Perhaps not the best quality shot of me, but it's not the best digital
camera either.
(on the other hand, it is a working camera!)
I'm a mainframe computer programmer for a government contractor in the Washington, DC area; been doing that kind of work for six years now.
As a resident of the area, I root for the local sports teams on general principle (except for the Washington Redskins; I'm a season ticket holder, so there's nothing involving "general principle" involved with that!).
I've played the D & D role playing game, which has yet to make me psychotic, delusional, or deranged (which I really didn't expect; how'd I turn out normal?), and an occasional player of Magic the Addiction (er, make that "Magic the Gathering"). One of my card decks was published in the March '98 issue of the Duelist magazine (my signature deck, "Monster Mash").
I do some writing in my free time-nothing published, though; I write for my own enjoyment, and I'm not anywhere near the level of skill or discipline to write for publication. These days, I expect most of my writing outlet to come by simply maintaining this web site!
Unsurprisingly, I also read heaps of books, mostly in the sci-fi/fantasy category, although I've found good things in horror, action, and epsionage books as well. I found I had a taste for the genre early in life, and it's stuck with me ever since. Since I read so much, I thought I'd set up The Storyteller's Archive to share my thoughts and opinons on books both old and new.
Perhaps not the best quality shot of me, but it's not the best digital
camera either.
(on the other hand, it is a working camera!)
1. When does <insert book title here> come out?
This one's not as easy as it sounds; since nobody sends me advance copies of anything (which isn't surprising, since the Archive only exists online), I don't get too much advance notice. Luckily, many authors and publishers have their own websites, and I try to check them out on occasion. My best sources to find out this kind of information are the online bookstores, which often have preorders available-with release dates! In general, though, if you ask me when a book comes out, I'll certainly try to get back with an answer (but I do request that you mention the title of the book in the message; I haven't gotten to the point where I can recognize which page someone is using to send me emails).
2. How do I determine what books I review?
For many books, I often go with a series or author that has a proven track record with me; that is to say, if I enjoyed something before, I'll likely enjoy something else from the same source. This is not always true (I've written a couple reviews that are mildly scathing); but since I am not a rich man, I tend to go with proven winners. At the same time, I do like to expand my horizons, so I'll occasionally also pick up a book that looks interesting at the bookstore. And I do sometimes read reviews by others that entice me to pick up a book as well. On the other hand, I've been...well, less than impressed with some of the books I've picked up. Just keep in mind that these reviews are my own opinions, and everyone's got a right to disagree with me; some folks will like the books I like, and some folks won't. Likewise, there may be reviews that are positively scathing, but it'll be guaranteed to be somebody's favorite book!
3. Do I take requests? Do I review online books/e-books?
Well, this is a little trickier; there's something to be said for choosing the books I review; but if my interest gets piqued, I may go along with it. Don't take it personally if I don't choose to do so, though-like I said, I don't have an unlimited budget. As for online books or e-books...well, I'm a traditionalist, I guess. I like to have the book flat in front of me with pages between covers; I enjoy physically going to the bookstore to look at the books and decide if I think they're worth reading. So as a rule, if a book is going to get reviewed by me, it had better show up at one of the bookstores I frequent (and that actually does cover a bit of territory). That said, another big factor in deciding as to taking any requests is how large my backlog is; there have been times when I just can't fit it in with everything else going on (see my updates page to get an idea of how things get here when I'm busy).
4. Do I really feel the need to put up a FAQ for the Archive?
Not a need, perhaps.... It's not like I'm trying to discourage anyone from sending me comments-I actually enjoy getting email from people visiting my site, regardless of the questions asked. After all, it shows me that people out there are reading my reviews and visiting my site, and care enough to say so (even the ones who email me corrections!).
Thanks to all of you for visiting my site; it amazes
me how word of the Storyteller's Archive has spread, especially since Yahoo!
still refuses to list it in their directories....!!
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