Hi. My name is Bill. I've been writing jots and dots on and off for years. I've never had anything published beyond some short pieces (>2000 words) in genre-specific quarterlies that were more like newsletters, both in production value and circulation. Now I'm working on two proper novel-length pieces; the first has been put on the back-burner whilst I complete the second. It's actually a chicken-egg-deal where I began writing Book A before fully fleshing out the details, and then as I went back and properly plotted the story I found there was a more urgent desire to tell the story of a supporting character. Hence the current focus on Book B, which has been almost completely sketched out and I'm in the currently process of writing. I'm on spring break (woo, southern hemisphere!) for another week, so I'm trying to get as much of the first draft written as possible, to create momentum in order to finish it before Christmas, as well as to get into a productive writing habit. I'd like to release it as an eBook with a POD version ultimately, however I won't do that until it's better than the majority of the $0.99 indulgences I've thrown money away on in the Kindle store. Personally, like cooking, movies, music, travel. I've spent a number of years living and working in Japan before moving back to Australia where I now teach high school students that there's a difference between "May I" and "Can I", and that attaining proficiency in a second language pretty much requires you to be near-expert in your first. I'm fluent in Japanese, and know various parts of the country well (as both a resident & visitor) so if you're looking for information on language and culture I can probably help there. My personal book preferences tend to more spec-fiction, where the mood evoked is a particularly important quality of the writing. My iPad and shelves are heavy with William Gibson, Neal Stephenson and whatever old SF anthologies I can pick up from second-hand book shops. I particularly like reading "Golden Age" works in collection. The stories are usually prefaced with a title leaf, and below the author's name the italics "First appeared in 'Astounding Science-Fiction' in May, 1958". I hope this tells you a little about me, and I look forward to learning more from you all about this craft! Thanks for reading!
Hey, Bill. Glad you've decided to come in out of the soft-focus background of lurkers. I too am a fan of the Golden Age. Fantastic stories told with crisp economy of wording. The City and the Stars by A.C. Clarke being one of my all time favorites. A lost art. You're probably well aware of the Forum Rules, but just in case. Wrey
