!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML//EN"> CKL Chronology

CKL Chronology

I was born in Taiwan, but I don't really remember the incident. I now live in the United States, and am a fully naturalized, Social-Security-card-carrying, income-tax-paying, hybrid-car-driving American citizen.

June, 1991: I graduate with valedictory honors from West High School, in the Southern Californian city of Torrance.
November 6, 1993: FREEFALL begins.
June, 1995: F.A.R.M. Patrol is released.
I graduate from Stanford University with a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science.
I begin work as a software engineer and sysadmin for the now-defunct Internet Media Services (IMS), a startup in downtown Palo Alto.

October, 1996: I buy my first palmtop: a US Robotics Pilot 5000.
August, 1997: IMS officially disbands.
September 22, 1997: I begin work as a Webmaster Manager at AT&T Labs.
January 19, 1998: I launch Snout.
July 1, 1998: I launch What's Up!, an AT&T intranet web site featuring market intelligence from the AT&T Labs Industry Relations Group (IRG).
July 26, 1998: I help launch the AT&T/BT Global Venture web site.
December 14, 1998: Pre-production on Superluminary begins.
March 3, 1999: The trailer for Superluminary debuts at Bryan Bell's surprise birthday party.
April 1, 1999: The Superluminary World Premiere!
October 25, 1999: After a brief hiatus, the HotSheet resumes publication in a new prose format.
August, 2000: I join The Richter Scales!
November, 2000: I move into Casa de Snout with DeeAnn, Amber, and Bayla.

May 5-6, 2001: Homicide: Life on the Farm, THE GAME.
September 19, 2001: The "Murder defies reason" HotSheet.
January 31, 2002: I resign from the soon-to-be-dissolved AT&T Labs Marketing Group.
July 9, 2002: I begin work as a Webmaster for PalmSource.
October 19-20, 2002: FoBiK, THE GAME.
October 25, 2002: Amber died today.
February 1, 2003: I attend my first acting class at The Voice Factory.
March, 2003: Jasper joins the Casa de Snout family.
July 26, 2003: DeeAnn and I celebrate our fifth anniversary together, and announce our engagement to friends and family.
September 14-19, 2003: I attend SpaceCamp in Huntsville, Alabama.
September 26, 2003: I give two weeks' notice that I'm leaving PalmSource.
October 13, 2003: I begin work as a Web Application Engineer at Google.
July 31-August 1, 2004: Justice Unlimited, THE GAME.
March 12, 2005: CKL + D = Wedding
November 28, 2005: I finish a first draft of my first attempted novel, By the Light of the Moon.

April, 2006: I help launch The Da Vinci Code Quest on Google.
May 9, 2006: I take a ride on the Zero-G plane!
September 9-10, 2006: Hogwarts and the Draconian Prophecy, THE GAME.
September 29, 2006: The Richter Scales release our first album, We Hate A Cappella.
November 28, 2006: I finish a first draft of my second attempted novel, Waypoint Kangaroo.
January 3, 2007: I read an excerpt from Waypoint Kangaroo on the KFJC morning show, Unbedtime Stories.
March 2, 2007: I talk about "Clues" at the first GC Summit.
June 29, 2007: I finish writing my first screenplay, The Gauntlet.
November 29, 2007: I finish a first-half draft of my third attempted novel, Spaceship Castle.
January 18, 2008: My last day at Google.
January 23, 2008: I read an excerpt from Spaceship Castle on the KFJC morning show, Unbedtime Stories.
April 5-6, 2008: Midnight Madness: Back To Basics! (THE GAME)
April 14, 2008: DeeAnn and I begin Travels With Our Cats.
May 31, 2008: We watch a Space Shuttle launch at Cape Canaveral.
June 13, 2008: I finish writing my first teleplay, "Apartment of Champions" (an original comedy pilot).
July 1, 2008: I get accepted to Viable Paradise!
September 16, 2008: DeeAnn and I conclude Travels With Our Cats at our new home in Vancouver, Washington.
September 21-26, 2008: Viable Paradise XII
October 3, 2008: I launch 512 Words or Fewer.
November 15-16, 2008: Sitcom Room 3
November 29, 2008: I finish a first draft of my fourth attempted novel, EndGame.
February 6, 2009: 512.19 "Better" gets great reviews.
April 30, 2009: I finish writing my second screenplay, Sweet Valley Heist.
May 14-15 & 21, 2009: I work three days as an extra on Leverage episode 204 ("The Fairy Godparents Job").
June, 2009: DeeAnn and I travel to Europe for Jeff & Marina's wedding.
July 12, 2009: My short story "Restart" is published in Strangetastic.
June 21-July 31, 2009: Clarion West Write-a-thon 2009
September 13, 2009: DASH 1 PDX
October 23, 2009: I am the featured guest on Strange Love Live.
November 19, 2009: I present "How to Solve Any Puzzle in Less Than 47 Minutes" at Ignite Portland 7.
November 25, 2009: DeeAnn and I begin podcasting with SnoutCast #1: "ZombiePortLand"
November 27-28, 2009: I run the ORCs at OryCon 31.
November 30, 2009: I finish a first draft of my fifth attempted novel, Better.
December 9, 2009: Good-bye, Bayla.
January 5, 2010: I am a professional writer.
January 7, 2010: Tye joins the Sole-Chen family.
February 14, 2010: My niece Kara is born!
March 3, 2010: DeeAnn presents "Travels With Our Cats" at Ignite Portland 8.
March 4, 2010: My short story "The Stories We Tell Ourselves" is published in the 100 Stories for Haiti charity anthology.
March 15, 2010: I work one day as an extra on Leverage episode 304 ("The Scheherazade Job").
April 6, 2010: SnoutCast changes to a weekly format!
April 24, 2010: DASH 2 PDX
May 14, 2010: I work one day as an extra on Leverage episode 308 ("The Boost Job").
June, 2010: My short story "At Long Last, Love" is published in From the Porch Swing: memories of our grandparents (also available on Kindle).
July 14, 2010: The first monthly Puzzled Pint event takes place in Portland, Oregon!
June 27-August 7, 2010: I participate in the Clarion UCSD Write-a-thon 2010
August 24, 2010: My first blog post for ProgrammableWeb.com.
November 12-13, 2010: I run the ORCs at OryCon 32.
November 15, 2010: I experience my first MRI scan! It's not nearly as exciting as on House. That's probably a good thing.
November 30, 2010: I finish a half-draft of my sixth attempted novel, Working Graves: CAVE CANEM.

January 2-8, 2011: JoCo Cruise Crazy (on which we also run a Treasure Hunt)!
February 12, 2011: I present "Everything I Need To Know About Running The Game, I Have Learned From Running The Game" at the 5th annual GC Summit.
March 9-13, 2011: DeeAnn and I attend the Rainforest Writers Village, where raccoons steal our soup.
June 15, 2011: I attend a table read of my prize-winning comedy pilot "Apartment of Champions" in Los Angeles.
July 23, 2011: The Puzzled Pint Pub Progression (P4), our one year anniversary puzzle hunt!
June 26-August 6, 2011: Clarion UCSD Write-a-thon 2011
November 11-12, 2011: I run the ORCs at OryCon 33.
November 29, 2011: I finish a half-draft of my seventh attempted novel, Kangaroo Too.
February 9, 2012: I present "A Homebrew Cat Feeding Robot" at Ignite Portland 10.
February 19-26, 2012: JoCo Cruise Crazy II (on which we help run the "Dead Man's Quest?" puzzle hunt)
March 11, 2012: CKL+D = ReWedding (our seventh wedding anniversary celebration)
March 31-April 1, 2012: We play in The Doctor When Game (second weekend).
May 13, 2012: I <3 PDX
July 25, 2012: Willamette Week features Puzzled Pint, now two years old, in its "Best of Portland 2012" issue!
August 3-5, 2012: WarTron brings THE GAME to Portland, Oregon!
August 11, 2012: DeeAnn and I volunteer at the starting line for Hood To Coast.
September 27, 2012: My nephew Matt is born!
October 9, 2012: Puzzled Pint expands to include Seattle, Washington!
October 17, 2012: I undergo my first root canal, which is surprisingly painless and hassle-free.
November 2-4, 2012: I run the ORCs at OryCon 34.
November 30, 2012: I finish a partial draft of my eighth attempted novel, I'll Take Manhattan.
December 27, 2012: My final blog post for ProgrammableWeb.
February 10-17, 2013: JoCo Cruise Crazy 3 (on which we run the Star Quest Puzzle Hunt)
March 3, 2013: I talk about our JoCo Cruise Crazy puzzle hunts at the 7th annual GC Summit.
March 31, 2013: Query Shark loves my query letter for Waypoint Kangaroo!
April 11-14, 2013: Paradise Lost III
June 29-30, 2013: The WarTron: Boston re-cast of our Game happens!
July 11-14, 2013: DeeAnn and I attend Readercon 24.
August 17-18, 2013: I enter the Sledgehammer Writing Contest with my written-in-36-hours short story "Born to the Legion."
September 9, 2013: My short story "Don't Fence Me In" is published in Song Stories: Blaze of Glory (also available on Kindle).
September 21, 2013: My awesome friends put on an amazing, TNG-themed puzzle hunt to celebrate my 40th birthday!
September 27-29, 2013: We play in The Famine Game in Washington, DC.
October 9, 2013: I work one day as an extra on Grimm episode 308 ("Twelve Days of Krampus").
November 8-9, 2013: I run the ORCs at OryCon 35.
November 12, 2013: Puzzled Pint expands to include London, England!
November 14, 2013: I present "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" at Ignite Portland 12.
November 30, 2013: I finish a partial draft of my ninth attempted novel, A Tale of Two Winters.
January 31, 2014: I self-publish the collection Thursday's Children: Flash Fiction from 512 Words or Fewer.
Feburary, 2014: My novelette "Somebody's Daughter" is published in Leading Edge magazine issue 65.
February 23-March 1, 2014: JoCo Cruise Crazy 4 (on which we run the T.I.M.E. Quest Puzzle Hunt)
June-August, 2014: I attend Clarion West!
July, 2014: My short story "Making Waves" is published in SNAFU: An Anthology of Military Horror, and I become a client of Sam Morgan at JABberwocky Literary Agency.
September, 2014: My short story "Zugzwang" is published in Daily Science Fiction. This is my first pro sale!
November, 2014: I'm a featured guest at the SFWA Pacific Northwest Reading Series, along with Django Wexler and Daniel H. Wilson.
January 31-February 7, 2015: JoCo Cruise 5 (on which we run the Number Five Is Alive Puzzle Hunt)
February, 2015: My short story "It's Machine Code" is published in Unlikely Story #11: The Journal of Unlikely Cryptography.
July 29, 2015: I work one day as an extra on Grimm episode 502 ("Clear and Wesen Danger").
November, 2015: My short story "Ten Days Up" is published in the Baen Books anthology Mission: Tomorrow.

June 21, 2016: My debut novel Waypoint Kangaroo is published by Thomas Dunne Books (St. Martin's Press)! It will go on to be a finalist for the 2017 Locus Awards and Endeavour Award.
March, 2017: Sam Morgan and I move to a new agency, Foundry Literary + Media.
April, 2017: I attend the first Melon event in Hong Kong.
June 20, 2017: My second novel, Kangaroo Too, is published by Thomas Dunne Books (St. Martin's Press)! It receives a starred review from Publishers Weekly.
August, 2017: I attend the Shanghai Book Fair and Shanghai International Literary Week, where the Simplified Chinese edition of Waypoint Kangaroo is launched!
February, 2018: My short story "Go, Space Racer!" is published in Playboy Magazine.
June 10, 2018: Jasper died on a Sunday.
July 10, 2018: Puzzled Pint: KANGAROO style

More to come...

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