Notice: As of September, 2008 I am now on Fictionpress.com as well. If you're interested in reading my original works, some of them can be found there.

Other Posted Pen Names: Jazzman von Koopa (no relation to the myriad of "Jazzmen" on this site), and Sergeant Flutter, both on a site called "Lemmy's Land." But that was back in High School, so don't hold the poor quality of those fics against me.

Favorite Novel: A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter Miller. Seriously, if you haven't read this novel, please take a moment to re-examine your right to exist.

Current Reading Projects: rereading the Dark Tower series, by Stephen King, The Gypsy Morph, by Terry Brooks, and TheFerengi Rules of Acquisition, by Ira Steven Behr (as dictated by Quark, according to the cover =P)

To start with, a quote for any author, whether a seasoned professional or an up-and-coming amateur, to take to heart.

"The man who does not read good books has little advantage over the man who can't."
-Mark Twain

The moral of the story: If you plan to write, read. How do you plan to write a good story if you don't know what one looks like? End sermon here; now disengaging soapbox mode.

Why fanfiction? Well, first and foremost, stubborn refusal to let an old dream die. My first story on this site (Southern Cross Dream), is the first volume in a series called "The Vanguard Saga," and "Chaos Cycle" is going to be the second when my co-author, known as Stoker Bramwell, and I get around to finishing it. The Vanguard Saga is an attempt by me and Stoker to do the impossible. What's that, you ask? Simply put, a crossover that doesn't suck. A mind-blowing concept, I know, but we have resolved that it shall be done. What's more is that it is to be a sweeping FIVE FRANCHISE crossover when all is complete, although this volume will only take in three of those five. Which three, you ask? Well, if you've read through chapter 5 of SCD, you know. As for the other two, they're for Chaos Cycle and The Gemini Prophecy.

Now, I already hear some of you asking, "can this be done? A decent crossover fanfic? And with five franchises? How do you plan to accomplish this miracle?" Well, first of all, time and planning. See, we've been working on it for fourteen years. Yes, you read that right: fourteen stinkin' years. The Vanguard Saga, originally known as "Team-Up (again, no relation to the crossover fic of the same name on this site)," was first conceived by a pair of elementary school G/T Language Arts students in fall of 1993. Originally there were only two componenets, but the list grew, then shrunk, then grew again. At one point it included the likes of Kirby and Dynamite Headdy (does anyone remember that game for the Genesis?), but let me state with pride that no incarnation of Pokemon ever made the cut. Untold drafts were written, scrapped, and started from scratch. Now, three generations of video game systems later, those two elementary school students are all grown up... well, adults anyway, and volume one of this mammoth endeavor, which will probably be both our departures from the childhood world of fanfiction and the practice for our original works, has been posted in part right here on Fanfiction.net. The series is our attempt, as I said, to write a crossover storyline that actually works, with a central theme of Growing Up. Did we succeed? Let you, the readers, decide.

Current/Future Writing Projects:

Southern Cross Dream: Book One of the Vanguard Saga (Fanfiction, now complete) - In the summer of 1990 A.D. Mike Jones, a Seattle resident, went from an ordinary teenager to an interstellar hero in a matter of days. Now, a series of nightmares begins to reveal to him that his role as a hero is far from complete. What he doesn't know is that his next trial will cross more than just space...
How this relates to the theme of Growing Up: Mike and Mica embody the principle of finding out that you are not the center of the universe, but your life is part of something larger. Another set of characters, introduced in chapter 5, are a symbol of growing up with a legacy of your forebears and still forging your own identity.

The Children's War: Book Two of the Vanguard Saga (Fanfiction) - For eleven years, Sonic the Hedgehog and his band of Freedom Fighters have resisted the evil dictator Ivo Robotnik's rule over their home planet of Mobius. Now, a new weapon threatens to make their years of struggling meaningless. It may even keep them from ever having happened.
How this relates to the theme of Growing Up: Sonic and Co. are a picture of those who are forced to grow up too fast, and under hardship. While facing the trials of their harsh existence, they cling to any chance to still be young.

Preordained: Book Three of the Vanguard Saga (Fanfiction) - Millenia before the birth of Mike Jones, the world that would become Argonia had another Hero: Link of Hylia. The last of his Order, Link must take up the mantle of those who came before him, and pave the way for those who will come after. But what Link doesn't know is that his own beloved Goddesses have placed him on a path that will take him somewhere he does not want to go, to face a foe the universe hoped to be forgotten.
How this relates to the theme of Growing Up: Link struggles with the idea that his life has been laid out for him and, in the typical fashion of adolescence, fights it. His task is to grow past his rebellion while still forming an identity for himself.

The Gemini Prophecy: Book Four of the Vanguard Saga (Fanfiction) - Years ago, a wizard who served the darkest being on Earth learned through divination that a pair of twins, born near the same time as his Dark Lord, would rise up and spell his undoing. The wizard was unable to slay the twins in their infancy, and they have grown up to resist the wizard and his master. Now, an older prophecy, long since forgotten, begins to show signs of coming true and may change the course of the war between the twins and the Dark Lord.
How this relates to the theme of Growing Up: The two main characters in this story, both having grown up hidden far from their mystic homeland with no knowledge of the prophecy surrounding their birth, represent those who missed their childhood.

Original War: Book Five of the Vanguard Saga (Fanfiction) - At the dawn of time, the universe was inhabited by only one race, divided by two differing views on how the fledgling universe should be guided. But two beings, the so-called "shadow king and queen," caused the two to war with each other, seeking to eradicate the elder race and rule the universe on their own. They were stopped, and their power was broken, but their attempts to regain their former power have guided the course of millions of years of history for three star systems.
How this relates to the theme of Growing Up: The characters in this story face the appearance of evil in the universe and the resulting loss of universal innocence, reflecting the point in everyone's life when they first realize that there is evil in the world.

Dark Lord Rising: Conclusion of the Vanguard Saga (Fanfiction) - The Vanguard of Heroes has been been assembled, and the forces against whom they struggle are martialled for the battle foretold in Merlin Ambrosius's ancient tome. In the midst of this, the Dark Lord who has manipulated the history of the universe to lead to this point since the outbreak of the Original War seeks to lay low all who would oppose him in one decimating sweep. Only the Vanguard and the scattered survivors of the Elder Race stand in his way.
How this relates to the theme of Growing Up: In this, the Vanguard of Heroes triumph over the forces martialled since the dawn of time by the Shadow King and Queen, effectively making this their coming of age. This is the point where they have grown up, and face the joys and sorrows that come with that change in their lives.

It Was for the Children: Prelude to the Vanguard Saga (Fanfiction) - This story chronicles the sacrifices made by the generation preceding each group of characters in the Vanguard of Heroes, and sheds light on what they hoped the next generation would become.

Original Works to Come (see fictionpress.com for some of these)

O'er the Ramparts We Watched (Fantasy; Drama)+ In a world where the demonic "Lightbearers" have all but wiped out Humanity, driving the survivors into fortress cities scattered across the former United States, an order known as "the Guardians" has rediscovered magic. With this, they hope to drive back the Lightbearers. But one Guardian, the Sentinel of the fortress city of Atlanta, has failed in his duty and as pennance, has exiled himself to the fortress city of Houston and renounced his Guardianship. Now, a final push by the Lightbearers threatens to destroy the pockets of Human resistance, and the hammer is poised to fall first and hardest on Houston, forcing him to rediscover the steel within him before Humanity is forfeit.

Articles of Theocracy (Prophecy-Based Fiction; Political Satire)+ In the mid twenty-first century a fundamentalist, totalitarian regime has assumed control of the former United States and embarked on a campaign of world conquest. To combat this, the governmental bodies of the European Union and the United Nations merge into a single, global government: the World Union. As the Eastern and Western superpowers clash, only tiny Israel maintains its independence. In the midst of this first true World War, a professor of Theology emerges who finds the unfolding world events all too predictable. But the professor is not alone in his knowledge of the future. This gift is shared by a U.S. Army colonel with a secret kept by Hell itself...

We Be Pirates (Sci-Fi/Fantasy; Humor)+ Set in the 1700's, Harold "White Lightning" Hawkins is a privateer for the British government. At least he was, until his crew mutineed, leaving him with only his barely-seaworthy ship and no one to man it. Now, through a magic long forgotten, he has been flung into Philadelphia in the 1970's with the knowledge that he has 48 hours to recruit a crew, travel back in time, and reclaim his honor. The only problem is where does a pirate captain find a crew in twentieth century Philadelphia? Hmm...

The Slave Princess (Fantasy; Drama/Romance)+ In a time long forgotten by Human minds and hearts, a centuries-old war between Humans and Elves has drawn to an uneasy close. The two former enemies' only common point, however, seems to be their hatred for the "druids," a race of Human/Elf half-breeds. A twisted Human king plots to bring the duids under his heel, beginning by enslaving their young princess and presenting her a s a gift to his son, thinking to break the druids' spirit as their princess suffers the humiliation of being a concubine. He doesn't count on his noble-hearted son and the enslaved princess falling in love.

W.O.L.F.S. (Horror/Sports Story; Humor)+ In the backstreets and alleys of urban America, a secret underground footbal league comprised of entirely supernatural players has been formed. A new team, the West Oregon Lichen Football Squad, has just joined this league, but they have a peculiar condition on their games: they will only play at night, and only under a full moon...