escaflone and Dirty Pair, though I know I haven't seen all of the original episodes.

Hunk asks: And who's the Hunk-iest anime guy around / Who's the hottest anime babe around? (And what anime series are they from?)

Zejan: Hmmm...you mean other than you, sweetcheeks? (smiles, winks at Hunk) Call me fickle, but I haven't really settled on a single anime guy that grips me each and every time I see him. There are so many out there to choose from. And one or the other will appeal to me entirely depending on my mood. The closest I think I'll ever get to selecting a Numero Uno Bishie-type dude would be Carson D. Carson from Project Eden. First time I watched the movie, there was scene very early on where the boss he's working for asks him a quesion, and he gives this casual shrug. I thought that little bit of animation was the coolest thing, and I really was into him after that for a long time. Well, okay...that and the polka-dot boxers he runs around in for two-thirds of the movie. Heh.

HRH: What anime character do you relate to or consider yourself most like (and what series are they from)? What is it about him/her that you relate to/consider like you?

Zejan: I relate to Kei of the Dirty Pair. I just adore her. She's intelligent, tough, doesn't back down from a fight (and can kick serious butt if and when she has to), she's got this *huge* azooka...you gotta admire a gal like that. I wanna be just like her when I grow up. ^_^

HRH: Who's your favorite anime hero (and what series are they from)? Why?

Zejan: Heroinne, actuallly. Kei of Dirty Pair, for the same reasons listed above. Okay, so she's a little on the destructive side. She can be forgiven for a little flaw like that.

HRH: Who's your favorite anime villain (and what series are they from)? Why?

Zejan: Well, my absolute fave villian is NOT from Japanese anime, I'm afraid. It's Mojo-Jojo of Powerpuff Girls fame. He's a wonderful self-effecting parody of the whole villian concept. He just cracks me up. And he's a monkey. Well, okay, he's a chimp. But that still means we're related. ^_^

HRH: Who's your favorite anime character of all time (and what series are they from) Why?

Zejan: That's easy - Lance from Voltron. Of all the charcters I've ever gotten into, he's the one that I keep going back to time after time. The funny thing is, when I first started watching the show, I *hated* him. Now I just can't get enough of the guy. Go figure. I can't.

HRH: Is there any one anime that really made an impact on you? Which anime, and what was the impact?

Zejan: Robotech, when it first aired. Though Voltron was heavily censored to try and minimize some of the butchery that went on (and that was done, I think, to aim it at a relatively young audience), in Robotech, people actually *died*. I was nearly as heartbroken as Claudia was when she lost Roy. It was definitely no G.I. Joe, where the characters all somehow manage to repeatedly escape death by the slimmest of margins.

HRH: Do you collect anime stuff? (Like videos, DVD's, toys books, etc.) What kinds of things and from which anime(s)?

Zejan: Well, to tell the truth, I'm a pack rat so I have a little bit of everything. I have videos from Macross, Iczer-one, ZZ Gundam (16 - VCD set), Nadesico and Dirty Pair eps on DVD, some older art books (mostly from Dirty Pair and Macross). I have very few toys, however, due to lack of shelf space. There's a squooshy Jigglypuff sitting on my monitor in between my two Beanie Baby monkeys, and an itty-bitty Voltron atop the Evil Mammoth Desk (tm). There are a few other small non-anime toys lying about, but nothing really noteworthy.

HRH: Is writing/drawing a hobby for you, or is it something that you would like to pursue (or are pursuing) professionally?

Zejan: Mostly hobby. A long time ago I did lots of art things - worked in a print shop (a local pizza company is still using a logo I designed for them), drew up posters and worked as part of the set crew in a local theatre, but I've discovered that I don't do deadlines well. If something came of my informal drawing, I'd be thrilled, but I'm not really pushing for it. On the writing end of things, I once wrote what I thought would be a sure-fire epic novel, then I became part of a writer's workshop group and discovered just how bad I was. So, until I develop the right skills, I doubt becoming a professional writer is in my future either.

HRH: Do you have a favorite (published) author? If so, who and what is it that you enjoy about their writing?

Zejan: Clive Barker, hands down. And I don't even *like* horror stories normally, but I got hooked on his "Books of Blood", which is my favorite collection of horror short stories. He writes so *vividly* that it just floors me. There was a scene where he described a man rubbing at his eyes, and it was so realisitic. I recall thinking 'That's it, that's exactly how it feels!'. I could see scenes so clearly the way he describes them in his writing. He's just amazing to me.

HRH: Do you have a favorite artist? If so, who and what is it that you enjoy about their artwork?

Zejan: Boris Vallejo. He captures realism with just enough touch of fantasy to make it look great, each and every time.

HRH: What's your favorite book or series of books?

Zejan: Books of Blood by Clive Barker. See why in question #13 above. (HRH note - #13 is 2 questions up :)

HRH: What's your favorite movie?

Zejan: That's a toughie. I have so many choices, just like I do in anime...let's see...I think Raiders of the Lost Ark would be, if any. Lots of action, adventure, a dash of romance, and I love that twisted ending.

HRH: What's your favorite TV show (non-anime/cartoon)?

Zejan: That 70's Show, in it's early stages, before Donna and Eric broke up.

HRH: We don't want to pry into anyone's personal/real life, but we'd really love to hear more about you - is there anything you'd like to share with us? We'd love it if you'd tell us a little bit about yourself...

There are lots of things you could tell us about yourself, like...

Are you a student? What are you studying?

Zejan: Nope, not a student.

HRH: What's your profession? (Job title?)

Zejan: I build probes - large sensors that go into underground tanks. Not as fancy as it sounds - just factory grunt work, really.

HRH: Outside of anime what kinds of interests/hobbies do you have?

Zejan: Hmm...I like to sew, make costumes, play with fabric paint...all sorts of things, whatever happens to amuse me at the time. I learned about how to cast simple silicon molds so I could make a Jedi communicator prop out of a Gilette shaver. I learned how to solder wires so I could refit a sound board from a lightsaber toy into a hilt I made myself...hmm. Did I happen to mention that I'm into Star Wars a little bit? ^_^

HRH: Anything else?

Zejan: I really, really, really love StarCraft, but I really, really, really stink at it. Ditto for Warcraft in all its incarnations. Same with Neverwinter Nights. I love Battlebots and I would like to build one someday. I collect things that glow in the dark, I have animation cells from Dragon's Lair and Space Ace, two acrade games that seriously sucked my quarters away in their heyday. My current big project is to learn about resin casting so I can make an entire set of Voltron figures.

HRH: We know that you've written fan fics about the series Voltron, are there any other series that you write fics about?

Zejan: No. For some odd reason, Voltron is the only series that I feel comfortable with, which I guess is because I've been into it for so many years. I used to draw pics and back when it first aired, but never so much as I do now. I might try some new things later on down the road, but for now, Voltron is it.

HRH: Same question as above, as it pertains to fan art.

Zejan: A few things here and there, but Voltron occupies the bulk of my drawings at this time.

Hunk asks: What's your favorite snack/drink to have when you're writing/drawing?

Zejan: Drink? Dr. Pepper, definitely. To be more precise, Dr. Pepper with a dash of fruit punch or raspberry drink. Snacks can vary widely, depending on what I find in the kitchen, but it'll all get washed down with a Pepper every time.

HRH: What about writing/drawing do you find the most challenging? Why?

Zejan: For drawing, the most challenging thing for me is when I draw groups of characters. The larger the group, the bigger the pain in the wrist it becomes. For writing, trying not to be repetitive. And I fail at that miserably. You could invent a drinking game on the number of arched eyebrows and wide-eyed blinks that occur in any one of my scenes. [insert sheepish grin here]

HRH: What about writing/drawing do you find the most fun? Why?

Zejan: For writing, the fun is to think up a scene and add the details that make it interesting to read. And generally, that comes from studying the characters and wondering how they will react in a given instance. For drawing, it's fun to see if I can convey a certain emotional state or a sense of action being taken, or both.

HRH: Where do you find your inspiration?

Zejan: Sometimes movies will inspire me, sometimes the things I see in the news or on the History or Discovery Channel, here there and everywhere. I pick up little things and file them away mentally. For instance, in my LT fic, there's a scene where Hunk helps a new character fix the engine of his car. The ensuing conversation about the PCV valve came straight from a talk I had with a mechanic that tuned up my old Ford Tempo some years ago.

HRH: What was it that made you want to write fanfics and/or draw fanart?

Zejan: When I used to watch Voltron, there were a lot of questions I used to ask myself about the technology they used. A lot of my figuring out answers to those questions run all through my fic. For example, I pondered the way they get their uniforms, and in the process, I fleshed out a theory that I thought would explain it. It's one hundred percent bull - I have no idea if it actually *is* that way or not - but it sounds believable. To me, anyway. *shrug*

Fanart? Just wanted to contribute at first, then I started reading other people's things and getting ideas, and it was all downhill from there. LOL. Seriously, for every Monkey pic floating around out there, there are dozens more that don't get posted at all. Some are hasty sketches, some just aren't fit to be seen for one reason or another.

HRH: As a writer, who (or what) influences your work? Why?

Zejan: The biggest influence on my writing has been feedback from people who read it. Sometimes I get asked a question about a character's motivations or a plot point and it will spur me on to develop other things in different directions. I have several RL muses that I covet jealously, and I always take what they have to say seriously because they really are interested in the story I have to tell, and their feedback is excellent. Pure gold. I won't name names because they know who they are. ~_^

HRH: There are so many different writing techniques, maybe you start with an outline, or maybe you just start writing and see where the story goes. Would you tell us a little bit about your writing technique/style?

Zejan: Hmm...well, I'd have to say it's a combination of several elements. For example, I wrote a story where the Voltron Force finds King Alfor's secret lab. In that lab was a miniature version of Voltron, standing on a platform. And orignally, that's *all* it was meant to do - stand there and look cool. But a few people wrote privately and speculated on what that robot would be capable of - what's it gonna do? So then I started thinking, 'Okay, what *would* it be there for?' and began to write things along that angle - assuming the robot was a prototype model for Voltron as we know him. With that in mind, I thought up other details, and still more, and that's how Volty - the AI that eventually gets transplanted into Black Lion - came to be. Funniest thing of all is, while most readers get a kick out of him, I myself really dislike that character. He's my least favorite in the series! LOL!

HRH: Likewise, many writers just have characters "appear" - some spend months creating their characters. How do you develop characters?

Zejan: Actually, I sort of plant characters and let them grow. For example, on the Doom side of things in Lion Tales, I made Lotor King of the Doom Empire. Given his normal tendency to drink and pine after Allura for days on end, it stood to reason that he would have to have some sort of power behind the throne holding things together, or what's to stop some ambitious Drule warlord from toppling him off the throne? I thought perhaps Hagar could assume that role, but between her having to rebuild Castle Doom and work on robeasts to keep the slave worlds of the empire in line, she's probably too busy to babysit it as well. That's where Modru came in as Lotor's personal advisor. And he started out as just someone for Lotor to bounce dialogue off of at first, but then as I developed the background, he began to take on more and more detail. Now he's a very solid secondary character with motivations all his own.

HRH: As an artist, who (or what) influences your work? Why?

Zejan: Influence: Dr. Pepper. Reason: Necessary caffeine infusion at 2am and on. 'Nuff said. ^_^

HRH: Likewise, there are many ways an artist creates. Would you tell us a little bit about your artistic technique/style?

Zejan: Hmm. The technique is no big deal - ink outline with flood fills, details added with a brush tool at varying degrees of transparency. I've recently discovered the benefits of the airbrush tool as well.

HRH: Does your real life, or do your real life experiences, affect your writing/drawing? How?

Zejan: Only in that when I'm seriously depressed, I just toss stuff aside (writing and drawing both) and let it sit for months without even bothering to look at it. Otherwise, I guess the way the stories I write are influenced by RL is that they tend to be fairly lighthearted in the name of escapism. Lion Tales is my own little therapy session for me, more or less, and people are free to stop in and hang out with this silly bunch of folks if they want to. I've seen more serious Voltron fics that are well-written, and I admire them. As a matter of fact, my all-time favorite Voltron fan-fic is seriously grim and gritty, chalk full of action, violence and drama - all the stuff that makes for an exciting read. But when I myself write Voltron fan-fics I nearly always manage to come up with comedic elements, even when I'm not really trying.

HRH: If you could offer one piece of advice to new fan fic writers and/or fan art artists, what would that advice be?

Zejan: *Love* what you're doing. Love for the characters you want to write about or draw inspires all the nuances of detail that make a fan-fic or a piece of fan-art live or die. If you don't love what you're doing, it'll show. And then no one else will love it but you.

-- ZWM

We find Zejan to be both a highly creative and entertaining writer, as well as a very talented artist. The Host wishes that she would update her site, but We find that to be only a minor quibble. -- Legion (aka Kat the Fan Girl)

Zejan's greatness is such that she can do anything. There is no expression, no mood, no pose she couldn't capture. And that's just in text.

I believe all agree that her pictures are most amazing. They bring what we remember as the real Voltron back to us. Why? She's an artist who's brave enough to stick with Keith's boots and Lotor's skirt... and still make them look good! Everytime she draws them you feel like they ARE straight from what you watched years ago... in funnier, livelier scenarios. Original designs on characters, vehicles, and costumes are also interesting. Her humor just hits the spot. It's one of the finest show of characterization I've seen. Dexter and company brings out the best of that humor by enhancing the favorites we already love.

The fact that she encourages other Voltron fans is another thing I appreciate. Her never-ending campaign for color has been relentless, but it had been most helpful to many (color does make a picture look better, after all! Monkey is wise).

I continue to look forward to anything she produces, it never fails to tug a smile of disbelief from anybody, be it a response to downright irreverence or simply a speechless WOW.

Ask my officemates, who, by the way, are NOT Voltron fans... and think I'm nuts for liking Voltron over Mazinger-Z (it featured a robot wearing two missiles for her, um... assets. Then she uses those assets. Then she runs. Absolutely no contest... at least Allura had the sense to pilot the Blue). -- Neogorbash

Da Art: She has long been my absolute fave for VF fan art. I've really enjoyed all the artwork she's made for HRH as well. (*Recalls pic from KS's birthday party that KL was kind enough to share. Drool...*) Really brings the characters to life! :D IMHO, Da Monkey rules!

Da Fics: A long time ago I read her fic "Saralinda" and liked it very much, especially when Lance lost the bet. I also read an unfinished one about Lance and Lotor's sister ("Red Lion and the Princess of Doom") that I hoped she would continue. Currently it looks like everything's undergoing a transformation in order to re-emerge as chapters in her "Lion Tales" series, which I will definitely read when it's up. (I do hope the chapters are illustrated!) -- Cheesy The Space Hamster

When I finally "met" Zejan online, at first I was terribly intimidated by her skill and celebrity, but was pleasantly surprised by how open, friendly and positive she is. Since then I've collaborated on artwork with her, read her fanfiction (which keeps me in stitches), and fallen in love with her original characters. I'm honored and humbled to call her friend.

Zejan draws a gorgeous Hunk, a drop-dead-sexy Pidge (drool), and she'll always outdraw me when it comes to Keith and Lance. If Zejan ever drew a Voltron doujinshi, you BET I'd buy it in a heartbeat! -- Spub

Zejan has been a mainstay of not just the HRH Fanclub, but the entire Voltron fandom ever since I discovered it nearly two and a half years ago. I continue to be in awe of her amazing artistic talent, taking the original character designs of our favorite team, and making them much better.

There are a couple of staple fanfiction works that every new Voltron fan should read. "Lion Tales" is one of them. Zejan has masterfully weaved her own ideas and characters nearly seamlessly into the original Voltron universe. And on occassion, she's helped me get through some writer's blocks with her sage advice.

Zejan's site is just as well-made as her art and writings. Very clear, and easy to navigate. And it helped me take an even closer look at the online Voltron fandom to begin with.

*raises a banana to toast Da Monkey* -- Dusty

Okay, so that might not be enough for a thoughts and opinions section, but it's true. She's a wonderful artist, a great story-teller, she has an awesome sense of humor, she's a participating member of the community, AND if that weren't enough, she's Monkey!! Monkeys are awesome!!

Simply put, I love Zejan's work, as I'm sure we all do. She puts a lot of effort into her work, and that really shows. I'm so glad that she's a Voltron fan, what would we do without her? -- Turbo