Books

Trying to put a color here that would complement my blog's background parchment coloring.

Still working my way around the site, trying to get the feel of this. I should write something every day just for practice. I don't really want to stir up controversy anyway, or express my political or social views.

I work as the receptionist in a small private school. Not a bad job, lots of time for reflection, in between all the little fill in things they have you do. Answering the phone and greeting visitors leaves you hanging around too much; may as well fold letters and stuff envelopes.

I've always loved to read, mostly historical mysteries. My favorite authors are Lindsey Davis, Anne Perry, Edward Marston, Bruce Alexander, and Rhys Bowen. I started reading mysteries in my teens with Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle.

I also love Harry Potter and Murphy and Sapir's Destroyer series.

The computer opened up a lot of new reading venues. I discovered fan fiction; the quality varies wildly, of course, but I still find plenty out there to make it worthwhile. More importantly, it started my urge to write.

I'd always wanted to write growing up, but never could think of anything I really wanted to write about. Or maybe I was just lazy. Somehow, reading other amateur fics online spurred me to write when I realized writing in someone else's world gave me access to full blown characters and a pre-made world.

I wrote my first story in response to an offer from Warren Murphy on his author site. He created the Destroyer series, which I've been reading for over twenty years now. He was putting together a book of short stories written by fans, as a thank you for their devotion to the series over the years. I'd been speculating about an unseen character off and on for years as I've read the books. I wrote it down, sent it in, and was accepted for publication. The book, Destroyerworld Presents: New Blood, will be available shortly.

Since writing the first story, I've written others. They're either Destroyer or Harry Potter (another favorite series). The Sugar Quill link on the left goes to my author page.

Once you write one, it seems to be easier to continue. Even writing here is practice. That's enough for today.