Born August, 1989. Raised in Phoenix, Arizona. I've lived here my entire life and probably could not live anywhere else. Weather here is described in levels of hot, seasons are vacation destinations, and snow only exists in Christmas movies.
I was born before the home PC, but wanted the Sidekick and Razr flip phone during my high school years. I got neither. My parents felt that those phones were gimmicks and a waste of money. They were correct, of course, but it never stopped me from wanting one.
I got the nickname "Shepsus" working with a team at a call center. It's been over a decade since I worked there, but the nickname "Shep" has always stuck with me. As far as the internet is concerned I am Shepsus.
I've always enjoyed the stories of high fantasy. You'll find my nose in anything involving swords, magic, bows, elves, dwarves, wizards and dragons. Lord of the Rings and Discworld are my primary source of inspiration. Terry Prachett, Christopher Moore, Brandon Sanderson, Jim Butcher and Patrick Rothfuss are some of the authors I try to follow. I enjoy diving into the lore of Magic: The Gathering and Warcraft and many others.
My first story was based on my group of Lego-men I named Team Haven. It was an odd fantasy based on a group of independent heroes. I had written a shoddy story around the imaginary adventures of my Lego, and developed a shoddy history about other characters (those of which did not exist among my Lego.)
It wasn't a good story. I was in eighth grade. I didn't even know the word "Haven" was a real word, I removed the "E" from "Heaven" and thought it sounded good. It was just a stroke of luck "Haven" fit.
Dozens upon dozens of stories have come from these fingers, many of which are going to grow digital cobwebs to never be read by anyone. And that's fine - practice is necessary to develop skill. You don't expect to see the the doodles of an artist, or the first piece a musician records. My first writings as thirteen year old were terrible! Plot holes and clusterf* fight scenes galore.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know me. Beyond writing, I have a degree in Science, I enjoy a job in IT Systems Administration and live happily still in Arizona.
I do hope you enjoy my writing, and I hope when a novel is released, you enjoy that as well.
Cheers, and don't be a stranger,
Brandon "Shepsus" Hoffman
