Who

The Name

Call me Arachne Jericho. People sometimes want to ask me about that, but are too shy or too polite. Well, it certainly isn’t Jericho because of the TV show, although I think Jericho is some of the bestest television out there.

A Writer

I’m a writer first, and everything else second. I write well; technical specifications, mostly, but I’m quite alright at non-fiction. I do want to break out into fiction, though I know that in itself is extremely difficult.

I do OK at fiction, though people tell me I do better than that for someone who’s still amateur.

The Tech

I’m fond of technology, though I’ll probably be among the last persons on the earth to get a Crackberry, and I like to try new things.

I love Linux in its incarnations as Debian-based distributions, but I love it most when it’s Ubuntu. A Linux that’s easy to work with is a good Linux, although I do kinda miss the days when I would spend days hacking my Apache, Sendmail (then Postfix), and even the various SSH configurations.

The ‘Tude

I’m a little brazen, and tend to rub traditionalists the wrong way. I am not objective, but if I like something, I will write with passion about it. In a lot of ways you could say I am a perfect Leo….

My attitude towards life tends to be “I’LL SHOW THEM ALL!” sort of thing.

I am long-winded… and thorough… and I think a lot. Maybe a bit too much, sometimes.

Where?

I live in the lovely Pacific Northwest, in the state of Washington, on an island that’s full of tall trees everywhere. They can sometimes make power problematic. I consider this a charming plus, but I keep my car in my garage.

The Job, and the Non-Compete

For my day job, I work for one of them internets companies. Fairly famous. Doesn’t start with a G. I have a serious non-compete clause from them which prevents me from doing lots of professional paid writing positions—so for instance, I can’t do marketing copy, which is one of the best-paying jobs for a writer. Technological, business, and marketing non-fiction are also not up for consideration.

There are lots of other things I can’t do either, and one of them is—if I even get that far—publishing a book, even if it’s fiction. (Short fictional stories that don’t feature The Company in any way shape or form… OK.)

This is despite the fact that I’m a software developer there, not a writer.

Despite all that, they still pay for my house.

The non-compete is a bit of a challenge.

The Goals

My goals in life, in no particular order:

• I want to blog at a professional level. Whether I ever officially become professional (see non-compete) is another thing… but if I can get a position that doesn’t clash with the non-compete, I would go for it.
• I want to publish a novel… somehow, someday.
• I want to be published, period. If that means freelancing, that’s alright with me.