About
So, what are you all about, Chris?
I'm flattered, truly. Let's start with my standard author bio:
Christopher Buecheler is a novelist, a web developer, an award-winning amateur mixologist, a developing illustrator, a player of the guitar and drums, an enjoyer of video games, and an NBA enthusiast. He lives a semi-nomadic existence with his wonderful French wife and their two cats, Carbomb and Baron Salvatore H. Lynx II. Currently they reside in Providence, RI.
Aside from all that, I'm in my mid-forties, I listen to a fairly narrow spectrum of mostly rock music, I work out and run on weekdays, I'm vocally progressive, and I spend too much time on BlueSky.
Semi-Nomadic?
I've been based in Providence for eleven years, which is the longest I've lived in a single location in my entire life. Not counting moves to a new place within the same city, I've lived in twelve towns across six states and one other country: Massachusetts, New York (upstate and city), California, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Rhode Island, and France. I also travel frequently, particularly to Europe. I regularly work and write on these trips, so as a whole the lifestyle feels fairly nomadic. But we do spend a lot of time in Providence! Thus the semi.
What about this web developer stuff?
I've been designing and building websites professionally for twenty-five years. It pays the bills, and it's also something I actually enjoy doing. I designed and built this site using custom HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Markdown, and the static site generator Eleventy. If you want to learn more about my work, you can check out my LinkedIn.
Cool, cool. And the hobbies?
You can learn about all of this stuff in more depth at cwbuecheler.com but here's the summary: In my spare time, I like to attempt to do many things decently instead of a few things well (and also play a lot of video games). To that end, in addition to the web stuff, which is a job, and the writing, which is basically a second job, I also regularly work on my drawing skills using an iPad Pro and an Apple pencil and post the results to instagram, and I periodically play my guitars (An Epiphone Elitest Les Paul Standard Plus, a Taylor 214CE, and a G&L Tribute L-2000). I don't currently have a drum set, because I don't currently have a place to put a drum set, but I hope someday to rectify both situations. The cocktailing has taken a backseat in recent years. I mean, I still drink them, but I used to write cocktail and spirits articles for Primer Magazine, and I ran a nightly cocktail blog, DrinkShouts, for a while, which also allowed me to learn a good bit about photography, including the fact that I didn't like photography enough to continue pursuing it as a hobby! I also, of course, read frequently, especially in the genres in which I write.
Oh, and the video games thing. Here are my top ten ever and my current favorites, which should give you a good look into my preferences:
Top 10
- Deus Ex (PC)
- Star Control II (PC)
- Fallout (PC)
- Dark Souls (PS3/Xbox 360/PC)
- Nethack (PC)
- Half-Life 2/Episode 1/Episode 2 (PC)
- Metroid (NES)
- Hollow Knight (PC)
- No Man's Sky (PC)
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (Dreamcast)
Current Favorites
- Elden Ring (PC)
- The Assassin's Creed series (PC)
- God of War 2018 (PS4)
- Disco Elysium (PC)
- The Dishonored Series (PC)
- The Mass Effect Series (Xbox 360)
Anything else?
Not really, but if you check back occasionally you'll probably find out about some new insane thing I've decided to try to wedge into my spare time.