"Some are born to darkness...'

"...others simply hide in the light."

I'm typically the sort of guy who likes to keep what could only be described as a 'low profile', but I figure that if I plan on persuing my interest in writing fiction, it seems like a necessary evil to reveal myself.

My name is Jamie Richter, and I'm a Queensland based writer of slipstream, technology-themed horror, and dark speculative fiction. I have never really modelled my style of writing after any particular authors, or cite any authors as my inspiration for writing; I just enjoy the process of scooping ideas out of my head and dumping them onto the paper. Excuse the colourful imagery. Hell, I don't even claim to be that great of a writer – you can probably surmise this from what you’ve read on my blog so far.

Prior to trying my hand at writing short fiction, I spent a couple of years writing for film and television... I came close to a couple of breakthroughs with my screenplays, but alas, they didn't eventuate. My screenplay 'Unorganised Crime' finished in the top 50 of Project Greenlight Australia, which was an Australian spin-off of a reality US TV series devised by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck - the winner walked away with a cool $1 million to film and direct their winning screenplay. Top 50 out of approximately 2000+ entries wasn't too shabby - so close!

I have always been an extremely creative person, whether this outlet came in the form of drawing, writing short stories and screenplays, or developing modifications for popular computer games like Soldier of Fortune 2 and Battlefield 2. When I have an idea stuck in my head, I have to shake it loose; otherwise it will drive me mad. I don't care what the format is... whether the idea is good or bad... I just have to get it out my head. I find ideas to be like one of those Scarab beetles, if left unchecked, the bastards will just burrow into your brain and slowly tear you apart.

Anyway, enough of the stream-of-consciousness ramble. The main purpose of this blog is to help me shake-off my mind-numbing and creatively-devoid day job, and give me the additional motivation to push forward and write more interesting short fiction. I don't care about being famous, I don't even really care about the money - it’s all about having some fun and getting my crazy ideas on paper. Hopefully this site will help me document my journey... wherever it takes me.