That's Matilda and me in Wisconsin. Mattie belongs to my sister-in-law, Sue.
After growing up in western Pennsylvania, I started a career in technical writing in the mid-80s, but always dreaming of the day when I'd be able to write fiction full-time.
Eventually, I relocated to the eastern half of the state, where I spent the next twelve years, often alternating between salaried positions, contract/temp work, and freelance contracting. In the evenings, I worked on various stories, including a concept for a lengthy fantasy epic, "Prophecy's Door" (an excerpt from the first completed volume is available here.) Unfortunately, the writing was marked by fairly lengthy gaps, particularly whenever my life became… complicated.
Eventually, in 1997, I moved to the Santa Cruz mountains—the only other place on this planet that's felt like home to me. Seriously, upon my first visit to the area on a business trip in 1996, the thought flashed unbidden through my brain, I could live here…
In the meantime, from 2000 on, I threw myself headfirst into my newly reestablished technical writing consulting business, Morn Enterprises, LLC. Made a ton of money, even in the aftermath of the Dot-com bust, but it was at the expense of what eventually became a whole constellation of repetitive stress injuries to my arms and hands during the summer of '03.
After a three month strict regimen of physical therapy and ergonomic retraining, I recovered, and returned almost immediately to a level of effort in the tech writing biz that was only slightly less than before.
Me doing my thing at a fire homa ceremony
In the meantime, I finished that first novel (under review at DAW at present), started writing two more…and then ran off to India to live at an ashram for three years. That's another story in itself.
Interests
- I enjoy hiking, gardening (veggies, not flowers), building things (this year's project has been a huge treehouse), and reading and writing fantasy and science fiction.
- My favorite authors include (but are not limited to) Dan Simmons, Deborah Ross, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Elizabeth Moon, James Hogan, Robert L. Forward, Stephen King, JRR Tolkein, Stephen R. Donaldson, and Dante Algieri.
- Favorite TV shows: Battlestar Galactica, The West Wing, Babylon 5, Doctor Who, Farscape, Firefly, Robot Chicken, Deadwood, Lost, Heroes, Buffy & Angel (of course), Twin Peaks, and most of the various Star Trek series.
- My favorite movies: Just about anything by James Cameron or Ron Howard. (And yes, I loved "Avatar.")
- The single classiest lady ever to grace the silver screen: Katharine Hepburn.
- My favorite ice cream: Haagen Dazs vanilla chocolate chip (a shame I can find it only rarely).
- Coffee? Yes, please.
- The four basic food groups: Chocolate, caffeine, greasy stuff, and salt. Oh, and chocolate. Might as well toss in Lapsang Souchong tea, as well as the occasional single-malt scotch (especially Laphroaig) or a really bitchin' hand-mixed margarita (El Patron añejo or other top-shelf tequila is a must). And chocolate, especially Godiva.
- I am quite allergic to cigarette smoke.
- My politics: Defies categorization, but progressive liberal is probably the best choice. I'm a registered Democrat, if that means anything. And I'm not afraid to use the word "Liberal" in reference to myself.
- My religion: I don't talk about that, except with my close friends. Suffice it to say that I don't follow any of the mainstream religions, but I respect them all…well, except for the ones that invoke divine permission to kill, maim, or otherwise oppress other people. That's just wrong.
- I spend way too much time on my computer; thank god I wasn't born a hundred years ago.
- I'm a night own and have serious doubts as to the existence of this thing people call 'morning.'