Arkham Files: The Dynamic between Neal and Peter

In Arkham Files, Diana takes the relationship between Neal and Peter that she's familiar with at work and tweaks it. Her goal is a serious one. The cybercriminal Azathoth has made a series of threats against Neal and Peter. Diana volunteered to write stories as a device to provoke Azathoth out of hiding. When Agent Tricia Wiese, the FBI profiler assigned to the case, heard about them, she realized Diana's fics could also be used as a tool to positively influence Azathoth's behavior.

Music in Caffrey Conversation

It's no surprise the Caffrey Conversation AU is filled with songs, given how much Silbrith and I love music. But our use of music is more than an indulgence. We use it to define our settings, to describe and solve cases, and to reveal things about the characters. This post will cover a “greatest hits” of the music in the AU, tracing the original uses and hinting at what’s to come.

Dante "Mozzie" Atwood, Karl Jansky Professor of Astrophysics

When Mozzie designed his character for Arkham Files, he wasn't interested in a slight makeover. He demanded a transformation. An astrophysicist with the intelligence of Albert Einstein and the looks of Viggo Mortensen was the profile he presented to Diana. She compromised and gave him part of what he wanted.

The Challenge of Elizabeth Burke

It’s Father’s Day, so I’m writing about Elizabeth Burke. Odd choice? Perhaps. She did set up Neal’s first Father’s Day with Peter early in Caffrey Disclosure, so that’s part of my angle.

The strong marriage between El and Peter is an element I loved from White Collar and kept for my AU, but I soon hit the same challenge that plagued the show’s writers: How do you keep her relevant and involved in the stories without pulling silly stunts?

Elizabeth Wayland Burke

When White Collar agent Diana Berrigan transposed her colleagues and friends into Arkham Files, she made her boss, FBI agent Peter Burke, an acclaimed archaeologist. She could have left his wife Elizabeth's career alone. An event planner would have blended well into the setting, but Diana wasn't satisfied with the obvious choice. She has greater ambitions for Elizabeth.

Peter Burke: AU versus Canon

Through the six seasons of White Collar, Peter seems to morph in the hands of different writing teams. When I read WC fan fiction, often I can tell which version of Peter the author is embracing or reacting against. Someday I may write the story that sometimes swims into my mind featuring a brotherly relationship between Peter and Neal, but for the Caffrey Conversation AU, the father-figure version of Peter won out. Other than consistently feeling like a father toward Neal, how else does AU Peter differ from canon?

Arkham Files: A Leap Backward

The Caffrey Conversation series begins in fall 2003 and as of The Mirror, we've advanced to spring 2005. This week I posted the first chapter of Visions from Beyond, the first Arkham Files story. If you'd like to visit the world of Arkham Files, you'll need to reset your clocks.

Meredith Caffrey: Villain or Victim?

When White Collar was canceled, one of my regrets was that we wouldn’t get to meet Neal’s mother. If I could peek into Jeff Eastin’s mind, I’d certainly want to find out what he envisioned for her backstory. Without that resource available to me, I had to invent my own version, and that led to the character I named Meredith.