Ahoy there, fellow sailors of the ship FictionPress! I'm your friendly shipboard Wordsmith, purveyor of all things lexicographic. We have freshly minted sonnets in that barrel over there, a few haiku swimming in the goldfish bowl, and a stack of still steaming metaphors and similies for those of you who need a treat on cold winter days.

The Wordsmith is a college student from the great state of Illinois currently pursuing a BA in English and Secondary Education from a small college in Minnesota. She hopes to continue writing in whatever way possible after she finishes her degree, and would like to, if at all possible, become the best young adult librarian in the universe or the best English teacher in the universe, whichever comes first.

The first story she wrote and finished was a fanfiction for Lord of the Rings, which continues to be a large part of her writing landscape today, although she has made forays into popular TV shows (Grey's Anatomy, House) movies (Dead Poet's Society, Kingdom of Heaven ) and other large literary canons (Master and Commander, Jane Austen). Her personal research interests include life during the Second and Third crusades, early 19th century Naval history, women's studies, and fanfiction itself.

If she had any spare time, she'd love to spend it working in the real world with students who write fanfiction (and original fiction) to help them improve their work as well as their interactions with the online community.

Saying she has no free time is a little bit of a lie -- The Wordsmith does find time between schoolwork and her job as a circulation assistant at her college library to write a blog about her experiences in the world of the written word. Past blog subjects have included young adult fiction recommendations, tips on how to become a better writer, Mercury's work in letterpress printing and movie reviews. You can find the blog, entitled The Village Wordsmithy, here at http://

In the meantime, feel free to check her out on fanfiction under the name Mercury Gray, and on under her penname Lady Gray.