User Profile

I was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon. I love the Willamette valley, and hope to be buried here. Preferably not tomorrow.

In my day job, I'm a computer technician. My real job is writing speculative fiction. I hope one day to be paid for it.

On the written word:
I've come to love writing within the last few years. Most of my life, I've enjoyed reading, and in high school I wrote poetry. But my first loves were always the science fiction and fantasy stories I kept in my head, and never put on paper. That changed about three years ago, when my wife started writing seriously, which inspired me.

One day, I sat down and pounded out the first page of what eventually turned into a 110,000 word novel. I don't know if this book will ever see the light of day, but I wrote it, and that's good enough for me.

These days, I primarily write short stories, although recently I've started working on novels again.

On how it feels to write:
The mechanics of writing come easily to me. I don't struggle over punctuation, spelling, grammar, or whether my infinitives are split. This doesn't make writing easier, it just makes me a good copyeditor for my own work.

The things that really matter - plot, dialogue, narrative flow, voice - do not come so easily to me, but the challenge of getting them right - of continually improving - is much more fulfilling. I hope it never gets too easy, because that will be the day I stop improving.

My bibliography:
I have five stories published or due:
"Our Last Words" - Writers of the Future anthology, Volume XXIII (Published September 2007)
"God at the Bottom of a Cup" - Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, issue #32 (Published January 2008)
"End User" - AnotheRealm (Published December 2008)
"The Leaf Gatherer" - Electric Velocipede (Issue #17/18)
"The Stonecutter" - Electric Velocipede (Due 2010)

On being a nerd:
I've had a lot of interests in my life. I've studied theater arts, I've learned how to tango, and I'm deeply interested in politics. Most people don't consider those nerdy pursuits - but then again, most people don't obsess over things endlessly. If you define nerdiness as a compulsive hyper-interest in a scholarly or obscure subject, then I've been nerdy about a lot of things, even those generally considered "cool."

In a more traditional nerd vein, I've got a long-standing love for computers, I play roleplaying games, I read sci-fi, I collect comic books, and so on.

My life by decade:
I was born in the seventies. Fortunately, thanks to the happy coincidence of being only four years old when it died, I have no memory of disco.

The eighties were rough times for me. I truly became a nerd, and it wasn't yet cool to be one. I helped run a BBS when I was 12, I consistently scored higher in math quizzes than my schoolmates, and I spent a lot of my time in A/V, the computer lab, and theater tech. Fortunately, in 1989 - at the ripe age of 13 - I discovered Trent Reznor, and he changed my life.

The nineties saw me go grungy and goth - along with every other 14-to-20 year old in the country. Type O-Negative for the times I needed to go all in black and obsess about death, and Nirvana when I needed to yell, scream, and head-bang. And, of course, Nine Inch Nails when I needed to do both. I grew my hair long, dyed it black a couple times, and put on nail polish. At grungier moments, I tied flannels around my waist and dived into mosh pits. Ahh, memories. I also voted for the first time (Democrat across the board), and met the love of my life, floatingtide.

Which brings me to now: I am 33 years old. I've settled into my writing endeavors, and abandoned my brief trip through angst - it's not a happy place, I don't recommend vacationing there. We have a toddler, and I own my own home.

I guess that means I'm an adult now. But I still don't dress like one.

Physicals:

• 33 years old
• Male
• 6'3" and some change
• 205 lbs.
• Blue eyes
• Dark brown hair

Mentals:

• Agnostic (tending towards pantheism)
• I accept the basic tenets of biological, climatological, and economic science, which apparently makes me a tree-hugging, God-hating, liberal, commie, pinko scumbag.
• Logic puzzles rock.

Politicals:

• Socially, I'm very much a liberal (as if you had to ask). I think homophobia is stupid. I believe in reproductive choice. I think there needs to be a social safety net, and the measure of a just society is how well it treats its most disadvantaged members.
• The Iraq war is leading us steadily into WWIII.
• I sincerely hope America can survive another couple years of this shit.

Socials:

• Married, quite happily.
• We have baby. Baby trumps social life.
• As social activities, I like movies, dancing, and writing. Yes, writing.

Current nerdy/obsessive behaviors and hobbies:

• Argentine tango. (Haven't had a chance to for a while)
• Tabletop roleplaying games (preferably with actual storytelling).
• Tinkering with computers.


• Messing around with Linux.
• Comic books (alternative/adult).
• Comic books (some mainstream, a guilty pleasure).
• Anime. No, not the tentacle stuff, you filthy pervert.

Remember:
There is no way to Tao. Tao is the way.

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