Hello out there! If you’re reading this, you’re probably a bit lost. On the off-chance that you are actually here to read about this blog and its author, here are some highlights.
The title “SELECT * FROM Shane” is a simple SQL statement that essentially means “select all columns in the data table called Shane,” or in non-geek-speak, “Everything in Shane.”
As you have probably deduced, I am Shane. Shane Walsh-Smith. It’s nice to meet you. How are you going? I run the website ShaneWSmith.com, which was created in mid-2008 to showcase my unpublished creative portfolio, but has slowly evolved into a cumbersome and unwieldy beast that includes a blog (which you are browsing) and information about my other creative endeavours, such as The Lesser Evil here and The Game here.
Here is a brief table of contents for this “About” page. (Please note: this page replaces the old About page, but if you desperately need to see it, it is archived here.)
Shane was born Shane Smith in 1985. Then for quite a long time, nothing much happened. Then he got used to writing about himself in third person for bios like this.
Writing
Shane studied creative writing at the University of Canberra, and often wishes he was still there. His Honours project in Creative Research, entitled Academaesthetics: How The Essay And Comic Can Save Each Other, was published in the October 2007 edition of Text, a refereed academic journal, and is available to read for free.
Shane has been writing for most of his life, and has surprisingly little to show for it. This website was created as an attempt to showcase his work, starting with the graphic novel The Game, which took four years to complete, and is at this stage unpublished.
The graphic novel, The Lesser Evil, was accepted for publication by Zeta Comics, and will be available to purchase shortly in both digital and print formats.
Current projects include a number of sequels to The Lesser Evil, entitled The Road To Hell, All The King’s Men, a redrafting of The Game, and a couple of shorter pieces entitled Thinking Bigger, The Long Road Home, and Inferno. After all this is done, Shane intends to come up with at least one new idea.
His life goal has always been to be a writer. Some of his earliest and most precious memories involve creating a book with his dad when he was three. Expect to see updates to the creative endeavours mentioned elsewhere on this website, and general ideas regarding the creative process.
Katie
While in his third year of university, Shane met Katie Walsh, and his life was turned upside down forever. They got engaged on Christmas Eve, 2007 and married on August 31, 2008. They bought their first house that October.
They are extremely happy. So happy in fact that they have decided to expand their family. Barkley the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel entered their family in December of 2008, and a baby girl appeared in Katie’s belly in May of 2009. The amazing and talented Annie Walsh-Smith was born on February 13, 2010. The family may be growing again very soon – fingers crossed!
Becoming a parent was the best thing he ever did… even better than The Lesser Evil.
Work
Shane works for the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. As it is technically possible that some of his work mates might stumble across this blog one day, this is about all you can expect to read about his job, at least as long as he still has it.
Unsure of what the Public Service code of conduct on personal blogging says, Shane has elected to avoid the minefield and not discuss work here.
Everything else
Shane’s other hobbies include video gaming, basketball, playing with his puppy Barkley, and working on his blog.
The title “SELECT * FROM Shane” is a simple SQL statement that essentially means “select all columns in the data table called Shane,” or in non-geek-speak, “Everything in Shane.”
I’m at a stage in my life where I’m taking on a lot of new roles (husband, provider, father, and so on) and starting to jettison some things that used to be part of me. In this hectic and tumultuous time in my life, I’m trying to figure out who I am now, what I still want to do, and how I can do it.
A blog seems the ideal opportunity for me. Not only can I get my feelings down on (virtual) paper, but blogs allow for categorisation, for me to compartmentalise all the parts of my life and figure out exactly what’s going on in the old coconut.
In short, this blog is (potentially) everything Shane. Narcissistic, wot?
To make some sort of sense out of this mess, posts are sorted into categories. A breakdown of what each category might contain can be found by hovering your mouse over the category names in the sidebar to the right.
Thanks for visiting. Click here to start reading.
PPS: A copy of this post can be found on the “About” page, so don’t waste your time clicking that.
