Allow me to introduce myself:
I am a mild-mannered IT Professional by day and an aspiring writer in my spare time.
Downtown Toronto is my home, but am lucky to have had the chance to live in Madrid, Guatemala and Ottawa. I have also travelled all over Europe, Costa Rica, Australia and various parts of Canada.
I have written a story called "The Next One" which I have submitted to Grey Matter Press as part of their "Savage Beasts" anthology. The premise of the anthology is to include dark stories that were inspired by music. My story was inspired, in part, by the Pearl Jam song Jeremy. I am waiting to hear from the Publisher sometime in October.
The wait is unnerving, I have to admit.
I submitted an earlier version of the story for consideration in a different anthology. Unfortunately for me, I was up against published writers, and although the rejection was crushing, it was an eye-opener that served to encourage me to keep working at it.
In the meantime, I am taking my fourth writing workshop at Ryerson University with my instructor: Ann Ireland.
For the current workshop, I am working on a story (approx 5000 words in length) about a young man who has grown up in a country under siege by a foreign people. As much as the story reflects current events, it's a story I have been wanting to write for a long time. I have completed the first draft of the story and submitted the first two 1000-word installments. The comments are positive and encouraging. I hope the next three installments will do just as well, or better.
I have two other pet projects, but they are on-hold for the time being. I want to complete my current workshop to improve my craft and do justice to the other two projects.
Anyway, that's a quick intro on who I am and what I am up to these days. I will be posting updates on my progress, challenges, successes, defeats (hopefully not too many of those).
Maybe one day I will be a published writer and my name will be come a household name.
In the meantime... back to my mild-mannered IT Professional life.
H. J. Chacon