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?

[Thomas O'Callaghan]

Hi. I've been in this bar since last week, so, believe me when I tell you I have a lot of Irish in me. About two liters! I hail from New York City. I got the writing bug after reading HELTER SKELTER back in the early 80's. Didn't start writing though, until thirteen years later. Lined the walls of my study . . . hold on . . . everyone says that. Do over. Used a shredder to dispose of rejection slips for the next twelve years, then got lucky. Since everyone else fessed up, my favorite color is blue. (However, if my grand daughter strolls in, it's green. Long story.) She's only five so I don't think she'll find the place. Then again, she is a descendant. Some of the adjectives used by reviewers to describe my work have been: new, dark, exciting, compelling . . . Some of the adjectives used by family and friends have been: gross, disturbing, psychotic, (they're referring to me), sick, delusional, (also me) . . . And though it's not an adjective, my all time favorite is "Where the f--- did that come from?" Lynne, if you're still here, in America, all shoes come in threes. Nuff said. Which way to the pool?

[LC Fraser]

Two lefts or two rights? Or do you Americans all have a third foot that is neither left nor right? I would ask why I have not noticed this before but am not sure I want to know. (muttering, all those years living in the US and I never noticed any three footed humans)

[Thomas O'Callaghan]

Neither a left nor a right. It's ambidextrous. You see, we Americans hate to be burdened with stuff when we're out and about. Especially when we run into a Kodak moment! There were many on my last and only trip to Canada. Old Quebec. Charming place. In any case, the third shoe, is meant to support the human tripod that we Americans can become in a flash, (pun intended), should we sight something worth capturing on film. I, for one, tremble, making it difficult to hold the camera steady, so I really appreciate the third shoe. Some say the trembling is caused by all the Irish whisky it's rumored I consume. (Whisky, BTW, is not a typo). Irish is called whisky. All other types, including Canadian V.O., are referred to as whiskey. But I digress. So, why did I send back the third shoe, you ask? Because I received for my birthday, (last week) - the missus invited the fire department as a precaution. Some feared, (don't ask me why), but some feared my whisky fueled breath might cause a fire when I blew out the candles. It, didn't. The firemen weren't disappointed, though, they got to enjoy the cake. It was laced with rum. Okay. The gift. A nifty new AT&T cell phone, complete with picture taking capability. What's different about this one is that it's mounted on a rubber suction cup, that, when applied to my bald noggin allows me to take pictures without my trembling distorting the shot. In case you're wondering, I sent back the right shoe as one lace was longer than the other. The missus said there was a very simple remedy for that. Went so far as to unlace one to prove it, but I had paid top dollar. If I wanted uneven laces, I'd have gone to Stride-Rite. I'm holding on to the "tripod" shoe in case my new cellular runs out of power or I'm at the beach. The sunscreen that I apply to my bald head interferes with the suction. Now, if you have any question. Any question whatsoever, if I'm referring to the third foot having to do with . . . I won't even go there. Won't entertain the thought. Suffice it to say. The tripod shoe works for gals as well.

[LC Fraser]

Okay so now I get the three footed thing. Makes perfect sense. Blurred pictures are no good to anyone.

Glad you liked Old Quebec. It is pretty down that way but gets more winter than we do so I am staying here.

Strangely enough I do know about whisky and whiskey, I also know about color and colour and neighbour and neighbor.

Good luck with the shoe laces and fire department

[Barbara Fister]

Mine's jack, rocks, water back. Oh, and I'm buying a round. (Sometimes virtual is such an improvement over reality.)

On the 4MA mystery discussion list, my monniker is Barfly, but I'm really not much for bars. Real bars. One thing, I hate coming home doused in eau de ashtray, and another is that what with job, trying to find writing time, and oh yes, spending time here and other places where I can avoid both job and writing - doesn't leave much time for bars. I need to become more efficient, obviously.

So - I'm a mouthy librarian at a college library (yes, really, we're a noisy bunch, and the FBI has actually called us militant radicals, which I treasure, thanks so much), a mystery writer and a reader, not always in that order, but somehow it makes sense to me. If I'm not successful as a writer I'm sure it's because "bartender" is nowhere on my C.V. Crime fiction writers all seem to have been a bartender at some point in their past.

Maybe it's not too late. The mouthiness may someday require a change in career path. Either that or my FBI file will catch up with me.

[LC Fraser]

Some of my best friends are mouthy librarians. No FBI files though. Can I watch from the stacks when your file catches up with you? I always wanted to see a file catch a librarian.

[Barbara Fister]

How do YOU know you don't have FBI file, hmmm? You can actually make a Privacy Act request from the FBI requesting information about what they have on you - though I always figured that was a good way to start a file on you.

[LC Fraser]

Good question. I tend to think living in Canada makes me exempt but I really have no basis for that. Not sure at all. On the other hand, why would the FBI be interested in us north of the border? Now the RCMP - they likely do a file on me - sigh - as my oldest son hangs out with them.

[Rob Siders]

I'm always one of the last people to know... been here more than a week and I'm just finding the bar. Now that I'm here, gimme the cheapest blended Scotch you got. Neat. I ain't no snob.

My name is Rob Siders and I live in Denver. My favorite color? Can't say I have a preference, really. But if you had to nail me down to one, I like orange. I was born and raised in Central Illinois, graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in Journalism. I've never worked a day in my life as a reporter. Instead, I ran a record store for about a decade before taking on a content producing and editing gig with a, now deunct, Internet company that made online city guides---like Citysearch, except not as good. Nowhere even close. That's how I got to Denver from the Midwest. When the tech bubble burst, the company imploded. I took work where I could get it and now I write user manuals for a company that makes human resources software.

When I'm not writing that stuff, I'm writing short stories and outlining a novel. My shorts tend to be dark: a little hardboiled and a lot painful. I've got an odd fascination with people who are functional junkies... people who can somehow manage to hold good jobs and still be addicts. The junkie lifestyle reveals lots of idea fodder.

I read and read and read. Until my early twenties, I read mostly thrillers and spy novels. In my mid-twenties, my best friend turned me on to Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm series... an American secret agent that would've shot Fleming's guy in the nugget and walked away with his girl. Don't get me wrong, I love Bond. But Helm, darling? That guy's a B-a-d-a-s-s. Now I read as much as I can get my hands on, which isn't as much as I'd like.

So far I like this place. It's kind of cool to see so many names that also appear on my TBR. I'm excited about getting to know even more names.

[Evelyn David]

Barkeep: A margarita on the rocks, no salt and a whiskey amaretto with extra maraschino cherries, please. I'm drinking for two.

This is Evelyn David, the writing team of Marian Edelman Borden and Rhonda Dossett, whose first mystery, Murder Off the Books, was published this month by Echelon Press. It's a heady, giddy time for us – so we're buying drinks all around.

A couple of answers to questions we suspect you are muttering to yourselves.

First, the name. Our agent thought the book would be an easier sell with only one name on the cover. Worked for Ellery Queen, figured it would work for us. Evelyn is Marian's mother's name; David is Rhonda's father's name. We had approximately fifteen seconds to come up with a name – and this one stuck.

Second, we know that the basic rule of thumb for collaborations is – don't. But this one has worked surprisingly well and we think it's mainly because neither of us has much ego and we're willing to park whatever we do have at the door. Equally important, we both have similar, crazy senses of humor so that our tendency is to laugh when things get bleak – which as most writers know is much of the time.

Finally the collaboration probably works so well because we've never met. Rhonda lives in Oklahoma; Marian lives in New York. Until we finished the first draft of the book, we'd never spoken. We have yet to meet.

A second round of drinks for all, please. Cheers!

[Sharon Wheeler]

A pint of Guinness, please! And I want to write my name in the head to see if it does last all the way down . . .

I'm Sharon, my favourite colour is purple, and I'm a print journalist. Oh, and I get to indoctrinate the next generation of journalists as a university lecturer!

I've been a reviewer for 20 years (erk!) and currently edit www.reviewingtheevidence.com which is an independent review site which is updated weekly with 20 new reviews. We've got reviewers in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, and aim to publish reviews that are honest but constructive.

Otherwise my writing is non-fiction journalism books which will never make me rich but which look good on my CV!

[QualityBookReviews]

My name is Terry Shipley-South I tend to go by just Terry South now. My favorite color is black, my entire clothing selection used to contain all black with the exception of my jeans, and even some of those were black. Being older now I have discovered other colors in the clothing line, but have to admit I still love black.

I am a RN, BSN, LNC, DON, COS-C and have worked in the Operating Room for 11 years, 2 years in the ICU, MICU, SICU, CCU and have been Orthopedic Coordinator in Surgery, Surgery Shift Manager running the board, and a few years spent as the Director of Nursing for a Home Health Agency. I was a travel nurse for approx. 5 years and own my own business Legal Nurse Consulting Services of America. I am a published co-author of a nursing book and am a published author of several nursing articles for Nursing Journals and Legal Nurse Consulting Newpaper, and Newsletters.

Currently I am writing my own novel, if I ever finish, I work as a freelance writer and reviewer.

I have enjoyed finding many new authors and having had the pleasure of reading their works from connections on MMA as well as myspace.

I am often asked how I determine what I will read and review, I receive catalogs from most of the major publishers and choose the ones I would like to review. I also pick and choose with other review companies, if the blurb does not spike my interest I pass it by.

I also perform reviews for Armchair Interviews, Midwest Book Reviews, Bookpleasures, Cataromance, Reader Views and a few others. I read 2 to 3 books per week, but tend to slow a little in the summer months as I spend time with family and friends having BBQ's and cookouts out by the pool.