Who is Vickey A. Beaver?
I am someone with many interests. My career paths illustrate that well! No matter what my day job was or where life took me, I have been a creative person with a penchant for entertaining and a passion for writing.
As an employee at Cornell University, I became a dedicated member of Cornell University’s employee paper (Pawprint). While I enjoyed writing my own column, Net Notions, and various interviews for Pawprint, my pleasure is fiction. My focus is fantasy, although I’ve also written fiction of other veins. I believe in escaping reality by creating new realities, even if their only existence is between pages of paper or lines of code. As of May of 2009, I decided to embark full-time on my freelance writing career focusing on fantasy and the role-playing game (RPG) industry. These days, I’ve managed to get myself wrapped up in developing a line of RPG material and marketing, too.
What is She Up To?
See my calendar for information targeting my writing and research that supports it. You can also use the links in the navigation bar to see more frequent updates via social media. See also Writing for “what’s on the horizon” – items that are firmly on the “to-do” list.
Where She’s Been
I’ve lived and traveled across the world. I’ve resided in four different American states and Germany, traveled from north to south and east to west across the US, and with my husband, I have visited England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. See Travel for more on that.
What Has She Done?
Work
As I think about the work I’ve done over the years, I’m reminded of the list Tad Williams wrote on the same topic. Maybe writers are just destined to have lots of experiences — or perhaps those with lots of experiences are destined to write!
Skipping the typical stuff underage workers do (babysitting, work for neighbors, etc.), I have been a line worker in restaurants, room service operator for Marriott, a manager in a 24-hour convenience store, an employee at TransAmerica Real Estate Tax Service (now merged with First American) working in customer service, training, and technology, a Webmaster for Cornell University, a Tupperware consultant and manager, a manager for Hickory Farms, freelance Webmaster, writer, and technology consultant, Website workshop instructor for an educational service (TST BOCES), a café and business manager for Hope’s Way Café, Catering & Meeting Place (since sold to Ithaca Bakery), and a sales coordinator for the Courtyard by Marriott Ithaca, which gave way to the operations manager of the same.
While actively attempting to develop a full-time writing career, I worked in several roles in pursuit of the new American dream: getting out of debt so I can do the things I really love!
Education
Having graduated with honors from high school, I failed to go to college right afterwards. I delayed my education for personal reasons and then got caught up in work. For a long time, I didn’t pursue a degree, but did take a few classes. In the mid-90s, I took a couple of evening classes at Middle Tennessee State University. It didn’t take me long to realize that, at the time, there was no way to get a degree just going to night school. As an employee at Cornell University in the early 2000s, I took English classes when I could. That worked out well since they laid me off (for UK folks: made me redundant), but allowed me to use the layoff benefit to take a certain number of courses in a year tuition-free. So, from summer classes in 2004 until mid-2005, I was a student at Cornell as well as at Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3). I’m probably the first person in history to take credits from an Ivy and transfer them to a community college! Regardless, while I once thought I’d get a business degree, I graduated with my Associates in Applied Science: Hotel and Restaurant Management with Highest Honors.
Community
I’ve volunteered in a variety of capacities for a small town, two local libraries, and different scenarios for a few of my jobs. While in Berkshire, NY, I did layout and some editing for the town newsletter and I was the computer training program coordinator and writers’ group leader for the Berkshire Free Library. In Lansing, NY, I again started a writers’ group and am its coordinator. Some of the folks call me the teacher, but I’ve not laid claim to that title!
Moved to a degree of political activism by the mid- and late-2000s’ state of affairs in our country (in two wars, taxes gone crazy, high interest rates, corporate treachery resulting in wiped out savings, good paying jobs disappearing, etc.), I started a group for the Hillary Clinton campaign called Lansing, New York Area Citizens for Hillary. While it was extremely limited in its success, it was an interesting endeavor. Although Hillary didn’t make it to the top seat, I’m proud to have supported someone I admire so much and to see that she’s in a position to make a lot of progress on behalf of our country and within it.
Miscellany
Given my love of staying at B & Bs, dreaming big, cooking, and entertaining, I formulated a business plan to open an upscale bed and breakfast that caters to artistic types, romantic couples, and country seekers. Maybe one day I’ll follow through on it.
To Get in Touch
Use any of the social media on the left, starting with Facebook, for the most immediate response. Alternatively, you can reach me atvabeaver@vabeaver.com, but sometimes its a few days before I can respond. For issues with the website, please send them to webmaster@vabeaver.com.
Thanks for visiting!
Vickey A. Beaver 