Not much to say in personal notes so shorter is better. I started writing fan fiction years ago to work through the death of the person who was essentially my father. Considering that my biological dad is still kickin' around tells you what kind of relationship I have with him, and my mother for that matter.

While working on my first storyline, in mid-2002 I was diagnosed with CML and took some time off to recover. I returned months later and in 2003 finished my Daria story (which is a series of interwoven short stories). Since then, I have been working on other projects (for my work) and reading. To date I have read over 350 Harry Potter stories, most of them beyond the 60K word count. There are some real gems out there.

At the beginning of 2008 my life again turned upside down and I had to locate new work and fast. I now have a new job where I test both software and hardware against Federal regulations. It's interesting enough for me. It certainly keeps me challenged and that's what counts.

I'm still a father. My wife and I adopted two little girls, both from China (one in 2004 and the other at the end of 2005). Adorable kids, but a handful at times. What child isn't?

I like many of the stories I read these days, but I prefer to find the larger ones for the category I am reading. I feel if someone has taken the time to write something that big, I can at least take the time to read it. Well, at least the first chapter, because if it doesn't hook my interest in that chapter, I'm outta there.

I guess I better start linking in those I like. Sure beats out linking in the lousy stories. One of the funniest I've found so far is: Naked Quidditch Match (see my favorites - it is in there). This is probably the funniest fic in the fandom. Absolutely hysterical. A must read!

However, one of the absolute best reads I have ever come across can be located here: http://bobmin.fanficauthors.net/index.php - if you go here, look for the Sunset over Britain story (1st) and Sunrise over Britain (2nd). These are just two of the most well-thought out stories which involves Harry Potter and essentially the rest of the world. It's not limited to just Harry and a few friends - it's the entire world.

Now that I've spent enough time reading and reviewing, and in some cases, beta'ing, I think it's time to start writing some of my own fiction. I have several ideas and I think it's time to start posting.

Steve