I chased them back.  Still do. 

Spent a bunch of time in Minneapolis/St.Paul, then a bunch more in Savannah.  Did some stuff, didn't do other stuff.  Have a lot more stuff to do.

  Now, regarding my name: it's "meh HITta bell." Or just plain "Bel" for short.  I generally go by Bel, even though that's a lot daintier-sounding than suits me.

Frequently Asked Questions
In no particular order:

• Is that your real name?    Yup.

 
• What's that shit on your arm?  Snow leopard spots.  They are tattooed in half-tone (gray) ink and were done with shading needles only.  People have thought they were drawn on, or bruises, or lipstick prints, or bite marks, or "that I was attacked by an octopus." All of these things are also true.

 
• What's up with the Leopard trip? 
Snow leopards are solitary, nocturnal, and secretive cats. Because of their solitary and secretive nature, most snow leopards go unnoticed, and so are not bothered. There is very little known about their lifestyle. They are very agile and prefer the rocky cliffs, where they can better stalk and hide from their prey. There is nothing known about the snow leopard's breeding habits.  Snow leopards stalk their prey like other leopards, and strangle them like cheetahs, because they have relatively short rounded canines. In the event that humans encroach on a leopard's territory, it "retaliates" by changing its dietary habits to include the human's livestock or dogs.
I didn't know any of that when I chose snow leopard spots for my arm, but it's entirely fitting.  There's a fine line between glamor and trash, and I don't care if I cross it as long as I'm drenched in fake fur. 
 
• How do you find the time to do so much?  First of all, I don't do nearly enough.  Second, I choose to work all the time, and have absolutely no social life.  I like it that way.  I'm a hermit.  I'm still not as focused as I need to be; there's a lot more I need to be doing.

 
• Why isn't there much fiction of yours online/on your site?  I write very, very few short stories.  If they end up decent enough that I'd be willing for you to read them, I might as well sell them.

 
• Any tips for writers?  Wear a hat.  I can't write fiction without wearing a hat. Be professional, cut your editors slack, weigh suggestions and criticism seriously, be patient, be serious, and be honest.  If you're feverishly serious about writing, if you read Writer's Digest and all those other "tips" (inspirational, cheerleading) mags, you'll see professionalism screamed at you from all sides.  Take that seriously, but "be professional" doesn't mean "act like a corporate hardass."  If an editor screws up, relax, don't wig out and threaten a lawsuit while posting to all manner of forums about how evil the editor is.  If you get a bitchy rejection letter, don't take it too personally .  Remember that people working in the industry have lives.  Give them a chance to redeem themselves before freaking out.  And with regards to the small press, remember that the editors usually are also hold day jobs, handle advertisers, printers, distribution, contributors, postage, social lives, families, etc., without making any money.  If all else fails, blame it on the printer - everyone else does.

 
• Why don't you update your site more often?  This site is not a priority.  I want it to work, I want it to be useful, but it's not anywhere near the top of my list of Things To Do.

 
• Why did you quit reviewing?   Because for every book decent enough to move me to review it, there were, literally, thirty that fucking sucked.  I was miserable.  I started to hate books.  There came a point when I was more looking forward to reading the Loretta Lynn autobiography I'd swiped from a friend's floor than I was to reading current horror books, and what the fuck does that say?

 
• What sort of shit do you like?

 
• I like: steak.  Pool.  Leopard stuff.  Karloff as the Monster.  Boots.  Jack Daniels.  Shitty beer.  NASCAR.  Nearly all seafood.  Buffalo meat.  Punk, mashups, Cantonese hip-hop, funk. Tekken and Soul Calibur.  Action figures. '70s hookers. Rocks.  Dirt.  Motors.  MMA.  And, above all else, the motherfucking cannibal apocalypse disco. 


My critters: two German Shepherd Dogs - Eike and Krueger, plus 2 weasels, 2 cats, and a cockatiel.
 

• Dream life: to live in a little house on big land beside a pond (or river) with an Airstream parked by the waterside.  The Airstream'll be my office; it'll have a deck under which my dogs will seek the shade.  I'll drive a hella-yellow '73 AMC AMX Javelin with leopard upholstery.  And I will have the Helldozer.

 
• What sort of shit don't you like?

 
• Easy: just about everything else.
• Who's that chick in your banner?

 
• That's my take on Miss Redhead of Redhead Matches. The annual collectors' series features Miss Redhead redesigned/reimagined by awesome artists, and I, not an awesome artist, tried it too. And yep, I collect Redheads goodies.