about the authors
Harriet
Harriet is the pseudonym of a little Australian writer who, nearly a decade ago, while in the throes of unemployment, started writing fanfiction. Buoyed by a receptive audience and nothing better to do, she spent 5 years churning out tales of sex and violence involving the characters of Brad, Gina, Fenny, Greg and Paul, and enjoyed every moment. Sadly, all good things come to an end and her nirvana years were cut short by fulltime employment and a subsequent drain on all things fun. Four years on and with life a little more settled, she’s eager to bring the madness back, pour the tequila and dust off the mongoose.
gnome
Gnome is the quirky nickname given to a City of Angels resident, artist extraordinaire and sometimes writer who teamed up with Harriet when she was a mere art student and frequent sketcher of Tony Slattery portraits. After years of college education, stalking musicians, a couple of successful blogs and working for Disney, the Gnome has returned to revamp the Pit into the serious hub of intellectual observation and humour it always wanted to be (or it could just be that she’s unemployed a freelancer and bored). She’s currently smacking her head against a wall and wondering if the hours of coding are worth it.
about the Fondue gang
Gina Coleman
Gina Coleman, who first makes an appearance in Back Downunder, is a feisty Australian journalist whose relationship with Paul McDermott ranges from loving to spiteful to disturbing and a little obsessive. She’s not afraid to throw a punch or pistol whip a threat. She hates vegetarians and has some seriously questionable morals.
Fenny Grey
Fenny, who first appears in the Strangers series, is the meek, struggling American artist who is more at home hiding behind a sketch pad than dressed like a whore in a nightclub selling class A drugs. She’s a troubled soul who runs away from her problems and sleeps around to avoid them. She loves Brad deeply even if she does think he’s a total idiot.
Paul McDermott
Paul is an Australian comedian, singer, TV host, artist, writer and all around awesome individual to whom we apologise for having beaten up so often. As a character in our fiction he is unpredictable, witty, fearless and licks the ground his beloved Genie walks on. His childlike persona and ability to sing at the drop of a hat either get him out of trouble, into trouble, or laid.
Brad Sherwood
Brad is an American comedian, host, actor and improviser whose cute, wonky smile makes us weak at the knees. We’re not sure why we have had him shot, raped and fathering a bastard child, but hey, you can’t win them all. As a character Brad shirks his responsibilities, treats Fenny quite unfairly and lacks any kind of maturity at all. He can fumble his way out of most serious situations and does very silly things when he’s drunk.
Greg Proops
Greg is an American comedian and TV host who is known for his acerbic sense of humour, quiff and glasses. As a character poor Greg is whiny, grumpy and reluctant to exert any kind of energy to help his friends. He is often made to look foolish because of this. Greg and Gina had an affair early on before she trampled on his heart. He still loves her and would drop his pants in a flash if she asked.
Danny Brannigan
Danny is a character created by Harriet more than a decade ago, but his first appearance in the Fondue was in Fondue: the Saga Continues. He’s a good-looking, well-educated and wealthy journalist with a strong distaste for his privileged background, chauvinists and anyone who hurts his friends. He worships Gina and has been friends with her since they were both cadets and has had many a romp with Fenny to help her deal with her problems. Danny is proof that good guys both finish last and never win.
Ritza Crispin
Ritza is one tough woman with a background in the Mafia and Victioria’s Underbelly. This girl won’t just kick your butt – she’ll cut it off, package it up, mail it to your family and then continue kicking your corpse. She’s a single mother, her sister is in prison because she’s a violent psychotic, and she shot Brad in a crime of passion. In her downtime Ritza likes knitting for charity and helping out at the local animal shelter.
Bevan Duggan
Bevan was employed by bad guy Don McIver until he began to pity guileless Brad and defected to the good guys. He’s big, tattooed and can kill a man by snapping his spine. To date he’s killed at least 17 people in cold blood, but it’s ok because he was well paid and used the money to buy a Playstation for his son.
Lily Sherwood
Lily is Brad’s daughter from a one night stand. He loves her dearly but is guilty of being an absent/drunken father. The older she gets the wittier she’s become, and often leaves her father speechless. Lily has a passion for art because of her adoration of stepmom Fenny. She is best kept away from animals, chubby children and Santa.
Jaguar & Lewis
Jaguar is Fenny’s black cat who likes to sit with her while she attempts to design things on the computer for various clients. He is used to being abandoned, as is Gina’s cat Lewis. Most often left with hippy neighbour Moonstar, poor Lewis has abandonment issues and a death wish for Paul.
Mochrie
Mochrie is Brad’s dog, a collie that he found abandoned. Named after the loveable Colin Mochrie, poor Mochrie is as daft as her owner and often can be found eating footwear or drinking out of the toilet. She once ate half a pack of crayons and pooped rainbows for three days.
Troy
Troy is a stuffed mongoose who somehow became the most fun to write about. He has been in Paul’s possession since he was found at Don McIver’s Scottish mansion and has been involved in at least one kidnapping where he was subjected to prostitutes and knifings.