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.