The screen-name 'irony' was already taken, so I settled on iRONALDy. Since my real name is Ron, I suppose it'll do. So, this is me: almost sixty, dreaming of being commercially published since forever, but never quite getting around to pushing all else aside so I can get down and do it. Until this year. Perhaps it's because I'm turning 60 next month. I was once a working musician; then a working actor (and by working, I mean earning money, not that I was ever able to support myself as an actor the way I did as a musician). Once I realized I needed to actually eat as well as sleep in a real bed, I turned to other, more mundane things like driving trucks and taxis, entering data, waiting tables and stuff like that. You know, real-world-life stuff. But I'm retired now, so the bug has reared up again and is biting hard. I've been hanging around this forum for a few days now (after discovering it--then losing it--a few weeks or months back; I don't know which) and I've already learned a few very valuable things, things I might never have realized on my own here in this concrete tower overlooking the Ottawa River. I'm grateful this forum exists and grateful for the people here from whom I'm learning. I've already stepped on someone's toes (for which I've apologized, twice; my first attempt found me stepping into the proverbial dung a bit further) but I'm determined not to do it again. I wish you all well.
Greetings, fellow Northerner! I grew up in North Bay myself, then Owen Sound, Keswick, Toronto, now Brampton. I too, occasionally dabble in debates for which I wonder why I bother in the first place, but it is common -- not that we shouldn't choose our battles. Good luck with everything!
Sounds like quite an interesting life. I hope you eventually live out your dream. Stepping on toes is what most people do best around here. Welcome to the Forum.
Mostly rock and some folk/traditional stuff. This was between 1975 and 1983, so stuff that was contemporary at the time. The first six months or so was in a strip club, so there was a fair amount of bump-n-grid as well.
I felt I should update this since I just changed my screen name. It's now an expression my wife uses to mean something along the lines of: That's pretty cool. I've been hearing it for the last 30 years and so decided to use it for something. I've also decided to mention something that I'd previously held back, that two short novels of mine were published as ebooks back in 2002. They weren't self-published; I was approached by a start-up after one of their people found excerpts of one novel online. Since then, that small start-up was bought out by another, bigger one and they elected to transform into a vanity press. Part of the original deal was that I maintain all copyrights, so I had them pull every from Amazon, et al. Just my way of distancing myself. Both were in dire need of rewriting anyway and I only made about $30 from them over the thirteen years they were available anyway. So, not a big loss to me or the literary world.
