Hello Everyone, I'm admittedly rather terrible at these kinds of introductions as I tend to overthink everything I want to say, so I'll just get into the relevant stuff. I love writing, and words, and language. They are the essential tools of communicating valuable ideas, experiences, and emotions to one another and they're truly the most important, yet undervalued skill set of humanity. Creative writing captured my passion and interest in childhood, which carried me through multiple degrees and into a field where I'm fortunate enough to teach writing to others. But teaching and doing are very different skill sets, and while I consider myself experienced at both, no man is an island, and good creative writing can only be achieved with the aid of challenging and supportive peers; a lesson it's taken me quite some time to learn. I hope to find such a community here, not just for myself, but for the betterment of others as well. My particular style focuses on both Creative Nonfiction -- particularly personal essay, literary journalism, and some memoir -- as well as Fiction, and sometimes the combining of the two (my nonfiction tends to employ a lot of imaginings). I quite enjoy genre fiction most -- fantasy, some SF, intelligent horror, dark satire, and magical realism. I'm partial to the works of Neil Gaiman, the late Terry Pratchett, Jonathan L. Howard, Robert Olen Butler, and classic writers like Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, and H.P. Lovecraft. To be frank, my ultimate goal is dig myself out of the countless half-finished projects I've worked on over the years, polish them, and finally get serious about publication. That said, I teaching writing for a living because I love helping others find their words and stories as well. So should you like, I'll happily read excerpts, provide helpful criticism, and generally offer whatever aid I can to your creative endeavours in the hopes of finding the same in return.
I welcome you, Vinny, notwithstanding the fact that jackals and cats are naturally disposed to be enemies. I like the genres you mentioned, and all of the authors as well (except that I am unfamiliar with Jonathan L. Howard). Best of luck to you - it's a good community here and I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for the welcome! Yeah, not a lot of people know Howard. He's the author of the Johannes Cabal: The Necromancer series if you're familiar at all? Dark Fantasy with Humor. Demons, parallel worlds, vampires, werewolves, noir, etc., but doesn't it take itself too seriously like a lot of other stuff in the genre. Incredibly well-written. I'm very influenced by his work (as if my accolades didn't give that away). He just released a new book The Fall of the House of Cabal, though I recommend reading the others first if you're interested. If you like Gaiman and Lovecraft you'll probably like Howard.
I'll definitely check it out. Sounds like exactly the sort of thing I'd like. Have you read Glen Duncan's The Last Werewolf, by chance? Seems like something you might like, based on what you've said, and I don't come across many people who have read it. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/books/review/book-review-the-last-werewolf-by-glen-duncan.html
I have not, but it definitely sounds like my favorite style. Eloquent, charmingly broodish, a bit cynical, and werewolves, lol.
