Weekly Artist

Name: Lucy Montague Moffatt


Lucy Montague-Moffatt is a 23 year old writer, comedian and student from Dublin. She has a poem and short story featured on the ebook Wordlegs Presents: 30 under 30 available on Amazon and a short story in the recently published collection 30 Under 30 and The Bohemyth. She was one of the winners of the Fishamble: Tiny Plays. She was commissioned to write the first year play for Inchicore College of Further Education last year, which was performed in March 2012 and has been commission to write the play this year too. She was a Funny Woman Competition 2012 finalist. She wrote and performed two comedy shows as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2011. Lucy is currently a columnist for the UCD Observer.

I have been a writer for as long as I can remember. When I was eight I wrote a series of short stories about a group of girls who called themselves ‘The Animals’ and went around their neighbourhood beating people up. Obviously this was either the first sign of creativity or first sign for my parents to stop me watching Gladiators. Since then I have been writing anything that can be written as much as possible.

I enjoy writing short fiction as the smaller length gives you more time to explore the words you are using and who the character really is. I love how so much can be found in what is not said.

When I write comedy I need to be in completely different mood than when I am writing short stories or plays. This can be annoying when I really need to get a funny script written or the deadline for my column is approaching and I just cannot muster the strength to be witty. Sometimes I try to write serious content but end up writing comedy unintentionally. Once I wrote a short story I thought was really sad and all the people who gave me feedback for it said it was “so funny”. Oops!

My ultimate dream is the write a comedy sitcom for TV. I am working on a number of pilots at the minute and am doing a lot of research in the form of watching television. It is not procrastinating, it is work! I am also always working on some kind of novel but never have enough time to dedicate all my time to it, especially since I am back in college this year. Maybe one day, when I am working in a writer’s room for a sitcom I created, I can find time in-between series to write novels. That would be lovely.

Links:
http://www.wordlegs.com/magazine/viewitem.php?id=116

http://www.universityobserver.ie/author/lucymontaguemoffat/

http://www.amazon.com/wordlegs-presents-30-Under-ebook/dp/B007JOBT7S

http://www.amazon.com/wordlegs-presents-30-Under-ebook/dp/B007JODMUA

http://www.writing.ie/news/30-under-30-innovation-and-talent-from-wordlegs/


Twitter: twitter.com/LuSay
Education: Not very much. Currently working on a BA in randomly chosen subjects.
Likes: Beetroot
Dislikes: Cucumber
Status: Mainly internet dating
Anything else: My other hobbies include Hello Kitty, cycling my bike Dora and being a vegan



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Name: Caitlin Hoffman
Aka: Taylor Adams (my alter ego- she co-edits Visceral Uterus, an e-zine)


Caitlin is bad at writing bios. She has written four novels, none of which are published, all of which are in dire need of editing. Aside from that, she tries to live as best she can but fears she's not very good at it.


My writing isn't so much an art as it is emotional regurgitation on paper. I can't be sure where the inspiration comes from, but often I feel I'm channelling a force that's beyond my understanding.
Through written word, I long to connect with my reader. I want to reach an area of their soul that was previously unknown to them. Make them feel something- maybe even make them feel better. I don't want to distract people from their problems with petty escapism. Rather, I'd like to commiserate with them through my words. If they're in pain or choking on self-disgust, if they're sufferring but don't have the words to explain it, I'd like to say it for them.

Email address: caitlinhoffman@rocketmail.com

Twitter: @CHWrite

Education: An utter lack thereof.

Likes: Veganism, pigs, puppies, depravity, imagination, psychedelics, Martin Millar, Tennessee Williams, Virginia Woolf, Hunter S. Thompson, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Katherine Dunn, music (especially punk, nu metal, indie, and opera), creating, trying, loving, orgasms, dreams, epiphanies, scars, tattoos, feminism, art, alternative subculture studies, nude photography, and impulses.

Dislikes: Bullies, judgement, animal abuse, floods, robberies, rape, overdoses, racism, sexism, homophobia, disparity of wealth, destroying, failing, hate, blue balls, nightmares, self-deprecation/self-loathing, eating disorders, botched tattoos, corporate art/music, needless censorship, and consequences.

Status: Forever in love; Confused (and not just because I'm bisexual)

Anything else:
I'm baffled, honoured and elated that anyone bothered to read this far. Thank you for collecting facts on a largely unimportant person!



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Name: Brent Rankin

Brent Rankin, fortunate or not, was born to a destiny. He was to be a writer. As a child, he wrote poetry, short stories, even a novel or two. These were childish things. At the University of Texas, he studied literature. He read the classics. He emulated them. Then came the time he had to put away childish things and become responsible. Life has its harsh lessons. Here and then, now and then, he wrote. Always that haunting in the back of his mind of “what if”.

When the time came, Brent retired from his chosen occupation. He had no regrets with that aspect of his life. He did well. Still, what if?

Then, it happened. His novella, “The fisher man,” was published as an e-book, available on Amazon, Booktango, and others. Two flash fiction pieces accepted by Linguistic Erosion, an intriguing ezine with imagination. And on and on and on.

Now, a childish wandering mendicant, Brent Rankin spends his time at his laptop, in the alleys where he lives, writing. And writing. And writing.

rankinbt@yahoo.com




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Name: Devon Ellington

AKA: Annabel Aidan, Cerridwen Iris Shea, Jenny Storm, Christiane van de Velde, and Christy Miller.

Devon Ellington publishes under a half a dozen names in fiction and non-fiction.  Her plays are produced in New York, London, Edinburgh, and Australia.  Her Jain Lazarus Adventures are published by Solstice, and she has a paranormal romantic suspense novel (as Annabel Aidan) with Champagne Publishing.  She’s published hundreds of articles and short stories, and teaches writing both online and in person.  She was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the Cape Cod Writers Center, and is part of the writing team for the National Marine Life Center (www.nmlc.org).

I work from character first.  The character starts telling me the story, and I trust the character to take me through the first draft.  In subsequent drafts, I pull it all apart and re-structure it, so that the structure supports the story I want and need to tell.  What makes people tick fascinates me, and everyone has a story.  You just have to care enough to find it.  I’m a big believer in writing every day, no matter what.  If “life gets in the way” and you constantly make excuses not to write, you don’t want it enough.  There’s nothing wrong with that, but own it, and stop blaming external elements because you’re not writing.  If you want to write, you put your butt in the chair and write every day, no matter what else is going on.  You meet deadlines and keep commitments.  If that means the occasional all-nighter, that’ s what you do to get it done.  Writer’s block is a luxury that those of us who pay the bills by the pen don’t have.


Follow me on Twitter:  @DevonEllington

My almost-daily writing blog on the ups and downs of the freelance writing life is Ink in My Coffee:  http://devonellington.wordpress.com


Main website:  www.devonellingtonwork.com
The Jain Lazarus Adventures:  http://hexbreaker.devonellingtonwork.com
Ink in My Coffee:  http://devonellington.wordpress.com 

Education:
BFA in film and television production from NYU.  Spent over 20 years working backstage on Broadway, and in film and television production.
Studied sustainability with Dr. Jonathan Tomkins of U. Illinois Urbana/Champaign, World History with Professor Jeremy Adelman of Princeton University, and Greek/Roman Mythology with Professor Peter Struck of U. Penn.

Likes:
I’m interested in almost everything except math and anchovies.  The world is a fascinating place.

Dislikes:
Deliberate cruelty.

Anything else:
If you want to do something, go and do it. No excuses.  Don’t wait for things to happen -- MAKE them happen.








--Assumption of Right (written as Annabel Aidan.  Published by Champagne Books.  Cover artist Trisha FitzGerald).

--HEX BREAKER:  A  Jain Lazarus Adventure.  By Devon Ellington.  Published by Solstice Publishing.  Cover art by PJ Friel.

--OLD-FASHIONED DETECTIVE WORK.  A Jain Lazarus Adventure.  By Devon Ellington.  Cover art by PJ Friel.

--DEATH SPARKLES.  The story “Sea Diamond” by Devon Ellington is included in this anthology by Draconis Enterprises.  Cover art by PJ Friel.  



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