Hello from California

[calamum]

Hello everyone,

I live in rural California, about 250 miles north of San Francisco. By day I’m an editor and a graphic designer, and by night any number of things, including the author of the vastly under-appreciated Amazon Kindle novel, Attack of the Drooling Shapeshifters.

Glad to be here.

Although I grew up with them, I’ve only recently started using fountain pens again. I saw a Zebra cartridge pen for about $6 in a drug store about a year ago, and couldn’t pass it up. It was everything I remember fountain pens being from my youth — scratchy nib, hard to start, dry, skipped often & feathered badly on cheap notebook paper. Very nostalgic. But at the back of my mind I thought I remembered that I once had a fountain pen that was a better writer. I think it may have been a Scripto. I know it wasn’t a Shaeffer or a Parker, although I really wanted a Shaeffer snorkel pen.

Anyway, a few months ago I saw a display of Pilot Varsity throw-away fountain pens in an office supply store, and I picked one up on whim (it had pretty aqua-colored ink). I was amazed at how smoothly it wrote. I had no idea then that Pilot made a wide range of pens including high-end, but I immediately realized that their fountain pens were worth looking at. I bought a Pilot Prera, and was hooked. That only whetted my appetite for fountain pens. I’ve since ordered a Sailor 1911 with a 21k nib, which is on its way from Japan at this very moment, and I’ve discovered Diamine inks.

Hook, line and sinker.

[Anne]

Welcome When is the movie coming out?

[countrydirt]

Welcome!

[calamum]

Welcome When is the movie coming out?

Well, first of all I have to sell more than three copies of the book. Of course, it's only been out for a few years, so I'll have to give it some time.

[calamum]

Welcome!

Howdy howdy!

[Marsilius]

Welcome. I heard or read that you are politically correct.

[jar]

Welcome home. Pull up a stump and set a spell.

[calamum]

Welcome. I heard or read that you are politically correct.

Vile calumny. I'm a Dodgers fan.

[calamum]

Welcome home. Pull up a stump and set a spell.

Thankee. That's right neighborly of you. Don't mind if I do.

My wife is from the Great State of Texas. I've lived there myself, and wish I still did. California has a lot of natural beauty, but looks ain't everything.

[calamum]

As long as I'm introducing myself, I should also add that I've done a bit of calligraphy from time with dip pens and with a Platignum Osmiroid-style pen set.

[Wahl]

[calamum]

Thank you! Glad to be here.

[Morgaine]

Hello and welcome.

Did you use a fountain pen to draft the novel?

[calamum]

Hello and welcome.

Did you use a fountain pen to draft the novel?

Hello and thanks for the greeting.

I wrote out most of the first draft longhand in a series of hardback composition books in whatever I had on hand, which most of the time was (I'm ashamed to say it) a ballpoint (gasp! ...there, I said it) pen. I did it not out of a preference for writing longhand, but because I had to snatch writing time whenever I could find it, and lugging around a notebook was handier than lugging around a laptop. I then did endless rewriting on a computer. I also used pencils, felt tip pens and gel pens. I hadn't really rediscovered fountain pens at that point; pretty much all my writing with nibs at that time was with dip pens, which were even more inconvenient to carry around than a laptop. I did not compose any of it it by candlelight a la Stephen King, which is a good thing, because if I had I would have had to crow about it, and people would think I was lying.

[calamum]

I've posted an excerpt from Attack of the Drooling Shapeshifters in the Creative Writing forum.

[Farmboy]

We have a Pan Pacific Pen Club meeting at Stanford on Saturday (4-21). Stanford is about 40 miles South of San Francisco. Could be that you could drive it if you left early enough.

FB the enabler.

[calamum]

We have a Pan Pacific Pen Club meeting at Stanford on Saturday (4-21). Stanford is about 40 miles South of San Francisco. Could be that you could drive it if you left early enough.

FB the enabler.

Thank you for the invitation. I've been to Stanford more than a few times. Nice town, great university, great hospital. Lo-o-o-ong drive! I'm afraid I'll have to pass, at least this time. How often do you meet?