Michael E. Shea

Mike Shea is a writer, game player, technologist, and webmaster living in Alexandria, Virginia. He is the author, webmaster, lead editor, and administrator of Liquidtheater.com, MikeShea.net, eqwire.com, and loralciriclight.com. Mike also writes Everquest editorials for Mobhunter and Caster's Realm with an occasional article for Moleskinerie. Mike's interests include playing Everquest, writing short stories, writing non-fiction for his own website, Everquest sites, and pen and paper websites. Mike is interested in technology of any age whether it is an iPod Shuffle or vellum and iron gaul ink.

Michael Erik Shea was born in Chicago, Illinois on 17 May 1973. His father, Robert Shea, was the co-author of the political science fiction trilogy, Illuminatus. Mike grew up in Glencoe and went to grammar and high school in the northern suburbs of Chicago. It was upon reading the first cyberpunk novel, Neuromancer, by William Gibson, that Mike began to think of computers as something "cool". Mike Graduated from New Trier Township High School in 1991 and went to Indiana State University for five years, graduating with a degree in Electronics Technology and Computer Technology (very unfortunately named majors for a four year degree).

During this period Mike was introduced to the "internet" by his friend and roommate, Matt Baker. After seeing the first Mosaic browser and being so hip to new trends, Mike dismissed it as a clunky fad and went back to working on his Dungeons and Dragons module and reading God Emperor of Dune. He has spent every waking moment since wishing he had been the one to register "sex.com".

In 1999 Mike started the home theater and DVD review website Liquidtheater.com which continues to operate today. Soon after, Mike posted a personal homepage, MikeShea.net, a catch-all for any other insane ramblings of his. This site also hosts his Newsfeed tools, a suite of headline syndication tools and feeds that he hopes will change the world to a better syndicated world of knowledge (oh just kill me now). Using all of his skills and all of his powers, Mike built eqwire.com an automated Everquest news site that monitors over a dozen sources using Perl Regular Expressions. Mike supports opensource software and web standards on all of his websites. Mike is a member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU.

Mike became interested in writing in 2000 and went back to the basics with Strunk and White. He began to see the lies, misdirection, and deception in the majority of the world's writing after his eyes were opened to George Orwell's 1946 Politics and the English Language. Technology will come and go but good writing is a skill worth mastering. Mike's favorite book, a book he feels is the most important novel ever written, is Orwell's 1984.

Mike enjoys mainly fantasy fiction including Stephen King's Dark Tower Series, and R.A. Salvatore's Dark Elf series. Mike is currently stepping down the lists of Hugo and Nebula winners.

In 2000 Mike began spending almost all of his free time in the massive multiplayer role playing game, Everquest, and hosted a character website called loralciriclight.com, the name of his Elven Cleric, Loral Ciriclight, on the Quellious server. This site now contains over 40 chapters of fan fiction. Loral belongs to the guild Healers United, a guild that promotes friendship and well being instead of loot and power, on the Quellious server. Mike began writing editorials for the Everquest site Mobhunter. Mike's philosophy towards massive online gaming can be read in Why I Play Everquest.

Mike believes that Computers Suck and that they lack the simplicity and fixed architecture of video game consoles.

Mike loves movies. He has one main rule for movies. "Don't treat me like an idiot." Mike also has Mike's Movie Rules, including the "no-friends" and "vomit" rule. He also wrote the Liquidtheater Certification Plan, a list of rules for the setup of a proper home theater including NTSC tuning, SPL meter tuning, removal of pants, and proper urination before a movie.

In 2005 Mike released his first book of twenty one short stories, Vrenna and the Red Stone and Other Tales. This book is available online in multiple formats and can be purchased from Lulu.com. This book contains the first stories in the world of Faigon, a mixture of bronze age deserts, dark fantasy, old lost empires, and seventeenth century style monarchies with flint locks, three-cornered hats, telepathic secret societies, demons, and vampires. Vrenna, a silent swordswoman of unknown origin, travels in these dark lands and has many adventures facing corrupt slave lords, dark magic, and secrets of the Old Empire.

Most of the rest of Mike's writing can be found at his movie reviews, his weblog articles, and his Everquest fictional writing.

Mike lives in Alexandria, VA with his smelly cat, Taniko.

Contact information

Michael Shea
2621 Jamestown Lane, Apartment 104
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 703-567-5965
Permanent Email: mike@mikeshea.net

External Links

MikeShea.Net Personal Weblog
LiquidTheater.com DVD Reviews and Home Theater Editorials
LoralCiriclight.com Everquest Fan Fiction
EQWire.com Automated Everquest News
Mobhunter Everquest news and editorials