The Bar

[Daniel Hatadi]

Most forums have a post that serves as an entry point for new members, a place for them to introduce themselves. At Crimespace, that post is The Bar.

As a way of starting it off, I'll introduce myself.

My name is Daniel and my favourite colour is black. Half Romanian, half Croatian, I was born and bred in Australia, the country I've spent most of my life in. Got a degree in Computer Science and by day I'm a programmer in the shady field of gaming. Yes, I program poker machines. This does not mean I carry around a Bat-utility belt and rush over to clubs when people don't get paid. It's an office job, plain and simple. I stare at computer screens all day.

By night, and during my lunch hour, I write. Mostly crime, but I'm not afraid to venture outside the genre if the story I want to tell goes that way. Even then I'd say my fiction straddles the border between crime and other genres. I've only been writing solidly for about the last three years, the first two of which were spent on a comedic P.I. novel set in Sydney. Like many writers, that novel was my journeyman piece, in that it taught me how to write a novel (which is not to say I've stopped learning). Also like many writers, I don't think I want it to ever see the light of day.

I've since moved on to a novel that if I had to describe in one sentence, would sound something like this: "An unwilling hitman becomes part of a crime syndicate that reaches back to turn-of-the-century Sydney." Part crime thriller, part historical dream sequence, with elements of the supernatural. I'm about two thirds of the way through the first draft and I'm getting a big kick out of writing something more serious.

A few short stories of mine are floating around the net and I have a list of those on my profile page. In the interest of brevity, I'll leave it at that.

Now. Who wants a drink?

[Sean Chercover]

Yes, I've noticed how similarly our brains sometimes operate.

You have my sympathies.

[Newt Love]

I never met William Morrow, but I heard about his cousin Tomorrow:

Costello: Look, You gotta pitcher on this team?
Abbott: Sure.
Costello: The pitcher's name?
Abbott: Tomorrow.
Costello: You don't want to tell me today?
Abbott: I'm telling you now.
Costello: Then go ahead.
Abbott: Tomorrow!
Costello: What time?
Abbott: What time what?
Costello: What time tomorrow are you gonna tell me who's pitching?
Abbott: Now listen. Who is not pitching.
Costello: I'll break your arm, you say who's on first! I want to know what's the pitcher's name?
Abbott: What's on second.
Costello: I don't know.
Abbott & Costello Together: Third base!

[Jennifer Jordan]

Had to wait until I was verily vibrating off my chair from caffeine consumption before I could sit down to write this.

Name: Jennifer Jordan

Rank: Literate weirdo.

Color: I hate colors.

Ethnic background: Mutt.

A Mid-West American girl no matter how hard I've tried to loose the accent, I have an extensive background in traveling and doing odd things. I have always written. My first "book" was a wizard confection written in large ,loopy handwriting in a spiral notebook when I was nine. I like my fiction dark, fresh and twisted but I love anything well written. I've been known to be absorbed by the script on the back of a can of Lysol when going through reading withdrawal.

I write, big and small things, review, and am editing three anthologies. I also work for Crimespree Magazine as an editrix of short fiction and 'special' features. I am a compulsive blogger at Human Under Construction.

A gardening fanatic, I spend all days above 55 degrees outside with the sun on my back. I have an affinity with html code and CSS that all find strange. I do yoga and meditate which keeps me fairly sane. I prefer Gene Kelly to Fred Astaire and Robert Deniro to Al Pacino. I have mild OCD and go into straightening overdrive upon entrance to any bookstore.

Drink? This reminds me of advice my Mom gave me long ago. When in beer consumption mode, hold off going to the bathroom as long as possible. Because once you start going, you can't stop.

My Dad's advice was to stay away from obviously crazy people. That didn't work out.

[Sandra Ruttan]

"My Dad's advice was to stay away from obviously crazy people. That didn't work out."

We're glad. It's nice to have you here. ;)

[Laura Benedict]

Bad news, Jennifer. I heard the whole "don't start peeing" myth debunked by some doc on a radio show. I was heartbroken. I have a bladder the size of a small caliber bullet, anyway. *sigh*

Welcome, spring!

[Alison]

Yes, introductions.

My name is Alison. I'm an editor. Who wants to make me cry? Funny, I thought that was my job, making authors cry ... Anyway.

I read and write and watch tv and play roller derby and paint and knit and act in musical theater and rarely clean my house and watch cartoons on Saturday mornings.

[Jennifer Jordan]

Niether of us admitted to our sock addiction...

[Alison]

Do you think we should?

Would it ... would it get us free socks?

[Jennifer Jordan]

Even the smallest chance of socks is worth the risk!

[Jennifer Jordan]

See, the televison, with ESPN blaring, is on the ceiling.

[Sean Chercover]

And how are you enjoying America so far, Mr. LeRoy?

I said, HOW...ARE...YOU...ENJOYING...AMERICA...SO...FAR??

I, too, love the baseball. And the lying down on the floor.

[Laura Root]

Time for me to dip my toes gently into the shallow end here!
My name is Laura, I'm 30 years old, born and brought up in England. I'm not a writer, but a very avid reader of crime/mystery/noir novels, with a particular interest in European works in translation.