Greetings and Felicitations

Hello, World of NAF!

I’m Robynn Tolbert, aka Ranunculus Turtle, aka Princess Turtle, aka Mean Aunt Robynn, aka Valkyrie Is About to Die, aka…Oi, that’s enough.

Some of you know me this way…  .

Some know me this way…

Here, you get to see my real face, although I will miss my former, randomly-generated blue Celtic knot pattern.

If you didn’t know, I’m the newest member of The New Authors’ Fellowship, though by no means its youngest member. Hi, Zoe!

I’ve followed this blog’s progress from its earliest days just after the 2009 Marcher Lord Select contests up to the present. I “met” most of its members through The Anomaly website. Some of us were in competition (Keven, Diane, Ren, Avily and Paul) and some of us were amicable debaters over those who were in play (David and Kristen).

I have enjoyed reading, commenting and “fellowshipping” with its various authors and alumni in the past year, both through this blog and through other venues.

My official quest for publication began with that contest. Star of Justice, my firstborn, was my submission. It will be published one day, possibly after my death. Isn’t that when most writers get their best publicity?

The quest continues with my second book, Elementals. It is in second-draft, reader-feedback stage at the moment, leaving me with time on my hands for writing book number three, Past Ties.

Turtle Trail (I go off on “rabbit trails” a lot, but since I’m no rabbit, well…Normally, I’ll abbreviate as “TT”): Star of Justice and Past Ties are books set in the same universe but in different timelines. Elementals just hangs out there on its own. I wrote it mostly to see if I could finish another book. I did. Huzzah!

So, I’ll be hanging with the folks here at NAF, or “The Collective,” as I like to call it.

TT: I like to bequeath nicknames. Gives me a sense of control. NAF Contributer and critique partner Kristen is “The Lioness.” Blossoming friend Diane is “The Vaulter.” Keven is now and forevermore “Gungho Iguana” and bonus points to anyone who can ID the movie reference.

TT: Not bonus cool points, alas. These will be bonus nerd points, but some people like those, too.

Ren is…yeah, well, I don’t have nicknames for everybody yet. Give me some time. Turtles aren’t the fastest animals on the planet but we get it done once we point our snouts toward it.

I’ve been warned about falling anvils, and the pursuit of cheesecake (Favorite flavor? Turtle, naturally), and dreams of promotion to the Granny Flat. Trust me, my knees say I should be there already. I hope to add my own brand of reptile humor and a glimpse of buttercups in the swamp. I was about to write “taste of buttercups,” but the ranunculus is poisonous.  One of the reasons I chose it as my nickname.

So here I am. Love me, hate me, scroll right past me – it’s all up to you.

Howdy!