Hello Writing Forums Members; I've been lurking here for quite a while. Now that I've finished my first book (Fantasy) and started getting feedback I took the plunge and created an account. About me: I teach college level economics (201-Micro/202-Macro) and write on the side. In my free time I also create political cartoons for a local newspaper and associated blog. I've been published several times as a contributor to a magazine and have had some poetry published ages ago. I've also been published in professional journals, but I hardly think that counts. (Scholarly journal articles are some of the most painful reads in existence.) My hobbies included hiking, backpacking, photography, and history with an emphasis on the Hallstatt period Celts. Naturally, as a writer, I am also a reader. My favorite authors are Neil Gaiman, Sherman Alexi, and John Flanagan, but I enjoy just about any genera as long as the book is well written. I tried writing a novel once before (Historical Fiction), but my computer crashed when I was at about 30K words and I lost everything. It took me two years before I mustered the courage to start writing again. In truth, this novel was an accident. I had too much time on my hands this summer and started writing to keep myself entertained; 5 weeks later I had 105K words! My home office is now filled with maps of Europe, books on early mining techniques, food in the ancient world, Celtic/Norse/German mythology, archeological journals, and even a proto-Celtic dictionary. I look forward to getting to know all of you. Cheers!
