Author Topic: Introduce yourself - right on!  (Read 189270 times)

Crusader808

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Re: Introduce yourself - right on!
« Reply #255 on: February 23, 2009, 08:29:40 PM »
Hi,

I'm Jonathan. I'm <mumble> years old and live in lovely northern california where it currently is trying to imitate seattle with all of this freaking rain. I came across this site largely by accident, but thats usually the best way for things like that to happen.

I'm married with one child.

I work as a developer for a company that will cease to exist this year (acquired), but they're paying me pretty well to hang around until then. I've been gaming for dang near forever (not sure what the language rules are quite yet.) and make a habit of listening to much too much house music and much too high of a volume.
"I used to have goals. They were evil goals, but they were goals." Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz

Prophet

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Re: Introduce yourself - right on!
« Reply #256 on: February 24, 2009, 03:31:38 AM »
Hello everyone, my name is Rob. I was born, raised, and currently live, in Los Angeles. I went to school for art and graphic design, and later film, and make a living in the entertainment industry as a location sound mixer (I aimed for the stars, but sort of hit the moon instead). I've always had a passion for books, stories, and games, though I haven't pursued creating them professionally. Now I'm 35, married, and 3 weeks away from becoming a father to a little girl. Maybe it's a cliche, but impending fatherhood has made me consider many things, so I figured it's time to start stretching my creative legs and get in the game.

I just finished the first Mistborn book (and started the second) by Brandon Sanderson, and have been following his work for a few years now. It's nice to find a writer willing and able to communicate with his readers, and I have to say he's inspired me a bit to expand my world.

I'm looking for other writers to bounce ideas around with and gather feedback from, and I'd like to look into local writing groups in my area.

ryos

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Re: Introduce yourself - right on!
« Reply #257 on: February 27, 2009, 07:05:19 AM »
Hey guys. My name's Ryan. I'm a Computer Science student at BYU-Provo. Besides computers, I like amateur astronomy, snowboarding, watersports, writing, reading, and video games (not necessarily in that order). I found my way here because I'm an incurably huge nerd, and as such I was reading annotations on Brandon's site when I stumbled on the link to these forums.
(gdb)  bt
Starting Backtrace:
I started reading Brandon's books because of the Writing Excuses podcast, which I found through Howard Taylor's Schlock Mercenary. (I notice there's a forum for Howard here too.) Unfortunately, I'm not likely to start reading Dan Wells's stuff any time soon (sorry Dan; it's nothing personal. I just don't like horror). I found Schlock Mercenary through a link in the Erfworld forums at Giant in the Playground games. Though I have little interest in tabletop RPGs of any sort, The Order of the Stick and Erfworld are both excellent. I *think* I found OoTS through a link in the Ars Technica forums, where I'm known as Ryan B. Oh, and Ars? That was a link from Wes Felter's Hack the Planet blog, which is the first blog I started reading. I found that blog, I think, through a link from UserLand Software, makers of the once-great Frontier.

Don't even ask me how I found Frontier. That was, like, 12 years ago. I think.

Other interesting facts about me that nobody asked to know:
  • I've been a Mac user since 1994, though a part of me died with Commodore in that year.
  • I like music almost entirely too much. Right now, I'm listening to The Squirrel Nut Zippers.
  • I'm doing this instead of studying for a test like I should. Guess the name of this site is appropriate...
Eerongal made off with my Fluffy Puff confections.

stu11926

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Re: Introduce yourself - right on!
« Reply #258 on: March 02, 2009, 04:58:59 AM »
Greetings.

My name is Jonathan and I will turn 34 three days  after making this post.  I live in Lexington, SC, am married, and have two young boys.  I have always been an avid reader, but have just in the last two years come to grips with the reality that I am a geek and prefer SciFi/Fantasy over other genres.  I've never been into RPGs or such, I just like to read a good story.

I admit to discovering Brandon Sanderson after he was chosen to finish WoT.  (Please don't hold that against me!)  I have purchased and read Elantris and the Mistborn Trilogy.  Mr. Sanderson's writing stands just fine on its own!  At this point I'm anxious to read AMoL and put the WoT series behind me.  I'm not one for delving deeper into a book and discussing theory and what hidden meanings any particular author might have had on a given subject.  This is something that always bothered me in my Literature classes.  I would always be the one to ask, "What if the author just wanted to tell a good story and really didn't mean anything else by what he wrote?"  That viewpoint may be contrary to many of the discussions on this forum, but I'll deal with that as it comes.

My other interests include Ford Mustangs and General Aviation.  I would like to be a pilot someday, but I am unable anytime soon.  I also recently got my hands on a new Amazon Kindle 2 and encourage any authors out there to work with their publishers to get their work availabe in e-book formats.  I travel quite a bit for my employer and carrying books can be cumbersome and expensive!

I hope I'll be a good fit for this forum.

Thanks,

Jonathan


LauraOrganaSolo

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Re: Introduce yourself - right on!
« Reply #259 on: March 04, 2009, 06:45:19 PM »
I don't usually participate in formal introduction threads but since this forum seems to be notably mature and sane, I suppose I shall follow the guidelines for once. :B

I go by the name of Laura Organa Solo. I am -- surprise -- a nerd. I love science fiction, fantasy, older horror fiction (Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, that sort of thing), video games, Neo-Victorian stuff, cosplay, Japanese rock music, Japanese pop culture, and Japanese historical fiction (I'm a fan of the Heian and sengoku/warring states era). I find internet culture/phenomena fascinating for the same reason people stare at car accidents and participate in its seedy underbelly against my better judgment. And I love listening to music.

I dabble in Legend of the Five Rings CCG and RPG, I have a passing interest in a variety of tabletop RPGs, and a love for a couple of the sub-genre World of Darkness games that no one ever cared about (Kindred of the East and Demon: The Fallen).

Yes. Incredibly nerdy. I hit most of the bases except for miniatures and LARPing. Thankfully I am married to a fellow nerd who shares most of my interests.

My "job" at the moment consists of wrangling excitable fangirls on two fairly populous J Rock fan communities. I am desperate for a career in editing and publishing (I'm not a very good writer so I'm happy to edit and proof other people's stuff) but I don't have much going for me at the moment.

TL;DR MOVING ON

I first found out about Brandon Sanderson when a friend from my tabletop gaming group insisted I read the freshly-printed Elantris (*whines about the lack of sequel*). I fell in love with its trope-free, unorthodox take on the fantasy genre and recommended it to everyone I could.  I was ecstatic when I heard Sanderson would be carrying the torch for Wheel of Time, a series which I have a love/hate relationship with.

When I lost my job and could no longer afford to troll bookstores regularly, I got out of the loop on things and didn't hear about the Mistborn series till recently. A friend loaned me the first book and I became absolutely enamored with the series and how it completely ignores so many overused fantasy tropes and stereotypes. I love the pseudo-industrial revolution setting, I love the "magic" system, I love how it handles the romance (putting it in the backseat, basically). I wish I could get everyone to read it.

So I am here to lurk and perhaps participate in discussion on the matter of this series, and perhaps Elantris as well. I will try not to beg everyone to give my favorite musicians a chance, even though they are awesome and you don't know what you're missing.

I mean.  ::)

Keyn

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Re: Introduce yourself - right on!
« Reply #260 on: March 10, 2009, 11:20:20 PM »
Hello all. My name is Ellen. I'm 17 and I live in Arkansas.

One of my friends let me borrow Elantris a while ago and I liked it a lot. Then a few months ago I was in a bookstore looking for some new books to read and saw the Mistborn books with Elantris. I remembered that I had liked Elantris, so I got the first Mistborn and loved it. I got the rest of the trilogy, found Brandon Sanderson's website, which led me to Writing Excuses, which led me here. I haven't really read any of Howard Taylor's or Dan Wells's work, but I'd like to some time. I'll get to it eventually.

I really love to read. Mostly I read fantasy and sci-fi, but I'm open to other genres too. I'd like to write books as a career, but I realize that is hard to do. So, I'd like to be a copy editor of some sort and write when I can, which is probably not much of a plan, but it's what I've got so far.

I like anime, music, soccer, tennis, cats, swimming, kayaking, and piano.

Well, that's all I've got right now. ^_^
"The love of a hero is more terrible than the hatred of a tyrant. The hatred of a hero is more generous than the love of a philanthropist." -G.K. Chesterton

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Re: Introduce yourself - right on!
« Reply #261 on: March 13, 2009, 09:02:33 PM »
Hello all.
My name is Antonio (although I will only use it in this post), and was born and live in Sevilla (Spain).
I came to this forum (as many people these last months, it seems) when I finished all the books by Brandon Sanderson I could buy, borrow or download from his kind webpage.
I still name myself a RPGamer, although it's hard to play now, even being married to another RPGamer and bookadict. Our income goes to rent, books and bookshelves, mainly  ;D
We have Xbox and Wii and DS and a good Pc, but it's not time for videogames (they are about 50% more expensive here in Europe than in the US, soooooo  :-\ )
Books are even more expensive here in Spain (WoT cost about 400% than Tor's paperbacks) but.... we have internet, Visa and a good english, so we won't be starving for a while  ;)

See you around.

fuzzylightning

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Re: Introduce yourself - right on!
« Reply #262 on: March 17, 2009, 12:11:05 PM »
Hello everyone,

My name is Lawrence and I am from Rockville Centre, New York (a suburb of New York City). However, I currently attend Michigan State University, as an International Relations sophomore. To date I have read Elantris, Mistborn: The Final Empire, and Mistborn: The Well of Ascension. I am planning on purchasing Mistborn: Hero of Ages as soon as I receive my next paycheck, which should be this Friday :D.

I love to read fantasy novels, and have found Mr. Sanderson's works to be thoroughly enjoyable.

I am never really all that great at talking about myself, so there is a small bit of me, but nowhere near all of it. There is always another secret.

thall

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Re: Introduce yourself - right on!
« Reply #263 on: March 19, 2009, 10:05:33 AM »
Hello  :D

My name is Tyler Hall, im 24 years old and from Perth, Western Australia. I was a Police Officer for 5 years (recently resigned), and I currently study Commerce at Murdoch University. When I have made enough money, I will retire early and begin my writing. I have great idea's, and think of myself as a 'dreamer'.

I have spent thousands of $$$ on Fantasy books over the last 7 or 8 years, with my favourite authors being Terry Brooks, Brian Aldiss, Mark J. Ferrari, Patrick Rothfuss, Raymond Feist, David and Leigh Eddings and ofcouse Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan.

"The Name of the Wind" - Patrick Rothfuss is probably the best novel I have ever read, and recommend it to everyone.

I have a long term girlfriend, whom I own a house with, and we have a 4month old puppy called Poppy. They are both my world.

From looking around these forums, I think i'll be carefully watching the Wheel of Time threads, and try to offer my opinions in the nicest way I can. I dislike fools who have a go at other people's opinions, and will put them in their place quite thoroughly if required.
"He who has imagination without learning, has wings and no feet." - Joseph Joubert

Tysonopolous

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Re: Introduce yourself - right on!
« Reply #264 on: March 23, 2009, 06:53:34 AM »
Hello!

My name is Tyson Cantrell, I am 2 weeks away from turning 19 studying Graphic Design at Brigham Young University. 

I was introduced to Brandon Sanderson's work about 3 years ago by one of my best friends but everytime I went to my library his book "Elantris" was checked out!  I kept half-heartedly checking back and sort of forgot about it until a little under a year ago when I needed to read another 200 pages or so for my English class.  After recently hearing that Brandon Sanderson would be finishing one of my favorite series' (Wheel of Time) I decided to take another chance with Elantris.  I went to the library and it was, as usual, checked out.  But I decided to do the unthinkable and put it on hold!  The que was rather long and I had to read another book to fulfill my class assignment, but I finally got my hands on "Elantris" halfway through the summer and fell in love with it!

I don't know how long it took me to finish the book, but I remember spending several long hours into the night completely captivated by it.  When I finished the book, I was left bitterly hungry for more.  Being a person with a highly addictive personality, I checked Brandon's website and found information regarding a rather unique sounding series he described as a "hybrid kung-fu heist."  Surely this "Mistborn" could not top Elantris, but I decided to give it a shot anyone.  It blew my mind.

Never before have I been so utterly enthralled with a book.  I basically gorged on Brandon's work.  Every page was another bite of delicious action, mystery and characterization.  I finished the Mistborn series about two months ago and after highly charming persuasion (which I'm sure Breeze would be proud of!) I have succeeded in captivating the rest of my family and a few friends in Brandon's work.

Mistborn has easily become one of my favorite trilogies of all time and I eagerly await more work from Brandon Sanderson!  And though I will be absent from the world of literature for the next two years as I prepare to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, you better believe A Memory of Light will be the first book that I pick up when I get home!

Calorraine

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Re: Introduce yourself - right on!
« Reply #265 on: April 10, 2009, 07:09:47 AM »
I am Lauren and I live in St George but, grew up in good ole California. I like to write, though I don't do it as much as I should. I also am an avid reader, the Mistborn trilogy being one of my favorites ever. I'm always trying to improve and get feedback and assistance in writing and the like so, here I am.

I did participate in NaNoWriMo 2008 and won. That was the first time I completed a manuscript I started. It was quite rewarding and encouraging to continue writing and finishing something else! And that's about all I feel like saying.  :D

khowhl

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Re: Introduce yourself - right on!
« Reply #266 on: April 17, 2009, 03:34:45 PM »
Hello, I'm Brice, from France (yup a true smelly cheese eater :p). I'm 31 years old and work as a freelance webdesigner in the South West of France, close to the Pyrénées.

I discovered Elantris and the Mistborn trilogy after I read on Dragonmount that Brandon was going to finish the WOT cycle. It took me maybe 3-4 days to read Elantris, I found myself unable to lie the book down even after 4 am every night till I finished it. I was so pleased with it that I bought Mistborn books 1 and 2 (Tor publishing) right after. After about 3 chapters of reading Mistborn, I thought to myself "what a great universe to set up a RPG!" And then I found out it was going to be released sometime this year. I can't wait !

Brandon, I must congratulate you for your work. And I can only acknowledge the wisdom of R. Jordan's widow for choosing you to complete WOT. Your stories are intense, original and have this weird feeling that makes me read till I just fall asleep in my chair  ;D

Right now, I finished The Well Of Ascension about 2 days ago and I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the Hero of the Ages on april 29th (by Tor).

If you ever need the skills of a webdesigner, well, just ring me  ;)

Renoard

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Re: Introduce yourself - right on!
« Reply #267 on: April 21, 2009, 12:24:56 AM »
My name is Franklin, although I love experimenting with pseudonyms.  I'm a native of Oxnard, California, and am the age Kurt Cobain would be if he were still alive. ;P  I found my way here from Brandon's site via WoT.

I am divorced which ended my career as a professional clergyman.  My education is from Evangel University and AGTS.  My divorce prevented me from completing grad school, and I am in the process of changing careers to become a novelist.

I've worked in private security for the US Navy (no not a mall cop)  :P and I have been a private software developer sub-contracting projects for a variety of clients from a major insurance underwriter to a consumer intelligence firm.

At one time I was a GM who juggled three campaigns and wrote all my own modules.  I love video games, particularly POV games, but I hate developers who improve their games mechanics by depending on more complicated hardware, rather than streamlining the software side.  Code bloat is just a means to sell unneeded gizmos.  The last game to really get a hold on me was Hitman 2.  The only war hammer I enjoyed was Space Marine. (okay rotate 20deg and move 6 cm I fire at your APC!)

At present I have not published any fiction, but I am hopeful.
« Last Edit: July 11, 2009, 04:54:06 AM by Renoard »
You can always get what you want if you never count the cost.

Technomancer

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Re: Introduce yourself - right on!
« Reply #268 on: May 01, 2009, 10:39:24 PM »
Hi, my real name is James, let's leave it at that.  I'm an aspiring writer and my hero is Brandon Sanderson.  I'm 17 years old and live in Lincoln, Nebraska.
« Last Edit: May 01, 2009, 10:42:25 PM by Technomancer »

FantasyAngel

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Re: Introduce yourself - right on!
« Reply #269 on: May 04, 2009, 01:20:35 PM »
Hi my name is Laura Ramsay and I live in Glasgow Scotland.  I'm 26, married and have 3 daughters.   I'm currently a full time mum but going back to college to study complementary therapy. 

I absolutely love reading and found my  way here after seeing mention of it on Brandon's site.  My favourite genre at the moment is fantasy, I can't get enough of it and am always on the look out for recommendations.  I love music although my favourite is rock/metal, especially battle metal.  I love listening to battle metal while reading fantasy and trying to match it to the story.

I'm not one for posting much but love reading the post as they can give me such an insight to the stories I read, allowing me to look at the characters and plots from new angles or just helping me to understand something that didn't make sense.

Anyway I think that's all I have to say for now.
In a world gone mad escape into fantasy.