Introduce Yourself

[Sam]

And by the way, I am a victim of auto-corrupt. Possible was supposed to be 'problem', darn it!

[Sam]

I'm going to my father's 90th birthday party so I'll be out of touch for a while. Hope I live to be his ripe old age. I'm not sure whether to label him as lucky to have reached the 9 decade.

[Gaines]

Happy Birthday to your father! That's great. I hope he has a good day.

[Sam]

Thanks so much. It was a great party.

[[deleted user]]

Gaines wrote: "And Charles, it sounds like you have a great book collection :-) I love hard bound books. But yes, these e-readers sure are convenient!"
Hello Gaines,
Just returned from a visit to some friends we haven't seen in years. Thanks for the welcome. Love the pic.

[Jemima]

Hi all. I'm Jemima Pett, I live in the UK, and I started reading scifi some time in the late 60s or early 70s. Just before 2001 came out, anyway. I have an environmental science background, but have been writing books for the last 7 years now, which I might mention in the Author Corner. :)

I'm looking forward to reading books with the group and chatting to other scifi/spec fic fans.

[Sam]

Tickled to have you. Join the group!

[Gaines]

Hi Jemima :-) nice to meet you.

[Jemima]

Thanks, all :)

[Keltan]

Hello all, my name is Keltan... I've been a lover of Fantasy since I can remember and with the advent of the Kindle, I've been devouring eBooks like a greedy dragon. It all started, for the most part, when I read mostly all the Dragonlance series in my early teens and all the standard Fantasy I'm sure we all have read and loved... LOTR, Neil Gaiman, Narnia books, etc.

I just finished the second book in The Magicians series and am looking forward to finishing that trilogy up... it's great to be here!

[Jemima]

Hello Keltan, nice to meet you. Always good not to be the latest newbie any more :D

[J]

Hi, I am Anita. I am a telecomms professional with a deep interest in the mysteries of the universe. As an introduction, I would like to share my thoughts as below:

"OFTEN, I look up at the sky to gaze at the universe. The stars twinkle silently like the dead and I am astounded by their sheer lifelessness. That a living Earth is wandering alone in this morose graveyard of dead matter seems so surreal and out of place to me!
Often, I look at my body like I would gaze at an extraordinary piece of art. Wow! A million processes may be running inside me at any point in time. The stuff that I am made up of looks simpler than the simplest, but is more complicated than the most complex!
At times, I listen to my own heartbeat! To me, it sounds eerily like the clock of a CPU! Hold on! What data is it sending and to what divine database?
More often than not, I spend my time in solitude fretting over basic things that should have been told to me personally by now. Who made me and why? Why did they make me as me, and make me the way I am? Where are they anyway? Why cannot I see them, communicate with them or maybe at least measure them with my instruments?
Oh! I could not possibly die without having a one-to-one convo my creators or without discussing with them the purpose of my existence!
Hey there! My life is a miracle. Why would anyone want to obliterate it by death? Death, obviously, has a purpose. Surely, it cannot be all for nothing!"

I hope to participate well in this group. Thanks/Regards

[Gaines]

Hi Keltan, hi Anita :-)
Nice to meet you.

[James]

Hi all

My name is Jim and I've been reading Science Fiction ever since I was a teenager (which is a lot longer ago than I care to remember). Back then, it was the likes of Clarke and Asimov that got me into the genre, but since then, I've been an avid reader of Niven, Pohl, Brin, Benford, McDevitt, Reynolds, Vinge and, more recently, William Gibson and Ann Leckie. However, Iain M Banks is my all time favourite (RIP). Also (although he's not really Space Opera) Terry Pratchett's (also RIP) Discworld novels.

Favourite films: Blade Runner and 2001: A Space Odyssey (joint first), but also Alien, Interstellar, Twelve Monkeys... far too many to mention, to be honest. If it's set in Space or involves Time Travel, I'm all over it.

Books I'd love to see made into a film: Gibson's Neuromancer, Joe Haldeman's Forever War, Niven's Mote In God's Eye, any Iain M Banks SF.

Favourite TV: The usual suspects - BSG, Farscape, Firefly, Babylon 5, Star Trek, but I also like conspiracy type thriller series - Edge Of Darkness and State Of Play. Life On Mars as well (although perhaps I should point out that it's the original UK versions of these).

Day job: Retired, but used to teach English and Media at a secondary school (13-18).

Hobbies: Reading (using an e-reader), football (as in soccer - I've been a lifelong supporter of Tottenham Hotspur) and writing novels (but that's all I'm going to say about that here!)

[Gaines]

Welcome Jim! I love Niven, especially A World Out of Time. And I'd love to see Protector made into a movie :-) Although my bet is, due to their popularity [which is well-deserved, I must admit], I have a feeling the Ringworld books would be the first to make it to the silver screen.

[Alan]

Gaines wrote: "Welcome Jim! I love Niven, especially A World Out of Time.
Really? Niven is brilliant, and I don't think he has ever actually written a BAD book (though Destiny's Road came close) - and I reckon World out of Time is next worst!

And I'd love to see Protector made into a movie
YES!

[Gaines]

*shrug* well I liked it.

[Dan]

Hello all,

I'm Dan and I've been reading SF/F since the fourth grade. I started in the classics like Lord of the Rings and Have Spacesuit, Will Travel. My favorite series is probably Dune, though I'm a big fan of new fantasy like Patrick Rothfuss and Scott Lynch.

I do most of my reading on a Kindle Paperwhite, which I got after my Kindle 2 died.

I'm also a sci-fi/fantasy author; Harper Voyager is publishing my debut novel in January. Good to meet you!

[Michelle]

Hi,

I'm Michelle and I love fantasy, especially of the epic sort. My favorite authors are Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, Kate Elliott. I read on my Kindle Fire and actually own two after the first cracked. I keep it for a backup so I don't ever have to be without.

I love getting free Advance Review ebooks from places like NetGalley. Free books in return for a review, no problem.

[Gaines]

Hello Dan, hello Michelle. Nice to meet you both :-)

[Lynn]

Hi, I'm Lynn and I'm originally from England, but now live in Thunder Bay, Canada after several years in Auckland, New Zealand.
I'm a huge sci-fi and fantasy fan. My favs are Hitchhikers Guide, Star Wars, LotR and A Song of Ice and Fire. I also love short fiction which is ideal for ebooks and today's busy lifestyle.
I've been working on my own writing for many years now. I have a first draft of a time travel murder mystery novel and also just released a vampire short story (the first of an on going series).
Also love Robert Silverberg and Andrzej Sapkowski.
Cheers
Lynn

[Andrew]

Hello!
I'm from Liverpool, England, been a fan of sci fi and fantasy for as long as I can remember. Used to love Battle of the Planets when I was a small child, then got into Doctor Who, read Hitch-Hikers Guide when I was about ten after finding a copy at a school jumble sale where I was hunting out Doctor Who books. Then got into comics, first the 80s version of the Eagle, then some Marvel & DC stuff, then 2000ad, who I ended up writing Future Shocks for (less successfully than Alan Moore)
Discovered Michael Moorcock in my teens and read as much of his stuff as I could. Did Lord of the Rings. After Tolkein and Moorcock, I didn't read much fantasy for a long time, what I saw seemed mostly derivative, so I got my fantasy fix from Vertigo comics. Then I read a China Mieville book, and it opened up a whole world of strangeness that just seems to keep on growing. I love reading in general, not just genre stuff, although to me a lot of those lines are getting more and more blurred what with the whole "magical realism" thing, Murakami and so on.
Still writing, now working on a fantasy novel of my own, so look out for that.
I still love the feel of a "proper" book, but I got a very basic Kindle a couple of years ago and love it, I can take hundreds of books wherever I go!

[Stjepan]

I just discovered your group and I liked. My name is Stjepan Varesevac Cobets, I live in Croatia in a small village next to the Adriatic Sea. I love science fiction and fantasy, but I read all the other genres. For years, I write for my pleasure poetry and science fiction but just recently I released my first book on Amazon.

Stjepan

[Christopher]

I'm Christopher, trapped in Killeen Texas. I work at the local Hastings and have done so for some 10+ years, which was were I gained my love of reading, starting with Fantasy and advancing to various non-fiction. Both elements were crucial to my motivation to begin writing myself. It's taken me a while to get down with the e-reader thing, and I haven't actually picked up a specific device yet even, I just use my GalaxyTab, installed with various e-reader apps. The medium is growing on me I have to say, much more convenient and all that, and I even self-published my own title via such. Guess it's time to peruse people's work and see what's good. :)

[Jackie]

Hi, my name's Jackie. I live in the Borders in Scotland. I work as a manager in a Residential home for older people. Ive been browsing for a bookclub & this one seems to tick all the boxes! I love my Kindle, am a voracious reader. I read many genres but my first & only loves are sci-fi & fantasy. I am a huge Iain m Banks fan, pratchett (more the early years of discworld) , but read many many more authors, both mainstream & indie. Looking forward to discovering new authors & reading some great books!

[Alan]

Mrs Jacqueline Plant wrote: "Hi, my name's Jackie. I live in the Borders in Scotland. ..."
Welcome. Its nice to see more UK-based readers - particularly NE & Borders! (Gotta stick together against the Transatlantic Rebel Colonists)

[Anna]

Hello everyone!
I am Anna from Moscow. I practise my english by reading books and chatting:) You are welcome!

[Leenna]

Hi, I'm Leenna from Durban, South Africa.
I've always wanted to write, having been addicted to Mary Stewart's Merlin, and Diana Wynne Jones by way of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett.
I started self-publishing in 2013 and now I blog too. I'm still learning about everything -- especially about sci-fi and fantasy.

[Leenna]

Thanks Gail.

Same here :-D

[José]

Hello, to the ether versions of yourselves—hope to get to know some of the real versions of you soon. I’m José Anastasis the author of the recently self-published eBook “Star Invasions.” The obvious genre to put "Star Invasions" in would be Sci-Fi; yet, "Star Invasions" is so much more. Even it's: "An edgy, mysterious Sci-Fi adventure with non-stop action..." —DOES NOT do it justice as a description. The actual story narrative crosses into many genres, including Political Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Suspense, Mystery, & others. Possibly the best concise critique thus far is; “Star Invasions” inspired one anonymous reader to evaluate this new literary work in this fashion: “Mysterious, captivating and suspenseful. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. Wonderful and magical story!”

[Judy]

Hi! My name is Judy Griffith Gill. I've been published since before most of you were born (probably) and been reading since before I was born (well, almost). I cut my teeth on Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke and others of that ilk, and love finding new authors whose stories captivate me as those authors did. One of the SF books I've read recently is NOMAD, by Matthew Mather. I'm about to start the sequel, SANCTUARY.

[Kevin]

Hi all,

My name is Kevin James Breaux. My goodreads page and bio are below:

Kevin James Breaux


Kevin James Breaux is an award-winning author and artist. He has over eight years of professional writing credit, including short stories and novels and has completed seven books.

He is a member of the Horror Writers Association, Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, and the Erotic Authors Association.

Breaux has a growing fan base, including foreign markets in Great Britain and other parts of Europe, and has never stopped striving to better himself as an author as well as to encourage his fellow writers. His motto is Write Makes Might! He is passionate about his craft, while understanding that writing is his business.

Breaux is represented by Marisa A. Corvisiero, the founder of the Corvisiero Literary Agency.

Thanks all!

[Thomas]

Hello. My name is Thomas and I just joined today. I'm a fan of many types of stories, but sci-fi and fantasy have always been at the forefront of my likes. I like both e-book and physical copies of books, for different reasons. E-books are great because for some reason I read them faster.

I haven't read much in the past year because my life's been a little crazy, but when I do read it's usually indie.

I'm an author and currently working on the final installation of my time travel adventure trilogy. It's in edit now and I hope to have it finished later this year so I can start a new project.

[M. Robert]

Hello. Name is Michael. New here. Owner of Kindle, so always up for new/free stuff.

Into video games, mostly PC/Xbox. Role-playing games like Elder Scrolls are my favorite. Also Halo...gotta love that. Watching "Game of Thrones" -- need to get back to reading these books...sort of waiting until they are all out. Hmm, also watch "the Voice," "Family Guy," and "Daredevil (Netflix)".

Recently got into writing. Been studying and drafting a fantasy book of my own for last few years. Even started a blog, if interested in learning more.

Thanks.

[Warren]

I tried to get into the International Fleet's Battle School, but they took some guy named Wiggin instead.

I was accepted at Hogwarts, but I couldn't find Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

I applied to Unseen University of Ankh-Morpork, but all they would offer me was a degree in optometry.

I wasn't able to force my way into the Jedi Academy.

So I stayed at home and started writing books.

[Vanessa]

HI all. I've been on goodreads for a while but haven't joined many groups. So, we'll see how this goes!

When I was a girl I only read books with horses and animals, then in junior high I discovered fantasy... well you all know the story. It's my bread and butter nowadays, though I mix in other novels all the time.

I'm also an author and have a crossover Egyptian fantasy called Three Great Lies:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

I try to read about 50 books a year, and about 75% of those are fantasy/scifi/horror. Looking forward to getting some recs as well as finding some folks to talk to about my reading passion.

[Vanessa]

Warren wrote: "I tried to get into the International Fleet's Battle School, but they took some guy named Wiggin instead.

I was accepted at Hogwarts, but I couldn't find Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

I appli..."

I've had those same problems. That platform was too well hidden.

[Alex]

Hi, I'm Alex. I am working on my undergrad degree at Texas A&M University. I am also an intern for WildBlue Press this summer, which I'm really enjoying. Lately I've been trying to read more Sci-Fi, as I'm trying to expand what genres I read--if you have any suggestions for books to start with, feel free to reply!

[Alan]

Alex wrote: "Hi, I'm Alex. I am working on my undergrad degree at Texas A&M University. I am also an intern for WildBlue Press this summer..."
Welcome. Do WildBlue handle F/SF? Their website looks rather biased to crime/thriller.

[Alex]

Alan wrote: "Alex wrote: "Hi, I'm Alex. I am working on my undergrad degree at Texas A&M University. I am also an intern for WildBlue Press this summer..."
Welcome. Do WildBlue handle F/SF? Their website looks ..."

We're just starting to handle F/SF. Although, we are primarily a crime/thriller/mystery publishing company. Our first F/SF book were going to have out is The Ballad of Elva and Chester, which is currently having a cover contest for the book cover. Here's the link if you want to check it out: https://wildbluepress.com/the-ballad-...

[John]

Hi everyone!

My name is John Pirillo.

I'm a science fiction and fantasy author.

I love pretty much any range of fiction in those genres, even the ones that extend them into other areas.

Right now I am focusing on a series of Sherlock Holmes stories that take place on an alternate earth where every living author and their creations exist.

It's been a lot of fun taking Sherlock into a new direction. It's not canon; it's just my way of taking Sherlock in a new direction and expanding his and Watson's worlds.

Lots of fun.

Love almost all sci-fi, except the really dark stuff. Too much dark stuff going on in the world already.

Movies. Bring them on!

If you want to get a taste of my work, I'm giving away my Sherlock Homes The Face of Death at Amazon for free today and tomorrow: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EBKIZ9M

I'm in the process of publishing a new series of Sherlock Holmes that take place during the war between Germany and Britain, basing it on the occult war between them, as well as the use of super weapons and the quest for hidden weapons of power from the supernatural past.

Great fun to do the research and modify it to fit the story.

Did I mention I love science fiction and fantasy?

:) John.

[Rob]

Hi Folks,

Rob here...just learning the ropes of GR and thought I'd introduce myself. Just finished writing a sci-fi / mystery trilogy and coming up for air. I live in Canada and have degrees in psychology and public relations... use to work in corporate world but am focusing on writing right now.

Anyway, looking forward to getting to know folks and getting the hang of GR... seems like there's so much here I don't even know where to start :)

Rob

Rob Mclean
http://www.robmcleanauthor.weebly.com

[John]

Welcome, Rob!

You might want to take a look at http://www.kboards.com/ as well. They have an awesome amount of material for new authors, as well as opportunities.

Best.

John

[Rob]

Will do! I've got them bookmarked...all these various forums are so huge that I keep waiting until I have time to go through them :) But trying not to procrastinate on that front any longer.

[Dan]

Hi all,
My name is Dan Turdean. I am from Transylvania (although I lived most of my life in the UK). I write epic fantasy, and I have just released the final part of my God-Slayer Chronicles.

Hope you're having a good week!

D

[John]

Dan wrote: "Hi all,
My name is Dan Turdean. I am from Transylvania (although I lived most of my life in the UK). I write epic fantasy, and I have just released the final part of my God-Slayer Chronicles.

Hope..."I hear the weather really bites in the Winter. :) Welcome aboard. Happy writing.

[Carole]

CeDany wrote: "Well, hi all, Last post August 2016... Hmm... I hope it's a wee bit more active than this... Worried now! Well, always worried... in particular of saying the wrong thing; of knowing people are goin..."

Hi CeDany I am Carole and I just wanted to say I am really sorry about your loss.

[S.A.]

Hi Folks!

Simon here. Wholy unsuccessful yet persistent Epic Fantasy author!

I'm a big fan of rich and complex fantasy/sci-fi - worlds where I can escape to, where the issues of the protagonist/a outweigh the BS of my day to day workload! Worlds with issues and people, where I can happily say, "Damn, I am glad I'm not that guy/girl/thing!"

I still feel that Dune is probably my go-to book as a favourite. And the Silmarillion.

Also, I shall say with as little shame as possible, that I am scrounging for reviewers/raters/trolls/haters to read my accursed tome! I have great reviews from the likes of Kirkus, but it means squat when it comes to real people actually reading it, discussing it, etc!

I look forwarding to discussing all matters of the weird and mundane with you!

[James]

Hey folks! I've been a Goodreads Author for awhile now but admittedly haven't used the site all that much. It might have had something to do with the deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan when I first joined that kept me distracted from site features! Now I'm a little less distracted and I'm looking to connect with serious sci-fi and fantasy to kinda get a sense of what are pretty awesome reads.. the kind of stuff you're salivating to see a movie made from it.

I also would love to talk to folks about what they like and don't like in the genres, tropes and storylines and such, as I think that'll inform my writing. Besides, I love discussing fiction, what works and what doesn't. I look forward to talking to a lot of y'all!

[Redd]

My name is Redd, I wrote a little book called Dionykles, about a demi-God who has to kill the Gods who killed his human mother Dionykles

I look forward to speaking with you guys soon.