6-About Alley
Hi there 
I’m Pat Hauldren. My friends call me “Alley”.
The more I got involved in writing for others, the more I realized the need for solid, knowledgeable editors and freelance writers. As the markets for writers and editors shrink, with layoffs and the global marketing world expanding, it’s egocentric to think that I, as one person, can satisfy everyone’s writing and editing needs. However, I know that if I cannot provide a particular service for you, I can refer you to another professional who can. So feel free to contact me and discuss your individual or company needs and I’ll point you in the right direction.
I’m forever perusing other editor’s websites and often feel they are rather cold and impersonal. So, when building mine, I decided I would give my information in a professional manner, but add a page just to say hi to my visitors and let them get to know me a bit, because who wants some faceless unknown analyzing and correcting their hard work?
I’m a retired Quality Control Manager with 30 years in Quality Control & Assurance and Statistical Quality Assurance (SQA) mostly in electronics R&D, manufacturing, and service fields. I’ve taught classes on assembly, electronics, quality control techniques, statistical process control (SPC), and leadership skills. I’m a graduate of Fred Pryor Leadership Seminars. I’ve written assembly & test instructions and specifications, inspection instructions and specifications, company mission statements and manuals, and quality manuals for Dallas Semiconductor (now Maxim), Tandy Electronics, DSC, Advanced Data Systems, and more.
I’m a grandmother of 4, mother of 2, wife of 1, and friend to 3 dogs and 3 cats. I live in Grand Prairie, Texas, which is a suburb of Dallas and Ft. Worth here in North Texas. (North Texas isn’t near Amarillo, that’s called the Panhandle.) I write and edit full-time, help my grandsons with their homework, sometimes fix dinner, and attend several local live writers’ groups in our area, which I’ll talk about below.
My husband and I are also avid Dallas Stars hockey fans. We attend many games each season, dressing up for the occasion.
My second favorite hockey team was the Montreal Canadiens because one of my favorite players coached the team — Guy Carbonneau — however, he got fired by Gainey and so I’m not so hot on the Habs right now.
My favorite Stars player currently playing for the Stars is Jere Lehtinen (just in case you wanted to know). Now that the coaching staff has changed, we are curious to see what will happen to our home team. My MySpace page is Stars themed (myspace.com/alleypat) GO STARS!
My favorite movies are Rob Roy and The King and I. I’m a Liam Neeson and Yule Brenner fan, big time. If you ever want me to wax on forever about the merits of any of these guys, just ask.
My favorite author . . . is a tough one. I think the Shakespeare of the 20th century is Neil Simon. One of my favorite literary authors (although he said on Charlie Rose that he doesn’t consider himself “literary”) is the late John Updike. Not that I don’t have other favorite authors, I do. Just that those are at the top of my list (West Wing’s creator and writer Aaron Sorkin is right up there.)
My favorite genre is science fiction and fantasy, or as we are calling it now, speculative fiction. My first SF was unintentional. In grade school, we lived in a small town in the piney woods of East Texas. Small town meant small library, which meant, small selection of books. At the time, I was reading horse stories (you know, Flicka and all that.), but one Friday afternoon, before catching the bus for the hour ride home, I grabbed several books I assumed to be the ones I wanted. Well, I did want them, after the fact. I had selected several Heinlein’s young adult books like Have Space Suit, Will Travel & Starship Troopers. Spec fic has been an addiction ever since.
As I said earlier, I attend several local writers workshops. Every Wednesday evening from 6 – 10 pm you’ll find me at the DFW Writers’ Workshop in Euless, Texas. DFWWW is over 30 years strong now, with almost 300 books published by its members. We host a yearly conference, the DFW Writers’ Conference. I’ve served on the board in several capacities, edited the newsletter for several years, and now help on the Conference Committee. You can find out more information about the group and the conference at their website www.dfwrite.org.
Every 2nd Saturday from 6pm – 10pm you’ll find me at the North Texas Speculative Ficton Workshop in Hurst, Texas. This workshop started as an offshoot from the Wed. night group. We wanted a workshop that concentrated on our specific genre – science fiction/fantasy/horror. Georgette at the Hurst Barnes & Noble graciously hosts our group. She’s done a fantastic job for both NTSFW & DFWWW. Come visit us anytime, or check out our website at www.ntsfw.com.
Every 3rd Saturday morning from 10:30am – noon, you’ll find me at La Hacienda Restaraunt in Colleyville, Texas, with the North Texas Romance Writers of America, our local chpater of RWA. I do the newsletter there this year (2009) and serve on the board. Check out their website at www.ntrwa.org.
I attend many yearly writers conferences. You’ll likely find me at the RWA National Conference, WorldCon, World Fantasy, DragonCon, FenCon, ConDFW, ArmadilloCon, DFW Writers’ Conference, ApolloCon, and more. This year, I attended both Bob Mayer writing workshops in Dallas. In October, I’ll be attending Dave Farland’s Write That Novel! workshop in Dallas.
Well, I need to get to work. I’ll be adding more on here. Check back often!
Best of luck to you,
Alley
updated 10/6/09