Hello Everyone,
First post on this forum. Looks very promising so far. I learned of it from an interview with Jim Heckett (I think) on The Book Editor Podcast.
I am an older, poor, and mostly unpublished writer, though I've had a couple of encouraging rejection letters from years ago. For the past couple of years I have been learning all I could from various Indie/Self publishing podcasts and their 'business card' books, and I've been writing and revising and making plans. It is my hope, sometime before summer to become an actively and independently published writer.
My reasons for joining the AWWC is to make connections and friendships with other high quality writers (yes, I think I'm pretty good, just not terribly savvy) to trade beta reads, maybe find a writer buddy or two...basically find writers of substantial skill in my general boat who want feedback and are willing to give feedback that is more than warm thoughts and attaboys.
Genre. Most of my writing is either science fiction or fantasy, with occasional bits of mainstreamish magical realism...or whatever current term means generally literary but with light mystical bits. My most controversial story (for some) is this plus a touch of alternative history...basically a story set in a world where the mythos surrounding Gen. Robert E. Lee and the mythos of Santa Claus fell together. This was inspired by the similarity of the thin European Santa's riding horses with a picture of Lee astride his horse, Traveller...Lee for a moment just looked like Santa in a Confederate uniform, and I had to scratch that itch.
Background: Studied Art and English. Graduated with Honors in Creative Writing. Have one poem published in Relief No. 2. Had a story make the top ten favorite short stories for the year 2006 for the now defunct Infuze Journal, and currently have a few short/flash pieces up over on Quantum Muse, though it's been a while since I posted there.
Current projects:
The Wind Hath Heirs. YA dystopian with a twist. Since it's hard to afford much, I'm currently letting the public weigh in on it over on Amazon's WriteOn. The prologue and first three chapters are up, and a couple of more chapters will be posted soon. I have got about 50K words written so far, but I am finding the need for substantial edits before posting portions for comment.
Galenborn: A three to five season serial that is mostly a fantasy...though in the end it will have SF elements. I plan each season to consist of 5 to 7 novellas/novelletes of apx 17.5K to 20K words. The story turns on two interlocking premises, the first is the world is not uniformly fallen, second the story is set in what might be described as the universe of Hogwarts meets Gone With the Wind by way of Downton Abby (mages in hidden plantation style manor houses in the antebellum South). Current progress about 16K of a prologue mini-serial (4 volumes) that is intended as a free taste/mailing list builder/interest generator for the main series. Of that, I'm about 30K words into Season 2. Nothing yet for seasons 1 or 3 but some general ideas.
Apolytikion for Old Bones: A long short story about Russian Orthodox Monks colonizing Mars. It's had one significant vetting in the critique venue at Writer's Carnival, and needs some significant editing. The intent is to shop it first to OSC IGMS and then to other substantive SF markets if need be.
The Reef of Heaven: This is intended as a giant, sprawling far, far future milieux in which a number of novels and short stories can be written. At present I've three or four short stories and an early map for about three novels at present. This is the 20 year project that I need to get to if it is ever to be done while I still draw breath. The core premise is that we found the universe basically empty, but for us (what are the odds), and as we moved out into the stars we uplifted a number of other earth creatures along the way. Millennia later cultures collide and man is thought extinct for a very long time...until one day when it is discovered that he is not. That's the background against which everything else plays out.
That's probably way more than enough for an introduction, and now you know why I have major edits to Apolytikion for Old Bones...I tend to wax long and verbose if I don't watch myself.
I look forward to getting to know everyone, and contributing to the community.
First post on this forum. Looks very promising so far. I learned of it from an interview with Jim Heckett (I think) on The Book Editor Podcast.
I am an older, poor, and mostly unpublished writer, though I've had a couple of encouraging rejection letters from years ago. For the past couple of years I have been learning all I could from various Indie/Self publishing podcasts and their 'business card' books, and I've been writing and revising and making plans. It is my hope, sometime before summer to become an actively and independently published writer.
My reasons for joining the AWWC is to make connections and friendships with other high quality writers (yes, I think I'm pretty good, just not terribly savvy) to trade beta reads, maybe find a writer buddy or two...basically find writers of substantial skill in my general boat who want feedback and are willing to give feedback that is more than warm thoughts and attaboys.
Genre. Most of my writing is either science fiction or fantasy, with occasional bits of mainstreamish magical realism...or whatever current term means generally literary but with light mystical bits. My most controversial story (for some) is this plus a touch of alternative history...basically a story set in a world where the mythos surrounding Gen. Robert E. Lee and the mythos of Santa Claus fell together. This was inspired by the similarity of the thin European Santa's riding horses with a picture of Lee astride his horse, Traveller...Lee for a moment just looked like Santa in a Confederate uniform, and I had to scratch that itch.
Background: Studied Art and English. Graduated with Honors in Creative Writing. Have one poem published in Relief No. 2. Had a story make the top ten favorite short stories for the year 2006 for the now defunct Infuze Journal, and currently have a few short/flash pieces up over on Quantum Muse, though it's been a while since I posted there.
Current projects:
The Wind Hath Heirs. YA dystopian with a twist. Since it's hard to afford much, I'm currently letting the public weigh in on it over on Amazon's WriteOn. The prologue and first three chapters are up, and a couple of more chapters will be posted soon. I have got about 50K words written so far, but I am finding the need for substantial edits before posting portions for comment.
Galenborn: A three to five season serial that is mostly a fantasy...though in the end it will have SF elements. I plan each season to consist of 5 to 7 novellas/novelletes of apx 17.5K to 20K words. The story turns on two interlocking premises, the first is the world is not uniformly fallen, second the story is set in what might be described as the universe of Hogwarts meets Gone With the Wind by way of Downton Abby (mages in hidden plantation style manor houses in the antebellum South). Current progress about 16K of a prologue mini-serial (4 volumes) that is intended as a free taste/mailing list builder/interest generator for the main series. Of that, I'm about 30K words into Season 2. Nothing yet for seasons 1 or 3 but some general ideas.
Apolytikion for Old Bones: A long short story about Russian Orthodox Monks colonizing Mars. It's had one significant vetting in the critique venue at Writer's Carnival, and needs some significant editing. The intent is to shop it first to OSC IGMS and then to other substantive SF markets if need be.
The Reef of Heaven: This is intended as a giant, sprawling far, far future milieux in which a number of novels and short stories can be written. At present I've three or four short stories and an early map for about three novels at present. This is the 20 year project that I need to get to if it is ever to be done while I still draw breath. The core premise is that we found the universe basically empty, but for us (what are the odds), and as we moved out into the stars we uplifted a number of other earth creatures along the way. Millennia later cultures collide and man is thought extinct for a very long time...until one day when it is discovered that he is not. That's the background against which everything else plays out.
That's probably way more than enough for an introduction, and now you know why I have major edits to Apolytikion for Old Bones...I tend to wax long and verbose if I don't watch myself.
I look forward to getting to know everyone, and contributing to the community.
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anyway. 
. Nothing offensive about healthy self-assurance. Plus, anyone who recalls The Guns of Will Sonnet well enough to quote the title character's favorite line is okay in my book. Easily my favorite TV western of the '60s. 