"Constant practice devoted to one subject often outdoes both intelligence and skill." - Cicero

Update 11/06/06: I have been going to school after work since the beginning of October so I don't have much time to stop by here anymore, but please feel free to drop me a line and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible. And wish me luck, I've got a long road ahead to meet my goal! ;-)

There really isn't much to know about me. I live in Washington State, USA, and work in Seattle. I'm old enough to know better, but not necessarily smart enough to act on that knowledge and avoid making a fool of myself whenever I post something on the Internet, so consider this my warning to you. If for some reason you are interested in knowing more about me you can find my email address available above. My inbox always welcomes friendly messages, but if you don't hear back from me within a day or two it's not because I'm ignoring you; sometimes I just forget to check my email for a couple days.

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I've seen others list their favorite authors so I shalldo likewise. Below is a list, in no particular order, of a few authorsto give you a vague idea about my reading interests. As you'll notice, I'm generally more likely to read sci-fi than fantasy, but it tends to go in phases.

Larry Niven (sci-fi & fantasy) - I am particularly fond of Niven's Known Space universe, which include the Ringworld books, and his Magic Goes Away stories and books, the best of which are co-authored by Jerry Pournelle (Burning City, Burning Tower, upcoming Burning Mountain). He is considered a 'hard sci-fi' author, but I find that his characters and stories overshadow any scientific elements that would make it considered such. He also has numerous stand alone novels I've enjoyed, but they are too many to mention here.

J.R.R. Tolkien (fantasy) - I've only read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but will eventually get around to reading The Silmarillion and the assorted collections published by his son. I find the depth of his world creation to be astounding, if a bit hard to keep track of at times, but ultimately my avoidance of his further works is simply due to lack of time and the ability to muster enough brain power to appreciate it.

Jerry Pournelle (sci-fi) - I have always been interested in military history and tactics so when I discovered the Falkenburg's Legion stories I was happy as the proverbial clam (why exactly it's happy I'm not sure). I am also very fond of his collaboration with Larry Niven on The Mote in God's Eye and it's sequel, The Gripping Hand, as well assorted other titles by him.

Gordon R. Dickson (sci-fi & fantasy) - Perhaps my favorite author, Dickson's Chylde Cycle (Dorsai!) series stands very high on my list of favorites due to it's deep look into the philosophy of what it means to be human and the metaphysical aspects of it. Uncommon science fiction to say the least. On the lighter side, I always enjoyed The Dragon and the George series and the stories of over-imaginative aliens that look like teddy bears found in his Hoka! books, co-authored with sci-fi legend Poul Anderson. He also has many stand alone titles well worth reading which I highly recommend.

Steven Brust (fantasy) - The Vlad Taltos series is easily the least conventional fantasy I've ever read, at least in terms of the main character, who is, without a doubt, the most endearing assassin imaginable. In a slightly lighter and flowery language, I find the Khaavren Romances to be a real pleasure to read both for the humor and because it's slightly more conventional fantasy even though it is set in the same world as the Vlad Taltos books.

Raymond Feist (fantasy) - I rather accidentally became a fan of Raymond Feist's Riftwar Saga when I unwittingly checked out the last book in the series at the library one summer long ago. It led me to read the rest of series as well as the sequel series, the Serpentwar Saga, and also the Empire Trilogy co-authored by Janny Wurts. I found the Empire Trilogy to be incredibly powerful emotionally and it was my first real glimpse at a female main character. I reread it fairly recently and picked up on more than the first time around, and if anything, found it even more moving than on the first read. I highly recommend it.

C.J. Cherryh (sci-fi) - The Foreigner series is how I was introduced to this talented woman's writing and I await each forthcoming book eagerly. It led me to read more of her work including the Faded Sun Trilogy, a couple of stand alone titles and two compilation books containing three complete, different, novels each. She remains one of my favorite sci-fi authors.

Orson Scott Card (sci-fi) - Ender's Game came highly recommended to me and once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. This led me to read the rest of the series and the parallel series started by Ender's Shadow, which only improved my appraisal of his writing. He has a gift for deep, believeable characters and a knack for keeping his books short without skimping on plot, detail, or emotion. I look forward to seeing what he can do with an Ender's Game movie.

James P. Hogan (sci-fi) - An author with an art for stories only requiring one book without shorting the reader on quality, he continues to impress me with every book I read. I was first introduced to his writing with the novel Paths to Otherwhere, but my favorite to date is probably his excellent, and humorous, Martian Knightlife.

Roger MacBride Allen (sci-fi) - By no means a prolific author, Allen is still one of the best hard sci-fi writers I've ever read. The Chronicles of Solace trilogy is one of my favorites of all time, dealing with time travel, terraforming, and the potential and pitfalls of future humanity. The Hunted Earth series is also a very good read, but I'm still waiting for book three!

Christopher Stasheff (fantasy) - The Wizard in Rhyme series is probably one of the most original takes on fantasy magic I've ever read and a hoot to read besides. While it remains serious for the most part it definitely takes a page or two from tongue in cheek humor and easily establishes itself as unique within it's own genre. The characters are well written and loveable, the description complete without being wordy, and the plots themselves seem imbued with magic.

Dan Simmons (sci-fi) - Always intrigued by the cover art and synopsis for Hyperion, I finally read the book a few years back and was awestruck by this author's gift for writing powerful characters and a deceptively epic story. I was hooked immediately and proceeded to read the remaining three books in the series as quickly as possible, culminating with the heart-wrenchingly beautiful Rise of Endymion. I would consider it a must read for anyone, even if sci-fi is not normally of interest.

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Meh, what a page scrolling mess this is.

Anyhow, someday I may actually post something for people to read (and critique to tiny, unrecognizeable bits), but for now I'll stick to reading and reviewing other authors' stories. My time to myself is rather limited and fatigue is usually an effective form of writer's block, but I hope my recent writing activity is a promising sign of things to come. What I'll really need if I ever do get anything going seriously is an editor (and a writing coach probably), but I suppose I might be lucky enough to find volunteers here?

(I was right! Thanks Finduilas88 and Freesourceful for your kind assistance!)