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Ruadhán J. McElroy

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Born
in Toledo, Ohio, The United States
July 22

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Truman Capote, Colin MacInnes, Andy Warhol, Berkeley Breathed, Derek J ...more

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August 2011

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Ruadhán is a musician, painter, and the author of two novels and a long-time blogger and web-diarist. He was born in Toledo, Ohio, and raised predominantly by British grandparents; he was educated at a Felician school until grade Seven, when his father and step-mother relocated the family to rural Michigan. In addition to fiction, he has written short pieces of Hellenic polytheist mythology for the newsletter HE EPISTOLE and maintains the polytheist blog, Of Thespiae. Since 2009, his primary creative focus has been on his music.

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Ruadhán J. McElroy Much like Lois in the pageant episode of MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE, I have a problem with this question.

I don't exactly "get to" make my own hours, I *hav…more
Much like Lois in the pageant episode of MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE, I have a problem with this question.

I don't exactly "get to" make my own hours, I *have to*. Because this trade has been so devalued over the last fifty years, people expect me to just give my work away, and balk at the price of either a paperback or eBook edition. My cats, social obligations, and all the other work I do seem to all be conspiring against my best efforts to finish a new book every other year. My primary income is Social Security Disability and Survivor's benefits, which pays out a lot less than most people seem to believe, but without it, I'd be on the streets -- but even with, I'm grateful for the few copies of either novel that I sell each year, or I'd be so much worse off.

Being a writer, or any kind of artist, is like an overcooked steak -- it's a small, tough, and the chips are always stacked against you.

The only consolation is knowing that I'm letting these stories out, because the spirits within these characters want me to tell their stories. If I make a little money, and entertain a few readers in the process, that's even better, because it shows that someone is appreciating all the hard work I've put into this.(less)
Ruadhán J. McElroy Just write. Write about things you know -- whether that's real life, or speciality genres you've been reading since you were five. Accept that not eve…moreJust write. Write about things you know -- whether that's real life, or speciality genres you've been reading since you were five. Accept that not everything you write will be groundbreaking, great, or even good -- accept constructive critiques from readers of all sorts, but work on it in whatever way works for you.

It's not a race. NaNoWriMo is a cute idea, but let's be frank, compared to the large number of people who start it, almost no-one completes it (not even those who give themselves extra time), and it's even rarer that it's "good enough" to even consider publishing without heavy re-working over the next three to six months or more. If you want to take that as a fire to light under your arse to actually start writing, be my guest, but don't beat yourself up if you don't finish by 30 November -- just finish it.(less)
Average rating: 4.33 · 3 ratings · 1 review · 2 distinct works
New Dance

4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2009
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Simple Man

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating2 editions
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* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

So, it’s been nearly six months…

There have been reasons; most of them technical, actually. I still need to clear up one of them before returning to certain parts of the schedule on here, so in the meantime, please direct your attention to some of my … Continue reading →
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Published on May 13, 2014 04:43

Ruadhán’s Recent Updates

Ruadhán McElroy wants to read
A Steeping of Blood by Hafsah Faizal
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A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
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Ruadhán McElroy rated a book it was amazing
Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
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Take Up Space, Y'all by Tess Holliday
"This book is filled with misinformation about weight, genetics, and eating habits. For example, the author claims that 80% of overweight people are overweight because their ancestors survived famines.... a theory that oversimplifies and distorts the " Read more of this review »
Ruadhán McElroy rated a book did not like it
Take Up Space, Y'all by Tess Holliday
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Ruadhán McElroy wants to read
Kittentits by Holly    Wilson
Kittentits: A Novel
by Holly Wilson (Goodreads Author)
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Ruadhán McElroy wants to read
Invisible Kitties by Yu Yoyo
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Ruadhán McElroy wants to read
Mornings Without Mii by Mayumi Inaba
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Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
"I absolutely loved it, and I know I'll visit this book again and again. My only sad: the alot does not make an appearance.

SO I DEMAND A SEQUEL! I DEMAND IT ALOT!"
Ruadhán McElroy is on page 150 of 371 of Hyperbole and a Half
Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
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Quotes by Ruadhán J. McElroy  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Everything worth knowing about the 1980s I learned from obsessively reading Bloom County collections when I was nine and Derek Jarman's diaries when I was twenty.”
Ruadhán J. McElroy

“As I’ve said before, “the Mod generation”, contrary to popular belief, was not born in even 1958, but in the 1920s after a steady gestation from about 1917 or so. Now, Mod certainly came of age, fully sure of itself by 1958, completely misunderstood by 1963, and in a perpetual cycle of reinvention and rediscovery of itself by 1967 and 1975, respectively, but it was born in the 1920s, and I will maintain this. I don’t care who disagrees with me, and there are dozens of reasons that I do so —from the Art Deco aesthetic, to flapper fashions (complete with bobbed hair), to androgyny and subtle effeminacy, to jazz.”
Ruadhán J. McElroy

“Nothing is new anymore. We're living in a post-everything society and "art" itself has become satire.”
Ruadhán J. McElroy

“Some of us find our lives abridged even before the paperback comes out. ”
Berkeley Breathed

“Despite what they tell you, there are simply no moral absolutes in a complex world.”
Berkeley Breathed

“Just the usual formality before the chaos begins. Like playing the National Anthem before a Cubs game.”
Berkeley Breathed, The Bloom County Library, Vol. 3: 1984-1986
tags: humor

“The night is the hardest time to be alive and 4am knows all my secrets.”
Poppy Z. Brite

“He has 'le coeur comme un artichaud'. Eddy fumbled for her high school French. 'A heart like an artichoke?' 'Oui. He has a leaf for everyone, but makes a meal for no one.”
Poppy Z. Brite

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