Weekly Artist

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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