Date:         Thu, 17 Oct 1996 00:59:14 -0700
From: "R. L. Austin" <verbify@IX.NETCOM.COM>
Subject:      FILL, INTRO: Bio for the new guy

I'm new to the list and the FAQ says I should tell you about me.  So what
can I tell you that you have no interest in knowing?  Plenty, I'm sure, so
I'll stick with the basics.

-My name is Robert Austin.

-I live at the edge of the High Plains, just at the foot of the Rocky
Mountains, in Denver, Colorado.

-I've published several magazine articles, then one day realized that
fiction is my true love.  Well...that and skiing.  Neither one pays very
well, but you can write year round.

-When I'm not writing or skiing, I (brace yourselves) harvest whole eyes and
corneas for transplantation and research.  I know, this is one of those
things you'd rather not know, but if I say I work for an Eye Bank the
inevitable question is, "What do you do there?"  It's not a job (or subject)
for the sqeamish, but it pays better than being a ski bum and a  writer
combined.  BTW, have YOU signed your organ donation card yet?

-I am of the Buddhist persuasion, in the Theravada tradition. (which I'm
sure means nothing to most of you.  Suffice it to say that this is not the
same school of Buddhism as His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.)  I do have hair,
and a sense of humor, and I wear normal clothes.

-I'm out to write the great American gay novel.  Okay, I take that back.
How about a great American novel that has a realistic gay character,
riveting to both gay and straight readers alike?  (Boy, has that caused
problems on another writing list but I won't go into that.)

Okay, enough about me.  I'm ready to talk about something else now.