At 08:29 AM 7/13/99 PDT, the DragonBard wrote:

From: Valandar TheRed <valandar_the_red@yahoo.com>
After reading this, and Girl Days (FINISH IT! I'M
ADDICTED, NOW!), I have to wonder... are you a professional
writer, or do you plan to be? You could rack up.

You know, that gets me wondering.  How many, if any, of the people on the 
FFML are professional writers?  I know that some like D.Fire, and 
Metroanime, Twister, Legion, and a good many others quite probably could be 
if they set their minds to it.  And I have my suspisions about Hitomi since 
I think her Spidergirl character is the same one that's recently gotten her 
own comic series.  And the fact that Hitomi's showed up earlier (though I'm 
not certain about the timing because I don't have a very good comic book 
store in my area) makes me wonder.

	Well, I can tell you that Hitomi has done professional writing
before, altho I'm not free to say where or when. Twister was urged to
do so, but he dropped off the net for a while. 

	There are at least two other writers who have done pro works 
that I can recall. If memory serves (and I admit, my memory's been
somewhat shakey since the stroke) Chris Willmore has had a few 
published pieces. I don't recall who the other person was, only that
they were published.

	And if you recall, Richard Lawson regularly does reviews about
various anime that are seen in fan magazines, thereby making him a 
published (if less than well-paid *grin*) author. One of his review
was recently posted right here on the list, and he mentioned the fact.
If I recall correctly, he recently reviewed the "Battle Atheletes" OAV,
and the "Sakura Diaries" volumes 1-4, the reviews of which were to 
be published in the Twin Cities Anime And Manga Society newsletter. 
It may be small, and I don't know if he was paid or not, but that's
still being published.

	And if the Legion you're referring to is me, please. At my BEST,
I'm nothing more than a hack writer. Even _Gubby_ didn't feel I was
worth attacking, and he notmally goes after SI authors like a starving
Tasmanian Devil on a free tuna fish sandwich. 

	At my worst, I write crap. There's no other word for it. I have
little skill and all the finesse of a out-of-control bulldozer. I write
for one reason only, and that's a simple one. When I'm writing, I'm
NOT remembering what happened in Germany. I'm NOT remembering all the
times I screwed up and someone was hurt because of it. Or worse.
Think of it as psychotherapy on a budget.

	Guess that's all for now.. back to work on Mi Vida Loco, and
Pagliacci.

	Later, then.

	Ed Becerra

	"Dreamers may die, but the Dream is eternal.."