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?

[Helen]

Good oh on the walnut liqueur, Karen, just try not to drink it all before August!

How many bottles of gin? Well, if you allow one a day for me, and then whatever the others need. :) Although if I alternate them with your fabulous Margueritas, I could probably manage on a little less gin. :) :)

[Sean Chercover]

Tasmania, eh? Thanks for the Blundstones. And give Fran a hug for me, next time you see her.

[Thomas O'Callaghan]

Zounds, Robin! That young lady just ordered my favorite drink!!! On St. Patty's Day, no less.

[Merrill Young]

What!?
No Black Bush?!!!
Sunnie from Oz has kindly invited me along on this caper, but bear(bare??) with me, I have no clue how this site works.(one of the most refreshing things about getting older, is that I no longer have to 'pretend'. In the venacular, 'F**K 'em if they can't take a joke')
Glad to see some familiar faces, and happy to be anywhere that discusses crime and things mysterious.

Merlot
Disclaimer- accurate spelling is not one of my gifts

[norby]

Gosh this is like being a freshman back in Speech 101 again. "Hi my name is norby and I decided to come to Crimespace because..."

Hmmm, I don't really have a favorite color, just whatever appeals to me at the moment, my family is French, German, Swiss and Irish, and I've been married nearly 14 years, no kids. My mom has been a librarian most of my life so reading was highly encouraged in our house, but it's left me with a rather small book collection as my first inclination is always to go to the library rather than buy a book. Old habits die hard, although I find myself spending more and more money at bookstores and online for new books and old ones I wished I had bought years ago.

I have a Bachelors Degree in Public Communications with a minor in pyschology so getting me to talk usually isn't the problem-shutting me up can be though. Unfortunately, my gift for gab hasn't led me to the job of my dreams, so I'm starting nursing school in the fall, hoping to work in public health once I'm finished.

Glad to be here at Crimespace and have a chance to get to know everyone!

[Jeremy Lynch]

Hmmm, what to say?

Well, Mr. Jon gave me a heads up on this nifty little time-waster.

My name is Jeremy Lynch.
Born and raised in lovely Saint Paul.
Married for 22 months.

I love books. I realize many love books, but my love goes a little beyond...sort into the hard-core addict realm. But it is ok, I have come to terms with my addiction and accept it.
I love movies...actually, everything I said about books goes for movies.
I love music...see above statements.
My most recent fixation is Mixed Martial Arts (Ultimate Fighting Championship).

When I love somthing, I tend to jump into it and learn everything humanly possible. As a result, I am a bit of a book/movie/music/MMA geek. Who the hell am I kidding? I am a total book/movie/music/MMA geek. I am also the Entertainment Editor for Crimespree magazine, which allows me to combine my loves (except for MMA, have not found a way to toss that in).
I also run www.crimespreecinema.blogspot.com

My drink? Make it a Bombay Sapphire & Tonic with extra lime.

[Helen]

I joined several days ago, and I'm a bit late finding the bar - not at all like me ... as Karen and Sunnie can attest! So to make up for lost time I'll get started with a G&T with a squeeze of fresh lime right now.

Born and bred in Newcastle, Australia, I'm a librarian at the local University, and reading crime fiction is my passion - the unkind among my acquaintances may even call it an obsession. I don't seem to get as much time to indulge my passion as I'd like - which may have something to do with spending too much time in front of the computer talking and reading about crime fiction. :)
Oh yeah, favourite colour is blue. And I have one husband and one cat.

Now, I'll move on to a good Aussie shiraz, thanks ... oh, just leave the bottle if you like. :)

[Kat]

It seems to be getting crowded in here - room for one more? I'll have whatever the bartender recommends - I'm easy that way. Favorite color = green. I do not write - unless you want to count legal briefs, but really I don't.

I'm a military brat - but settled in the Chicago area. Passionate reader, almost any kind of stories but especially crime and mysteries as of late. And I have found, as I get older - no comments please - that I prefer reading stories with a female lead as I can relate more. I recognize several of my favorites here - Ms. Scoppetone, Ms. Olsen. And Mr. Konrath, I have long wondered how you manage to write such a compelling female lead character.

[Joy Calderwood]

I'm here thanks to Sunnie, who somehow manages to have several thousand friends on the web without going crazy.

In most parts of life it was a struggle to find my place, but in the evenings I fell into reviewing, fell into webmistressing, and fell into editing. There they were, waiting for me. While I was editing a series of short story anthologies for inexperienced writers (which I still do), I realized that there are a lot of people with fresh ideas who either haven't been able to break into fiction publishing, or who choose not to go through the obstacle course of mainstream publishing. This is a loss for readers, and I want to do something about it.

The final straw was the demise of Jacobyte Books, the award-winning e-pub home of authors who are too wonderfully weird to get a look-in, because print publishers can't afford to experiment. Jacobyte was brought down by the cost of POD. I decided I could find a way around that. Someone has to fill that niche.

So I found my team of co-owners with the various necessary skills, and Calderwood Books is the result. Currently we are pulling together a catalog big enough to open with. Our goal is a list of books good enough to be irresistible even to die-hard tree-book readers. We are interested both in new books and in books that shouldn't have gone out of print (if you have the rights back).

In the daytime I walk the line with accident injuries and auto insurance and attorneys, and go home in the evening to the good stuff.

[Thomas O'Callaghan]

Wow! A well stocked bar smack dab in the middle of my laptop's screen. And so many familiar faces. Hello everybody! I'll be back later to introduce myself. But first a shot of Paddys. Maybe two . . .

[Mark Coggins]

"Yes, I am exactly like the characters in my books . . . I have friends from all walks of life. I have fourteen telephones on my desk, including direct lines to New York, London, Paris, Rome, and Santa Rosa. My filing case opens out into a very convenient portable bar, and the bartender, who lives in the bottom drawer, is a midget . . . I do a great deal of research, especially in the apartments of tall blondes. I get my material in various ways, but my favourite procedure consists of going through the desks of other writers after hours. I am thirty-eight years old and have been for the last twenty years. I do not regard myself as a dead shot, but I am a pretty dangerous man with a wet towel."

Yes, as the quote suggests, I stole this from another writer. Can you guess who?
Check out the audio file for a hint.

[Brian Thornton]

The quote above is from Raymond Thornton Chandler.