Hi, I'm Germ!

The Germ · Apr 14, 2018

Hello! I am Germ, and I'm from Denver.

I've been writing since my mom blew my mind at the innocent age of nine with the revelation that real people write books and I can do it too. Wow! I became obsessed.

Sadly, I grew up and somebody tricked me into climbing corporate ladders. Suddenly I was in my thirties, finding myself as off-track as the first draft I'd abandoned in my twenties.

But! I quit the job, and I'm ready to get serious! I write urban fantasy with a dash of horror and a whole lot of tragedy, influenced heavily by authors like Robin Hobb, Christopher Barzak, and Stephen King. I've had some flash fiction published, and I'm currently at work on hopefully the first novel I won't abandon at 75%.

Procrastination activities include mainly, uh, video games. And refreshing social networks.

I'm here mainly because I miss a good old fashioned forum. Let's be real here: Facebook groups just don't have the same charm. I look forward to making new friends, and learning as much as I can!

Nice to meet you!

The zombies made me · Apr 14, 2018

Salutations, Germ! Congratulations of the shift to serious writing! I wish you the best of luck! -CR

Denevius · Apr 14, 2018

Good luck on completing the novel, Germ!

Welcome to AW!

regdog · Apr 15, 2018

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Zan75 · Apr 15, 2018

Hi Germ, nice to meet you. Good luck with your novel. :welcome:

JessEmMcKeown · Apr 15, 2018

Nice to meet you, Germ! What a bold (and awesome) move taking on your novel wholeheartedly. Good luck!

Yandiel · Apr 15, 2018

Welcome Germ!!

We have quite a bit in common here.. I am also new, and in my 30s. And I also mostly write fantasy with a touch of horror and suspense.

A pleasure to meet you!1

Fallen · Apr 15, 2018

Good to meet you, Germ. And there's nowt wrong with games and social sites, even better if you mix games with... Markiplier and Jacksepticeye. :snoopy:

LuaVerena · Apr 15, 2018

Hi Germ! I love the sound of your work, I've always had a big soft spot for works with an element of horror or tragedy. What kind of games do you enjoy playing? I mostly play single player roguelikes or strategies like Darkest Dungeon or Xcom, but I do like to dabble in Civ 5 and Overwatch. You can get that novel done, have faith! If you ever want a beta reader for it, give me a message

The Germ · Apr 15, 2018

Everyone is so nice! Thank you for the warm welcome.

Yandiel said:
Welcome Germ!!

We have quite a bit in common here.. I am also new, and in my 30s. And I also mostly write fantasy with a touch of horror and suspense.

A pleasure to meet you!1

Sounds like your writing is right up my alley! Look forward to seeing you around.

kracey11 said:
Hi Germ! I love the sound of your work, I've always had a big soft spot for works with an element of horror or tragedy. What kind of games do you enjoy playing? I mostly play single player roguelikes or strategies like Darkest Dungeon or Xcom, but I do like to dabble in Civ 5 and Overwatch. You can get that novel done, have faith! If you ever want a beta reader for it, give me a message

The more time gulping the video game, the more likely I am to love it. Civilization. There are never enough turns. Final Fantasy XI/XIV (the MMORPGs) have robbed me of my soul. The Sims. Right now I'm hooked on Cities Skylines. Of course, I love a game with a good story too. Chrono Trigger, Silent Hill, Uncharted... I could go on forever.

I hope there's video game chatter here, because I'm all about it!

The zombies made me · Apr 15, 2018

The Germ said:
Everyone is so nice! Thank you for the warm welcome.
The more time gulping the video game, the more likely I am to love it. Civilization. There are never enough turns. Final Fantasy XI/XIV (the MMORPGs) have robbed me of my soul. The Sims. Right now I'm hooked on Cities Skylines. Of course, I love a game with a good story too. Chrono Trigger, Silent Hill, Uncharted... I could go on forever.

I hope there's video game chatter here, because I'm all about it!

I love the Sims! I'd love to game more but Sims gets me through. Too many interruptions so I just play what I can easily walk away from without losing progress or having to find a save point.

Do you like zombies? I noticed you responded to Yandiel about fantasy with hints of horror/suspense.

The Germ · Apr 15, 2018

The zombies made me said:
Do you like zombies? I noticed you responded to Yandiel about fantasy with hints of horror/suspense.

I don't like them. D:

I don't know what it is. I have a strong revulsion to images of decaying/dead bodies, so realistic zombies super freak me out. Like Walking Dead - I can't watch that show at all. The White Walkers in Game of Thrones are the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. I'm more of a ghost/haunting kind of guy.

CameronJohnston · Apr 16, 2018

Hi Germ,
Welcome to AW

Urban fantasy with a dash of horror sounds good to me, especially influenced by influenced heavily by authors like Robin Hobb, Christopher Barzak, and Stephen King. Good luck finishing it and getting it out into the world.

Games are so tempting when you are writing on the computer, dang things! But sometimes it's good to delve into other worlds and explore visually.

Crowned in Fireflies · Apr 18, 2018

Hi, and welcome.

The Germ said:
But! I quit the job,

Jeez dude. You don't know if this writing thing is going to be enough to support you financially, but good luck.

Ed8350 · Apr 18, 2018

Hi Germ. Welcome. I like the sound of your style! I'm a big Stevie King fan too. A fellow Dark Tower fan I hope?

All the best with your work and see you around the boards.

The Germ · Apr 18, 2018

Crowned in Fireflies said:
Jeez dude. You don't know if this writing thing is going to be enough to support you financially, but good luck.

I appreciate the concern, but it was just a career change. I have another job in a different field, much less stressful and soul consuming.

Ed8350 said:
A fellow Dark Tower fan I hope?

I'm working my way to it! I started King with Dark Tower and just didn't get it (hated it), so I set it aside to work on the rest of his works so I can approach it again with a better appreciation for it.

Ed8350 · Apr 18, 2018

Well that way you will get a lot more out of the series if you've read a lot of his work. Loads of winks and nods to his previous books. What did you think of last years "IT" movie?

The zombies made me · Apr 18, 2018

The Germ said:
I don't like them. D:

I don't know what it is. I have a strong revulsion to images of decaying/dead bodies, so realistic zombies super freak me out. Like Walking Dead - I can't watch that show at all. The White Walkers in Game of Thrones are the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. I'm more of a ghost/haunting kind of guy.

Lol I get it. I've never seen Walking Dead. I have a tiny human who owns the tv so no adult tv/movies for me. I love ghost/haunting stuff so long as it's not like the devil possessing people.

JessEmMcKeown · Apr 18, 2018

The Germ said:
Everyone is so nice! Thank you for the warm welcome.

Sounds like your writing is right up my alley! Look forward to seeing you around.

The more time gulping the video game, the more likely I am to love it. Civilization. There are never enough turns. Final Fantasy XI/XIV (the MMORPGs) have robbed me of my soul. The Sims. Right now I'm hooked on Cities Skylines. Of course, I love a game with a good story too. Chrono Trigger, Silent Hill, Uncharted... I could go on forever.

I hope there's video game chatter here, because I'm all about it!

I game super often myself! The Sims is definitely addictive and one of my favorites. I tend to lean more toward PVP since I'm pretty competitive (even though most of the time I am awful). So PUBG and Dead By Daylight are two games I really enjoy.

PNW_Michelle · Apr 18, 2018

The Germ said:
I don't like them. D:

I don't know what it is. I have a strong revulsion to images of decaying/dead bodies, so realistic zombies super freak me out. Like Walking Dead - I can't watch that show at all. The White Walkers in Game of Thrones are the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. I'm more of a ghost/haunting kind of guy.

Germ, I'm with you on Zombies. They are SO GROSS and they freak me out. I can't watch anything with zombies - even FUNNY zombie movies give me the heebie jeebies. Except, for some reason, I devoured all of Carrie Ryan's zombie novels. But they still gave me freaky dreams. So yeah. NO ZOMBIES. I do love a good ghost story though. Also welcome from another newbie!

EDITED TO ADD: I once knitted a zombie bunny (zombunny!) because I thought it would be amusing. I had to give it away.

Questioner · Apr 27, 2018

Welcome!

rchapman1 · Apr 27, 2018

Welcome Germ - I'm sure you won't quit if you are 75% through your novel! Almost there!

MelMerj · Apr 27, 2018

Hi Germ,
Welcome! I love zombie anything. I just always think “would I survive this?”. Most of the time it’s a resounding NO. Haha Happy writing to you!

inksplatter · Apr 28, 2018

The Germ said:
Hello! I am Germ, and I'm from Denver.

I've been writing since my mom blew my mind at the innocent age of nine with the revelation that real people write books and I can do it too. Wow! I became obsessed.

Sadly, I grew up and somebody tricked me into climbing corporate ladders. Suddenly I was in my thirties, finding myself as off-track as the first draft I'd abandoned in my twenties.

But! I quit the job, and I'm ready to get serious! I write urban fantasy with a dash of horror and a whole lot of tragedy, influenced heavily by authors like Robin Hobb, Christopher Barzak, and Stephen King. I've had some flash fiction published, and I'm currently at work on hopefully the first novel I won't abandon at 75%.

Procrastination activities include mainly, uh, video games. And refreshing social networks.

I'm here mainly because I miss a good old fashioned forum. Let's be real here: Facebook groups just don't have the same charm. I look forward to making new friends, and learning as much as I can!

Nice to meet you!

Hey there, welcome. I'm also new. I also had the same revelation when I was younger. One of my elementary classes had a little corner for books, and I decided that I'd like to write one and have it placed there as well.

But yes, life does get in the way.

Writing is an investment, and sometimes the payoff isn't always tangible or worth it. My parents still see it as an indulgence and maybe it is, but it's strangely therapeutic for me - it gets rid of my stress, so I still write.

Hi, I'm Germ!

The Germ

The zombies made me

Denevius

regdog

The Scavengers

Zan75

JessEmMcKeown

Yandiel

Fallen

Stood at the coalface

LuaVerena

Creative Creature

The Germ

The zombies made me

The Germ

CameronJohnston

Great Old One

Crowned in Fireflies

Ed8350

The Germ

Ed8350

The zombies made me

JessEmMcKeown

PNW_Michelle

Questioner

rchapman1

MelMerj

Melanie

inksplatter