Introductions

[Talie Helene]

Hi Darklanders - I thought it'd be a good idea to start a forum thread for introductions.

I'll kick things off!

I'm Talie - a writer from Melbourne, Australia. I have been working as a music journalist for a few years, covering mostly extreme genres, although some that dare to be pretty and more mainstream. I'm on Staff at Zero Tolerance in the UK, and just recently joined the crew at Black: Australian Dark Culture (which at the time of writing has just had Issue 1 released.) I have some poetry published in a few journals and a text book, and have editing experience at both student and pro publications. Publishing some fiction is my next big mountain to climb, and what a mountain it is....

I'm interested in good writing first - regardless of genre - but I'm not afraid to typecast myself as a horror chick, and I do so regularly as News Editor for the Australian Horror Writers Association.

I thought it might be fun to have a forum for dark writing here, that is unaffiliated with any particular association - maybe you can share word on different groups who you find helpful in your own journey in publishing?

So that's me - and now, who pray tell are you?

[JanW]

Hello everyone. My name is Jan and I live in suburbia known as the outer east of Melbourne. I saw the announcement of this blog I believe on Australian Writers [?? who knows -- I'm one of those writing email list and blog junkies, so it could have been anywhere], and was stoked to see a group with more Australians. I've been learning to write/writing fiction for just over four years now, but in my prior work as an IT and educational consultant have done my fair share of technical and report writing. Now I've taken the blinders off and am enjoying the world of fiction.

So far I've been writing mostly mystery novels, finished two for shopping, one (the first) now in rewrite, and a fourth in progress half-way finished first draft. Something that may be unusual among the group who have shared their introductions is that I've written two of the above as collaborative projects - with not just one writing partner, but as many as four at one time. That didn't work well, so we ended up a team of three. I have completed one ms solo, so I know that I can do that, too. I love brainstorming and editing with another person, though. Oh, and I have written a few shorts, but haven't managed any pubs yet except a poem through the ABC in The Year of the Outback and making the semi-finals in the Amazon Breakout Novel Awards.

My next hurdle is to attract an agent to rep. my/our work. I'd love to hear tips from Australian based writers who have an agent. It's a tough goal here, given that there are less than 20 in the entire country, and the majority of them aren't taking on new clients. If anyone wanted to work in the business but not write, I'd suggest agenting.

Looking forward to the exchanges. Here's my blog if you're interested. There are links to some sample pieces under the pages list on the right side column. Jan's Writing Place

Cheers!
Jan :-)

[Mark Deniz]

I'm Mark Deniz, owner of Morrigan Books and its baby (or rather imprint) Gilgamesh Press. I have been writing since I was six years old (and saw Star Wars!) and have had a few short stories published. I have plenty of work on the go but am focusing most of my energy into editing and publishing at the moment to make my two companies the best they can be.

I live in Sweden but come from England, I am married to an Assyrian and have a two year old son who will be overjoyed when his sibling arrives soon.

[Lee Battersby]

Lee Battersby here. 70+ stories published, an Aurealis and a handful of other awards, a collection called 'Through Soft Air' out via Prime Books in the USA. I live in Clarkson, about 45kms north of Perth in Western Australia, a 15 minute bike ride from long, white beaches with fossil cliffs and crashing waters. I've tutored for both Clarion South and the AHWA.

Um, my favourite colour is burgundy and I don't think much of pina coladas?

[Paul Mannering]

Finally a moment to explore Darklands. Thanks Talie for the invite.

I'm Paul, of New Zealand. I write and produce audio drama at www.brokensea.com I also write and sometimes get published. My preferred genres are horror, dark sci-fi and very very dark comedy.

Currently working on a horror film script (which has initial interest from a producer and a director - who fortunately are two different people) and of course a novel.

I work for a bank, managing their email customer contacts and that is.... interesting.

[Christopher Elston]

Hi, all.

I don't know if any of you have heard of me, but here's a brief bio. I have been writing seriously for about 3 years now and to date I've had about a dozen flash fiction pieces published in a variety of print and online publications such as, Black Box (that was a really cool one to get into - thanks, Shane!), Antipodean #120, Demonminds, Short and Twisted 2008, FlashSpec 1 & 2, Midnight Horror and Micro Horror, to name a few.

I work full-time for Clive Peeters - a job I love, and I live in Bendigo, Victoria with my wife, Jennie and son, Matthew.

I haven't written a lot of new material this year, however current projects include extensive re-writes of earlier pieces to accompany new ones for a planned anthology (but that's all I'm saying at present - I'm a little superstitious.)

Anyway, it's good to be a part of a great group that's growing at a fast rate and if you'd like to find out a little more about me, why not drop by my website, The Burning Corpse: www.freewebs.com/specficwriter

Cheers!

Christopher Elston

[Trost]

Hi, I go by the name of Trost and am a native of Brisbane in the sunshine state (so maybe it's a little ironic finding me here in the darklands). I live in France now with my wife and love working on a story when I get the chance. I've been published in Black Box (Brimstone Press) and on the net by zines such as AntipodeanSF, ShadeWorks, The Beat and more. You'd make me very happy if you took the time to visit my blog at www.trostlibrary.blogspot.com and read one or two of my tales.

Looking forward to chatting to you all about writing, reading, philosophy, politics and anything else that tickles your fancy bits.

Cheers!

[Satima Flavell]

Hi Talie,

I'm Satima and I'm a networking junkie. You know me from Wonderlands and Facebook and probably The Specusphere and other places, too. Funny thing is that I don't read horror per se, but it looks as if someone dobbed me in for Darklands, so here I am. It's a great idea and I hope it does well.

[Lee Pletzers]

Hello., I'm Lee Pletzers from New Zealand, Wellington currently. I've had two novels published, a bunch of short stories and I have edited 7 anthologies. I used to work for Sinisteria horror magazine as an editor and article / review writer.

I am looking to break into the Australian market and searching for an agent and publisher for 4 novels (all sf/horror) and two more on the way.

Was told by all 4 agents in NZ that NZ market is too small at 5 million people and I should try the UK or US. So I thought I'd try next door. There is roughly 20 million people. Has to be a few horror lovers??????

My website is: http://leepletzers.net or you can view my website at my Darklands profile.

Cheers

[William Pauley III]

Like M.E. Cooper (above), I too despise introductions, talking about myself, et cetra. But I will play the game, seeing that there are so many interesting people here.

My name is William Pauley III. I am a journalism student who isn't very interested in journalism, more just writing in general, but went with journalism to hopefully pay some bills. I am a horror fanatic. I love stories of blood and violence, as long as it fits nicley into the plot mix and not just thrown in for shock value. All of my writings fit (if slightly forced) in a single drawer of a file cabinet - in which the cabinet has mysteriously disappeared from frequent locale changes, leaving just the drawer. I am the author of MR. MALIN AND THE NIGHT (dangerous fiction) and a poerty collection titled THE.LIVING.DAYLIGHTS. (these can be downloaded for FREE here: http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=2863606 ).

I'm tired most of the day and fully awake when there is absolutely nothing to do. I have a beautiful wife named Melanie and two sons, Cainon and Sullivan... my reason for living. I hate cars, but own two of them. I love dogs, but have none.

I am currently looking into doing some freelance work, but not exactly sure how to get started. I am always looking for comrades to swim through life with and would love it if you add me on myspace: www.myspace.com/wearegodseye

I look forward to exploring this forum further and to hopefully make some friends along the way.

Until next time fellow sinners,
III

[Robin Layne]

Hi, all,
This is my first day on Ning. I filled out all kinds of stuff on myself on another community (Book Place), and everything went fine until I tried using chat. Not only was no one chatting, I couldn't close the box no matter what I did, and it's stuck there every time I go back to the site, blocking almost all the tabs and everything but the far right side of each thing. So unless someone can find an answer for me about that box, I can never go back to Book Place. That's my horror story of the day.
So--never, never, never try the chat! Anyway, trying to calm down...
I'm working on a series of YA vampire stories, mostly on the first book right now. I published a short story based on this book at Authors by Design, when it won a contest for YA fiction. It's in the May Museletter 2006 on that site. I also read it to an anime convention, where it won first prize for original fiction. The title of the short story is "Blood Ties" (no relation to the TV series; I hadn't heard of that then). It basically follows parts of my novel-in-progress, Blood of the Willing, but the main character doesn't appear in it.
I also write nonfiction and poetry. I am managing editor for Sweet Comfort, a mental health-related newsletter. I include a lot of my own short creative writing in it, but I try to keep all contributions positive in nature to discourage depression and other problems my audience there might have. Hence, no vampires there. But I did publish a short short in a zine about two of my vampire characters. The zine is called Repeat Offenders, and the vampire story is called, of all things, "Kid Power." I also included another short, "Stuck," which I thought was lighthearted but some consider dark.
I also wear a freelance editor's hat. I have edited two books so far and am looking for others to do. If interested, please contact me.
I will be on staff at Portland Community College's literary magazine starting at the end of the month. I'm excited about it. I could say a lot more about myself, but I'll save that for my page.

[Eva Gordon Author]

I'm Eva and I write paranormal (werewolf) romance and fantasy novels. I also do werewolf and wolf lore workshops, my specialty. I'm not afraid of the dark. Each full moon on my blog I interview a famous werewolf. Come visit http://evagordon.blogspot.com

Come learn more about my Wolf Maiden Chronicles series. http://www.ravenauthor.com Werewolf Sanctuary is book 1 and the rest are 'werewolf historical paranormal novels. Beast Warrior: Viking Werewolf has also just been released. More to come.

[Jamie Clancy]

Oh what's this? Ah, a nice comfy chair sitting in the middle of this dark room. Hum, I think I'll have a nice sit down. But wait, what's that in the corner, barely discernible in the gloom. Gasping, I draw back, my teeth bared in a grimace. Hovering in the darkness, the ghastly glow of two eyes, red and distorted with madness. Oh wait, it's only you. Don't you remember me? My name is Jamie and I have only just now come to this place. Whew, you gave me quite a scare I must say. If you have a light I have a piece of paper and a pen, we could have ourselves a bit of fun before the sun rises and casts us back into our separate spheres. I'm not tired are you? Good, then lets get started.