NEW USERS! INTRODUCE YOURSELVES!

[Beez]

Greetings! Sounds like procrastination hard at work! I did the same thing, for a while. I still lurk for the most part, but post occasionally. Anyway, always glad to see new faces.

[AlistairKimble]

Welcome aboard Tara! And good luck with the Masters!

Perhaps writing can be a nice diversion from the rigors of the Masters program.

[Martin L. Shoemaker]

Welcome aboard, Tara! Careful, procrastination can be contagious here.

[morshana]

Welcome, Tara!

[DavidK]

Welcome Tara - you'll do fine here as long as you don't mention you live on a large continent that is also an island - they get a bit touchy about that!

[Martin L. Shoemaker]

Welcome Tara - you'll do fine here as long as you don't mention you live on a large continent that is also an island - they get a bit touchy about that!

I don't care what the geographers say: if it's large enough to have three time zones, it's not an island, it's "just" a continent!

[DavidK]

I don't care what the geographers say: if it's large enough to have three time zones, it's not an island, it's "just" a continent!

See! What did I say -- don't say the word Island and Continent together

[Tara]

Thanks for the warm welcome, folks :) I shall steer well clear of any geographical discussions, as that's always my academic downfall. I'm perfectly happy to be smug about living in the future, however.

[soulmirror]

Thanks for the warm welcome, folks :) I shall steer well clear of any geographical discussions, as that's always my academic downfall. I'm perfectly happy to be smug about living in the future, however.

Since it's a forum of sci-fi and fantasy writers & illustrators, though, and the whole island vs continent kulturkampf has blown over .. I suppose we could argue about you saying 'the' future rather than 'a future'

Multiple timelines and universes = multiple futures. ay wot?

Anyway: WELCOME to you, one of many possible Taras!

[Patrick Ivan Burgess]

Hello kindred hearts. I'm new as a registered user but I've been ghosting my way in and out of the forums for a few years now. The passing of Ms. Wentworth was important enough for me to sign on so I could share my respect.

Thanks for sharing your stories of the ways she's touched your lives and your writing. Stories are for the lightening of burdens and the weighing of minds and hearts; a good story shared divides sorrow and pain, and multiplies joy and passion.

[Martin L. Shoemaker]

Despite the circumstances, welcome, Patrick. We're not quite Callahan's Saloon, but we try. Especially now.

[DavidK]

Welcome Patrick

[Patrick Ivan Burgess]

Thank you!

Spider Robinson just so happens to be one of the SF authors I really admire, for his writing, yes, but also for his enthusiastic optimism - you'd make a great patron at Callahan's, Martin

[Martin L. Shoemaker]

Thank you!

Spider Robinson just so happens to be one of the SF authors I really admire, for his writing, yes, but also for his enthusiastic optimism - you'd make a great patron at Callahan's, Martin

Thank you, Patrick. We're going to get along well. Callahan's was a formative influence on me -- ironic, since I never drink alcohol. (And no, I'm not a vampire either!) Between Callahan's and a bunch of drunken fencers I hang out with, it's no surprise that I wrote a series of stories set in a Lunar bar.

[bobsandiego]

Help my name is Bob, I write under Robert Mitchell Evans. I'm from the southeast of the U.S.A., served in the USN, worked at too many poorly paying jobs, and now work helping people and doctors get access to prescription meds they need.
I have won 5th honorable mentions in the contest over the last nine years. I don;t know what the record is but I feel like I am going for it.

[Martin L. Shoemaker]

Welcome aboard, Bob!

[morshana]

Welcome, Bob!

[Travesty]

Hello all,

First time submitting to the contest (Q1V29, I guess? If we submitted by the end of 3/2012?) and first time posting to the forums. Somewhat new to reading/following WotF as well, but I've been pleased with the stories and community, so far. :) Met Brad Torgerson at LTUE, and some other people that have submitted. Name's Travis, btw. New author, as well, just finished my first book, and subsequently finished the short story that I submitted. Gee, guess I'm new, all around. :) That probably covers introductions, I suppose. Nice to meet you all!

[gower21]

Hello all,

First time submitting to the contest (Q1V29, I guess? If we submitted by the end of 3/2012?) and first time posting to the forums. Somewhat new to reading/following WotF as well, but I've been pleased with the stories and community, so far. :) Met Brad Torgerson at LTUE, and some other people that have submitted. Name's Travis, btw. New author, as well, just finished my first book, and subsequently finished the short story that I submitted. Gee, guess I'm new, all around. :) That probably covers introductions, I suppose. Nice to meet you all!

Welcome Travis! In my opinion after you've written one novel you can consider yourself at least broken in. You're not totally shinny and new. Good luck! (sounds like a sub at the end of March would be Q2...it's all very confusing. Q1 entries are due at the end of December and judged right about now). Hope to see you posting more.

Also Welcome Bob! I think you might be our first drug dealer! We're covering all over the job spectrum lately. Congrats on your HM you just posted too.

And also I'm sort of behind, but welcome all the others too! (Sorry, I know that's kinda vague)

[Martin L. Shoemaker]

Welcome aboard, Travis! So are you another of the Utah contingent? We get a lot of people from Utah here. Must be quite a writing scene there!

[DavidK]

Welcome aboard Bob and Travis.

And just a thought Bob, are you related to Bob Writer on the forum?

[Travesty]

Welcome aboard, Travis! So are you another of the Utah contingent? We get a lot of people from Utah here. Must be quite a writing scene there!

Lol Thank you! Sure enough, another Utah writer, though I've lived in a lot of places. I was in Brandon Sanderson's class, and have been trying my hand at writing since. There does seem to be a good writing community here (as far as I know), but I don't really have a reference point to compare it to since I don't know how it is elsewhere. Anyone attending this year's CONduit, I'll see you there :)

[dantzel]

Very cool! Unfortunately I didn't find out about CONduit, LTUE, and the other conventions until I was about to move from Idaho to Texas I didn't understand a lot of stuff a few years ago. Now I still don't understand a lot of stuff, but I can talk about those things with people at conventions!

Welcome all!

[bobsandiego]

Davidk
As far as I know I have no relations on this forum, or writing at all.

[Helen Jackson]

Hello fellow newbies!

Travis, I'm glad to see it's not just me that finds the quarter system confusing! It's good Tina, Martin and co. are here to straighten us out.

By the way, Spider Robinson is an author I've heard of but never read. Would anyone care to recommend which of his books would make a good starting place?

Martin, are your drunken fencers the sort that wield rapiers or the sort that build picket fences? I can't decide which would be most dangerous when combined with alcohol...

[Martin L. Shoemaker]

Hello fellow newbies!

Travis, I'm glad to see it's not just me that finds the quarter system confusing! It's good Tina, Martin and co. are here to straighten us out.

By the way, Spider Robinson is an author I've heard of but never read. Would anyone care to recommend which of his books would make a good starting place?

Martin, are your drunken fencers the sort that wield rapiers or the sort that build picket fences? I can't decide which would be most dangerous when combined with alcohol...

Helen,

Spider Robinson's "signature" work is his Callahan's series: Callahan's Cross-Time Saloon, Time Travelers Strictly Cash, Callahan's Secret, The Callahan Touch, Callahan's Legacy, Callahan's Key, and Callahan's Con (plus the tie-ins, Callahan's Lady and Lady Slings the Booze). They're about a bunch of drunken barflies who save the world. And each other.

But my favorite Robinson has not yet been released on Kindle, more's the pity: Mindkiller. It's about a college professor and a burglar who unwittingly collaborate (though at different time periods) to bring down a secret mind-control conspiracy.

My drunken fencers are definitely more the rapier-wielding sort, though we're more likely to use foils and epees. We mostly keep the rapiers on the walls.

Mostly.

[Helen Jackson]

Callahan's Cross-Time Saloon it is!

It doesn't look as if it's in print in the UK... which is where I'm really lucky to have a local SFF bookshop that stocks (and will order) US imports. That failing, it's available for Kindle.

[AftertheFall]

Hello all,
The gift of the word whether it is written or spoken is not something I have ever been truly blessed with, nor has the gift of grammar. Despite my lack of the skill set I still feel as if I must produce this universe that I have had bubbling in my head for this past year. While I recognize that I may never reach the prestige as the writers on this forum there are some things that must be done. 164 governments about 542 factions and only one person to give them a voice and it might as well be through here. Have my work set out for me :D

[Martin L. Shoemaker]

Welcome aboard, AfterTheFall! Just remember: the secret to eating an elephant is small bites, one at a time. Tackle your giant universe in small bits, and you'll gain practice to tell the bigger stories. It's a very natural process.

[WriteToLive]

Hello fellow writers.

Afterthefall, remember, follow Martin's signature. Write, Submit, Repeat, Patience.

A good way to fill your waiting time is by writing more.