Chapter 15: Author's Notes

"Wastelands" completes the timeline for the alternate universe stories of a modern, American Alice. There is one story, "Things That Came," which takes place chronologically after "Wastelands." I doubt that there will be any more alternate universe stories. I can no longer justify the amount of effort and time that the stories take to write.

"Wastelands" was perhaps my first attempt at science fiction and was an homage to Jack London's "The Iron Heel." Several of the chapter titles were taken from "The Iron Heel." I seriously doubt that anyone noticed. "The Iron Heel" is from that portion of Jack London's work that is rarely taught in high schools or universities.

For a long time, I thought that my portrayal of Alice as a modern-day Robin Hood was unique. Imagine my surprise when halfway through writing "Wastelands" I stumbled across the comic book hero "The Green Arrow." I do think that my modern American Alice would make quite a comic book heroine.

I will never write a fanfiction for "Madness Returns." Quite a few of the "Madness Returns" fanfictions strike me as "trollfics" which are written with the deliberate intent of offending. Sadism, domination, near-rape scenes. It isn't the explicit sex of the scenes which bothers me. It's the apparent joy of the authors in portraying scenes of such viciousness and cruelty.

-Nikki Little on November 24, 2012